McLean leads the way in Edmonton

From the EMRA

The clouds looked ominous for Round Two of the EMRA Championship series but the racing gods smiled and let us go the entire event without rain, as long as you don’t count the Saturday night downpour.

Expert Superbike had a large grid that was sure to have plenty of passing with the three fastest riders on this day gridded at the back. Royce McLean showed his race craft and was out in front and on his own by half race distance. Dave Stokowski tried to stay with the youngster but no one was catching Royce, and Stokowski had to settle for second.

Jason Kolmatycki held off a charging Adam Robarts and kept the local fans happy by getting on the podium in third position.

The Expert Open Sportbike race was probably the most exciting race of the day. It included factory Yamaha Canada rider McLean, national privateer rider Stokowski and BC fast guy Adam Robarts, who were all gridded at the back. The race began with Kolmatycki, Robarts and Fred Jolivet all running nose to tail. Behind them McLean was quickly working his way through the pack and he was bringing Stokowski with him. At the halfway point of the race McLean was with the leaders and there were many daring passes made in unusual places with the end result being McLean pulling away for the win over Stokowski and Robarts.

The Expert 600 Supersport race promised to be another exciting one with both McLean and Robarts gridded at the back. The race started with Dave Sushynski out in front and newcomer Martin Cooper close behind and challenging. Unfortunately Cooper’s bid for glory came to an end when he tried a late braking maneuver in turn eight and ended up in the gravel, unhurt but unable to continue.

While this was going on McLean was again making his way through the pack and Robarts was following him through. Once the two were in front Robarts tried to stay with the 15-year-old McLean but couldn’t maintain the pace and had to settle for second, Sushysnski completed the podium in third place.

Expert Lightweight Sportbike was easily won by Jason Dunbar over Doug Clavier and Robert Flett on his Aprilia.

Intermediate Superbike was a two-part affair after the race was red flagged when Brook Farrel had a nasty looking crash coming out of turn nine. Luckily he was uninjured in the crash. After the second restart de Graff once again showed his speed and steadily pulled away from Jamie Grady in second place and Messer in third.

Intermediate Open Sportbike started the afternoon with a terrific race between de Graff and KJ Gamblin. De Graff would use his 1000cc engine to power past Gamblin down the backstraight only to be outbraked into turn two by an apparently fearless Gamblin on his 600. The race went on this way lap after lap until they got into the backmarkers and de Graff was able to pull a small lead and hold it until the line. Gamblin took home second and Messer got third.

The Senior Open was another exciting race that was won by de Graff on his CBR1000 after elbowing his way past Kolmatycki on his R1. Jolivet was happy to take third after having tire issues during the race.

Intermediate 600 Supersport was won convincingly by Gamblin. Messer made a race of it for the first half, passing Gamblin several times but eventually faded and came home a safe second. Andrew Ma brought his CBR600 across the line in third position.

Intermediate Lightweight Sportbike’s Gamblin was up challenging the Experts and had a comfortable lead over second place Tawheed Sadiq and third place Evan Kohlenberg.

The racing began with the Aprilia Cup. This weekend had three new entries roll up to the grid to try and take on Round One winner, Bodhi Edie. When the start light went out it was Ian Wall followed closely by Trevor Prutton through turn 1. Edie was a short distance behind in third, with the rest close behind him.

Edie got a great drive out of turn one and was past Prutton before turn two, he quickly made up the short distance between himself and the leader Wall. The two stayed together for the next few laps with Edie looking for a way past but not finding it until he tried a tricky pass in tight turn eight. He nearly high-sided on the exit of the corner but the pass stuck and he was able to hold the position for the win, with Wall right behind in second and Prutton a distant third.

The Super Motard race was again dominated by Jason Dunbar on his KTM. Youngster Gamblin had an excellent ride on his YZ and just beat Doug Clavier for second place.

In Middleweight twins it was Steve Robertson from Yellowknife taking victory over Aaron Cluff and John Crump.

The Suzuki SV Cup was again won by Trina Hennig, followed by Blair Layton.

In Frmula GP it was Edie, this time on a RS125, taking the win over Brent Van Den Biggelaar and Eric Swayze.

The Formula Thunder race ended with an interesting mix of machines in the winners' circle. Wall won on a TZ250, Robertson narrowly took second on his SV650 over Dunbar on his KTM 560.

In the Sportsman class Ben Lee held on for the win with Jamie Grady in second place followed by 14-year-old Edie in third.