Trombino sings 'amazing RACE'

By Don Empey

SHANNONVILLE ON -- The Shannonville RACE Super Series opened the 2009 season under uncharacteristic brilliant skies May 2-3, with cold, heavy winds blowing on the 2.23km Fabi circuit making conditions challenging for the riders.

In the Pro 6 / Dunlop Tires Pro Superbike feature old rivals Andrew Nelson and Frank Trombino renewed hostilities in another epic battle to the finish line.

GoLo Racing’s Trombino jumped into the early lead but on lap four of the 12-lap battle, Nelson made a brilliant pass entering the hairpin to take over the lead. Base Energy Drink-sponsored Nelson looked to be in firm control of the decision, gaining a large advantage on the long Fabi straight on every lap but was unable to shake the pesky Trombino through the tight infield sections.

Exiting the final corner on the ast lap Trombino got the better drive and with a dash to the finish line edged out Nelson by .019 seconds. In third was first year Pro rider, ProStar / Honda Powerhouse Dealer’s Jodi Christie. Kawasaki mounted Franklin Dominguez finished in fourth while fifth went to Csaba Werner, who rode a brilliant race to fend off reigning series champion Perusse Kawasaki’s Karl Daigle.

Trombino capped off the weekend with another big win in the Parts Canada Pro 600 event. The Kleinburg, ON rider, still recovering from serious injuries last season, was in fine form, jumping into the early lead and taking a well earned win.

Behind him a battle ensued between young guns Christie, aboard the Fast Company Honda, and Daigle, who struggled a bit with the box stock Kawasaki ZX-6R. Daigle succumbed to Christie after the second lap and Christie rode hard to place the Ben Gartner-prepped CBR600 on the second step of the podium, relegating Daigle to third.

Hard charging Marie-Josee Boucher fell just short of a podium finish, placing her Excel Honda into fourth, slipping past fifth place finisher Jean Paquet at the midpoint of the race. Rounding out the top six was Yamaha rider Louie Raffa.

In other action, Yamaha rider Efram Ellenbogen who took charge early on and earned a resounding win in AM Superbike with a new track record.

In Bush Racing AM 600 Sportbike action, Ellenbogen had the fans on their feet with one of the most impressive rides of the weekend. After being penalized earlier on, Ellenbogen was sent to the back of the grid, but he remained undeterred by the disadvantage. Getting off the line in 21st position he worked his way up to 11th after the second lap and from there on he picked off every rider in front of him until the penultimate lap he was in the lead, destroying the lap record set three years ago by Ross Millson.

In Westlake Medical Center Heavyweight Sportsman action Peninsula Import Ducati’s Derek Vammus placed the Ducati 1098 in front of the field and romped to a decisive victory. Steve “Doc” Walker once again looks to dominate in Bike Pro Thunder action placing his BMW on top of the box in his class.

In Orion Motorsports & Pirelli SV650 Suzuki Cup action Rob Busby shattered his own lap record, knocking almost two seconds from the previous mark to romp to a win.

Kana Matsumoto had a great ride to win the Novice division of the Bell Helmets RACE Women’s Open race.

The kids also had a chance to shine in the RACE series' newly founded Excel Moto Honda CBR Cup. Riding identically prepared Honda CBR125R’s it was 13-year-old Loic Viscasillas riding out of Laval QC with a clear victory.