Home run for Tremblay at ICAR

By John Hopkins

MIRABEL, QC – Longueuil, QC’s Sebastien Tremblay outduelled opening round victor Cody Matechuk to win the Armour Bodies Amateur Sport Bike race at Circuit ICAR on Sunday. Riding the A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R Tremblay took the lead from Matechuk (Suzuki Dealers / Acceleration Racing / Suzuki GSX-R600) on lap seven of the 14-lap race and held on to beat the Cochrane, AB rider by just 0.342 secs.

The victory was sweet payback for Tremblay, who had admitted to nerves at the opening round of the season at Calabogie Motorsports Park that led to a jump start penalty and lost him second place in that race.

This time he made no stumbles from second on the grid. He followed polesitter Matechuk closely for the first six laps and after taking the lead in turn seven held off the young Albertan through the second half of the race.

"I was trying my hardest," said an emotional and exhausted Tremblay after his first success in the Amateur Sport Bike class. "I was so tired at the end I was just trying to protect my lines."

Despite his runner-up finish Matechuk retained the points lead after two events, with 99 points to Tremblay's 94. No one else is even close.

"We were pretty equal around most of the track and it turned into a really good race," Matechuk said. "I tried a few times to get past him again but I couldn't make it stick. It was a battle."

The final spot on the podium was a revolving door both during and after the race. Billy Shields grabbed third spot off the line on his BnE Racing / Yamaha YZF-R6 and held the spot for eight laps before crashing in turn two. That elevated race-long battlers Jeffrey Dion and Joey McRae to third and fourth. Dion had led from the start on his Robitaille Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R but McRae got in front on lap 12 and held off the Granby, QC racer to the flag.

However, in post race tech McRae's EnvyRides / Yamaha YZF-R6 was found to be over the class horsepower limit of 118 hp (it registered 121.31 on its first run on the dyno and 119.71 on a retry) and the Orangeville, ON racer was disqualified, promoting Dion back to third.

Etienne Giguere of Levis, QC placed fourth on a Honda CBR600RR and Belfountain, ON's Kenny Riedmann completed the top five aboard a Triumph 675.

It was a rough race all round for the BnE Yamaha team, as third-place qualifier Efram Ellenbogen, the runner-up at the Calabogie season opener, nearly stalled off the line and was swallowed up by the pack. He then crashed in the final turn at the end of the opening lap and retired after another tour.

Another frontrunner to drop out was Quebec City's Stephane Beaupre, who spent the first seven laps in fourth place before crashing his Yamaha YZF-R6 in turn two.

In other action at Circuit ICAR, Rob Busby of Brantford, ON earned his second straight Suzuki SV650 National Cup win of the season, beating St-Colomban, QC’s Raphael Archambault by 7.651 secs. Jeremie Hade Precourt of Granby, QC completed the podium.

It was a dramatic race for Busby, who had the end of his shifter come off on lap two of the 12-lap race, making it difficult to shift gears. As he struggled with the problem he came under pressure from first Archambault and then Philippe Masse. Masse tried a pass at the end of the backstraight on the final lap but crashed, leaving defending Honda CBR125R Challenge champ to pick up his first career SV Cup podium finish.

Busby now enjoys a commanding 48-point lead in the standings with 112 points to the 64 of Archambault and the 60 of Hade-Precourt and Dan Henri, who was seventh at ICAR.

Warman, SK’s Bodhi Edie won the Honda CBR125R Challenge race by 10.634 secs. over Hamilton, ON racer Steven Nickerson. Edie earned the Tirox Won Big Time Award for enjoying the largest winning margin of the day. Pickering, ON’s Ryan Roche placed third.

Edie led every lap but polesitter Karl Robitaille of Ste-Julie, QC reeled him in by half distance in the 10-lap race, only to crash in turn three on lap six.

Opening round winner Nickerson and Edie are now tied for the series points lead with 100 points each.

Toni Nesbitt suffered a crash in the race morning warm-up and required medical attention. She was released from hospital Sunday evening with a mild concussion and is out of action for three weeks, ruling her out of the Race City doubleheader at the end of June.

Amateur Sport Bike Results
1. Sebastien Tremblay, Longueuil. QC 14 laps, Kawasaki ZX-6R
2. Cody Matechuk, Cochrane, AB +0.342, Suzuki GSX-R600
3. Jeffery Dion, Granby, QC +37.463, Kawasaki ZX-6R
4. Etienne Giguere, Levis, QC +48.176, Honda CBR600RR
5. Kenny Riedmann, Belfountain, ON +51.356, Triumph Daytona
6. Alain Lefebvre, Rouyn-Noranda, QC +52.826, Suzuki GSX-R600
7. Vicki Schouten, Richmond, ON +59.351, Kawasaki ZX-6R
8. Christian LaBrecque, Quebec, QC +1:04.9, Yamaha YZF-R6
9. Clarke LaPrairie, Kanata, ON +1:06.0, Kawasaki ZX-6R
10. Aubrey Bailey, Parry Sound, ON +1:10.3, Honda CBR600RR
11. Dominic Dupont, Laval, QC +1:32.0, Kawasaki ZX-6R
12. Guy Lagace, Levis, QC +1:33.2, Honda CBR600RR
13. Sylvain Dufresne, St-Jerome, QC +1:33.3, Suzuki GSX-R600
14. Daniel Ouimet, Lasalle, QC +1 Lap, Suzuki GSX-R600
15. Martin Gosselin, Plessisville, QC +1 Lap, Kawasaki ZX-6R
16. David Cote, Acton Vale, QC +1 Lap, Suzuki GSX-R600
Did Not Finish
Yves Dagenais, Orleans, ON, 11 laps, Suzuki GSX-R600
Billy Shields, Unionville, ON, 8 laps, Yamaha YZF-R6
Stephane Beaupre, Quebec, QC, 7 laps, Yamaha YZF-R6
Efram Ellenbogen, Belleville, ON, 2 laps, Yamaha YZF-R6
Ted Kuehn, Kingston, ON, 1 lap, Kawasaki ZX-6R
Did Not Start
Natalie-Catherine Provost, Laval, QC, Honda CBR600RR
Vanessa Gareau-Dominguez, Montreal, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600
Sebastien Migneault, St-Tite, QC, Yamaha YZF-R6
Disqualified
Joey McRae, Orangeville, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, Over Horsepower Limit
Fastest Lap: 1:29.513 by Sebastien Tremblay on lap 14

Amateur Sport Bike Standings
1. Cody Matechuk, 99
2. Sebastien Tremblay, 94
3. Vicki Schouten, 52
4. Alain Lefebvre, 52
5. Efram Ellenbogen, 50
6. Aubrey Bailey, 38
7. Jeffrey Dion, 37
8. Christian LaBrecque, 35
9. Billy Shields, 34
10. Etienne Giguere, 32
11. Joey McRae, 29
12. Kenny Riedmann, 29
13. Clarke La Prairie, 27
14. Jason Thoms, 23
15. Guy Lagace, 23
16. Rahul Dua, 21
17. Brent Vandenbroek, 17
18. Dominic Dupont, 17
19. Natalie-Catherine Provost, 15
20. Harvey Renaud, 13
21. Sylvain Dufresne, 13
22. Daniel Ouimet, 12
23. Ted Keuhn, 10
24. Martin Gosselin, 10
25. David Cote, 8
26. Dominic Goudreault, 4
27. Jean-Sebastien Perreault, 2
28. Vanessa Gareau-Dominguez, 1

Suzuki SV650 Cup Results
1. Rob Busby, Brantford, ON, 12 laps, Suzuki SV650
2. Raphael Archambault, St-Colomban, QC, +7.651, Suzuki SV650
3. Jeremie Hade Precourt, Granby, QC, +25.292, Suzuki SV650
4. Francois Chartrand, Repentigny, QC, +34.388, Suzuki SV650
5. Steve Greene, Kitchener, ON, +38.883, Suzuki SV650
6. Brent Strong, Mississauga, ON, +43.394, Suzuki SV650
7. Dan Henri, Ottawa, ON, +57.716, Suzuki SV650
8. Martin Chartrand, Montreal, QC, +1:07.8, Suzuki SV650
9. Philippe Bonin, St-Colomban, QC, +1 Lap, Suzuki SV650
Did Not Finish
Philippe Masse, St Dominique, QC, 11 laps, Suzuki SV650
Lee Kuhn, Hamilton, ON, 5 laps, Suzuki SV650
Chris Dopke, Cambridge, ON, 5 laps, Suzuki SV650
David Mongrain, St-Jerome, QC, 1 lap, Suzuki SV650
Fastest Lap: 1:32.311 by Philippe Masse on lap 5

Suzuki SV650 Cup Standings
1. Rob Busby, 112
2. Raphael Archambault, 64
3. Dan Henri, 60
4. Jeremie Hade Precourt, 60
5. Brent Strong, 52
6. Steve Greene, 46
7. Jody Greening, 44
8. Philippe Masse, 43
9. Francois Chartrand, 32
10. Steve Grujic, 29
11. Chris Dopke, 27
12. Martin Chartrand, 23
13. Philippe Bonin, 21
14. Nicky Poon, 19
15. Kana Matsumoto, 15

Honda CBR125R Challenge Results
1. Bodhi Edie, Warman, SK, 10 laps, Honda CBR125R
2. Steven Nickerson, Hamilton, ON, +10.634, Honda CBR125R
3. Ryan Roche, Pickering, ON, +52.052, Honda CBR125R
4. Ed Sorbo, Mentone, CA, +52.131, Honda CBR125R*
5. Nicole Pilkington, Blackstock, ON    , +1:48.6, Honda CBR125R
6. Leah Vignale, Kemptville, ON, +1 Lap, Honda CBR125R
7. Kim Young Jae, Mississauga, ON, +1 Lap, Honda CBR125R
Did Not Finish
Karl Robitaille, Ste-Julie, QC, 5 laps, Honda CBR125R
Did Not Start
Toni Nesbitt, Saint-Lazare, QC, Honda CBR125R
Fastest Lap: 1:45.480 by Karl Robitaille on lap 5
* -- ineligible for series points

Honda CBR125R Standings
1. Steven Nickerson, 100
2. Bodhi Edie, 100
3. Ryan Roche, 71
4. Nicole Pilkington, 61
5. Leah Vignale, 56
6. Karl Robitaille, 43
7. Kim Young Jae, 27