Matechuk untouchable at Race City

By John Hopkins

CALGARY, AB – Cochrane, AB’s Cody Matechuk led all 14 laps to win the Armour Bodies Amateur Sport Bike round at Race City Motorsport Park on Sunday by 13.105 secs. on his Suzuki Dealers / Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R600.

West Kelowna, BC’s Marcel Irnie took second on his Irnie Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R after a race-long battle with the A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R of Longueuil, QC’s Sebastien Tremblay, who placed third.

After claiming pole position with a new class record on Saturday the 15-year-old Matechuk was untouchable in Sunday's race. He was over a second clear by the end of the opening lap and set the fastest ap of the race, a 1:20.553, on lap two.

"I'm so stoked right now," said Matechuk, who now leads Tremblay by 21 points in the Amateur Sport Bike standings, 155-134 after his second win of the season. "I had a good start, got a comfortable lead and just stayed consistent."

Matechuk's only concern was a strong wind blowing down the front straight during the Amateur Sport Bike race, which he said caused him to overshoot turn one a few times.

Tremblay and Irnie were embroied in a see-saw battle for second throughout the race which went Irnie's way in the Carousel on the final lap.

"I had an advantage on him out of the Bus Stop," Irnie said. "He gave me a little room and I went for it."

Tremblay had ost one of his knee pucks on the fifth lap, which compromised his race somewhat.

Efram Ellenbogen of Bellevile, Ont. worked his way through to fourth on the BnE Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 and Trevor Berhardt of De Winton, AB took fifth aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600.

Steven Nickerson of Hamilton, ON also led all the way to win the 10-lap Honda CBR125R Challenge event at Race City. Warman, SK’s Bodhi Edie placed second, 6.280 secs. behind and Karl Robitaille of Ste-Julie, QC took third.

"My plan was to get a good start and get away," said Nickerson, who grabbed the lead into turn one after Robitaille grabbed the holeshot off the start.

Robitaille held second spot for a lap but then slipped off the track in turn four on lap two, allowing Edie into second place.

Edie now trails Nickerson by 11 points in the standings, 156-145 heading into Monday’s second half of a doubleheader for the class, which will be held at the Varsity Chrysler Speed Park adjacent to Race City.

Raphael Archambault of St-Colomban, Que. won his first Suzuki SV650 National Cup round by 16.272 secs. over Philippe Masse of St-Dominique, Que. Polesitter Jeremie Hade Precourt of Granby, Que. took third after suffering a broken shifter eary in the race.

Archambault picked up the Tirox Won Bigtime Award for enjoying the largest margin of victory of the weekend and took over the class points lead.

Amateur Sport Bike Race Results
1. Cody Matechuk, Cochrane, Alta., 14, Suzuki GSX-R600
2. Marcel Irnie, West Kelowna, B.C., 14, Kawasaki ZX-6R
3. Sebastien Tremblay, Longueuil, Que., 14, Kawasaki ZX-6R
4. Efram Ellenbogen, Belleville, Ont., 14, Yamaha YZF-R6
5. Trevor Berhardt, De Winton, Alta., 14, Suzuki GSX-R600
6. Thomas Bodrovics, Calgary, Alta., 14, Suzuki GSX-R600 (Jump Start Penalty)
7. Billy Shields, Unionville, Ont., 14, Yamaha YZF-R6
8. Amy Karthaus, Brantford, Ont., 14, Kawasaki ZX-6R
9. Vicki Schouten, Richmond, Ont., 14, Kawasaki ZX-6R
10. Ryan Middleton, Calgary, Alta., 14, Yamaha YZF-R6
11. KJ Gamblin, Sherwood Park, Alta., 14, Suzuki GSX-R600 (Jump Start Penalty)
12. Colin Purcell, Kelowna, B.C., 13, Honda CBR600RR
13. Claude Bergeron, Calgary, Alta., 13, Honda CBR600RR
14. Chris Crump, Bragg Creek, Alta., 13, Buell 1125R
15. David Murray, Edmonton, Alta., 13, Yamaha YZF-R6
16. Alex Irving, Calgary, Alta., 12, Suzuki GSX-R600
17. Gary Lee, Calgary, Alta., 12, Suzuki GSX-R600
18. Chris Trickett, Red Deer, Alta., 12, Suzuki GSX-R600
Did Not Finish
Joey McRae, Orangeville, Ont., 4, Yamaha YZF-R6
Todd Starchuk, Calgary, Alta., 13, Yamaha YZF-R6
Margin of Victory: 13.105 secs.
Fastest Lap: 1:20.553 by Cody Matechuk on lap 2

Amateur Sport Bike Point Standings
1. Cody Matechuk, 155
2. Sebastien Tremblay, 134
3. Efram Ellenbogen, 82
4. Vicki Schouten, 73
5. Billy Shields, 59
6. Alain Lefebvre, 52
7. Marcel Irnie, 42
8. Aubrey Bailey, 38
9. Jeffrey Dion, 37
10. Christian LaBrecque, 35
11. Etienne Giguere, 32
12. Joey McRae, 30
13. Kenny Riedmann, 29
14. Thomas Bodrovics, 29
15. Trevor Berhardt, 29
16. Clarke La Prairie, 27
17. Amy Karthaus, 23
18. Jason Thoms, 23
19. Guy Lagace, 23
20. Rahul Dua, 21
21. Ryan Middleton, 19
22. Brent Vandenbroek, 17
23. Dominic Dupont, 17
24. KJ Gamblin, 17
25. Natalie-Catherine Provost, 15
26. Colin Purcell, 15
27. Harvey Renaud, 13
28. Sylvain Dufresne, 13
29. Claude Bergeron, 13
30. Daniel Ouimet, 12
31. Chris Crump, 12
32. Ted Keuhn, 10
33. Martin Gosselin, 10
34. David Murray, 10
35. David Cote, 8
36. Alex Irving, 8
37. Gary Lee, 6
38. Dominic Goudreault, 4
39. Chris Trickett, 4
40. Jean-Sebastien Perreault, 2
41. Vanessa Gareau-Dominguez, 1

Suzuki SV650 National Cup Race Results
1. Raphael Archambault, St-Colomban, Que., 14
2. Philippe Masse, St-Dominique, Que., 14
3. Jeremie Hade Precourt, Granby, Que., 14
4. Kurtis Joki, De Winton, Alta., 14 (Jump Start Penalty)
5. Lee Kuhn, Hamilton, Ont., 14
6. Emerson Lefurgey, Calgary, Alta., 14 (Jump Start Penalty)
Margin of Victory: 16.272 secs.
Fastest Lap: 1:26.469 by Raphael Archambault on lap 2

Suzuki SV650 National Cup Point Standings
1. Raphael Archambault, 119
2. Rob Busby, 112
3. Jeremie Hade Precourt, 101
4. Philippe Masse, 87
5. Dan Henri, 60
6. Brent Strong, 52
7. Steve Greene, 46
8. Jody Greening, 44
9. Kurtis Joki, 33
10. Francois Chartrand, 32
11. Steve Grujic, 29
12. Lee Kuhn, 29
13. Chris Dopke, 27
14. Emerson Lefurgey, 27
15. Martin Chartrand, 23
16. Philippe Bonin, 21
17. Nicky Poon, 19
18. Kana Matsumoto, 15

Honda CBR125R Challenge Race Results
1. Steven Nickerson, Hamilton, Ont., 10
2. Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask., 10
3. Karl Robitaille, Ste-Julie, Que., 10
4. Ryan R. Appenrodt, Quesnel, B.C., 10
5. Dylan Jones, Delta, B.C., 10
6. Ryan Roche, Pickering, Ont., 10
7. Geoffrey Gerbrandt, Martensville, Sask., 10
8. Christopher Mah, Edmonton, Alta., 10
9. Jay Fox, Calgary, Alta., 10
10. Chris Wilson, Airdrie, Alta., 10
11. Vincent Tighe, Calgary, Alta., 10
12. Emil Peev, Saskatoon, Sask., 10
13. Kelsey Giacchetta, Calgary, Alta., 10
14. Richard Moore, Fayetteville, Ga., 10
15. Kim Young Jae, Mississauga, Ont., 9
16. Samantha McManus, Calgary, Alta., 9
17. Leah Vignale, Kemptville, Ont., 9
Margin of Victory: 6.280 secs.
Fastest Lap: 1:47.804 by Steven Nickerson on lap 5

Honda CBR125R Challenge Point Standings
1. Steven Nickerson, 156
2. Bodhi Edie, 145
3. Ryan Roche, 98
4. Karl Robitaille, 82
5. Leah Vignale, 68
6. Nicole Pilkington, 61
7. Kim Young Jae, 42
8. Ryan R. Appenrodt, 32
9. Dylan Jones, 29
10. Geoffrey Gerbrandt, 25
11. Christopher Mah, 24
12. Chris Wilson, 21
14. Emil Peev, 19
15. Kelsey Giachetta, 17
16. Samantha McManus, 13