Nelson and Christie score at SMP

By Don Empey

SHANNONVILLE, ON -- In a reversal of weather fortunes, the gray threatening skies that dumped inches of rain all over southern Ontario bypassed Shannonville Motorsport Park long enough to complete Round 4 of the RACE SuperSeries July 25-26.

In the Pro 6 Cycle / Dunlop Pro Superbike contest, Andrew Nelson shook the cobwebs out of his new Nelson Racing / Quinte Furniture Service-sponsored Yamaha R1 during the new bike's premier outing and led the race from start to finish.

Behind him, youngsters Jodi Christie and Karl Daigle battled veteran rider Frank Trombino, who soldiered on after destroying his GoLo Racing Superbike earlier in the day. At the three-quarter mark of the contest Christie finally got around Daigle and grabbed second and, once clear, started to reel in Nelson.

Trombino also got a great drive out of the hairpin and edged ahead of Daigle who was then relegated to fourth.

As Nelson crossed the line for the win, Christie grabbed a well-earned second with Trombino taking the final spot of the podium. A.Perusse’s Daigle held on to fourth with 14-year-old Yamaha rider Royce McLean in fifth.

“We tested a bunch of stuff during this race for Shuby, we weren’t at 100 per cent yet but I think we’re right there,” commented Nelson. “That wasn’t an easy race. I’ve been struggling in practice to get good lap times and I knew those guys were going fast so I pushed as hard as I could.”

Nelson now enjoys a 36 point lead in the series.

Honda Powerhouse Dealers-sponsored Christie earned his first professional race win of the season with a brilliant effort in the Parts Canada Pro 600 race. Christie, who had to battle back after poor start, worked his way up to take the lead after lap five of the eight-lap final.

Christie battled the entire way with series champion Daigle as Trombino took off in hot pursuit. The battle up front took its toll on Trombino as Christie and Daigle rounded out the high-speed back straight side by side. Trombino, in hot pursuit, caught the curbing and crashed heavily, destroying the GoLo racing Suzuki.

With Trombino out of the way, Mimic Racing Industries' James Collins inherited the final step of the podium with the win going to Christie. Daigle had to settle for second with McLean finishing in fifth.

A jubilant Christie said after the race, “it was totally awesome, right after I got the poor start I realized I had to get by them quick, especially Frank so I could battle for the lead. I definitely wanted to set the pace.”

Acme Slate AM Superbike points leader Efram Ellenbogen, threw away the chance to get a commanding lead in the series when he tossed his BnE Racing Team Yamaha R6 away in an attempt to chase down 15-year-old Kenny Riedmann.

Riedmann took the early lead aboard his Rev Racing / Pro 6 Triumph 675 Daytona and looked to run away with it, goading Ellenbogen into an early race departure. The uncharacteristic off-track excursion by Ellenbogen assured Riedmann the race win and just to seal the deal, Riedmann eclipsed the lap record twice during his romp.

Joey McRae looks to be on the come back trail and was impressive in his chase-down of race winner Riedmann to finish second, as was Kahuna Kawasaki’s Vicki Schoutenm who earned the final step of the podium.

Ellenbogen was brilliant however, capturing the Rush Racing AM 600 race, leading the entire race well ahead of the field. Riedmann rode the Triumph to a commendable second with Billy Shields grabbing the final step on the box.

Ellenbogen holds a 30-point advantage in the series title hunt over team-mate Shields.

In the Orion Motorsports & Pirelli SV Cup series, Rob Busby continues his domination of the class and took another win in the race. Michael Leon made a return to action and won a hard fought battle with series leader Derek Vammus in the Westlake Medical Centre S&D Heavyweight Sportsman class. Leon piloted the MBP/Royal Distributing sponsored Ducati to the win ahead of Vammus after a lengthy battle.