Matechuk moves closer to title

By John Hopkins

SHANNONVILLE, ON – Cochrane, AB’s Cody Matechuk stretched his Armour Bodies Amateur Sport Bike Championship lead to 47 points by taking pole for Sunday’s race at Shannonville Motorsport Park on his Suzuki Dealers / Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R600.

The 15-year-old set a track record time of 1:07.051 and picked up four championship points. He now needs only a 17th place finish on Sunday to take the title.

"I'll try to get out in the lead and see how things play out," said Matechuk, who has qualified fastest for every race since round two of the series. "If things are close then I might take it easy but as long as it's not looking sketchy I'll run out front. I always like to win.

"We're going to make a gearing change in the warm-up tomorrow [Sunday] morning. But if it doesn't work out we'll just go back to this set-up."

Jodi Christie had the previous class record of 1:07.387 he set last year.

The only rider capable of beating Matechuk to the Amateur Sport Bike title is Longueuil, QC's Sebastien Tremblay, who qualified fourth for Sunday's race on his A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R and earned a single championship point.

Joining the two title contenders on the front row of the grid will be West Kelowna, BC's Marcel Irnie on the Amsoil Kawasaki ZX-6R, who qualified second with a time of 1:07.484, and local ace Efram Ellenbogen of Belleville, ON, who was third fastest with a 1:07.495 aboard the BnE Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.

Billy Shields (BnE Racing Yamaha YZF-R6), Vicki Schouten (Kahuna Powersports Kawasaki ZX-6R) and Jeffrey Dion (Robitaille Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R) make up the second row of the grid.

Brantford, ON’s Rob Busby closed to within 38 points of class leader Raphael Archambault of St-Colomban, QC in the Suzuki SV650 National Cup by qualifying on pole with a time of 1:10.377. Starting from fifth on the grid, Archambault needs a finish of 12th or better to seal the title.

St-Dominique, QC's Philippe Masse was second fastest at 1:10.659 and Jeremie Hade Precourt of Granby, QC was third with a time of 1:11.139. These two are now tied for third in the point standings heading into Sunday's race. Hade Precourt saw his pole position streak end at three races.

Mississauga, ON's Brent Strong completes the front row of the grid.

Ste-Julie, QC’s Karl Robitaille qualified on pole for the Honda CBR125R Challenge class with a time of 1:06.817 on the shorter ‘Nelson’ circuit. Bohdi Edie of Warman, SK was second with a 1:06.869 and Hamilton, ON’s Steven Nickerson placed third at 1:07.024.

Edie’s effort slashed a point from Nickerson’s class lead. Nickerson heads into Sunday’s race with a 25-point advantage over Edie, 361-336, meaning a fifth place race finish will give him the crown.

Points leader Schouten of Richmond, ON qualified fastest for the Pro Honda Oils Women’s Cup race on her Kawasaki ZX-6R but was penalized in post race technica inspection for exceeding the class horsepower limit of 118 hp.

Amateur Sport Bike Qualifying Results (Top 20)
1. Cody Matechuk, Cochrane, AB (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:07.051
2. Marcel Irnie, West Kelowna, BC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:07.484
3. Efram Ellenbogen, Belleville, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:07.495
4. Sebastien Tremblay, Longueuil, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:07.646
5. Billy Shields, Unionville, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:08.365
6. Vicki Schouten, Richmond, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:08.396
7. Jeffery Dion, Granby, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:08.638
8. Joey McRae, Orangeville, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:08.796
9. Sylvain Dery, St-Colomban, QC (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:09.292
10. Marco Dias, Bradford, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:09.338
11. Kenny Riedmann, Belfountain, ON (Triumph Daytona 675) 1:09.440
12. Jason Thoms, Manotick, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:09.875
13. Stephane Beaupre, Quebec, QC (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:10.003
14. Alain Lefebvre Rouyn-Noranda, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:10.045
15. Richard A. Have, Hawkestone, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:10.148
16. Bryan Fil, Courtice, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:10.267
17. Steve Hamer, Gravenhurst, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:10.281
18. Vanessa Gareau-Dominguez, Montreal, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:10.667
19. Jean-Sebastien Perreault, Becancour, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:10.678
20. Ted Kuehn, Kingston, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:10.718

Suzuki SV650 National Cup Qualifying Times
1. Rob Busby, Brantford, ON, 1:10.377
2. Philippe Masse, St-Dominique, QC, 1:10.659
3. Jeremie Hade Precourt, Granby, QC, 1:11.139
4. Brent Strong, Mississauga, ON, 1:11.353
5. Raphael Archambault, St-Colomban, QC, 1:11.678
6. Dan Henri, Ottawa, ON, 1:11.862
7. Lee Kuhn, Hamilton, ON, 1:12.631
8. Michel Sabourin, Brampton, ON, 1:12.646
9. David Mongrain, St-Jerome, QC, 1:13.387
10. Chris Dopke, Cambridge, ON, 1:13.594
11. Joe Rodrigues, Weston, ON, 1:13.840
12. Philippe Bonin, St-Colomban, QC, 1:15.286
13. Tyler Reid, Toronto, ON, 1:15.329
14. Martin Chartrand, Montreal, QC, 1:15.474
15. Kana Matsumoto, Aurora, ON, 1:16.514
16. Sara-Clode Carriere, Gatineau, QC, No Time

Honda CBR125R Challenge Qualifying Times
1. Karl Robitaille, Ste-Julie, QC, 1:06.817
2. Bodhi Edie, Warman, SK, 1:06.869
3. Steven Nickerson, Hamilton, ON, 1:07.024
4. Samuel Proulx, Magog, QC, 1:07.665
5. Ryan Roche, Pickering, ON, 1:08.079
6. Ryan R. Appenrodt, Quesnel, BC, 1:08.130
7. Loic Viscasillas, Laval, QC, 1:09.150
8. Daniel Corbett, Ottawa, ON, 1:10.238
9. Stavros Grekos, Toronto, ON, 1:10.537
10. Nicole Pilkington, Blackstock, ON, 1:10.666
11. Toni Nesbitt, St-Lazare, QC, 1:11.112
12. Pascal Bastien, Laval, QC, 1:11.762
13. Steve Walker, Carleton Place, ON, 1:11.789
14. Young Jae Kim, Mississauga, ON, 1:11.880
15. Leah Vignale, Kemptville, ON, 1:12.156
16. Jessie Parks-Hamer, Barrie, ON, 1:14.529
17. Alix Hayden, Warman, SK, 1:18.212