Archambault goes for five straight

By John Hopkins

BOWMANVILLE, Ont. – Raphael Archambault will try to extend his perfect record in the national Amateur Sport Bike class of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship from pole position this weekend.

The 16-year-old from St-Colomban, QC found himself on pole position for rounds four and five of the championship at Mosport International Raceway after qualifying was cancelled due to poor weather conditions on Friday.

Archambault set the quickest practice time on Thursday afternoon, a 1:27.215 on his Archambault Racing / Centre Hamel Honda-backed Honda CBR600RR, giving him his second pole position of the year.

Burlington, ON’s Jody Greening will line up second for this weekend’s races after turning a practice lap of 1:28.329 on Thursday on his Suzuki GSX-R600. Marcel Irnie of Kelowna, BC (IrnieRacing / Amsoil Kawasaki ZX-6R) and Hamilton, ON’s Steven Nickerson (STN Racing / DeWildt Honda Powerhouse Honda CBR600RR) complete the front row for the races.

Another couple of race wins at Mosport could allow Archambault to clinch the Amateur Sport Bike crown with two races still to go. He enjoys a 62-point lead over second place Jeremie Hade Precourt in the standings, with a race win worth 50 points. Hade Precourt will start sixth in this weekend’s races on his JHP Racing / Picotte Performance Suzuki GSX-R600.

“I would liked to have practiced today but that’s life,” said Archambault. “We’re ready. We did a lot of work on the bike yesterday and made a lot of adjustments to the suspension.

“I will try to win both races. I would like to clinch the championship now. I was one second faster than everyone else in practice and if I can win and lead the most laps in both races I will be in good shape.”

Practice times were also used to set the grid for this weekend’s fourth and fifth rounds of the K&N Filters Sport Twins class, putting championship leader Rob Busby of Brantford, ON on pole with a time of 1:31.515 on his Buell XB12.

White Rock, BC’s Olivier Spilborghs will start second with the Suzuki SV650s of Ottawa’s Dan Henri and Mississauga, ON rider Brent Strong completing the front row.

Ryan McCormick will start from his first pole position in the Honda CBR125R Challenge based on practice times from Thursday. The St-Lazare, QC rider turned a lap at 2:07.820.

Scott Lingelbach of Wellesly, ON was second quickest at 2:07.842, Cedric Martineau of Ste-Catharine, QC had the third best time of 2:08.154 and Sarnia, ON’s Will Hornblower completes the CBR125R front row after turning a lap at 2:08.430.

Points leader Ryan Appenrodt of Quesnel, BC will start ninth.

Qualifying was held for the Canadian debut of the TTXGP eGRAND PRIX electric motorcycle series. Michael Barnes of Boca Raton, FL was fastest with a time of 1:39.289 on his Lightning entry for an average speed of 143.472 km/h (89.158 mph).

Newbury Park, CA racer Thad Wolff was second with a 1:48.579 on his Norton Electra and Santarose, CA’s Michael Hannas was third fastest at 1:54.398 riding an Electric Race Bike entry.

Amateur Sport Bike Line-Up (based on Thursday PM Practice Times)
1. Raphael Archambault, St-Colomban, QC (Honda CBR600RR) 1:27.215
2. Jody Greening, Burlington, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:28.329
3. Marcel Irnie, Kelowna, BC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:28.449
4. Steven Nickerson, Hamilton, ON (Honda CBR600RR) 1:28.513
5. Bodhi Edie, Warman, SK (Honda CBR600RR) 1:28.589
6. Jeremie Hade Precourt, Granby, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:28.666
7. Marco Sousa, Schomburg, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:28.700
8. Aubrey Bailey, Parry Sound, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:28.780
9. Joey McRae, Orangeville, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:28.824
10. Philippe Masse, St-Dominique, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:29.461
11. Samuel Proulx, Magog, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:29.605
12. Jason Thoms, Ottawa, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:30.134
13. Marco Dias, Bradford, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:30.462
14. Amy Szoke, Brantford, ON (Honda CBR600RR) 1:30.599
15. Bill McKay, Tavistock, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:30.635
16. Natalie Catherine Provost, Laval, QC (Honda CBR600RR) 1:30.734
17. James Peterson, Courtice, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:30.770
18. Dominic Dupont, Laval, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:31.010
19. Vanessa Gareau-Dominguez, Montreal, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:32.065
20. Lee Kuhn, Hamilton, ON (Triumph 675 Daytona) 1:32.487
21. Martin Gosselin, Plessisville, QC (Honda CBR600RR) 1:32.520
22. Alain Lefebvre, Rouyn-Noranda, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:32.996
23. Jeff Fenwick, Hamilton, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:33.115
24. Josee Bouchard, Ottawa, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:33.439
25. Pedro Sousa, Mississauga, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:33.479
26. Raymond Gauthier, Petawawa, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:34.172
27. Ted Kuehn, Kingston, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:34.433
28. Rob Cousineau, Aurora, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:35.246
29. David Tremblay, Longueuil, QC (Honda CBR600RR) 1:36.019
30. Paul Hollister, Windsor, ON (Honda CBR600RR) 1:36.304
31. Samantha Goyer, Ottawa, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:36.554
32. Roxanne Gravelle, Gatineau, QC (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:42.653
33. Sunny Park, St. Thomas, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:50.927
34. Claude-Etienne Borduas, Montreal, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) No Time

Sport Twins Line –Up (based on Thursday PM Practice Times)
1. Robert Busby, Brantford, ON (Buell XB12) 1:31.515
2. Olivier Spilborghs, White Rock, BC (Buell XB9) 1:32.411
3. Dan Henri, Ottawa, ON (Suzuki SV650) 1:33.824
4. Brent Strong, Mississauga, ON (Suzuki SV650) 1:34.051
5. Guy Lagace, Levis, QC (Suzuki SV650) 1:35.181
6. Stuart Pilkington, Blackstock, ON (Suzuki SV650) 1:35.539
7. Tiberius Trifu, Kingston, ON (Suzuki SV650) 1:36.191
8. Laurent Feuiltault, Richmond Hill, ON (Kawasaki EX 650) 1:36.299
9. Kana Matsumoto, Aurora, ON (Suzuki SV650) 1:36.346
10. Craig Atkinson, Toronto, ON (Suzuki SV650) 1:36.876
11. Chris Dopke, Cambridge, ON (Suzuki SV650) 1:40.235
12. Rob Cousineau, Aurora, ON (Suzuki SV650) 1:43.144
13. Ian McQueen, London, ON (BMW F800S) 1:44.925
14. David McKiver, Cornwall, ON (Suzuki SV650) 1:50.524
15. Darren James, North Vancouver, BC (Harley-Davidson XR1200R) No Time

Honda CBR125R Line-Up (based on Thursday PM Practice Times)
1. Ryan McCormick, St-Lazare, QC, 2:07.820
2. Scott Lingelbach, Wellesly, ON, 2:07.842
3. Cedric Martineau, Ste-Catherine, QC, 2:08.154
4. Will Hornblower, Sarnia, ON, 2:08.430
5. Nicole Pilkington, Blackstock, ON, 2:08.457
6. Stacey Nesbitt, St-Lazare, QC, 2:08.575
7. Loic Viscasillas, Laval, QC, 2:08.806
8. Sam McManus, Calgary, AB, 2:08.818
9. Ryan R. Appenrodt, Quesnel, BC, 2:09.138
10. Eric Green, Richmond, ON, 2:09.178
11. Shay Gauthier, Petawawa, ON, 2:09.488
12. Cody Conrad, Calgary, AB, 2:09.516
13. Leah Vignale, Kemptville, ON, 2:10.446
14. Young Jae Kim, Mississauga, ON, 2:10.449
15. Ian McWhirter, Calgary, AB, 2:10.538
16. Robert Haynes, Calgary, AB, 2:10.548
17. Austin Shaw-O'Leary, Falmouth, NS, 2:10.576
18. Ed Sorbo, Mentone, CA, 2:10.663
19. Milan Jablan, Saskatoon, SK, 2:10.833
20. Chris Wilson, Airdrie, AB, 2:11.251
21. Kelsey Giacchetta, Calgary, AB, 2:11.829
22. Karolina Pelc, Guelph, ON, 2:13.955
23. Greg White, Raleigh, NC, 2:15.579
24. Jay Fox, Calgary, AB, 2:24.059
25. Dana Wrigley, Calgary, AB, 2:26.379
26. Allyssa Fox, Calgary, AB, 2:29.445
27. Toni Nesbitt, St-Lazare, QC, 2:30.318

TTXGP eGRAND PRIX Qualifying Results
1.Michael Barnes, Boca Raton, FL (Lightning Motorcycle) 1:39.289
2. Thad Wolff, Newbury Park, CA (Norton Electra) 1:48.579
3. Michael Hannas, Santarose, CA (Electric Race Bikes) 1:54.398
4. Jennifer Brumme, San Francisco, CA (Mavizen) 2:19.293
5. Steven Belknap, Cincinnati, OH 2:35.565