Busby clinches Sport Twins crown

By John Hopkins

SHUBENACADIE, NS – Brantford, Ont.’s Rob Busby secured the K&N Filters’ Sport Twins title in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Atlantic Motorsport Park on Saturday with his fifth win of the season on his Buell XB12R.

Busby crossed the line 2.938 secs. ahead of the Suzuki SV650 of Mississauga, Ont.’s Brent Strong while his closest title challenger, Olivier Spilborghs of White Rock, B.C., settled for third on a Buell XB9R.

Busby was third at the end of the opening lap of the 12-lap race behind Strong and Spilborghs, a position that would have guaranteed him the series title, and he admitted that he considered playing it safe.

""But the little guy on my other shoulder said, 'go get 'em,'" Busby joked on the podium. He took second from Spilborghs on lap two after getting an excellent drive off the Roller Coaster and diving inside into turn nine. He then quickly closed in on Strong, finally getting by the Suzuki into turn one at the start of lap seven.

Strong stuck close before an apparent wobble out of turn three on lap nine cost him some ground. He finished 2.938 secs. behind the new champ.

Spilborghs was a further 12 seconds behind, admitting he had lost some confidence after a few hairy moments earlier in the race.

Busby clinched the title with 311 points, with Spilborghs on 230 and Strong third in the standings on 149. The season wraps up on Sunday with the second race in the doubleheader weekend at AMP.

Will Hornblower of Sarnia, Ont. claimed his first victory in the Honda CBR125R Challenge, finishing 3.590 secs. ahead of Calgary’s Cody Conrad in Saturday’s race. Austin Shaw-O’Leary completed the podium after a dramatic run through the grass when he lost control of his bike exiting the final corner.
     
Laval, Que.’s Loic Viscasillas finished fifth to stay in the hunt for the series title heading into Sunday’s last round. He is 39 points behind Ryan Appenrodt of Quesnel, B.C., who placed 13th on Saturday after a crash.

Hornblower made a tremendous start to grab the lead and immediately pulled out an advantage.

"I'm so glad," he said after his first career series win. "My nerves were just building and building, but I timed the launch just right. This is such an awesome win. It tops everything."

Conrad and Shaw-O'Leary fought a racelong duel for the runner-up spot. Shaw-O'Leary made a bold pass in turn nine on the final lap, only to slide wide and onto the grass exiting the final turn.

"I felt the grass getting softer and softer," explained the Falmouth, N.S. rider, who had started from pole. "But I've done that before and I knew I could ride it out."

Conrad made an impressive run from seventh on the grid to snatch the runner-up finish.

"It was a fun race," he said. "He [Shaw-O'Leary] could pass me in turn two and get me on the straight, and it was hard to get back past him in the last corners."

K&N Filters' Sport Twins Race Results
1. Robert Busby, Brantford, ON (Buell XB12R) 12 Laps 
2. Brent Strong, Mississauga, ON (Suzuki SV650) +2.938
3. Olivier Spilborghs, White Rock, BC (Buell XB9R) +12.770
4. Craig Atkinson, Toronto, ON (Suzuki SV650) +23.741
5. Stuart Pilkington, Blackstock, ON (Suzuki SV650) +23.949
6. Guy Lagace, Levis, QC (Suzuki SV650) +30.857
Time of Race: 14:38.535
Fastest Lap: 1:12.373 by Robert Busby on lap three

K&N Filters' Sport Twins Point Standings
1. Robert Busby, 311
2. Olivier Spilborghs, 230
3. Brent Strong, 149
4. Guy Lagace, 117
5. Stuart Pilkington, 110
6. Geoff Gerbrandt, 98
7. Craig Atkinson, 73
8. Emerson Lefurgey, 70
9. Laurent Feuiltault, 69
10. Dan Henri, 62
11. Kurtis Joki, 61
12. Philippe Bonin, 58
13. Tiberius Trifu, 53
14. Chris Dopke, 40
14. Kana Matsumoto, 40
14. Darren James, 40
17. Ian McQueen, 24
18. Stephane Leduc, 23
19. David McKiver, 20

Honda CBR125R Challenge Race Results
(All riding Honda CBR125Rs)
1. Will Hornblower, Sarnia, ON 10 Laps 
2. Cody Conrad, Calgary, AB +3.590
3. Austin Shaw-O'Leary, Falmouth, NS +4.137
4. Ian McWhirter, Calgary, AB +15.921
5. Loic Viscasillas, Laval, QC +17.704
6. Sam McManus, Calgary, AB +18.062
7. Robert Haynes, Calgary, AB +18.218
8. Cedric Martineau, Ste-Catherine, QC +19.319
9. Eric Green, Richmond, ON +19.684
10. Milan Jablan, Saskatoon, SK +28.719
11. Nicole Pilkington, Blackstock, ON +28.904
12. Ryan McCormick, St-Lazare, QC +29.013
13. Ryan R. Appenrodt Quesnel, BC +44.257
14. Young Jae Kim, Mississauga, ON +44.847
15. Rheanna Christie, Keene, ON +45.562
16. Leah Vignale, Kemptville, ON +45.991
17. Goran Jablan, Saskatoon, SK +1:13.442
18. Stacey Nesbitt, St-Lazare, QC +1 Lap
19. Toni Nesbitt, St-Lazare, QC +1 Lap
20. Ellen Warnell, Dartmouth, NS +1 Lap
21. Connor Warnell, Dartmouth, NS +1 Lap
22. Allyssa Fox, Calgary, AB +1 Lap
Did Not Finish
Scott Lingelbach, Wellesly, ON 6 Laps
Time of Race: 14:58.905
Fastest Lap: 1:29.382 by Ryan Appenrodt on lap six

Honda CBR125R Challenge Standings
1. Ryan Appenrodt, 371
2. Loic Viscasillas, 332
3. Will Hornblower, 282
4. Cody Conrad, 260
5. Ian McWhirter, 206
6. Scott Lingelbach, 192
7. Milan Jablan, 186
8. Sam McManus, 164
9. Robert Haynes, 162
10. Cedric Martineau, 153
11. Chris Wilson, 135
12. Austin Shaw-O'Leary, 112
13. Nicole Pilkington, 108
14. Ryan McCormick, 102
14. Eric Green, 102
14. Young Jae Kim, 102
17. Leah Vignale, 92
18. Stacey Nesbitt, 91
19. Ben Puky, 86
20. Rheanna Christie, 79
21. Karolina Pelc, 31
21. Jacob Snell, 31
23. Jordon Aylen, 30
24. Dana Wrigley, 26
25. Toni Nesbitt, 22
26. Seth Van Dongen, 21
27. Craig Poirier, 18
27. Allyssa Fox, 18
29. Vincent Tighe, 16
30. Kelsey Giacchetta, 14
30. Shay Gauthier, 14
32. Daniel Pelletier, 8
33. Pierre Pelletier, 6
33. Goran Jablan, 6
35. Jay Fox, 4
36. Ellen Warnell, 1