Christie fastest in Pro Sport Bike

By John Hopkins
Photo courtesy Frontline CSBK

ST-EUSTACHE, QC – Points leader Jodi Christie snatched the Kawasaki S4-R Competition Lubricants Pole Award for the Pirelli Pro Sport Bike race at Autodrome St-Eustache on Saturday with a time of 46.344 seconds on his Jodi Christie Racing / Cameron Cycle / Blue Streak Racing Honda CBR600RR.

The Keene, ON racer steadily whittled down the early advantage established by Alex Welsh, who fell seven and a half minutes into the 20-minute session, finally moving to the front in the final minute.

Welsh was second quickest at 46.448 secs. aboard his Z1 CycleTech / Kenwood Suzuki GSX-R600 and Jean-Francois Cyr completes the top three starting spots with a 46.581 on his CyRacing Suzuki GSX-R600.

"We needed to work on the set-up after Shannonville to get the bike to handle better on a track this tight," said Christie, referring to the 1.77km St-Eustache layout. "But I don't think there'll be any changes for the race tomorrow. We're turning good, consistent lap times."

Christie's pole position allowed him to gain another point on Welsh in the Pro Sport Bike standings and he heads into Sunday's race with 141 points to the 131 of Welsh.

Welsh said he got caught going too deep into turn one and couldn't get his Suzuki slowed down in time, leading to a lowside from the Uxbridge, ON rider, who was unhurt in the incident.

Like Christie, Cyr steadily improved as the session wore on, turning his best lap in the last five minutes.

Opening round winner Frank Trombino completes the front row for the race after turning a lap at 46.596 on his Suzuki Canada / Hindle / Sturgess Cycle Suzuki GSX-R600.

The second row of the grid will be made up of a trio of rookie Pros, led by Jeremie Hade Precourt aboard the JHP Racing / Picotte Motorsport Suzuki GSX-R600. He will be joined by last year's Amateur Sport Bike champion Raphael Archambault on the Archambault Suzuki / Parts Canada Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 and Bodhi Edie's Edie Racing / Acceleration Racing / Honda Canada Honda CBR600RR. Edie currently lies third in points.

Qualifying Results
1.Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont. (Honda CBR600RR) 46.344 (137.494km/h)
2.Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont. (Suzuki GSX-R600) 46.448
3.Jean-Francois Cyr, Mascouche, Que. (Suzuki GSX-R600) 46.581
4.Frank Trombino, Woodbridge, Ont. (Suzuki GSX-R600) 46.596
5.Jeremie Hade Precourt, Granby, Que. (Suzuki GSX-R600) 46.992
6.Raphael Archambault, Terrebonne, Que. (Suzuki GSX-R600) 47.010
7.Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask. (Honda CBR600RR) 47.265
8.Slyvain Dery, St-Colomban, Que. (Yamaha YZF-R6) 47.478
9.Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, Que. (Honda CBR600RR) 48.529