Crevier takes XR1200 points lead

By John Hopkins

SHANNONVILLE, ON -- Steve Crevier claimed his second straight win in the Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup at Shannonville Motorsport Park on Sunday and took over the series points lead in the process.

For the second day in a row the Maple Ridge, BC racer found himself trailing Cochrane, AB's Cody Matechuk in the early going before taking the lead on lap six of 14, but unlike Saturday Crevier was able to shake the 17-year-old from his tail, taking advantage of some good breaks in traffic to pull clear for a 5.149-sec. win on the MotoSport Plus of Kingston-backed XR1200.

Matechuk had to settle for second on his bike, out of the Privateers Harley-Davidson shop in Halifax, while 'Ironman' Samuel Proulx stepped off his Suzuki following a hot run to fourth in the Amateur Sport Bike race and turned in another fine ride to complete the XR1200 podium on the Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson entry.

"I had a little bit of lapper problems yesterday but I think I got some good luck in traffic today," admitted Crevier, who now leads Matechuk by nine points, 152-143 after three of seven races. "I have to thank my crew chief Pete Snell. We went a little stiffer on the set-up today and that gave me more confidence through turns one and two. But Cody keeps me honest. I could feel his presence there most of the race."

Crevier got by Matechuk on the entry to Allen's Corner near the end of lap six and it looked like the two might repeat their see-saw battles of the season opener at Circuit ICAR (which Matechuk won) and Saturday's Shannonville race. But on lap seven the youngster was held up behind slower traffic through the long right-hander leading onto the front straight, and another similar incident allowed Crevier to break away.

"It seemed like Steve would be able to get through the traffic and I would get stuck, but that's just the way it goes some times," Matechuk said. "After that it seemed like every time I would try to catch back up Steve would be able to pull away a little bit more."

Proulx was initially embroiled in a battle for third with the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada / Ruthless Racing machine of Darren James, but at the end of lap seven the North Vancouver racer pulled off with an apparent electrical problem, leaving Proulx alone to take the final podium spot and the Performance Under Gear Performer of the Race Award.

"It's hard doing two races back-to-back," the Magog, QC racer acknowledged. "I had to stay focused but the crew did a good job of keeping me informed of what was happening behind me."

Despite being penalized five seconds for a jump start Ottawa's Elie Daccache finished a solid fourth on his Harley-Davidson de l'Outaouais entry, while Chris Harmon edged Olivier Spilborghs for fifth after a tremendous battle that saw the pair swap places several times throughout the race. In the end Harmon's Vision Harley-Davidson XR1200 nipped the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada / Ruthless Racing bike of Spilborghs by just over a second.

A magnificent performance came from another of the Ruthless Racing entries, as John Ross MacRae finished seventh after stalling his bike on the line and restarting while the field was through turn two.

Missing from the grid was young Steven Nickerson. The Freedom Harley-Davidson-backed rider had injured his shoulder in a crash in Saturday's event.

Ottawa's Shay Gauthier won the Honda CBR125R Challenge race at Shannonville on Sunday morning. The 16-year-old was battling with Saturday race winner David MacKay on the final lap of the 10-lap race when MacKay crashed in the hairpin, leaving Gauthier to take an 8.417-sec. win over Austin Shaw-O'Leary of Falmouth, NS. Wellesley, ON's Scott Lingelbach was a career high third.

It was an emotional win for Gauthier, who dedicated his victory to his grandfather, who is ill with cancer.

It was also a weekend of ups and downs. After qualifying on pole Gauthier was moved to the back of the grid for Saturday's race for having air box parts missing from his bike. After the opening race of the doubleheader he was placed on probation for two races. He made an impressive charge from 10th on Sunday but was disciplined again after the race for unsportsmanlike conduct, losing 10 points and being placed on probation for the remainder of the season.

Shaw-O'Leary took over the points lead after four races with his runner-up finish, while Lingelbach moved into second in the standings. The third place finisher was lucky even to take the start, as he had to borrow a helmet at the last minute when his was found to be not within the series safety specifications.

XR1200 Cup Results
1.Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC 16 laps in 18:48.532
2.Cody Matechuk, Cochrane, AB +5.149
3.Samuel Proulx, Magog, QC +17.525
4.Elie Daccache, Ottawa, ON +36.457**
5.Chris Harmon, Bracebridge, ON +42.994
6.Olivier Spilborghs, White Rock, BC +44.371
7.John Ross MacRae, Calgary, AB +52.674
8.Lee Kuhn Jr, Hamilton, ON +53.185
9.Steve Hoffarth, Orangeville, ON +1:05.857
10.Dan Thomson, Carleton Place, ON +1 Lap
11.Uwe Wachtendorf, Toronto, ON +1 Lap
12.Tim Clarkson, Bowmanville, ON +2 Laps
Did Not Finish
Gump Harrison, Ailsa Craig, ON 10 Laps
Darren James, North Vancouver, BC 7 Laps
Did Not Start
Steve Nickerson, Hamilton, ON
Fastest Lap: 1:11.016 by Steve Crevier on lap 8
* -- All riders on Harley-Davidson XR1200 motorcycles
** -- penalized five seconds for jump start

XR1200 Cup Point Standings
1.Steve Crevier 152
2.Cody Matechuk 143
3.Samuel Proulx 109
4.Chris Harmon 85
5.Olivier Spilborghs 83
6.Elie Daccache 78
7.Darren James 73
8.John Ross MacRae 73
9.Lee Kuhn Jr. 65
10.Steve Hoffarth 59
11.Dan Thomson 55
12.Gump Harrison 30

Honda CBR125R Challenge Race Results
1.Shay Gauthier, Ottawa, ON 10 Laps in 14:54.733*
2.Austin Shaw-O'Leary, Falmouth, NS +8.417
3.Scott Lingelbach, Wellesley, ON +21.019
4.Brian Alexander, Peterbrough, ON +24.080
5.Leah Vignale, Kemptville, ON +25.057
6.Stacey Nesbitt, St-Lazare, QC +34.593
7.Karolina Pelc, Guelph, ON +57.394
8.Matt Chandler, Richmond Hill, ON +1:24.862
9.Lauren Hill, Halifax, NS +1:31.485
10.Timothy Kennedy, Richmond Hill, ON +1 Lap
11.Kyle Mistibachner, Markdale, ON +1 Lap
Did Not Finish
David MacKay, Stoney Creek, ON 9 Laps
Eric Green, Richmond, ON 3 Laps
Seth Van Dongen, Belle River, ON 0 Laps
Fastest Lap: 1:28.286 by Shay Gauthier on lap 10
* -- All riders aboard Honda CBR125R motorcycles
** -- penalized 10 points for unsportsmanlike conduct

Honda CBR125R Challenge Point Standings
1.Austin Shaw-O'Leary 149
2.Scott Lingelbach 133
3.Stacey Nesbitt 123
4.David MacKay 113
5.Leah Vignale 110
6.Eric Green 98
7.Seth Van Dongen 94
8.Lauren Hill 78
9.Matt Chandler 69
10.Karolina Pelc 69
11.Timothy Kennedy 68
12.Cedric Martineau 62
13.Brian Alexander 59
14.Shay Gauthier 59
15.Sean Smith 36
16.Kyle Mistibachner 29
17.Sam McManus 27