Proulx and Coelho nab Amateur wins

By John Hopkins

MIRABEL, QC -- Samuel Proulx of Magog, QC and Longueuil, QC racer Alex Coelho were winners of the first Amateur national events of the 2011 season at round one of the Canadian Superbike Championship by Parts Canada at Circuit ICAR.

Proulx led all the way in the Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike class to claim the victory on his Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson Suzuki GSX-R600, finishing 4.191 secs. ahead of Jean Francois Aubin of St-Jerome, QC on the Ricky Bobby Racing Team GSX-R600 and the Suzuki of Toronto's Edward Rudkowski.

In K&N Performance Filters Amateur Superbike Coelho worked his way into the lead on the Black Sheep / Elka Suspension Race Team Kawasaki ZX-6R and then pulled away to a 5.727-sec. triumph over the Suzuki GSX-R600 of Ryoun-Noranda, QC's Alain Lefebvre and Burlington, ON rider Jody Greening aboard the BFE / ProStar / Sturgess Cycle Honda CBR600RR.

The wins were the first national triumphs for both Proulx and Coelho.

Proulx started third on the Amateur Sport Bike grid but grabbed the lead off the start. The 10-lap race, shortened from a scheduled 14, was held on a damp but drying track and Proulx seemed to have the handle on conditions best in the early stages, opening up a lead of 10.262 secs. by half distance. But as the laps wound down Aubin, who had started fourth and worked his way up to second by lap two, started taking huge chunks out of Proulx's lead. He turned his fastest race lap on the eighth tour, a 1:34.622, by which point he was lapping up to two seconds a lap quicker than the leader. But on the final lap Proulx turned his fastest lap, a 1:35.279 to secure the win.

Philippe Bonin emerged in third by half distance and crossed the line in that position, but he was disqualified following post race tech for having unapproved electronic equipment on his bike. That elevated Rudkowski to third, while Stavros Grekos of Toronto edged fellow Kawasaki rider Coelho for fourth.

With the race distance shortened due to the conditions all finishers were awarded 40 points toward the championship.

Coelho only started ninth on the Amateur Superbike grid but quickly worked his way up to third place.

"I had a decent start and I made it through the pack into turn one and got into third place," he explained. "It seemed like as the race went on I gained momentum, but it was a hard and strenuous race -- this is a very physical track.

"I got the lead when I think the leader made a mistake going into turn two and I never looked back. The bike was well planted, the guys from Elka helped immensely."

Coelho turned the race's fastest lap on his final tour, a 1:27.270. The win was worth a $500 product bonus from series sponsor Mopar.

Lefebvre, who himself had started 10th and picked up the two-point bonus for leading the most laps, won a three-way fight for second at the line, edging Greening and Aubin. Brampton, ON's Trevor Daley took fifth on the Trevordaley Concepts Ducati 749.

After experiencing the thrill of victory on Saturday Kristopher Garvie was left with the agony of defeat on Sunday. The Garvie Racing / Canadian Kawasaki Motors rider had put his ZX-6R on pole for both Amateur races in his first national appearance. But he crashed while lying second on the opening lap of the Amateur Sport Bike race, remounted and went down again at the finish. He was unable to take part in the Superbike event later in the day.

Amateur Sport Bike Race Results
1. Samuel Proulx, Magog, QC Suzuki GSX-R600, 10 laps, 16:11.569 
2. Jean Francois Aubin, St-Jerome, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 +4.191 
3. Edward Rudkowski, Toronto, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600 +39.029 
4. Stavros Grekos, Toronto, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R +44.724 
5. Alex Coelho, Longueuil, QC, Kawasaki ZX-6R +44.961 
6. Dominic Dupont, Laval, QC, Kawasaki ZX-6R +47.132 
7. Jody Greening, Burlington, ON, Honda CBR600RR +1:05.598 
8. Jordan Cardozo, Bradford, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:06.201 
9. Etienne Deblois, Longueuil, QC, Kawasaki ZX-R6 +1:17.029 
10. Pierre Patenaude Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:24.867 
11. Riley Gage Dawe, Toronto, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:31.458 
12. Philippe Masse, St-Hyacinthe, QC, Kawasaki ZX-6R +1:46.294 
13. Amzy Nawaz, Thornton, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R +1 lap 
14. Natalie Catherine Provost, Laval, QC, Honda CBR600RR +1 lap 
15. Francois-Michel Belval-Lacoste, Candiac, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 +1 lap 
16. Dominic Mongeon, St-Andre-Auellin, QC, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1 lap 
17. David Tremblay, Longueuil, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 +1 lap 
18. Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R +1 lap 
Did Not Finish
Simon Hamel, Rosemere, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600, 2 laps 
Did Not Start
Eric Gagnon, St Jerome, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600
Disqualified  
Philippe Bonin, St-Colomban, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 (unapproved electronics)
Fastest Lap
1:34.622 by Jean Francois Aubin on lap 8

Amateur Sport Bike Point Standings
1. Kristopher Garvie, 44
2. Samuel Proulx, 42
3. Jean Francois Aubin, 41 
4. Edward Rudkowski, 40 
4. Stavros Grekos, 40 
4. Alex Coelho, 40 
4. Dominic Dupont, 40 
4. Jody Greening, 40
4. Jordan Cardozo, 40
4. Etienne Deblois, 40
4. Pierre Patenaude, 40
4. Riley Gage Dawe, 40
4. Philippe Masse, 40
4. Amzy Nawaz, 40
4. Natalie Catherine Provost, 40
4. Francois-Michel Belval-Lacoste, 40
4. Dominic Mongeon, 40
4. David Tremblay, 40
19. Simon Hamel, 3

Amateur Superbike Race Results
1. Alex Coelho, Longueuil, QC, Kawasaki ZX-6R 14 laps, 20:38.603 
2. Alain Lefebvre, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 +5.727 
3. Jody Greening, Burlington, ON, Honda CBR600RR +6.106 
4. Jean Francois Aubin, St Jerome, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 +6.271 
5. Trevor Daley, Brampton, ON, Ducati 749 +17.974 
6. Eric Gagnon, St-Jerome, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 +23.393 
7. Amzy Nawaz, Thornton, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R +25.561 
8. Philippe Masse, St-Hyacinthe, QC, Kawasaki ZX-6R +31.740 
9. Edward Rudkowski, Toronto, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600 +41.281 
10. Pierre Patenaude, Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 +44.484 
11. Natalie Catherine Provost, Laval, QC, Honda CBR600RR +57.506 
12. Eric Fiset, St-Constant, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1:02.945 
13. Riley Gage Dawe, Toronto, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:20.129 
14. Etienne Deblois, Longueil, QC, Kawasaki ZX-6R +1:21.588 
Did Not Finish
Stephan Houle, Gatineau, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000 8 laps 
Stephane Couturier, Laval, QC, Ducati 1098R 7 laps 
Did Not Start
Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R  
Simon Hamel, Rosemere, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600
Fastest Lap: 1:27.270 by Alex Coelho on lap 10

Amateur Superbike Point Standings
1. Alex Coelho, 50 
2. Alain Lefebvre, 44 
3. Jody Greening, 39
4. Trevor Daley, 32 
4. Jean Francois Aubin, 32 
6. Eric Gagnon, 27
7. Amzy Nawaz, 26
8. Philippe Masse, 23
9. Edward Rudkowski, 21
10. Pierre Patenaude, 19
11. Natalie Catherine Provost, 17
12. Eric Fiset, 15
13. Riley Gage Dawe, 13
14. Etienne Deblois, 12
15. Kristopher Garvie, 4