Welsh and Z1 together again

By John Hopkins

MIRABEL, QC -- The combination that won the HJC Pro Rookie of the Year Award in the 2008 Canadian Superbike Championship by Parts Canada has been reunited for 2011.

Uxbridge, ON racer Alex Welsh and noted tuner Zaid Saleemi of Z1 CycleTech have joined forces with a Suzuki GSX-R600 effort in the Pro Superbike and Sport Bike classes, beginning this weekend at Circuit ICAR's season opener.

Welsh rode a Z1 CycleTech-prepared Triumph 675 Daytona to the Pro Rookie of the Year crown in 2008. His performance led to a two-year contract with the Canadian Kawasaki Motors factory team. In 2009 Welsh rode as a teammate to Jordan Szoke but was the lone rider in the Competition Systems-run team last season.

He placed seventh in the Superbike class and fourth in Sport Bike in 2009, despite being injured at the penultimate round of the series at Atlantic Motorsport Park. Last summer Welsh focused on the Superbike division and placed seventh, although he took the Sport Bike win at Atlantic Motorsport Park in a one-off on the team's Kawasaki ZX-6R.

"Getting the opportunity with Kawasaki changed my life," said Welsh in an interview with CSBK-TV on Friday at Circuit ICAR. "I was really fortunate they gave me a shot and I learned a lot."

In addition to Z1 CycleTech, backing for Welsh's program this year is coming from Suzuki Canada, Motorex, Parts Canada and Kenwood.

"It was a little bit of a difficult off-season," Welsh admitted. "A lot of this came together at the last minute and Zaid's been working non-stop the last couple of weeks. I think we have a pretty decent package but we're a little behind in development. The season will really start for us at the next round at Shannonville [July 1-3]."