By John Hopkins / Photo by Bob Szoke
SHUBENACADIE, NS – Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, BC claimed his fourth straight win in the Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup at round five of the Canadian Superbike Championship by Parts Canada on Sunday.
The rider of the MotoSport Plus of Kingston-backed entry finished 8.730 secs. ahead of the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada / Ruthless Racing bike of North Vancouver’s Darren James. Bracebridge, ON’s Chris Harmon was third on his Vision Harley-Davidson machine and earned the Performance Under Gear Performer of the Race award for his effort.
Crevier now leads the XR1200 Cup point standings by 61 points over Cochrane, AB’s Cody Matechuk, who finished 14th on Sunday after suffering a suspected battery problem with his Halifax-based Privateers Harley-Davidson entry. Crevier had been experiencing similar troubles through the weekend.
The 44-year-old Crevier, now winning races in his fourth decade of competition, led all 13 laps of the red-flag shortened race despite fierce pressure from the 17-year-old Matechuk most of the way.
"I was feeling all of those four decades," joked Crevier after his win. "Cody kept me honest and I might have pinched him off a couple of times. I was hoping he'd drop off the pace but it didn't happen. I'll take the win but it wasn't easy."
Crevier grabbed the lead off the start while James, winner of the Tactical Products Canada Pole Award on Saturday, slipped into second place ahead of Matechuk. The Albertan made an aggressive pass on James in the Carousel near the end of the opening lap, however, and began pushing Crevier. He took a couple of serious looks entering the Carousel and on at least one occasion the two leaders appeared to touch.
But on lap 11 of the scheduled 16 Matechuk's XR1200 slowed coming out of the turn two hairpin. He pulled off on the backstraight but rejoined two laps later. His timing was crucial as he crossed the finish line just before the red flag came out for a crash by Gump Harrison in turn one. That meant Matechuk was classified as a finisher and salvaged some points from the day.
James couldn't match the leaders' pace and settled into a secure third, which became second when Matechuk pulled off.
"I gave it all I could and I wish I was closer to the battle," admitted James, who is racing with a torn tendon in his thumb and a leg injury. "Steve and Cody rode a great race. It was exciting to watch from my position."
James did pick up 10 points on Samuel Proulx for third place in the XR1200 Cup standings heading into the season ending doubleheader at Mosport International Raceway on Aug. 19-21. The Magog, QC rider finished fourth at AMP on his Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson entry and now has 174 points to the 159 of James. Crevier leads with 263 and Matechuk has 202.
The 60-year-old (!) Harmon enjoyed his best finish of the year after an impressive effort from sixth after the opening lap. He worked his way past Proulx and then John Ross MacRae before pulling clear.
Proulx snatched fourth from the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada / Ruthless Racing machine of Calgary's MacRae on what would turn out to be the final lap. Another of the Ruthless riders, White Rock, BC's Olivier Spilborghs finished sixth after a race-long battle with Lee Kuhn Jr. (Jacox Harley-Davidson) and Elie Daccache (Harley-Davidson de L'Outaouais), who took seventh and eighth, respectively.
Race Results
1. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC 13 laps in 15:51.973
2. Darren James, North Vancouver, BC +8.730 secs.
3. Chris Harmon, Bracebridge, ON +15.903
4. Samuel Proulx, Magog, QC +22.432
5. John Ross McRae, Calgary, AB +22.791
6. Olivier Spilborghs, White Rock, BC +28.066
7. Lee Kuhn Jr., Hamilton, ON +28.281
8. Elie Daccache, Ottawa, ON +28.997
9. Jim Dickenson, Courtland, ON +56.441*
10. Steve Hoffarth, Orangeville, ON +1:01.445
11. Dan Thomson, Carleton Place, ON +1:17.514
12. Tim Clarkson, Bowmanville, ON +1 Lap
13. Gump Harrison, Ailsa Craig, ON +1 Lap**
14. Cody Matechuk, Cochrane, AB +2 Laps
Fastest Lap: 1:12.882 by Steve Crevier on lap 11
* -- Not eligible for series points
** -- Reason for red flag, placed at back of current lap
*** -- All riders aboard Harley-Davidson XR1200 motorcycles
Point Standings
1. Steve Crevier, 263
2. Cody Matechuk, 202
3. Samuel Proulx, 174
4. Darren James, 159
5. Chris Harmon, 147
6. Elie Daccache, 131
7. John Ross MacRae, 129
8. Lee Kuhn Jr., 113
9. Olivier Spilborghs, 110
10. Steve Hoffarth, 101
11. Dan Thomson, 93
12. Gump Harrison, 62
13. Tim Clarkson, 34
