By John Hopkins / Photo by Bob Szoke
BOWMANVILLE, ON – Jody Greening of Burlington, ON rode a cautious race to seventh to clinch the K&N Performance Filters Amateur Superbike title on his BFE / ProStar / Strugess Cycle Honda CBR600RR at Mosport International Raceway on Sunday.
Toronto’s Edward Rudkowski took the race win from Blaine Groves of Dumas, ON and Rouyn-Noranda, QC’s Alain Lefebvre. All three rode Suzuki GSX-Rs.
For the second weekend in a row wet weather put a damper on an Amateur Superbike race, but unlike the event at Atlantic Motorsport Park two weeks ago, when monsoon conditions drenched the track, riders were able to survive the 10-lap race at Mosport with little drama.
Only 10 competitors out of the 21 qualified riders did take the start, however, and among the missing was polesitter Aubrey Bailey.
Greening literally only needed a finish to be assured of the crown, and by the third lap he had settled into a solitary seventh place.
"It was a pretty unrewarding race from the perspective of going for the win, but I had a job to do," Greening admitted. "I was having arguments with myself the whole time, wanting to open up the throttle a bit more and push the pace a little, but I knew what I needed to do."
Greening had arrived at Mosport with a Yamaha YZF-R1 to try out and he qualified it second and raced it to a third place finish on Saturday. But he went with the more manageable Honda CBR600RR for Sunday's wet race.
Rudkowski also acknowledged the value of racing a 600 after claiming his first career national event win. He had only qualified 11th in the dry on Friday against predominantly 1000-mounted opposition and placed 12th in Saturday's dry race.
"This was the one time having a 600 gave me a small advantage," he said. "I didn't have to worry about going over the handlebars every time I opened the throttle. It's been a great season and this was the perfect way to end it."
Groves led the first two laps and then had a brief battle for second with Lefebvre before establishing himself in the runner-up spot. The third place finisher admitted he hadn't gone far enough in his set-up changes for the wet conditions.
Newly-crowned Amateur Sport Bike champ Kristopher Garvie came into the race as the only rider with a shot at overtaking Greening in Superbike points, but nothing less than a win would do. The Caledon, ON racer had to settle for fourth aboard the Tracksport Technologies / Kahuna Powersports Kawasaki ZX-6R, however.
Rudkowski's win moved him into a tie for third in points with Amzy Nawaz, who retired the Velocity Sportsgear Kawasaki ZX-6R after four laps. The Thornton, ON rider appeared to have gambled on DOT rubber, which proved unsuitable for the conditions. Nawaz, however, got third in the final standings on results count-back.
Saturday race winner Tim Robinson retired his Robinson Racing / Belko Auto Body BMW S1000RR on the opening lap due to a mechanical issue.
Race Results
1. Edward Rudkowski, Toronto, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 10 laps in 17:35.981
2. Blaine Groves, Dumas, ON (Suzuki GSX-R1000) +27.624
3. Alain Lefebvre, Rouyn-Noranda, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) +34.949
4. Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +1:03.972
5. Jean Francois Aubin, St-Jerome, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) +1:06.684
6. Reiner Griese, Marmora, ON (Triumph 675) +1:07.025
7. Jody Greening, Burlington, ON (Honda CBR600RR) +1:17.605
Did Not Finish
Amzy Nawaz, Thornton, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 6 Laps
Nuno Almeida, Newcastle, ON (Honda CBR1000RR) 4 Laps
Tim Robinson, Gatineau, QC (BMW S1000RR) 1 Lap
Did Not Start
Aubrey Bailey, Parry Sound, ON (Honda CBR1000RR)
Mike Bevan, Amherstburg, ON (Kawasaki ZX-10R)
Stephan Houle, Gatineau, QC (Suzuki GSX-R1000)
Philippe Masse, St-Hyacinthe, QC (Honda CBR1000RR)
Mario Dumouchel, Ottawa, ON (Suzuki GSX-R1000)
Simon Hamel, Rosemere, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600)
Alex Coelho, Longueuil, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R)
Mario Gosselin, Plessisville, QC (Honda CBR600RR)
Tim Clarkson, Bowmanville, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R)
Stephane Couturier, Laval, QC (Ducati 1098R)
Jason Thom, Ottawa, ON (Kawasaki ZX-10R)
Fastest Lap: 1:42.806 by Edward Rudkowski on lap 9
Point Standings
1.Jody Greening 263
2.Kristopher Garvie 223
3.Amzy Nawaz 186
4.Edward Rudkowski 186
5.Alain Lefebvre 159
6.Aubrey Bailey 153
7.Jean Francois Aubin 136
8.Alex Coelho 113
9.Stephan Houle 113
10.Tim Robinson 86
11.Philippe Masse 74
12.Luke Bauer 71
13.Natalie Catherine Provost 68
14.Riley Gage Dawe 59
15.Eric Gagnon 56
16.Mario Dumouchel 55
17.Blaine Groves 54
18.Paul Whitehead 50
19.Reiner Griese 44
20.Caleb Noiles 37
21.Trevor Daley 36
22.Mike Bevan 29
23.Etienne Deblois 27
24.Nicolas Hurley 21
25.Geoff Cole 19
25.Pierre Patenaude 19
25.Jason Thom 19
28.Mario Bourget 17
29.Eric Fiset 15
30.Eric Trudel 13
30.Nuno Almeida 13
32.Dominic Mongeon 12
33.Jean-Sebastien Perreault 10
34.Mario Gosselin 8
35.Tim Clarkson 6
36.Stephane Couturier 4
37.Richard Thompson 1
