By John Hopkins / Photo by Bob Szoke
BOWMANVILLE, ON – Stacey Nesbitt made international racing history at Mosport International Raceway on Sunday by becoming the first woman to clinch a national road racing title as she locked up the Honda CBR125R Challenge.
The St-Lazare, QC rider edged Richmond, ON’s Eric Green by just 0.178 secs. for her fourth straight win while Scott Lingelbach of Wellesley, ON took third.
Nesbitt had come into the final race with a 29-point lead over her nearest title rival, Austin Shaw-O'Leary. The Falmouth, NS racer finished fifth on Sunday but easily secured second in the final class standings.
"I thought we could be competitive this year, but winning at Mirabel [round two of the season] was a big boost," said the 14-year-old Nesbitt, who dedicated her race win to her sister, who was celebrating a birthday. "Last year we treated as a learning year, and this year we were going to try and be in the front pack."
A nine-rider pack disputed the lead through the eight-lap race around Mosport's 3.957km road course, and although ninth place would have been enough to secure the title, Nesbit admitted to feeling more comfortable closer to the front.
"When I started seeing all those people behind me I was worried that I wouldn't have enough to win the championship, so I decided to go for it and see where it took me," she explained.
Nesbitt grabbed the lead on lap seven and managed to stay in front over the final tour to snag her fifth win in 10 races.
Green admitted to not getting enough drive out of turn five onto the critical backstraight at Mosport, while the gangly Lingelbach was at a disadvantage in the draft, especially when matched up against the lithe Nesbitt.
"I tried sticking in Stacey's draft, but it's not a big one," he laughed.
Lingelbach did have the consolation of claiming third in the final CBR125R Challenge point standings, just eight points ahead of Green.
David MacKay of Stoney Creek, ON finished fourth in the race after starting from 16th spot following a crash in Saturday's event.
Behind Shaw-O'Leary in fifth, Karolina Pelc, Brian Alexander, Lee Newbury and Saturday's runner-up finisher Leah Vignale rounded out the lead battle, with Vignale setting the race's fastest lap on the final tour.
Kemptville, ON's Vignale secured fifth in the final point standings ahead of Halifax racer Lauren Hill and Guelph, ON's Pelc, putting four women in the top seven points positions.
In an impromptu presentation, XR1200 Cup pole position award sponsor Tactical Products Canada presented Nesbitt with a Luminox watch valued at $500 in recognition for her milestone of becoming the first female road race champion in history.
Race Results
1. Stacey Nesbitt, St-Lazare, QC, 8 laps in 16:58.275
2. Eric Green, Richmond, ON, +0.178
3. Scott Lingelbach, Wellesley, ON, +0.406
4. David MacKay, Stoney Creek, ON, +0.591
5. Austin Shaw-O'Leary, Falmouth, NS, +1.041
6. Karolina Pelc, Guelph, ON, +1.192
7. Brian Alexander, Peterborough, ON, +1.379
8. Lee Newbury, Greenfield Park, QC, +2.105
9. Leah Vignale, Kemptville, ON, +2.211
10. Seth Van Dongen, Belle River, ON, +14.696
11. Brian Lingelbach, Wellesley, ON, +48.220
12. Lauren Hill, Halifax, NS, +57.254
13. Matt Chandler, Richmond Hill, ON, +57.607
14. Gareth Clark, Stoney Creek, ON, +58.607
15. Uwe Wachtendorf, Toronto, ON, +59.237
16. Timothy Kennedy, Richmond Hill, ON, +1 Lap
Did Not Start
Glen Mann, Woodbridge, ON
Fastest Lap: 2:06.001 by Leah Vignale on lap 8
* -- All riders aboard Honda CBR125R motorcycles
Honda CBR125R Standings
1. Stacey Nesbitt 421
2. Austin Shaw-O'Leary 369
3. Scott Lingelbach 324
4. Eric Green 316
5. Leah Vignale 243
6. Lauren Hill 202
7. Karolina Pelc 198
8. David MacKay 178
9. Shay Gauthier 162
10. Matt Chandler 158
11. Seth Van Dongen 134
12. Cedric Martineau 114
13. Brian Alexander 107
14. Timothy Kennedy 91
15. Connor Warnell 54
16. Lee Newbury 48
17. Leah MacInnis 42
18. Sean Smith 36
19. Brian Lingelbach 34
20. Kyle Mistibachner 29
21. Sam McManus 27
22. Gareth Clark 12
BOWMANVILLE, ON – Stacey Nesbitt made international racing history at Mosport International Raceway on Sunday by becoming the first woman to clinch a national road racing title as she locked up the Honda CBR125R Challenge.
The St-Lazare, QC rider edged Richmond, ON’s Eric Green by just 0.178 secs. for her fourth straight win while Scott Lingelbach of Wellesley, ON took third.
Nesbitt had come into the final race with a 29-point lead over her nearest title rival, Austin Shaw-O'Leary. The Falmouth, NS racer finished fifth on Sunday but easily secured second in the final class standings.
"I thought we could be competitive this year, but winning at Mirabel [round two of the season] was a big boost," said the 14-year-old Nesbitt, who dedicated her race win to her sister, who was celebrating a birthday. "Last year we treated as a learning year, and this year we were going to try and be in the front pack."
A nine-rider pack disputed the lead through the eight-lap race around Mosport's 3.957km road course, and although ninth place would have been enough to secure the title, Nesbit admitted to feeling more comfortable closer to the front.
"When I started seeing all those people behind me I was worried that I wouldn't have enough to win the championship, so I decided to go for it and see where it took me," she explained.
Nesbitt grabbed the lead on lap seven and managed to stay in front over the final tour to snag her fifth win in 10 races.
Green admitted to not getting enough drive out of turn five onto the critical backstraight at Mosport, while the gangly Lingelbach was at a disadvantage in the draft, especially when matched up against the lithe Nesbitt.
"I tried sticking in Stacey's draft, but it's not a big one," he laughed.
Lingelbach did have the consolation of claiming third in the final CBR125R Challenge point standings, just eight points ahead of Green.
David MacKay of Stoney Creek, ON finished fourth in the race after starting from 16th spot following a crash in Saturday's event.
Behind Shaw-O'Leary in fifth, Karolina Pelc, Brian Alexander, Lee Newbury and Saturday's runner-up finisher Leah Vignale rounded out the lead battle, with Vignale setting the race's fastest lap on the final tour.
Kemptville, ON's Vignale secured fifth in the final point standings ahead of Halifax racer Lauren Hill and Guelph, ON's Pelc, putting four women in the top seven points positions.
In an impromptu presentation, XR1200 Cup pole position award sponsor Tactical Products Canada presented Nesbitt with a Luminox watch valued at $500 in recognition for her milestone of becoming the first female road race champion in history.
Race Results
1. Stacey Nesbitt, St-Lazare, QC, 8 laps in 16:58.275
2. Eric Green, Richmond, ON, +0.178
3. Scott Lingelbach, Wellesley, ON, +0.406
4. David MacKay, Stoney Creek, ON, +0.591
5. Austin Shaw-O'Leary, Falmouth, NS, +1.041
6. Karolina Pelc, Guelph, ON, +1.192
7. Brian Alexander, Peterborough, ON, +1.379
8. Lee Newbury, Greenfield Park, QC, +2.105
9. Leah Vignale, Kemptville, ON, +2.211
10. Seth Van Dongen, Belle River, ON, +14.696
11. Brian Lingelbach, Wellesley, ON, +48.220
12. Lauren Hill, Halifax, NS, +57.254
13. Matt Chandler, Richmond Hill, ON, +57.607
14. Gareth Clark, Stoney Creek, ON, +58.607
15. Uwe Wachtendorf, Toronto, ON, +59.237
16. Timothy Kennedy, Richmond Hill, ON, +1 Lap
Did Not Start
Glen Mann, Woodbridge, ON
Fastest Lap: 2:06.001 by Leah Vignale on lap 8
* -- All riders aboard Honda CBR125R motorcycles
Honda CBR125R Standings
1. Stacey Nesbitt 421
2. Austin Shaw-O'Leary 369
3. Scott Lingelbach 324
4. Eric Green 316
5. Leah Vignale 243
6. Lauren Hill 202
7. Karolina Pelc 198
8. David MacKay 178
9. Shay Gauthier 162
10. Matt Chandler 158
11. Seth Van Dongen 134
12. Cedric Martineau 114
13. Brian Alexander 107
14. Timothy Kennedy 91
15. Connor Warnell 54
16. Lee Newbury 48
17. Leah MacInnis 42
18. Sean Smith 36
19. Brian Lingelbach 34
20. Kyle Mistibachner 29
21. Sam McManus 27
22. Gareth Clark 12
