A Pair of Deuces Montreal, Quebec. Michael Leon and Tony Stufko both rode the same Ducati 1198S to Second Place finishes at Round 4 of the RACE SuperSeries, on Sunday August 14, at Shannonville’s Long track configuration. Tony borrowed the Royal Distributing / MBP Superbike, normally ridden by Michael, for Sunday’s Amateur Superbike final, when his machine was sidelined with engine woes during Saturday’s heat race. He rode conservatively, but was still able to finish second and record some decent lap times. The race was won by Kris Garvie with Adam Murray finishing third. Tony is currently in third in the Amateur Superbike Championship standings. In the Feature Pro Superbike final, Michael also finished in second place. Michael was hoping to challenge for the win after a good battle with Jodi Christie during the Saturday heat race. Unfortunately, during the Sunday final, Michael was only able to keep pace with race winner Jodi, but not able to get close enough to attempt a pass for the lead. Suzuki rider Dan Willard finished in third place. Michael’s only consolation is that he set the fastest lap of the race, a personal best on the Long Track configuration, with a time of 1:45:554. The result moves Michael to second place in the Pro Superbike Championship standings. The Liquid Cooled Thunder and Heavyweight Sportsman classes were canceled for the weekend due to low rider registration. Please join the team at the track for Round 5, to be held at Shannonville, on Labour Day weekend. The Royal Distributing / MBP Superbike Team is supported by Royal Distributing, Martin Brickwood Performance, Dunlop, Pro 6 Cycle, Elka Suspension, Accelerated Technologies, Double Dog Moto, Nexo Sports, Rev-Amp Electrical Equipment, EBC Brakes, Woodcraft, Armour Bodies, Eurocorsa, MRA Windscreeens, Speedymoto, J Precision, AV&V, LG Restorations, CVR Motors, Ottawa Dodge, KS on the Keys, Acceptable Storage, A Acceptable, T_SBK Club, George Seeger, Dave Cody and Quebec Coating. Tony Stufko also is supported by Windmill Motorsports, Valley Sales and Equipment, Monette Sports / Montreal Ducati and Ottawa Yamaha. More, from a press release issued by Conor Cummins’ publicist: Disappointment at Dundrod for Cummins Conor Cummins suffered a disappointing time at Dundrod last week where he was competing in both the Dundrod 150 and Ulster Grand Prix road races. The Ramsey rider suffered a number of mechanical problems during both qualifying and the races and his best result came in the opening race of the day with 6th in the Superstock race. Engine problems during qualifying meant that Conor had to start Thursday’s Dundrod 150 Superbike race from the back of the grid but by the end of the first lap, he had worked his way up to a good 7th and was right on the back wheel of fellow Kawasaki riders Michael Dunlop and Ian Lougher. However, with rain falling, the race was stopped and ultimately cancelled as time ran out. That meant that Saturday’s Superstock event would be his first race in anger and after more rain fell in the morning, Conor opted for a wet front tyre and intermediate rear. By the time the race started though a dry line was appearing and the tyre choice proved to be the wrong one as those with cut slicks profited. Neverthless, Conor put in a spirited ride and enjoyed a good battle with Steve Mercer and Cameron Donald, one he ultimately won, to take 6th place. The next races saw disappointment though as the 600cc machine refused to fire up and he had to pull off the grid before the race had even started. He started the feature Ulster GP Superbike race but was an early retirement after the engine again went sick, losing power, and the clutch also began to slip. That just left two more races and he ensured his day ended with two finishes as he claimed 12th in the second Supersport race, after a race-long dice with short circuit boss Lougher and 8th in the second Superbike event, despite having to switch to the slightly less powerful Superstock machine. Looking back on the meeting, a disappointed Conor said; “I came here feeling the best I have done all season and had high hopes of getting some good results but it just hasn’t happened for me. I wanted to have a real good go but mechanical problems have thwarted us and it’s just been one thing after another so to not get a proper crack at it has been both frustrating and disappointing. It all started during qualifying for the Dundrod 150 when the engine in the Superbike went sick and although the boys worked really hard trying to fix it, trying different maps and all sorts, we had to park it up and use the 2009 bike instead. It’s still a good bike though and although I had to start Thursday’s race from the back of the grid, I’d got a good start and was up to 7th when the red flag came out. It was my first time on the bike in the wet and we had no settings at all but I felt really comfortable and was disappointed to see the race stopped.” “I went for the wrong tyres in the Superstock race on Saturday although I was surprised at how hard I could push the wet front given how much the track was drying out. I ended up having a good scrap with Steve and Cameron and was pleased to get the better of them both on the final lap. It proved to be as good as it got as we again struggled with the 600, it’s just lacking a bit of power compared to the other bikes. After not even starting the first race, I had a good battle with Ian in the second although 12th isn’t where I want to be and we then had further problems in the opening Superbike race when the clutch started to slip and I lost power too. I switched to the Superstock bike for the last race and at least was able to salvage a result at the end of the day. I gave it my all from beginning to end and the organisers made all the right calls during the day so I’m just disappointed I couldn’t get the results I know I’m capable of. There’s still plenty of racing left this season though so I’ll look to chalk up as many points as I can in the Superstock series and end the season strongly.” Conor now turns his attention back to the Metzeler National Superstock 1000cc Championship and the Blackhorse Kawasaki team with round 9 of the series taking place at Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire on August 27-29. More, from a press release issued by Tim Reeves’ publicist: Reeves edges ever closer to British title Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze edged ever closer to retaining their British F1 Sidecar Championship title at the weekend with a dominant display at Cadwell Park. The Anglo-French pairing won all three races on their Haith/Padgetts LCR Honda to extend their lead to a whopping 120 points. The duo signalled their intentions from the off with a good pole position, almost half a second clear of regular sparring partners Ben and Tom Birchall and it was the Nottinghamshire brothers who proved to be Tim and Gregory’s closest rival all weekend. Indeed, they had to give best to the Birchall’s in the early stages of Saturday’s 10-lap race, but on lap six, Tim hit the front and was able to edge away all the way to the flag eventually taking the win by 0.848s, the gap being reduced significantly on the final lap when Tim accidentally ran into the tail end of a backmarker. Onto Sunday’s racing, and Tim and Gregory left no-one in any doubt to the outcome as they grabbed the lead from Scott Lawrie/James Neave on the opening lap and were never headed again, utilising the clear road in front of them to press home their advantage. With the fastest lap of the race and a new lap record, 1m31.995s, on lap 3, they were able to forge clear and take their second win of the weekend, this time by a commanding 7.14s. The final race of the weekend was the best of the three and it was a lot closer this time around although Tim and Gregory were able to be in the lead each time they crossed the line. His eventual winning margin was 0.451s although Birchall only narrowly missed out on taking the lead on the final lap after a brave overtaking attempt at the bottom of the Mountain. The hat-trick means Tim now has 305 pts, 120 more than nearest rival Lawrie and with only 175 available from the final three rounds, he could well clinch the crown next time out. Speaking afterwards, a delighted Tim said; “What a brilliant weekend, it really couldn’t have worked out much better for us! We’ve had a bit of bad luck at a few of the recent World and British rounds, despite wins and podiums at the latter, and have been suffering a bit with the handling of the bike but we fitted a new Maxton suspension system and it totally transformed the bike this weekend. I had a lot better feeling and it was cornering so much better than before so it felt like ‘my’ bike again – a big thanks to the guys at Maxton for doing a terrific job.” “I followed Ben for a bit in the first race and then, once by, opened up a bit of a lead only to hit a backmarker at the end which caused us a few anxious moments but we had enough of a gap to bring the bike home. In the second, I got to the front early and just made full use of the clear road, taking the lap record in the process. Ben pressured me a fair bit in the last race and we had a right old ding-dong but it was all good,clean racing and although he tried to get by me at the bottom of the Mountain, I was able to hold him off to seal the hat-trick. Pole position, three wins and a new lap record really is a faultless weekend so a big thank you to Gregory again and all of my sponsors for making it happen.” Round 6 of the series takes place at Donington Park in September but, prior to that, Tim turns his attention back to the World Championship with Oschersleben, Germany hosting the penultimate round on August 27/28.