Shannonville Motorsport Park
Sept. 22nd and 23rd.
Shannonville, Ontario
R.A.C.E. SuperSeries Finals Report
RACE Finals in the Books
The Shannonville R.A.C.E. SuperSeries ended the 2018 season under sunny skies but cold conditions catching many riders unprepared for the changing conditions. New champions were crowned and some incumbent champions re-instated . Some fell victim to the cold conditions.
Pro Superbike
Returning champion Eli Daccache already had the series sewn up heading into the weekends final but left no doubt in a run away win for Sunday’s final event. Daccache took his Yamaha R1 to the top step of the podium with a Yamaha R1 freight train chasing him to the win. In second was Tomas Casas, the young Mopar, CSBK Sportbike champion. In Casas’s litre bike debut, the Peterboro rider struggled during Saturday’s break out sessions, with electronics, and the team were never able to access the finer settings available to make the bike competitive. Despite having to ride the Yamaha R1 in basically street mode, Casas had a great outing to finish in second place, only a couple of seconds off the pace set by the hard charging Daccache. Vivian Matthews also enjoyed a good outing, putting his R1 on the final step of the podium. Fourth went to another young rider Nicolas Meunier while Kingston’s Chris Fehr took fifth.
Pro 600 Sportbike
In the Pro 600 Sportbike race, local rider Mike Raniowski took off into an early lead but was chased down and passed by eventual series champion Tomas Casas. Casas made good on his effort to get around Raniowski on the Fabi back straight, out braking the “Take Mike For Granite” rider and swooping into an unchallenged lead for the win. Raniowski finished close behind in second, while Chris Fehr finished in third. Dave Buckland took fourth and Ottawa’s Alan Burns finished in fifth.
Superbike Depot Amateur Superbike
Newcomer Jordan Royds looked to have another great outing in the Am. Superbike race leading for much of the race before losing the position to “Champion Cycle” backed Ivan Babic. The series championship was all knotted up at the top and with series leader Jared Walker not on hand to claim ownership, it was completely up for grabs. Babic did all he could do and left nothing on the table but Nik Koleros took the series championship with a sixth place finish, taking the title only 5 points ahead of Babic. In the race, Michael van Ek finished in second with Andrew Haick taking the third step of the podium. In fourth was Jordan Royds who slipped back after a minor off-track excursion. Fifth place went to Nicolas Meunier.
Amateur 6oo Sportbike
Craig Archer’s third place finish was enough to firm up his championship in the Amateur Sportbike class. Young Nicolas Meunier led the race from start to finish for the race win. Second place went to Michael van Ek, chased to the line by series champ Archer. Todd Ferguson had a good outing to finish in fourth while Richard Diaz was impressive in his first race to take fifth.
Sprint Cup
The second number 1 plate of the weekend was awarded to Eli Daccache after a run away win in Sprint Cup action. Daccache took the race as well as the series win handily, crushing the lap record by 2 seconds. Second and third respectively went to Tomas Casas and Vivian Matthews while fourth place went to Dave Natale. Mike Raniowski finished in fifth.
Mopar Express Lane Lightweight Production
Matt Simpson wrapped up a brilliant season with his first of two, number 1 plates in Mopar Express Lane Production action. Simpson had been in a battle with Alan Burns for the series title until Burns was sidelined with mechanical issues. Burns did get to race however after the Simpson team decided to lend him another motorcycle. In the race, it was Cameron Walker for the win after a race long dog fight with Connor Campbell. The lead changed several times but when the dust settled, it was Walker on the top step of the podium, with Campbell in second. In third was Ben LeClair with Simpson taking the championship with a fifth place finish.
Lightweight Sportsman
Matt Simpson took his second series championship in the Lightweight Sportsman race finishing in fourth with enough accumulated points for the series win. In the race it was Cameron Walker with another race win ahead of Ben Leclair. In third was Connor Campbell with fifth going to Richard Fearing.
Lightweight Superbike
Joshua Thomas renewed hostilities with Hans van Sluewen in the Lightweight Superbike racing. The two riders exchanged the lead several times throughout the contest with Thomas coming out on top with the series championship. Van Sluewen had to settle up for runner-up status with Jake LeClair on the last step of the podium aboard a SV 650 Suzuki, his first outing on a big bike. In fourth and fifth were Ed McSherry and Linda Pilat.
Lightweight Twins
Thomas and van Sluewen again battled in the Lightweight Twins event with van Sluewen this time on top with the hotly contested race win and series Championship. Thomas was a very close second with Joe Robinson finishing in third. Connor Campbell finished just shy of a podium in fourth while Matt Simpson took fifth.
Heavyweight Sportsman/ Middleweight Sportsman
David Walker had already earned both series championships so opted out of the contests, leaving veteran racer Ken Foley in charge for the race win, in both Heavyweight and Middleweight races. In the Heavyweight race it was Aaron Burns in second after a race long battle with Kayla Hannaford. Hannaford had a bad start and had to fight her way back from ninth to finish in third, with Kyle Blakely in fourth close behind. Colin Duncan took fifth. In the Middleweight contest, Dwayne Bucholtz finished second to Foley with Colin Duncan taking third. Andy Dickinson finished in fourth just ahead of Jason Bexrad.