EMRA Double Header Race Weekend
Racers from all over Western Canada have had June 23-25 marked on their calendars as the first of two Edmonton Motorcycle Roadracing Association (EMRA) double-header race weekends in the 2017 schedule. Another sunny, warm weekend of racing at Castrol Raceway, just outside Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, saw over 100 racers take part in the three days of race activity. Hundreds of spectators took in the racing for Round 2 on Saturday and Round 3 on Sunday.
Friday’s qualifying sessions saw current Superbike Champion Mike Zottmann on his Kawasaki Canada/Bow Cycle/ ZBM Racing ZX-10R claim another pole position by just over one tenth of a second from Justin Knapik on his Echo Cycle ZX-10R. Setup changes and high winds saw Mike claim pole with a slightly slower lap time than in previous rounds, but gave him confidence heading into the next two days of racing.
A sunny Saturday morning of racing was highlighted by an incredibly close Women’s Open race. This class, open to any female racer, has seen a large amount of growth recently. With the increased number of riders also comes an increased level of competition. The two riders leading this group, Christina Mitchell and Bronti Verbeek, both riding Suzuki GSXR-750s, fought each other in a 6 lap battle that ended with Christina Mitchell making a last-lap pass, crossing the finish line 0.104 seconds ahead of Bronti Verbeek. Christina commented after the win, “I got a decent lead off the start of the race, but Bronti was close behind. We fought for position until I managed a better drive out of the chicane that I just barely held onto to take my first Women’s Open win. Winning was awesome, but having some neck-in-neck racing in that class was the most fun I’ve had thus far in my racing career. A big shout out to the ladies I get to race with; I know we all hope the class continues to grow.”
Saturday’s races were capped off by the grueling 12-lap Expert Superbike race. Mike Zottmann lined up on P1 knowing he had to push if he wanted to stay in front of his rivals following closely behind. The red lights would go out, and with a small wheelie off the line, Mike managed to get the hole shot and put his head down for the first three laps. Having made a sometimes risky soft rear tire choice, Mike pushed to take full advantage of the Dunlop tires he was on and build a 1.5 second gap to Justin Knapik in second place. Less than halfway through the race, a small mistake saw Mike run slightly wide and clip a small section of curbing, leading to a front end chatter issue. Having also made a soft rear tire choice, the opportunity to take first place was there for Justin Knapik, but setup and track conditions just weren’t in his favor, and he was unable to take advantage of the situation. Mike managed his front-end issues and held on to take the win. After the race Mike said, “I had thoughts in my mind that maybe something was coming loose in the front. I wasn’t able to do any braking leaned over, which significantly cost me time. I kept looking back, pushed to keep the gap around the 2 second range and managed to finish the race with the win.”
Sunday was the final day of racing and marked the halfway point of the 2017 EMRA season. Once again, the Women’s open class saw a close battle for the lead between the same two riders. Christina Mitchell made a costly bad start and Bronti Verbeek would nail her start and manage to build a 2 second lead over Christina in just the first lap. Not willing to give up Christina would push, putting in fast lap times and closing the gap to Bronti. Perhaps pushing herself a little too far, Christina would make a small mistake on the brakes attempting a pass for the lead, tucking the front on the penultimate lap of the race. When asked afterwards about the close race with Christina, Bronti said, “I felt calm and tried to stay smooth, I was just grooving, you know.”
Three days of action at Castrol Raceway all built up to the long 12-lap Round 3 Expert Superbike race. A large crowd gathered under a hot sun in the grandstands in anticipation for what promised to be one of the most exciting races on what was now an incredibly hot track. Spectators would cheer on their favorite racers, friends and family taking part in the final race of the weekend. The start of the Expert Superbike race saw Justin Knapik get an incredible launch while Mike Zottman struggled off the line. Unfortunately for Justin, his large lead would disappear through no fault of his own. A chain reaction of events would see two riders in the middle of a tight pack go down, bringing out a red flag and a full restart. Mike Zottmann didn’t waste his second chance, taking the lead into the first corner. With a renewed sense of focus, Mike would use every inch of track and every bit of traction he had putting in a new EMRA lap record time of 1:18.5 seconds. When asked to sum up his weekend of racing Mike said, “Overall, the weekend was really good, and we are headed in the right direction with our Kawasaki Canada ZX10R. I can’t say enough about the Dunlop tires. I managed to pull out a lap record on a used front. I could not have done this without all of my team, friends, and sponsors. As well, I’d like to thank all of the hard working members of the EMRA executive and of course the volunteers and medical personal at the track. I would also like to thank all of my sponsors for their continued support of my 2017 campaign, Kawasaki Canada, Bow Cycle North, Woolich Racing, Dunlop, Pro 6 Cycle, K-tech Suspension, Galfer Brakes, Vortex Racing, Red Rock Garage, Hotbodies Racing, DNA Race Filters, and Hindle Exhaust.”
Round 4 of the EMRA season will take place on July 29-30th at Castrol Raceway. More information on the racing can be found at www.emra.ca.