EMRA 2017 Round 1 Season Opening Races
The Edmonton Motorcycle Roadracing Association billed itself as the biggest, baddest, and fastest motorcycle racing in western Canada and totally lived up to the headline. The racing took place at Castrol Raceway on the 2.7 km 14-turn road course, just outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on May 27th and 28th. Hundreds of spectators watched as 109 riders took part in contesting the 18 classes that make up the EMRA championships.
Perfect weather and excellent track conditions for Saturday’s qualifying sessions saw returning superbike champion Mike Zottmann on a brand new Bow Cycle/ZBM Racing ZX10r work to the very last session of the day before claiming the top spot. He exchanged P1 times throughout the day with his team mate Pete Meir on his ZBM Racing Ducati 1198, former EMRA Superbike Champion Justin Knapik on an Echo Cycle backed ZX10r, and resurgent veteran rider Jason Kolmatycki on his Riverside Motosports Yamaha R1M.
On Sunday, a hot sun and cooling breeze made for perfect race conditions. The 2017 season kicked off with the 29 bike grid Senior Open Championship, a class that is open to any rider aged 35 years plus. Veteran rider Jason Kolmatycki nailed a hole shot and never looked back, managing his lead from start to finish. He was slowly tracked down by Senior Open sophomore Glen Gregoire; Glen put in an impressive display of riding, commenting after the race, “I got a great start and snuck in behind Jason Kolmatycki, just ahead of Ian Wall and Peter Meier. I knew I had to try to stay close to Jason. Coming into turn one on the 3rd lap, Ian pulled up beside me on the brakes and was looking to steal the position on the inside. I knew if I let him by, I wasn’t going to get that spot back, so I held my line and stayed fast through the corner. I think he threw me a bone there, and could’ve forced his way through, but he took it easy on me.” Jason Kolmatycki will look to retain the first place points position next round and hopes to return to the top of a championship he narrowly missed out on last year.
An incredible weekend of racing was capped off with the 12-lap Expert Superbike race. Two-time defending EMRA Superbike Champion, Mike Zottmann lined up on pole position. He would get a dream start, diving into the first two corners and never looking back. On the podium an exhausted but happy Mike Zottmann said, “I was exhausted and worried as the longer Superbike race combined with the past two days of heat would test everyone. I managed to get a super start and with the hole shot put my head down and pushed as hard as I could to try and break the pack. I was able to get a gap out to 5 seconds by the time we started passing lapped riders on the 8th lap. I was able to manage the lead from there through traffic. It was a very long race, but the ZX10 was amazing. The bike has been so strong this year thanks to support from Woolich Racing, their tune really made the Kawasaki come alive. My Dunlop tires had no slipping and gripped incredibly all weekend long. We managed to turn a time a little over half a second faster then we did on the opening round from 2016, so it is a good start for the season. I need to thank all the sponsors for getting us out there, Bow Cycle North, K-tech Suspensions, Woolich Racing, Dunlop Tires, Vortex, Red Rock Garage, Galfer Brakes, DNA Race Filters, Hotbodies Racing, and of course all the volunteers and medical staff that make racing possible. See you all at the next round.”
Rounds 2 and 3 will be combined into a double-header weekend of racing from June 23-25 at Castrol Raceway. More information on the racing can be found at www.emra.ca.