CAN-AM CHALLENGE SERIES Sponsored by Infinity GP Racing ROUNDS 3 & 4 JULY 22, 23, 24 SHANNONVILLE MOTORSPORT PARK, LONG TRACK Friday’s schedule would have the Can-Am/Infinity Challenge Series holding their qualifying sessions during that afternoon, as they started out on their double-header weekend. The Can-Am welcomed veteran rider Andre Kipin into the membership; Kipin made his way back onto his 250 this weekend after a crash last season left him with a broken neck during a regional at Shannonville. Also new to the roster was Michael Garbuio on a 125. The supply for 125 tires had run dry the previous weekend at Mosport; this meant that those who had been counting on buying fresh rubber for the double-header were forced to use the best of what scrubs were left in their possession, or that of fellow riders. John Crook would post the quickest time of the morning on his 250 with a 1:54.519; Alain Brault would challenge that time in a separate session with 1:54.962. In the 125 group, series leader John Dempsey lead the way with a 1:55.700, followed by Tim Harrington and Matt Cooper, 1:56.406 and 1:56.482. The afternoon qualifying sessions had the 125s out first; ten riders took to the track for fifteen minutes without incident. Dempsey lead the pack with 1:53.925, followed by Rick Bulmann, and Matt Cooper topped out the three fastest of the session. 125 Qualifying Results 1. John Dempsey, 1:53.925 2. Rick Bulmann, 1:55.285 3. Matt Cooper, 1:55.312 4. Tim Harrington, 1:55.808 5. Alex Welsh, 1:56.500 6. Mark White, 1:56.787 7. J.R. MacRae, 1:57.242 8. Joe Melchionda, 2:02.637 9. Don Murfin, 2:06.368 10. Michael Garbuio, 2:23.322 Darkening clouds started to make an appearance as the 250 qualifier neared its time; the rain did hold off, and eight 250s along with four 125s made it around the circuit without a drop landing on the track surface. (The 125s were permitted this weekend to run with the 250s up to Sunday as regional points were to be extracted from Saturday’s results.) With the series leader, Michele Danese, absent from the entry list, Alain Brault sailed into first with a time of 1:52.112, but his 250 suffered a seizure which tossed Brault off his machine going into the chicane. Brault walked away unscathed, however his machine and riding gear would have terminal damage; Brault, his time remaining at the top of the session, and in a position to take the series lead, packed up his broken 250 and went home. 250 Qualifying Results 1. Alain Brault 250, 1:52.112 2. John Dempsey 125, 1:53.942 3. Nick Colley 250, 1:54.046 4. John Crook 250, 1:54.269 5. Andre Kipin 250, 1:55.347 6. Tim Harrington 125, 1:55.357 7. Matt Cooper 125, 1:55.516 8. Gord MacKay 250, 1:55.590 9. Rick Bulmann 125, 1:57.946 10. Oliver Brama 250, 1:58.718 11. Mark Jaeckle 250, 1:59.166 12. Joe Melchionda 250, 2:02.134 13. Jerry Sadler 250, 2:03.538 SATURDAY: Saturday practices had the 125s and 250s out together for maximum track time. For the 125s, Tim Harrington would top the sessions with a 1:54.045; Andre Kipin would show the others how it’s done with a 1:54.151 in the 250 group. One of two late entries in the 250 class, Rosario Tomaino, sent his bike into the hay bales on the outside of corner one, but was unhurt, damage to his bike minimal. The first final for the 125s was yet another nail-biter; once again, the top three riders put on a show, with Dempsey, Cooper and the young Alex Welsh fighting to be at the top of the box. Welsh would make a pass on Cooper in the third lap, only to have Cooper get back into second place behind Dempsey on the fourth. Behind them, Tim Harrington and another teenaged rider, John-Ross MacRae of Calgary, had a great race of their own for fourth place, with MacRae losing a position to Harrington in lap five, and unable to get back in front of the more experienced rider. Rick Bulmann and Mark White also had their own battle, with Bulmann finally getting by seasoned rider White in lap six. Don Murfin and Mark Garbuio brought up the tail of the field, each riding unchallenged in their finishing positions. In a last lap effort to take away Dempsey’s lead, both Cooper and Welsh looked to the inside and outside of Allen’s Corner, making it look as if the three riders might go into the hard braking corner three abreast, but Dempsey remained steady while Cooper would settle to grab the better line behind him and shut Welsh out of a second place finish. G.P. 125 FINAL RESULTS, ROUND 3. (Best times) 1. JOHN DEMPSEY, 1:52.976 2. MATT COOPER, 1:52.495 3. ALEX WELSH, 1:52.647 4. TIM HARRINGTON, 1:54.609 5. J.R. MACRAE, 1:55.888 6. RICK BULMANN, 1:56.029 7. MARK WHITE, 1:56.499 8. JOE MELCHIONDA, 2:00.513 9. DON MURFIN, 2:05.383 10. MICHAEL GARBUIO, 2.23.320 SUNDAY: The 250s were scheduled for their round three final on Saturday. However, due to inclement weather, the rest of the day had been cancelled, so the riders waited patiently for Sunday morning to put another round down in the books. Brault’s pole position remained empty, while the three other positions on the front row were occupied by Dempsey, Nick Colley, and John Crook. (Again, the 125 riders entered were there only to have regional 250 points extracted from the results.) Kipin went straight to the lead for three laps, with Crook heavy on his rear wheel. Crook made a pass for first place in lap four, Kipin trying very hard, in his first race back from serious injury, to keep Crook within striking distance. Gord MacKay kept himself safely in third spot, as Colley maintained his fourth position, and Dempsey charging behind him in fifth. As neither Crook nor Kipin would back off the throttle, the race behind them for sixth overall raged with buzzing intensity between Oliver Brama, Tim Harrington and Matt Cooper. Brama, on his 250, was seriously harassed by the two 125 riders; Harrington finally pushed passed the 250 and Cooper in the sixth lap. Mark Jaeckle rode unchallenged, as Rick Bulmann took advantage of a fading Joe Melchionda. Jerry Sadler and Laird Shingleton both maintained their finishing positions without problems. G.P. 250 FINAL ROUND 2 RESULTS (Best times) 1. JOHN CROOK, 1:52.157 2. ANDRE KIPIN, 1:52.381 3. GORD MACKAY, 1:53.924 4. NICK COLLEY, 1:54.493 5. OLIVER BRAMA, 1:54.805 6. MARK JAECKLE, 1:55.659 7. JOE MELCHIONDA, 1:59.776 8. JERRY SADLER, 2:02.738 9. LAIRD SHINGLETON, 2:09.724 The third round for the 250s and the fourth for the 125s would be combined in the afternoon to help the event save track time, as well as create a better race for spectators to watch. The race had the 125s starting in the first wave, with the 250s behind them to be released as the smaller machines reached the Moss’s Carousel (corner four). In the 125 group, Dempsey would begin the ten laps with an open track in front of him, Cooper hot on his heels, and Welsh laying the pressure on thick in third. The third lap would have Welsh finally getting past Cooper; MacRae rode comfortably in fourth. White, Harrington, and Bulmann had their own struggle for fifth, with White leading the trio until the lap four, when Bulmann and Harrington both passed White. Melchionda and Murfin ran comfortably in eighth and ninth. Late in the race with two laps to go, Cooper, in a repeat heartbreaker from Mosport, lost control of his bike in corner eight, before the hairpin, handing MacRae third place on the podium. Dempsey and Welsh were left on their own to scrap it out for first; Welsh dove to the inside of the hairpin to take first away from Dempsey and managed to keep the series leader behind him past the finish line. G.P. 125 ROUND 4, FINAL RESULTS (Besy times) 1. ALEX WELSH, 1:52.299 2. JOHN DEMPSEY, 1:53.845 3. J.R. MACRAE, 1:54.894 4. TIM HARRINGTON, 1:54.912 5. RICK BULMANN, 1:55.330 6. MARK WHITE, 1:56.933 7. JOE MELCHIONDA, 2:00.645 8. DON MURFIN, 2:05.673 9. MATT COOPER, DNF, 1:53.615 In 250 action, Crook would lead a charging Andre Kipin; Kipin attempted to steal away first position late in the race, finally leading for two laps, but was forced back into second by a determined Crook. MacKay and Colley battled it out behind the race leaders; Colley would get past the wily 250 veteran MacKay in last lap excitement, and make it stick till the checkered flag. Brama lead Jaeckle for most of the ten lap race when Jaeckle made his move on lap 6 to keep Brama behind him for the final four laps. Sadler, Romaino and Shingleton finished in seventh, eighth and ninth. G.P. 250 ROUND 3, FINAL RESULTS (Best times) 1. JOHN CROOK, 1:51.625 2. ANDRE KIPIN, 1:52.735 3. NICK COLLEY, 1:54.168 4. GORD MACKAY, 1:54.302 5. MARK JAECKLE, 1:56.361 6. OLIVER BRAMA, 1:56.783 7. JERRY SADLER, 2:00.393 8. ROSARIO TOMAINO, 2:04.337 9. LAIRD SHINGELTON, 2:10.339 Action Continues Back at Mosport for Round 5 of the Can-Am Challenge Series where we join the VRRA for their Vintage Festival on Aug 19-21 2005. Dempsey is trying to keep the points lead in the 125 class. John Crook has jump to the lead with Winning both races at the double header, with Nick Colley looking to take some of that away from Crook.