The cold and wet weather continued during the week leading up to Round 1 of The Mopar CSBK Canadian Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park. Many riders had arrived early in order to ride and test on Thursday but the weather did not cooperate and steady rain all day kept all but a few bikes resting quietly in the paddock. Tim's decision to attend the RACE regional round the weekend prior proved to be extremely valuable.
The weekend opened with a damp track and typical of Shannonville offered several water obstacles flowing across the track. "Track conditions aren't perfect but we're all faced with the same conditions so we all have to make some adjustments. The fastest guys are always fast and we're trying to adapt as well and make the bike easier to ride" says Tim.
Qualifying pace was a little slower than the goal but the focus was on making the bike easier to ride and there was a lot of progress through Friday and Saturday. "I was really hoping I could squeak into Superpole but it wasn't meant to be today. We have some more chassis adjustments to make and we'll come back stronger on Sunday"
Starting the race from P13 on the 4th row Tim got a great start and moved up to P11 by the first turn. Chasing Tommy Casas in P10 Tim was able to drop a full second off his qualifying time and fend off Derrick Whyte in a very close contest. Finishing in P11 was a great result for the season opener and most importantly Tim now holds the points lead for the Brooklin Cycle Pro Rookie of the Year Award. Tim and the TT56 team are optimistic about carrying that momentum to the next round at Grand Bend Motorplex.
Special thanks to: Inglis Cycle, Hellfury Motorsports, Jason Jenkins, POR15 Inc, Dunlop & Pro 6 Cycle, Hindle Exhaust, Vortex Racing, Bluestreak Racing and VnM Sport Gear
From a press release
