Royal Distributing Racing Team News: Pro Superbike Win For Leon At Shannonville Regional
Royal Distributing rider, Michael Leon, came out on top after a race long battle with rival Jim Proulx during Sunday's Pro Superbike race at Round 2 of the RACE Superseries held June 12th, on the Shannonville Pro circuit. He rode the team's Royal Distributing / BMW Motorrad Canada / Pro 6 Cycle sponsored S1000RR Superbike fitted with Dunlop soft compound (2662) front and medium compound (7455) rear tires. The race was held in cold and windy conditions with temperatures hovering around 15 degree Celsius under an overcast sky.
It was one of the most exciting races of the weekend. Elie Daccache took an early lead on his Yamaha R6 with Proulx and Leon following closely on their Superbikes. Both got past Daccache on lap 5 with Jim maintaining the lead. Just after the halfway point, Michael used the power of the S1000RR to pass Jim on the back straight but Jim was able to respond immediately and take back the lead on the brakes. Michael then made a successful pass on the brakes into Allen's corner. A few laps later, Proulx tried a brave move around the outside of turn one but was pushed wide by a cross wind and almost ended up in the grass. Jim stalked Michael for the remaining laps. It went down to that last lap with Leon winning the race by a margin of 0.161 seconds. Elie finished in third.
There is quite the tire war brewing in the RACE Superseries. The three podium finishers rode on three different brands of tires.
"That was such a fun race. I've had so many close battles with Jim over the years. He's such a fierce competitor. I still can't believe that he can go so quick on that old R1. It shows not only how skilled of a rider he is, but also how good he is at developing and preparing that bike. We made a spring change to the rear shock on Saturday night that increased my pace a little. It was a move in the right direction." commented Michael
In other action, Michael finished second in the Open Sprint race which was won by Jim Proulx with Steve Walker rounding out the podium in third.
Following the Shannonville racing action, Michael headed to Calabogie to provide private coaching for riders participating in the Pro 6 Cycle trackdays on Monday and Tuesday.
The team hopes to carry the momentum to the next event. Round 2 of the Mopar CSBK National Superbike championship will be happening at Michael's home track Autodrome St Eustache, on June 24th.
The Royal Distributing Racing Team would like to thank Royal Distributing, BMW Motorrad Canada, Pro 6 Cycle Dunlop, Shoei Helmets, Speed & Strength, Hindle Exhaust, Gianmajor Inc., Armour Bodies, MWR Airfilters, Vortex Racing Sprockets, Windmill Motorsports, Bickle Racing and Dave Smith.
From a press release
