All Archambault in Amateur opener

By John Hopkins

MIRABEL, QC – St-Colomban, QC’s Raphael Archambault led all 14 laps to win the opening round of the Amateur Sport Bike Championship as part of the Parts Canada Superbike weekend at Circuit ICAR on Sunday.

Riding a Honda CBR600RR with backing from Centre Hamel Honda, Archambault finished 4.873 secs. ahead of Jeremie Hade Precourt of Granby, QC on a Picotte Performance-backed Suzuki GSX-R600.
     
Third place went to Philippe Masse of St-Dominique, QC on a Kawasaki ZX-6R supported by Pete's Superbike.

The race was much closer than the winning margin would suggest, as Archambault was under constant pressure from Hade Precourt and Masse until he managed to get a break while lapping a trio of backmarkers with just over a lap to go.

"All weekend long I had a lot of difficulty with traffic," the 16-year-old Archambault admitted. "Today I was just lucky. I took three guys in a row."

All three podium finishers are graduates of last year's Suzuki SV650 National Cup, where Archambault was the champion, and Archambault and Hade Precourt also raced against each other in the inaugural Honda CBR125R Challenge in 2008. Archambault also won that title with a perfect season of five wins in five races.

The Amateur Sport Bike opener was Archambault's first race on the Honda CBR600RR, although he had tested at Calabogie Motorsports Park and ICAR. He qualified on pole with a new class record to complete a perfect weekend.

Hade Precourt and Masse exchanged second spot a couple of times, but neither rider was able to wrest the lead from Archambault.

"It was really close and lapped traffic is part of the race," said Hade Precourt of the closing laps. "I had a choice of making a hard pass or playing it safe and being sure of the points, and I chose the points."

Masse admitted to battling arm pump late in the race, which also caused him to drop back.

Despite picking up a five-second jump start penalty, St-Eustache, QC's Simon Proteau was fourth on a Kawasaki ZX-6R and Sylvain Dery of St-Colomban, QC took fifth aboard a Yamaha YZF-R6.

Number two qualifier Joey McRae was running fourth when he went down on lap 12. The Orangeville, ON rider recovered to place 20th on his R6 and claim the last championship point.

Ryan Appenrodt of Quesnel, BC claimed his second straight victory in the Honda CBR125R Challenge at Circuit ICAR on Sunday.

In a race very similar to Saturday’s season opener, Appenrodt finished 0.316 secs. ahead of Loic Viscasillas of Laval, QC, with Sarnia, ON’s Will Hornblower completing the podium in the 10-lap race, just 0.735 secs. behind the winner. The three had finished in the same order on Saturday after fighting each other for the win.

"I had a little bigger gap than yesterday but it was still a good fight," Appenrodt said. "I just tried to stick to my lines and on the last lap I stayed inside."

Appenrodt and Viscasillas made slight contact on the final lap as Viscasillas tried a run around the outside of turn 8.

Scott Lingelbach took fourth and Cedric Martineau came back from a crash on Saturday to place fifth.

Robert Busby of Brantford, ON won the opening round of the Sport Twins championship, riding his Buell XB12R to a 10.684-sec. victory over the Suzuki SV650 of Mississauga, ON’s Brent Strong. White Rock, BC racer Olivier Spilborghs was third on a Buell XB9R.

Amateur Sport Bike Race Results
1. Raphael Archambault, St-Colomban, QC, 14 laps, Honda CBR600RR       
2. Jeremie Hade Precourt, Granby, QC, +4.873, Suzuki GSX-R600  
3. Philippe Masse, St-Dominique, QC, +5.985, Kawasaki ZX-6R    
4. Simon Proteau, St-Eustache, QC, +19.642, Kawasaki ZX-6R (5 second jump start penalty)
5. Sylvain Dery, St-Colomban, QC, +20.800, Yamaha YZF-R6       
6. Bodhi Edie, Warman, SK, +25.063, Honda CBR600RR     
7. Steven Nickerson, Hamilton, ON, +27.423, Honda CBR600RR     
8. Alain Lefebvre, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, +30.655, Suzuki GSX-R600 
9. Aubrey Bailey, Parry Sound, ON, +31.780, Suzuki GSX-R600 (5 second jump start penalty)
10. Etienne Giguere, Levis, QC, +37.184, Honda CBR600RR
11. Bill McKay, Tavistock, ON, +38.778, Kawasaki ZX-6R 
12. Natalie Catherine Provost, Laval, QC, +42.064, Honda CBR600RR      
13. Vanessa Gareau, Montreal, QC, +47.961, Suzuki GSX-R600     
14. Samuel Proulx, Magog, QC, +48.078, Suzuki GSX-R600 
15. Dominic Dupont, Laval, QC, +49.314, Kawasaki ZX-6R 
16. Marco Dias, Bradford, ON, +50.837, Yamaha YZF-R6   
17. Lee Kuhn, Hamilton, ON, +52.978, Triumph Daytona   
18. Amy Szoke, Brantford, ON, +58.523, Honda CBR600RR  
19. Alex Coelho, Longueuil, QC, +59.763, Kawasaki ZX-6R
20. Joey McRae, Orangeville, ON, +1:24.700, Yamaha YZF-R6      
21. Andrew Morrissey, St. Thomas, ON, +1:25.900, Yamaha YZF-R6 
22. Daniel-Eric Ouimet, Lasalle, QC, +1:29.100, Suzuki GSX-R600
23. Etienne Deblois, Longueuil, QC, +1 Lap, Kawasaki ZX-6R     
24. Philippe Bonin, St-Colomban, QC, +1 Lap, Suzuki GSX-R600   
25. Jean-Sebastien Perreault, Becancour, QC, +1 Lap, Kawasaki ZX-6R (5 second jump start penalty)
26. Patrice Vachon, Quebec, QC, +1 Lap, Suzuki GSX-R600
Did Not Finish
Steve Greene, Laval, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600       
David Tremblay, Longueuil, QC, Honda CBR600RR  
Claude-Etienne Borduas, Montreal, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600  
David Mongrain, St-Jerome, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 
Did Not Start
Roxanne Gravelle, Gatineau, QC, Yamaha YZF-R6
Fastest Lap: 1:28.553 by Jeremie Hade Precourt on lap 14

Amateur Sport Bike Standings
1. Raphael Archambault, 56
2. Jeremie Hade Precourt, 44
3. Philippe Masse, 37
4. Simon Proteau, 33
5. Sylvain Dery, 29
6. Bodhi Edie, 27
7. Steven Nickerson, 25
8. Alain Lefebvre, 23
9. Aubrey Bailey, 21
10. Etienne Giguere, 19
11. Bill McKay, 17
12. Natalie Catherine Provost, 15
13. Vanessa Gareau, 13
14. Samuel Proulx, 12
15. Dominic Dupont, 10
16. Marco Dias, 8
17. Lee Kuhn, 6
18. Joey McRae, 4
19. Amy Szoke, 4
20. Alex Coelho, 2

Honda CBR125R Race Results
1. Ryan R. Appenrodt, Quesnel, BC, 10 laps     
2. Loic Viscasillas, Laval, QC, +0.316
3. Will Hornblower, Sarnia, ON, +0.735
4. Scott Lingelbach, Wellesly, ON, +30.380
5. Cedric Martineau, Ste Catherine, QC, +33.547
6. Cody Conrad, Calgary, AB, +35.647
7. Robert Haynes, Calgary, AB, +37.996
8. Sam McManus, Calgary, AB, +40.355
9. Ryan McCormick, St-Lazare, QC, +46.363
10. Rheanna Christie, Keene, ON, +47.219
11. Eric Green, Richmond, ON, +1:04.943
12. Leah Vignale, Kemptville, ON, +1:21.786
13. Young Jae Kim, Mississauga, ON, +1:26.761
14. Karolina Pelc, Guelph, ON, +1:50.863
15. Stacey Nesbitt, Saint-Lazare, QC, +1:53.857
16. Seth Van Dongen, Belle River, ON, +1:57.519
17. Toni Nesbitt, Saint-Lazare, QC, +2 Laps
18. Allyssa Fox, Calgary, AB, +2 Laps
Did Not Finish
Austin Shaw-O'Leary, Falmouth, NS
Nicole Pilkington, Blackstock, ON
Fastest Lap: 1:49.900 by Loic Viscasillas on lap 3

Honda CBR125R Standings
1. Ryan Appenrodt, 107
2. Loic Viscasillas, 88
3. Will Hornblower, 76
4. Scott Lingelbach, 64
5. Robert Haynes, 54
6. Cody Conrad, 48
7. Sam McManus, 48
8. Rheanna Christie, 46
9. Ryan McCormick, 40
10. Cedric Martineau, 30
11. Leah Vignale, 30
12. Young Jae Kim, 30
13. Eric Green, 29
14. Austin Shaw-O'Leary, 23
15. Seth Van Dongen, 21
16. Karolina Pelc, 20
17. Stacey Nesbitt, 20
18. Toni Nesbitt, 12
19. Allyssa Fox, 8

Sport Twins Race Results
1. Robert Busby, Brantford, ON, 12 laps, Buell XB12R
2. Brent Strong, Mississauga, ON, +10.684, Suzuki SV650
3. Olivier Spilborghs, White Rock, BC, +22.383, Buell XB9R
4. Guy Lagace, Levis, QC, +32.094, Suzuki SV650
5. Philippe Bonin, St-Colomban, QC, +46.585, Suzuki SV650
6. Stuart Pilkington, Blackstock, ON, +57.014, Suzuki SV650
7. Tiberius Trifu, Kingston, ON, +1:32.296, Suzuki SV650
8. Stephane Leduc, St-Colomban, QC, +1 Lap, Suzuki SV650
Did Not Finish
Francois Chartrand, Repentigny, QC, Suzuki SV650

Sport Twins Standings
1. Robert Busby, 55
2. Brent Strong, 46
3. Olivier Spilborghs, 37
4. Guy Lagace, 34
5. Philippe Bonin, 30
6. Stuart Pilkington, 27
7. Tiberius Trifu, 25
8. Stephane Leduc, 23