HoNdA cbr125r cHAlleNge preview


ture of the class. While the racing was spectacular the grids were tiny, and it was difficult to imagine the newest rung of the Canadian road race ladder growing. But those worries are a thing of the past.


Last season the starter class boasted the biggest grids of any Canadian Superbike Championship by Parts Canada division, with a diversity that would be the envy of any racing series anywhere. Competitors from the east, west and central Canada du- eled across the country with a number of tough female racers making things tough on the guys. An added boost for the Honda series was


the track record of its graduates. Despite the modest start in 2008, Raphael Archam- bault, Jeremie Hade Precourt and Lee Kuhn Jr. had all moved up the ranks. Indeed, Ar- chambault and Hade Precourt are two of the most promising rookie Pros on the na- tional tour this summer. The 2009 champ, Steven Nickerson, will


be running in the Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup this season, while his sparring partner Bodhi Edie has joined the Pro ranks. Both were also top Amateur Sport Bike runners in 2010. In fact, four of the top five finishers in


Austin Shaw-O’Leary carries East Coast hopes. photo by neil cameron


Kid sTuff W


hen the Honda CBR125R Challenge was launched in 2008 there were some folks a little concerned about the fu-


HoNdA cbr125r cHAlleNge provisioNAl eNtries


stArter clAss grooming top rAcers By John Hopkins


4 Lauren Hill 12 Sean Smith 18 Matt Chandler


the Amateur Sport Bike division last year – Archambault, Hade Precourt, Nickerson and Edie – got their start in the Honda CBR125R Challenge. Why does the class work so well? The


bikes are low horsepower (14 hp is the class limit) single-cylinder four-stroke ‘starter sport bikes.’ They help develop good racing technique without intimidating the riders. The evenly matched CBRs also promote close racing, so developing confi- dence in wheel-to-wheel situations is a must. That also means plenty of action for the spectators. The 2011 season has already had its first


two events, a doubleheader at Circuit ICAR, which threw up a number of surprises. Stacey Nesbitt of St-Lazare, QC became the first female race winner and left the opening weekend with the points lead thanks to a fifth place finish in the other event. Her vic- tory in the second of the two races came in very damp and difficult conditions and was impressive to watch, while she had set the fastest lap in the opening counter. The re- sults were by far Nesbitt’s best in her career and she could be in a position to challenge for the title. The other race winner was Eric Green of


Richmond, ON. Green’s best finish was sev- enth in 2010, so his ICAR win was also a big breakthrough. He was dicing with Nesbitt for the lead of the second race when he fell,


Halifax, NS Calgary, AB


Richmond Hill, ON


30 Timothy Kennedy Richmond Hill, ON 33 Leah Vignale 46 Sam McManus


Kemptville, ON Calgary, AB


61 Seth Van Dongen Belle River, ON 86 David MacKay 91 Karolina Pelc


99 Scott Lingelbach Wellesley, ON 110 Austin Shaw-O’Leary Falmouth, NS 141 Eric Green


Richmond, ON


228 Cedric Martineau Ste-Catherine, QC 316 Stacey Nesbitt


St-Lazare, QC


costing him valuable points. Second in the standings after ICAR was


Austin Shaw-O’Leary from Falmouth, NS. Al- though he only finished 11th in the stand- ings last year, Shaw-O’Leary qualified on pole and finished on the podium on the final weekend of the season. Cedric Martineau of Ste-Catherine, QC


was 10th in points last year and finished second in this summer’s season opener, while a couple of surprise stars on the opening weekend were Seth Van Dongen of Belle River, ON and David MacKay from Stoney Creek, ON, who left ICAR third and sixth in points, respectively. With six different racers on the podium at


the first two events, the 2011 Honda CBR125R Challenge is definitely wide open. It will be interesting to see who emerges on top when the final checkered flag falls at Mosport International Raceway in August.


Stoney Creek, ON Guelph, ON


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