hiNdLE prO SpOrT BikE ChAmpiONShip prEViEW
Quebecois rider Raphael Archambault (#85) is a young gun full of promise and a threat at any race.
wins to seal the title and qualifying on pole for every race except the season finale. He wound up 100 points clear of runner-up Trombino in the final standings after the Suzuki rider missed the critical Mont-Trem- blant round. For the 2013 season Christie looks as
dominant as ever, if not more so. He has a brand new Honda CBR600RR at his dis- posal, and if anyone needed any convincing of Christie’s middleweight prowess, he elec- trified the American Honda brass at the bike’s launch at California’s Chuckwalla test track in early April. He also won the RACE regional opener at Shannonville Motorsport Park in late May. The 21-year-old ace continues his
strong association with John Sharrard from Accelerated Technologies, and has increased support from Honda Canada. His biggest weakness may be focus, as Christie will also have the use of a Honda CBR1000RR and increased commitment to the Pro Superbike class in 2013. Don’t expect that to put too much of a dent in his challenge, however! There is a diverse array of racers who will
try to postpone Christie’s date with destiny this summer. One of the more interesting challenges
will come from Beaconsfield, Que.’s Michael Leon on an MV Agusta F3 675. Leon was a real revelation in the class last year aboard a Honda, qualifying on the front row twice and battling for the lead at CTMP at the end
of the year. He backed up his strong na- tional season by claiming the RACE Super Series regional title at Shannonville Motor- sport Park. The switch to the MV will bring some
new challenges for the Royal Distributing- backed rider, however, and it will be inter- esting to see how the triple progresses in his hands. Another interesting combination will be
John Ross McRae and his Triumph 675. The Calgarian has long been lurking as one of Canada’s up-and-1comers, but got his big break when he was drafted into Darren James’ Ruthless Racing Harley-Davidson XR1200 class team at the start of 2011. McRae has shown some good turns of speed in that class, and reports from the re- gional Pro Sport Bike opener at Shan- nonville this spring suggested he could be ready for a breakthrough. With plans announced for a Pro Super-
bike campaign aboard an Aprilia RSV4, it is unlikely Trombino will return to the Pro Sport Bike class with his Suzuki GSX- R600, but another Suzuki rider to impress last year was former Amateur Sport Bike champion Raphael Archambault. The Ter- rebonne, Que. teen has taken some time to add consistency to his obvious pace, but he ended the 2012 season in fine form with pole position at the Canadian Tire Mo- torsport Park finale and three straight run- ner-up race finishes. After a frustrating rookie Pro season last
summer, 2011 Amateur Sport Bike cham- pion Kristopher Garvie looks set to make a strong run in the Hindle Pro Sport Bike class this season. The Caledon, Ont. racer fin- ished second to Christie at the 2013 RACE Super Series opener on a Honda CBR600RR and showed promise last year before injury derailed his campaign. Louie Raffa is expected to be back this
season on a Couturier Racing-backed Honda CBR600RR. The Ste-Marthe, Que. rider finished fourth in points last year and placed third in May’s 2013 RACE regional opener. Amzy Nawaz of Thornton, Ont. was also at the first RACE round and, along with Garvie was among the national Amateur stars of 2011. Look for him to make some noise if he rejoins the national class this season. St-Hyacinthe, Que.’s Philippe Masse won the Amateur Sport Bike crown last year in impressive fashion on his Pete’s Superbike-backed Kawasaki ZX-6R and should be competitive at the Pro level as well. Others due to move up include Sarnia, Ont. youngster Will Hornblower, who fin- ished second in Amateur Sport bike on a Yamaha YZF-R6 in 2012 and improved as the season went on, and Newcastle, Ont.’s Nuno Almeida, who also finished the sea- son impressively riding a Triumph 675. Christie’s date with history awaits, and it
will be intriguing to see if anyone can step up to the challenge and deny him his place among the legends of Canadian mid- dleweight national road racing.
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