Crevier on XR1200 pole

By John Hopkins

SHANNONVILLE, ON -- Six-time Canadian Superbike champion Steve Crevier will start on pole position for this weekend's doubleheader for the Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup at Shannonville Motorsport Park.

The Maple Ridge, BC rider posted a time of 1:11.032 around the 2.4km track on his MotoSport Plus of Kingston-backed machine, putting him over half a second clear of opening round winner Cody Matechuk, who qualified second.

Matechuk recorded a 1:11.728 on the Privateers Harley-Davidson entry but the Cochrane, AB racer suffered a fall in morning practice. Third quickest was Samuel Proulx of Magog, QC on the Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson machine with a time of 1:12.028.

"We're still trying to find more time but I'm getting comfortable pushing the bike," said Crevier, who finished a close second to Matechuk in the season opener at Circuit ICAR after a great battle. "These bikes are easy to ride fast but there's a lot of mass there, so I've got to be careful not to upset the bike by braking too late, lose my momentum. But I'm enjoying it, the bikes are a lot of fun."

Darren James of North Vancouver completes the front row on the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada / Ruthless Racing XR1200 but he took a nasty spill near the end of the qualifying session. Although banged up James was scheduled to compete in Saturday's second round of the series.

Eric Green of Richmond, ON will start from pole in the two Honda CBR125R Challenge races this weekend. Green actually set the second fastest time in Friday afternoon qualifying but was moved up when pole qualifier Shay Gauthier was relegated to the back for running with parts missing from his air box.

Two other top five qualifiers, Scott Lingelbach and points leader Stacey Nesbitt were penalized four grid spots for running with modified stock air filters.

As a result, David MacKay of Stoney Creek, ON, Brian Alexander of Peterborogh and Falmouth, NS's Austin Shaw-O'Leary will join Green on the front row for this weekend's races.

XR1200 Cup Qualifying Results
1.Steve Crevier Maple Ridge, BC 1:11.032
2.Cody Matechuk Cochrane, AB 1:11.728
3.Samuel Proulx Magog, QC 1:12.028
4.Darren James North Vancouver, BC 1:12.378
5.Olivier Spilborghs White Rock, BC 1:12.899
6.Elie Daccache Ottawa, ON 1:13.241
7.John Ross MacRae Calgary, AB 1:13.573
8.Steve Nickerson Hamilton, ON 1:13.594
9.Chris Harmon Bracebridge, ON 1:13.902
10.Steve Hoffarth Orangeville, ON 1:15.334
11.Lee Kuhn Jr Hamilton, ON 1:15.456
12.Tim Clarkson Bowmanville, ON 1:17.421
13.Dan Thomson Carleton Place, ON 1:18.032
14.Uwe Wachtendorf Toronto, ON 1:20.541
15.Gump Harrison Ailsa Craig, ON 1:27.030
* All riders aboard Harley-Davidson XR1200 motorcycles

Honda CBR125R Challenge Qualifying Results
1.Eric Green, Richmond, ON 1:30.423
2.David MacKay, Stoney Creek, ON 1:31.244
3.Brian Alexander, Peterborough, ON 1:31.970
4.Austin Shaw-O'Leary, Falmouth, NS 1:32.107
5.Scott Lingelbach, Wellesley, ON 1:31.132**
6.Seth Van Dongen, Belle River, ON 1:32.298
7.Stacey Nesbitt, St-Lazare, QC 1:31.722**
8.Leah Vignale, Kemptville, ON 1:32.645
9.Lauren Hill, Halifax, NS 1:37.481
10.Karolina Pelc, Guelph, ON 1:38.650
11.Matt Chandler, Richmond Hill, ON 1:39.891
12.Timothy Kennedy, Richmond Hill, ON 1:46.832
13.Shay Gauthier, Ottawa, ON 1:29.308***
* All riders aboard Honda CBR125R motorcycles
** -- penalized four positions for using modified stock air filter
*** -- moved to back of grid for having airbox parts missing