Nawaz almost perfect at St-Eustache

By John Hopkins
Photo by Neil Cameron / www.csbk.ca

ST-EUSTACHE, QC -- Amzy Nawaz of Thornton, ON enjoyed an almost perfect day at Autodrome St-Eustache on Saturday. The Kawasaki ZX-6R rider claimed his first career national pole position in qualifying for the K&N Performance Filters Amateur Superbike class and came within a lap of doing the same in Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike action.

Nawaz turned a lap of 47.822 seconds around the 1.77km St-Eustache track to edge Kristopher Garvie and Stephan Houle for the Kawasaki S4-R Competition Lubricants Pole Award in Amateur Superbike. Caledon, ON's Garvie settled for second on his Tracksport Technologies / Kahuna Powersports Kawasaki ZX-6R with a time of 47.959 secs. and Houle, from Gatineau, QC, will start Sunday's race third after turning a 48.030 aboard the 613 Motorsports / Jim Keay Ford-Lincoln Suzuki GSX-R1000.

"The suspension is still a little too loose, especially going through the last turn," said Nawaz. "My last lap might have been even faster but I nearly highsided coming onto the front straight."

Philippe Masse of St-Hyacinthe, QC completes the front row on the Pete's Superbike Kawasaki ZX-6R while series points leader Jody Greening of Burlington, ON qualified fifth with a time of 48.562 aboard the BFE / ProStar / Sturgess Cycle Honda CBR600RR.

In Amateur Sport Bike Samuel Proulx of Magog, QC turned a 47.880 on the final lap of qualifying to take the Kawasaki S4-R Competition Lubricants Pole Award on the Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson Suzuki GSX-R600. His last gasp effort edged Nawaz by just 0.008 secs.

"I thought I had it," Nawaz admitted. He credited Ohlins rep Gianni Aceto of G Suspensions for helping him drop over a second from his lap times during the course of practice at St-Eustache.

Sport Bike points leader Garvie will start third on Sunday's grid thanks to a time of 48.148 secs. and Greening lines up fourth.

Class points leader Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, BC qualified fastest for the Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup at Autodrome St-Eustache on Saturday with a time of 50.234 secs. on his MotoSport Plus of Kingston-backed entry and took the Tactical Products Canada Pole Award.

The front row will be filled out by Darren James of North Vancouver (Ruthless Racing / Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada), Cochrane, AB's Cody Matechuk (Privateers Harley-Davidson) and Ottawa racer Elie Dacacche (Harley-Davidson de l'Outaouais).

Amateur Superbike Qualifying Results
1.Amzy Nawaz, Thornton, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 47.822
2.Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +0.137 secs.
3.Stephan Houle, Gatineau, QC (Suzuki GSX-R1000) +0.208
4.Philippe Masse, St-Hyacinthe, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +0.737
5.Jody Greening, Burlington, ON (Honda CBR600RR) +0.740
6.Edward Rudkowski, Toronto, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) +1.261
7.Jean Francois Aubin, St-Jerome, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) +1.523
8.Alex Coelho, Longueuil, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +1.720
9.Riley Gage Dawe, Toronto, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) +1.724
10.Eric Gagnon, St-Jerome, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) +1.949
11.Natalie Catherine Provost, Laval, QC (Honda CBR600RR) +2.038
12.Jean-Sebastien Perreault, Becancour, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +2.464
13.Mario Bourget, Trois-Rivieres, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +2.507
14.Dominic Mongeon, St-Andre-Auellin, QC (Yamaha YZF-R6) +2.528
15.Luc Labranche, Mirabel, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +3.074
16.Eric Trudel, Ste-Thecle, QC (Honda CBR600RR) +3.610
17.Stephane Couturier, Laval, QC (Ducati 1098R) +4.954

Amateur Sport Bike Qualifying Results
1.Samuel Proulx, Magog, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) 47.880
2.Amzy Nawaz, Thornton, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +0.008 secs.
3.Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +0.268
4.Jody Greening, Burlington, ON (Honda CBR600RR) +0.539
5.Philippe Masse, St-Hyacinthe, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +0.855
6.Edward Rudkowski, Toronto, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) +1.454
7.Alex Coelho, Longueuil, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +1.803
8.Jean Francois Aubin, St-Jerome, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) +1.859
9.Dominic Dupont, Laval, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +1.917
10.Riley Gage Dawe, Toronto, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) +2.029
11.Natalie Catherine Provost, Laval, QC (Honda CBR600RR) +2.068
12.David Tremblay, Longueuil, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) +2.097
13.Eric Gagnon, St-Jerome, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) +2.281
14.Dominic Mongeon, St-Andre-Auellin, QC (Yamaha YZF-R6) +2.457
15.Mario Bourget, Trois-Rivieres, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +2.606
16.Jean-Sebastien Perreault, Becancour, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +2.705
17.Luc Labranche, Mirabel, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +3.437
18.Eric Trudel, Ste-Thecle, QC (Honda CBR600RR) +3.546
19.Martin Chartrand, Montreal, QC (Suzuki SV650) +3.700
20.Etienne Deblois, Longueuil, QC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 3.802

XR1200 Cup Qualifying Results
1.Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC 50.234
2.Darren James, North Vancouver, BC +0.349 secs.
3.Cody Matechuk, Cochrane, AB +0.734
4.Elie Daccache, Ottawa, ON +0.826
5.John Ross MacRae, Calgary, AB +0.935
6.Olivier Spilborghs, White Rock, BC +1.201
7.Chris Harmon, Bracebridge, ON +1.416
8.Lee Kuhn Jr., Hamilton, ON +2.142
9.Samuel Proulx, Magog, QC +0.888*
10.Bertrand Gahel, Longueuil, QC +2.820
11.Steve Hoffarth, Orangeville, ON +3.776
12.Dan Thomson, Carleton Place, ON +5.166
13.Gump Harrison, Ailsa Craig, ON No Time
* -- penalized four positions for use of unapproved modified exhaust
** -- All riders aboard Harley-Davidson XR1200 motorcycles