Trombino completes Quebec sweep

By John Hopkins
Photo courtesy www.csbk.ca

ST-EUSTACHE, QC – Frank Trombino claimed his second Pirelli Pro Sport Bike win of the 2011 season on the Suzuki Canada / Hindle / Sturgess Cycle Suzuki GSX-R600 at Autodrome St-Eustache on Sunday. The Woodbridge, ON rider took the lead on the first lap of the 20-lap race and held on for a 0.220-sec. victory over the Jodi Christie Racing / Cameron Cycle / Blue Streak Racing Honda CBR600RR of Jodi Christie.

Christie, however, did extend his class points lead over Alex Welsh, who placed third on Sunday on his Z1 CycleTech / Kenwood Suzuki GSX-R600. Christie now has 183 points to the 168 of the Uxbridge, ON rider.

Christie had qualified on pole for the 20-lap race around the 1.77km St-Eustache circuit but it was Welsh who led into the first corner with Trombino in pursuit. Trombino then made a bold pass for the lead in the dogleg at the end of the lap and quickly opened up a lead of just over a second.

Christie spent half the race trying to find a way by Welsh and once he did, taking the Suzuki at the end of the backstraight on lap 11, the Keene, ON racer went to work on reducing the gap to Trombino. Over the next three laps he repeatedly lowered the lap record, finally settling on a 45.872 on lap 13. Getting past was another matter, however, and Trombino refused to buckle under the pressure from the Honda rider.

"I was determined to get the lead early because that's key here," said Trombino, who completed a sweep of Quebec rounds of the series, having also taken the season opener at Circuit ICAR. "If not, you can burn up a lot of energy battling with people. I wanted to get the lead, hold it and keep a bit in reserve in case I needed it at the end. I thought it was Alex or Jodi behind me but I just tried to keep my pace and not do anything stupid."

Christie admitted that a few mistakes once he got onto Trombino's tail hurt his chances at grabbing the lead.

"I made a few little mistakes and had to regain time," he explained. "I would slide the back end, or push too deep into the corners. One time I was wide off the backstraight. It was pretty slick out there. But if Frank made a mistake I was ready to pounce."

Riding his second bike after a qualifying crash on Saturday, Welsh settled for third, 9.747 secs. behind the leaders.

"Once Jodi got past me I decided to just hang in there and see what I could get," he admitted. "We really threw this bike together and all things considered I think we put in a good effort. I didn't quite have the set up and the tires went away early, and I didn't quite have the motor to pull them on the backstraight."

Jean-Francois Cyr of Mascouche, QC claimed fourth on the CyRacing Suzuki GSX-R600, with the Archambault Suzuki / Parts Canada Racing GSX-R600 of Terrebonne, QC's Raphael Archambault never more than a couple of seconds behind the whole race. Similarly, Warman, SK's Bodhi Edie survived constant pressure from Jeremie Hade Precourt to take sixth on the Edie Racing / Acceleration Racing / Honda Canada Honda CBR600RR. The Granby, QC rider settled for seventh aboard the JHP Racing / Picotte Motorsport Suzuki.

Race Results
1.Frank Trombino, Woodbridge, Ont. (Suzuki GSX-R600) 20 laps in 15:31.274
2.Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont. (Honda CBR600RR) +0.220 secs.
3.Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont. (Suzuki GSX-R600) +9.747
4.Jean-Francois Cyr, Mascouche, Que. (Suzuki GSX-R600) +13.519
5.Raphael Archambault, Terrebonne, Que. (Suzuki GSX-R600) +15.022
6.Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask. (Honda CBR600RR) +20.707
7.Jeremie Hade Precourt, Granby, Que. (Suzuki GSX-R600) +24.921
8.Slyvain Dery, St-Colomban, Que. (Yamaha YZF-R6) +29.203
9.Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, Que. (Honda CBR600RR) +38.301
Fastest Lap: 45.872 by Jodi Christie on lap 13

Point Standings
1.Jodi Christie (Honda) 183
2.Alex Welsh (Suzuki) 168
3.Frank Trombino (Suzuki) 136
4.Bodhi Edie (Honda) 125
5.Raphael Archambault (Suzuki) 123
6.Sylvain Dery (Yamaha) 107
7.Marie-Josee Boucher (Honda) 105
8.Jeremie Hade Precourt (Suzuki) 101
9.Sean Huffman (Honda) 90
10.Andrew Nelson (Yamaha) 76
11.Darren James (Buell) 40
12.Martin Grande (Yamaha) 40
13.Joey McRae (Yamaha) 40
14.Vicki Schouten (Kawasaki) 36
15.Jean-Francois Cyr (Suzuki) 34
16.Kenny Riedman (Triumph) 32