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Parts Canada Superbike Championship Round 2: Race City Motorsport Park The Parts Canada Superbike race at Race City Motorsport Park featured great action at the front throughout. Here, eventual winner Michael Taylor (151 leads Honda teammates Robbie Baird and Kevin Lacombe, and Suzuki rider Steve Crevier. BY JOHN HOPKINS PHOTOS BY CDNSUPERBIKE.COM CALGARY, AB, CANADA, JUNE 8 rion Motorsport Honda rider l.!!) Michael Taylor ended a victory drought of more than three years with a win at round two of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Calgary's Race City Motorsport Park. The 37-year-old Toronto native took the lead from Kawasaki rider Tom Kipp on lap 10 of the 16-lap race and held on to score the 10th National Superbike win of his career and the first for Honda's CBR954RR in Canadian Superbike competition. "I can't even remember the last time I won one of these," beamed Taylor, whose previous triumph came at the 1999 National Series finale. "I faced a lot of challenges in this one. It's a good way to win." Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, finished second, aboard the Diablo Suzuki GSXR1000, 2.497 seconds behind Taylor and just ahead of the Orion Motorsport Honda CBR600RR ridden by Australian Robbie Baird. In a particularly gutsy performance, Baird shed his helmet visor just three laps into the race (because it was fogging up repeatedly) and shrugged off the discomfort of having wind and rain pelting his eyes to set the fastest lap of the race in the closing stages. The race started on a wet track that dried steadily as the race wore on. Taylor bolted from eighth on the grid to lead onto the back straight the first time, with an inspired Chris Peris chasing him on his Honda CBR600RR. (ijI Peris took the lead on the second lap, only to have Taylor grab it back two laps later. Then Kipp moved to the front on the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-7RR. The Chardon, Ohio, native stayed there until the 10th lap, when Taylor made a bold inside pass through the Keyhole section of the 2.1 -mile road course. Taylor stayed in front the rest of the way, his Pirelli rain tires performing impressively despite the rapidly appearing dry line around the track. "I actually had my best results on the drier line, especially through the Keyhole," Taylor admitted. Taylor's win was the first for Pirelli in Canadian Superbike competition. Crevier started second but got a poor start and slipped back to sixth in the early laps. He clawed his way back to the front in the second half and took second when Kevin Lacombe crashed his Orion Motorsport Honda CBR600RR on lap 13. But the Dunlop-equipped rider was unable to make an impression on Taylor, despite setting the secondfastest lap in the closing stages. "We just ran out of top end on the straights," the six-time Canadian Superbike champion explained. Crevier's runner-up finish, combined with his win at the opening round of the series, left him with a healthy 32-point lead over Taylor in the championship standings, 101-69. Baird ran into a common Race City problem early in the race when the chemical used on the track's drag-strip front straight caused his visor to fog up. The Canadian series newcomer elected to ditch the visor Michael Taylor celebrates his 10th career Canadian Superbike win (and his first in over three yearsl with his son Jude at round two in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. and proceeded to set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:22.502, in the waning laps. "I can honestly say this was the toughest race I've ever had," the 32-year-old Baird admitted on the podium, his eyes still red and watery from the ordeal. "[Tearing off the visor] was better than not seeing at all. I think with another three laps, I would've caught both of them [Taylor and Crevier]." After leading in the middle stages, Kipp faded to fourth as his Pirelli rain tires lost their edge; he was running a slightly different tire from Taylor or Baird. Peris delighted his home fans with fifth, and Paquin Yamaha YZF-R1 rider Benoit Pilon placed sixth. Earlier in the day, Baird claimed his first victory on Canadian soil, leading all 12 laps from the pole to capture the Hindle Exhaust Pro 600cc Sportbike feature on his Honda CBR600RR. The race was also held on a wet track. Baird came under a late threat from the Picotte Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 of Pascal Picotte, but he used lapped traffic to his advantage on the final lap to win by 2.123 seconds. Crevier was third on his Diablo Suzuki GSX-R600 after passing Lacombe's CBR600RR just two laps from the finish. Picotte continues to lead the 600cc Sportbike points standings by 17 points over Baird. cue I e The most dominant display of the day came in the International Motorcycle Supershow Amateur 600cc Sportbike event. Keremeos, British Columbia's Jeremy Leduc annihilated his competition in the 12-lap race. Riding a Yamaha YZF-R6, Leduc led by 5.4 seconds after one lap and 7.9 seconds after two on his way to a 25.444-second victory. Bill Card of Wellesley, Ontario, was second on a Honda CBR600RR, and Jeremy French held off Darren James for the final podium spot. All three podium finishers were on Pirellis. The Parts Canada Superbike Championship next moves to Autodrome St-Eustache in St-Eustache, Quebec, for round three, July 4-6. eN Race City Motorsport Parte Calgary, Alberta, Canada R••ults: June 8, 2003 [Round 21 AM 600 SPT18K: 1. Jeremy Leduc (Yam); 2. Bill Card (Han): 3. Jeremy French (Hen); 4. Darren James (Yam); 5. Dan Henri (Yam); 6. Oliver Spilborghs (Yam); 7. Troy Miller (Kaw): 8. Fabien Rheault (Kaw); 9. Eric Warren (Suz): 10. Evert Nadema (Suz). PRO 600 SPT/BK: 1. Robbie Baird (Hen); 2. Pascal Picotte (Yam); 3. Steve Crevier (SUI); 4. Kevin Lacombe (Hon); 5. Clint McBain (SUI); 6. Tom Kipp (Kaw); 7. Jean·Francois Cyr (Yam); 8. Andrew Nelson (Hon): 9. Frank Trombino (Yam): 10. Francis Martin (SUI). PRO S/BK: I. Michael Taylor (Hon); 2. Steve Crevier (Suz); 3. Robbie Baird (Hon); 4. Tom Kipp (Kaw); 5. Chris Peris (Hon); 6. Benoit Pilon (Yam); 7. Jean-Francois Cyr (Yam); 8. Brian Nielsen (SUI); 9. Frank Trombino (Yam); 10. Clint McBain (SUI). n e vv OS • JULY 9, 2003 65