Shannonville qualifying notes

SHANNONVILLE, ON - Steve Crevier continued to set the pace at the opening round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park Saturday.

The Maple Ridge, BC rider took his Diablo Suzuki GSX-R1000 to pole position in qualifying with a lap time of 1:05.880 around the 1.5-mile 'Pro' track. He just failed to break his own course record of 1:05.746.

Pascal Picotte of St-Cecile de Milton, QC was second fastest on his Picotte Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 with a time of 1:06.081 and Chardon, OH's Tom Kipp qualified third with a lap of 1:06.423 aboard the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-7RR.

Calgary rider Clint McBain completes the front row for Sunday's feature race after setting a best time of 1:06.428 on his Coors Light Racing/Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Crevier claimed the $500 MPM/Array Pole Award for his efforts and earned four points in his bid for a record seventh Canadian National Superbike title. Picotte picked up three championship points, Kipp earned two and McBain received one.

"I'm happy for the team. They've been working really hard," Crevier said. "I got some experience in the States before the season started and that's made a difference."

Picotte took the lead of an extremely competitive 45-minute qualifying session with just under 10 minutes to go, only to have Crevier nip ahead for good a few minutes later.

"We keep improving and I'm getting more comfortable with the bike," said Picotte, who is making his return to Canadian competition after spending over a decade racing in the U.S. "It seems like I'm riding well and I'm trying to use my experience to my advantage."

This is the first race with new Superbike rules designed to even the playing field in Canada's premier motorcycle road racing class and the top eight riders qualified within a second of each other Saturday.

Kleinburg, ON's Frank Trombino, winner of this race last year will start sixth in Sunday's race after setting a time of 1:06.482 on his Brooklin Cycle Yamaha YZF-R1.

In other action at Shannonville, Picotte waited until his final flying lap to unseat Trombino from pole in qualifying for the Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike category. Picotte recorded a class record 1:06.891 aboard his Yamaha YZF-R6. Trombino set a 1:06.936 on his similar machine.

Defending class champ McBain managed the third fastest time of 1:07.166 on his Suzuki GSX-R600.

Ottawa rider Dan Henri took his Yamaha to the fastest time in the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike qualifying session with a time of 1:10.566. Wellsley, ON's Bill Card placed second with a 1:11.141 on his Honda and Marco Alessandrini of Bradford, ON had the third fastest time of 1:11.656 aboard a Yamaha.

Feature races in all three national classes will run Sunday. Practice begins at 8:30 a.m. with the first race slated to get underway at 1:00 p.m.

This weekend's event will be televised on TSN on Sunday, June 15 at 11:00 am EDT and later this year on Quebec's RDS and across Canada on the Outdoor Life Network.

Results Saturday from qualifying for the opening round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park, showing qualifying position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and qualifying time:

1.Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:05.880
2. Pascal Picotte, St-Cecile de Milton, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:06.081
3. Tom Kipp, Chardon, OH, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:06.423
4. Clint McBain, Calgary, AB, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:06.428
5. Francis Martin, Rock Forest, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:06.472
6. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:06.482
7. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, QC, Honda RC51, 1:06.578
8. Jean-Francois Cyr, Laval, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:06.850
9. Jeff Williams, Harrowsmith, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:06.888
10. Robbie Baird, Queensland, Australia, Honda RC51, 1:07.123
11. Michael Taylor, Toronto, ON, Honda CBR954RR, 1:07.190
12. Andrew Nelson, Kars, ON, Honda CBR954RR, 1:07.409
13. Chris Peris, Calgary, AB, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:07.628
14. Benoit Pilon, St-Jerome, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:07.689
15. Darryn Wilbur, Maple, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:08.331
16. Matthew McBride, Toronto, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:08.499
17. Joel McDonald, North York, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:08.641
18. Bruce McDonald, Mt. Albert, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:08.715
19. Matt Binns, Toronto, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:09.007
20. Owen Weichel, Toronto, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:09.231
21. Philip Onisto, Bolton, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:09.304
22. Brent Strong, Mississauga, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:09.475
23. Michael Leon, Montreal, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:09.611
24. Derek Vammus, Orangeville, ON, Honda CBR600RR, 1:09.828
25. Larry Orde, Peterborough, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:09.975
26. John Brundl, Toronto, ON, Honda CBR954RR, 1:10.440
27. Jim Proulx, Ottawa, ON, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:10.467
28. Shane LeGros, Toronto, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:10.516
29. Zenon Nelson, Bowmanville, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:10.743
30. Dan Durkovic, Ottawa, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:11.624 31. Barry French, Brampton, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:11.906
32. Darren Womack, Windsor, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:12.146
33. Martin Hamel, Drummondville, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:13.541

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