The final round of the RACEMoto Regional Series is a month away at Shannonville Motorsport Park, with a host of special activities planned to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the first ever motorcycle race at what was then called Nelson International Raceway. With this milestone in mind, here are ten of the most significant motorcycle racing events to take place at the “Birthplace of Champions.”
The following are our first five entries, chronologically, of our top ten list.
No 1: Thanksgiving, fall,1976 – Jim Allen wins debut of Nelson International Raceway
The first ever racing motorcycle event at Shannonville was a last-minute affair, the final event of the Canadian season, announce just weeks before the now famous October weekend date. CMA sanctioned, this debut event at the not-fully-completed facility was not affiliated with the dominant sanction group of the era, War-Lie Racing in Quebec; War-Lie’s Brimaco Series was based at Sanair International near Granby on the south shore.
Word of mouth was the major method of advertising, and the fact that track owner and operator John Nelson had run a shop in Toronto and sponsored a range of competitors helped too. One of the top Canadian race teams was East Toronto Yamaha Dealer Ernie White who entered top gun Jim Allen (then employed in street bike development at Bombardier/Can-Am in Quebec) at Shannonville, aboard the typically Pro gear of the time: Yamaha TZ750 (four cylinder and TZ250 (twin) two-stroke racers.
Also, Yamaha equipped was top Montreal-based Pro Brian Henderson, and the wild card in the Feature class was the unique Curtis framed, first gen Honda single cam 750 powered Curtis “F1 style” racer of Robbie Mieklejohn, built by Mike Crompton (Canadian Motorcycle hall of Fame, class of 2015). Equipped with Weber carbs, the high-handlebar Honda could run with Allen – before the engine failed in a spectacular, smoky mess heading into turn one.
Allen won, Henderson in second with the Flat Track Triumph twin of Moe Fraser completing the runners in the last race of the day. The success for Allen helped make up for his 250 Grand Prix race, where he was much favored but twice fell in the tight turn between corners five and seven, a long, slow left hander.
This first-gear-on-a-real-race-bike corner did not suit the TZ, but Allen still managed to regroup (twice), remount, and continue to earn fourth. Ottawa’s Chris Hurst won that 250cc G.P. race as well as Pro 410 production race (aboard a square tanked, first gen RD400 Yamaha) for the top overall performance at the Nelson opener.
When action returned to the track the next season for both CMA (the short lived Ontario Road Racing Association) and Brimaco Series Regional races, Allen’s turn had been replaced by a slight left hand dog leg that actually shortened the length of the original layout. The Allen’s Corner title didn’t reappear until 1987, when Shannonville Motorsport Park was expanded and this section of asphalt came back into use with the main, 15 turn “long” track layout.
No. 2: 1980 – Morin Nabs the Crown At First Shannonville National
Shannonville’s first major step into hosting spectator-oriented events came in September 1980, when the second and last round of the CMA National series decide the overall National Championships. It was a major year for competition, since for the first time the coveted CMA number one plate could be awarded to a Superbike class competitor, not necessarily a 250cc or 500cc Grand prix class racer, as previous.
Superbike had made its debut as a Regional class for the CMA in 1979, after a late season debut at Mosport the previous year. Previously, the big street bikes were limited to Production classes, with minimal modification, stock exhausts and shocks, and so on.
At the Edmonton opener, veteran George Morin (Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame class of 2015, died 2023, age 74) dominated the Superbike category on his Quaker State Kawasaki, while his expected Yamaha-backed two-stroke equipped rivals for the National overall title, Steve Gervais and Gary Collins, hit mechanical trouble. Second in Pro SBK went to an injured Rueben McMurter (ex Bob Price Kaw) from local ace Steve Dick on a fearsome Honda CBX1000 six-cylinder.
At Shannonville, McMurter needed to squeeze Morin down the order, and his friend and then class star Lang Hindle’s entry on another Kawasaki looked like key help. But McMurter and Hindle tangled early in the race, and while McMurter got his required victory, Morin climbed up to second (out dueling Dave Park’s Suzuki) and clinched his title.
The next season, Morin would switch to Suzuki (on the ex-Parks machine!) with his number one plate, while Kawasaki would back Hindle and McMurter in the new RACE Eastern Canada tour.
No. 3: 1982 – Molson Superbike Challenge First Double Header
After some tricky politics between Shannonville-based sanction group RACE (Roadracing Association Canada East) and national group CMA, an accord was reached to stage the first big, beer-backed spectator event at S.M.P., the Molson Superbike weekend. At the time, racing in Canada was very much a Molson vs. Labatts affair).
A CMA National, round two after the opener a week earlier in Nova Scotia, would take place Saturday; the main RACE Event on Sunday. The Sunday event was the subject of a CTV Jim Robinson documentary funded by Castrol, recently rebroadcast on REV.
The winner at Shubenacadie the week before at a track he loved, George Morin lead early on his McBride Cycle Suzuki Katana, chased by the McBride sponsored GS1000S entry of Norm Murphy. The track-building Nelson family and the Murphy clan were cornerstones of the Ontario racing scene, formerly based a Harewood Acres near Hamilton, like Shannonville also motorcycle friendly in terms of run off.
Morin encountered engine problems, and Murphy won Saturday’s CMA clash, chased by Alberta based Steve Dick on a Kawasaki Superbike and stock class hero hero Warren Milner on a production Kawasaki.
The next day, a larger field dealt with difficult weather for the RACE round, with legendary Yvon Duhamel on a Hindle KZ1000J Superbike crashing early and hurting his shoulder. Rookie pro Art Robbins on his Leitner and Bush Suzuki was the big story in this time period and took the lead early from Clive Ng-A-Kien’s F1 class Yamaha TZ750. But Jean-Yves Ferland’s huge engine failure oiled the track and forced a new start, spoiling Robbins’ advantage.
On the second launch, “Art the Dart” retook control with Hindle close behind, followed by McMurter’s rare Shoei Lawson replica Kawasaki (mostly racing in the U.S. at the time), Murphy and Ng-A-Kien. The big money Molson success for Robbins was the first major accomplishment of his career, just a year after he started road racing. A troubled Robbins passed away in 2020 at the age of 59.
No. 4: 1986 – West Coast Arrivals Confirmed with Goodie’s Shannonville success
A former motocross G.P. racer for Australia turned Vancouver Bike Dealer, Gary Goodfellow was a big mid-1980s story, winning at his home track of Westwood and attracting attention with top placing in the AMA National Series in the US. Goodfellow was also one of the B.C. aces who made a second home at Shannonville, joined by Steve Crevier, Tom Walther, well-travelled Steve Dick and their fellow west coasters.
In 1986, Goodfellow overcame the “locals” perspective commonly held at Shannonville and defeated the home track crew to win the 6th annual Molson Superbike Challenge, battling Art Robbins (F1 Rothmans-Honda triple) and Michel Mercier (Cam2 Suzuki). Mercier, now based at Shannonville with the new FAST Yamaha Racing School, would go on to earn the number one National Superbike plate.
Goodfellow’s potent Yoshimura Suzuki was decorated with a pink flamingo, advertising the Scooter rental business he was running in downtown Vancouver associated with their summer World’s Fair event. The often injured Goodfellow would go on to race for Suzuki and Japan and HRC Honda in the U.S.
No 5: 1989 – Team Canada vs Team USA Match Races Debut
A new effort to build another spectator focused annual event at Shannonville Motorsport Park involved replicating the Match Race format established in the U.K. each Spring, with a series of races with Nationally themed teams. The Match Races at S.M.P. in mid-May were not part of the Canadian Nationals, so riders were not under pressure to worry about points. At the time, Goodfellow, Mercier and McMurter had all shown well at the original, English Match Races Series.
Eventually, that non-Championship status would change, with Americans looking for points in their F-USA Series and Canadians competing for their Motoplan-Castrol National overall standings and Castrol year-end pay out.
There were two key Team classes in year one, for 250 Grand Prix and, of course, for Superbike. There were many strong Canadian racers in the American G.P. division in this period, and the pace setter at Shannonville turned out to be Miguel Duhamel (a class rookie) on a U.S. based year-old Team Lassak Yamaha TZ250.
Duhamel’s Shannonville fight against American class legend and frequent class Champ Rich Oliver was unprecedented, and those on hand that day can reflect on Duhamel pace on the nearly new Shannonville pavement. The visiting Americans raved about the quality of the recently expanded and revamped circuit.
Duhamel eventually lowered the Long Track outright lap record to 1:47.63, a mark many didn’t believe. At the time, Duhamel’s lap was more than 1.6 seconds beneath the top Superbike time of McMurter. Duhamel won both G.P. races and lead the Canuks to surprise success against Team U.S.A. in the points standings for the two-stroke class.
In Superbike, the Americans were not as well equipped at the locals, the Canadians more current Superbike equipment – in a year or two, the works teams south of the border would more than catch up in terms of their gear as Sports Bike sales took off.
Nursing an arm injury, Gary Goodfellow was reluctant to join Team Canada, but in the end his name was added to the official Canadian entry list and “Goodie” won the opener on his Japanese sourced Don Knit Suzuki over Suzukis Canada’s Mercier, Honda Canada’s Rueben McMurter and the “promoter option” entry of American Champ Jamies James on a well-travelled ex-Goodfellow Opus Ferrum Suzuki.
In the second race, Goodfellow opted not to compete, and the battle for first is still considered to be one of the best in the history of S.M.P. Mercier led, McMurter also took the point, while Steve Crevier (Yam), Miguel Duhamel (Suz), Tom Kipp (Yam), Tom Douglas (Yam) and James were close. James drew the ire of his competition when he used his boot to rub on the tire and cause smoke, making his rivals think he had a bike issue. Mercier won.
Stay tuned for Part 2.
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