The MV Agusta F3 made its national Sportbike debut at Shannonville Motorsport Park with a fifth place finish by Royal Distributing rider Michael Leon at the first event of the 2013 Mopar CSBK series on June 9.
Brad Clarke of Compulsion Racing took over crew chief duties for Michael’s regular tuner Carlos Carrascosa, who was on diaper duty helping to care for his new son. Carlos’ wife Sonia gave birth to Eladio J. Louis Carrascosa on May 25. The whole Leon Racing team congratulates Carlos and Sonia on their new bundle of joy!
Unfortunately, the whole paddock, including the Royal Distributing team, lost out on valuable setup time due to rain during Thursday’s track day and Friday’s official practice. Riding in Saturday morning practice, Michael discovered that the changes made to the Elka rear shock made by John Sharrard of Accelerated Technologies were a big improvement. As well, increasing the oil level in the Andreani cartridge kit equipped front fork helped prevent bottoming under heavy braking. Michael qualified fifth, on the second row.
After a botched start, Michael ran a lonely race in fifth place in Sunday’s Hindle Sport Bike final. His best time was about 2.5 seconds slower than the best of those who battled for the win, and about a second short of the those who battled for third. The first goal of the weekend for the team was to continually improve the setup and build confidence for the rest of the season. In that respect, it was a success.
Michael Leon, Royal Distributing Team Rider:
“We went faster in every session and continued to improve the bike. I’m happy about that. Our stock motor is on par with the other “built” bikes in the field and the chassis has no apparent weaknesses. I didn’t really perform at my best on Sunday. I was so focused on getting the bike up to speed and having a safe first National Race that when I was on the grid, I wasn’t really ready to race at 100%, and on the limit. I definitely could have been more aggressive during the first 2 laps but, realistically, I don’t think I could have comfortably ran the pace to fight for the podium. As I posted on my Facebook page, there is nothing better to motivate you for the next race than getting your ass kicked. I can’t wait for the next race! I’d like to give a big thank you to Brad for all his efforts this weekend!”
The next event for the team is the SOAR Round 2 regional at Grand Bend this weekend, followed by the CSBK Round 2 to be held at Autodrome St-Eustache on July 7.
Follow the team on Facebook by liking https://www.facebook.com/royaldistributing, www.facebook.com/leonracing74 and www.leonracing.com .
The Royal Distributing Racing Team would like to thank Royal Distributing, MV Agusta Canada, Motovan, Accelerated Technologies, Elka Suspension, Andreani Group, Speed & Strength, Joe Rocket Canada, Hindle Exhaust, Rev-Amp Electrical Supply, Clinique Dr. Laflamme et Dr. Leblanc and MacDuc.
— From Royal Distributing Racing Team
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