Steve Hoffarth, Vintage Gone Modern columnist for Inside Motorcycles, rode the Inside Motorcycles/Serpa BMW S1000RR to a 3rdplace finish in the second round of the Mopar CSBK Bazzaz Amateur Superbike race at Autodrome St-Eustache.
The race was won by Mitch Card and in 2nd place was Riley Dawe finishing a half second in front of Hoffarth.
Hoffarth was 3rd fastest Friday morning with a 49.57-sec lap time, but failed to improve on that time until Saturday afternoon qualifying with a 48.57 that placed him 3rd and on the front row. “I was happy with being on the front row for the start of Sunday’s race, commented Hoffarth. “St-Eustache is a tight, technical track and it demands that you be very precise for a full lap to get the best time.”
When the lights went out and the race started Sunday, Hoffarth quickly dropped back in the pack. “Plan ‘A’ was to tuck in behind Stephan Houle and Eric Gagon who were fast all weekend and see what happened from there,” Hoffarth noted. “When I had a horrible start and found myself back in the field I went to plan ‘B’, trying to fight my way back towards the front as best I could. After a few laps Riley and Card were in sight but whenever I would gain on them in one section I would give up time in another section. Card and Dawe were riding well, congratulations to them both.”
Houle and Gagnon came together on the 4th lap while battling for the lead. Unfortunately neither could continue and complete the race. “I was so far back that I didn’t know it was Houle and Gagnon that were sidelined in the front hairpin. I only noticed it was them on the cool down lap, still I had no idea where I finished,” Hoffarth continued. “I was pleasantly surprised when Gump Harrison told me I finished 3rd.” Hoffarth leads the AM Superbike Championship by 5 points over Dawe after completing 2 of 6 rounds.
The Serpa BMW sponsored bike will be on display Wednesday July 17th from 5pm to 7pm. It will also be an opportunity from BMW riders to drop by for a casual ‘quiz the technician’ evening and have their ongoing BMW maintenance and repair questions answered. “We have two Master trained technicians and an amazing apprentice. On behalf of the entire Serpa BMW Motorrad team we invite the public to come in for a visit and have any lingering questions answered” said Jeff Lane, Manager of Fixed Operations, Serpa BMW in Newmarket, Ontario.
The Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship national race series continues with a trip to Nova Scotia July 26-28, then back to Mosport/CTMP for the big BMW event Motorrad Days August 9-11th. More information on Motorrad days including ticket purchases here www.bmw-motorrad.ca
Hoffarth would like to thank Inside Motorcycles, Blue Streak Racing, Serpa BMW, Armour Bodies, Pro 6 Cycle, Hindle Exhaust Systems, Woodcraft, Assante Wealth Management and Leggett’s Collision CSN along from Jon Cornwell, Steve Walker, Gump, Shawna and Connor Harrison.
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