Montreal native Michael Leon rode the Royal Distributing MV Agusta F3 675 triple to a third place finish in the Hindle Exhaust Pro Sportbike class at Round 2 of the Canadian Superbike Championship at Autodrome St-Eustache, his home track. The result marks the first visit to the podium for MV Agusta in Canadian national competition.
The race was won by Jodi Christie riding a Honda CBR600RR with Triumph-mounted John Ross McRae finishing in second spot.
The team had qualified on the front row, in fourth place, with a lap time of 47.2 seconds, the fastest that Michael had ever ridden at St-Eustache. Long time tuner Carlos Carrascosa, also a local Montreal resident, resumed his trackside duties as crew chief. The crew received additional suspension support at the track from John Ilkiw and Nicolas Rousseau from Quebec-based Elka Suspension. John Sharrard of sponsor Accelerated Technologies also gave input regarding some of the suspension choices, despite his very busy schedule as crew chief for the factory Honda team. The group worked hard leading up to the race to continually improve grip and make the F3 easier to ride as traction decreased due to tire wear.
At the start of the final, Leon was fifth into the first corner. He made his way past McRae and Raffa but was quickly repassed by MacRae. As the leader, Christie, pulled a gap, MacRae moved into second ahead of Frank Trombino who was in third. A few laps later, Leon was able to use the MV Agusta’s power to pass Trombino on the back straight. In the closing stages, MacRae, Leon and Trombino ran close together but the finishing order remained the same at the checkered, with 2.2 seconds separating the top four riders at the line.
Michael Leon, Royal Distributing Team Rider:
“I am thrilled to put the F3 on the Podium. It is such a great machine; I love it and I’m starting to feel like it was built just for me! Once I moved into 3rd spot I was monitoring the gap back to Frank with my pitboard. Up until about 3 laps to go it was 1 second. Suddenly it dropped to zero and I knew he was right there. I turned my fastest lap on the last one, a 46.8 sec, trying not to lose out on the podium. I was able to stick with JR throughout the race, but decided to try a move only if he made a big error. Finishing in the top three was so important to me; I didn’t want to risk it. It was awesome to have friends and family present to help celebrate. Now that the first podium is out of the way, I can’t wait for the next race!”
Next, the team travels to Shubenacie, Nova Scotia for CSBK Rd3, a track that has been kind to Michael. From 2006 to 2008, he had a win, two 2nd place finishes, a pole position and a class lap record in the Canadian Thunder class. Come watch the MV Agusta in action at “Shubie” on July 28.
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, TCX Boots, Hindle Exhaust, Armour Bodies, Dunlop, Rev-Amp Electrical Supply, Clinique Dr. Laflamme et Dr. Leblanc and MacDuc.
— From Team Royal Distributing
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