July 30, 2014- Round 3 of the Canadian Superbike Championship, run at Shubenacadie, NS on the weekend July 25-27 started well with Stacey Nesbitt topping the Friday practice timesheets in both AM Sport Bike and AMSBK classes.
Suspension changes by Jon Cornwell on Saturday morning brought further improvements in lap times. In AM Sport Bike qualifying Stacey ended the session in third position. She was able to go slightly quicker in AMSBK to capture second place on the grid. Two front row starts.
A solid start in AM Sport Bike saw Stacey enter turn one in second place. It soon became a three way battle for the lead and the group opened a significant lead over the rest of the field. The three leaders were covered by a second for the entire race.
Stacey made several attempts to take the lead but the gap was too big at the end on the straight on each lap. With two laps to go Stacey made a bold pass into turn two and managed to hold it through turn three. On the last lap some back markers came into play.
Stacey was able to get by one into turn nine but had to follow the others through the last three turns. On the drive to the finish line she was able to hold on by a narrow margin of 0.078s with third place a further 0.213s back while dropping her lap time to 1m12.179s. Stacey remains second in the championship but has now closed to within one point of the lead.
The AMSBK race was the last of the day but rain clouds had been gathering in the afternoon.
Starting from second Stacey was able to hold that position but by half a lap the red flags were shown to stop the race as the rain came down. There was a twenty minute delay and the race was declared open, meaning it was down to the racers to choose DOT or full wet tyres.
The wet tyres were mounted on her back up OCM Racing/Honda Canada/FTR CBR600RR so Stacey was ready for both options. The rain stopped and the track dried although the rain clouds were still threatening. On the restart Stacey got away in second spot but was pushed back to third a lap later. A couple of laps later she was back in fourth place in what was turning into a five way battle for the lead.
At about the half way mark Stacey crashed out at turn four when the bike in front suddenly slowed while she was accelerating. With little time to react she clipped the bike while trying to avoid a bigger accident. Although the red flag was brought out, Stacey was fortunate to escape with a few bumps and bruises and was able to walk to the safety vehicles. As it was not a full race restart it was not possible to re-grid with her back up bike.
With only three points for qualifying Stacey now drops to third in the championship, 40 points off the lead, with only two races remaining.
“Overall it was a great weekend with highs and lows” said Stacey. “I am really looking forward to the final round at CTMP”. “I would like to thank OCM Racing, Honda Canada, Pat Milligan, Jon Cornwell, the medical staff and the hard working ARL team. It is always fun racing at Shubie with support from the east coast fans and catching up with friends”
Stacey competes with support from OCM Racing, Honda Canada Inc., FTR, Jon Cornwell, Arai Helmet Americas, Pro 6 Cycle Inc., R&M Electrical, Powersports Canada, Fast Company, Bluestreak Racing, Hindle Exhaust, Mikeymoto, International Supershow, Club Ouest Gym and Lucky Stripe.
The next round of the CSBK series takes place at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, ON August 15-17. Follow Stacey on www.statoniracing.com or facebook (Statoni Racing Team).
For more information about the Canadian Superbike Series visit www.csbk.ca
From: Statoni Racing
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