The completion of the Canadian motorcycle road racing championship year will take place this weekend at Shannonville Motorsport Park, with the last round of the RACE Moto Regional series, the celebration event for the 50th Anniversary of Nelson International Raceway.
S.M.P. was originally know as Nelson and held their first ever race at the Shannonville location on a just-completed track during Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, 1976, on October 10. The venue was built by former racer, team owner and Honda shop principal, John Nelson. The popular Nelson operated the venue until selling his track to auto racer Jack Boxstrom in 1979 and then remained as a worker and Manager until his death in 2006, the same year he entered the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
That first race at Nelson was organized on short notice, but in cool and snowy conditions, attracting a solid entry. The feature F1 race was won by two-time Canadian overall National Champ Jim Allen on an Ernie White Racing Egli-framed Yamaha TZ750. The early challenge of Robbie Meiklejohn’s Mike Crompton built, Curtis framed, Weber carbureted Honda 750 based racer fizzled with catastrophic engine failure early in the big race.
More famously, Allen was favoured to win the 250cc Grand prix race on a Yamaha TZ250D, but fell twice during the race after leading early, eventually placing fourth. These events caused the corner where Allen fell to be named in his honour by announcer Pat Gonsalves, an unimportant fact until the track was revamped and expanded in 1988, bringing this part of the layout back into use.
This weekend’s event at Shannonville will feature Jim Allen as the Grand Marshal, a fitting tribute given that Allen at one point raced for Nelson’s Toronto-area Shop at the famed Harewood Acres venue near Hamilton, ON. When Harewood closed, there was a desire for a smaller, more bike friendly course in southern Ontario, and Shannonville fulfilled that aim. Nelson International was central to the rapid rise of roadracing competition and especially Superbikes in Canada during the late 1970s and 1980s.
Saturday, September 26 at Shannonville Motorsport Park will feature the final races for Ohvale 160 and 190 spec class young competitors in the MotoMINI FIM National Series, determining Team Canada selection for the World finals for Valencia, Spain, on November 26.
Saturday night will feature a live streamed event, when many of the top competitors from Shannonville’s storied history will talk about the track and their memories of John Nelson.
Sunday’s schedule includes a full slate of Regional events for the RACE Moto field, as well as TSN network television coverage of the feature Superbike class, with a large, $10,000 purse provided by Economy Lube + Tire for the top ten finishers. The Superbike class in RACE Moto competition is open in terms of tire selection, meaning a range of slick tires providers offerings will be used by the front runners.
Favoured in the 14-lap Feature is newly crowned RACE Moto Champ Eli Daccache on his Milwaukee Yamaha YZF-R1, using Pirelli rubber. Michael Leon is expected to return from injury to challenge with the Royal Distributing/Pro 6 BMW. The Bridgestone brigade will be headed by SOAR Western Ontario pace setter David MacKay with his Snow City Honda CBR100RR-SP.
A surprise entry is also attracting attention, with Scott Miller entering his ex-works 2002 Suzuki GSX-1000R for three-time Canadian Superbike Champ Francis Martin. This bike is a throw back to the old, “open” Superbike rules of 25 years ago, and in the same configuration as raced at Shannonville, by Martin for Miller’s Fast Company team, in 2002.
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