Laval, Quebec’s Team Couturier Racing came into the Round two of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Series with one objective in mind….represent the Quebec fans as best they know how. They did not disappoint.
Saturday’s qualifying went exceptionally well for all members of the Team Couturier Racing squad, with Pro Superbike riders Kevin Lacombe & Samual Proulx qualifying 2nd and 14th respectively. Pro Sportbike rider Louie Raffa qualified in 6th position while Eric Fiset qualifed in 15th position in the competitive Amateur Sportbike field.
Shortly following lunch, opening ceremonies signified the start of the afternoon’s race activities, with the National anthem sung and Pro Sportbike riders heading to the grid. Team Couturier Racing’s Louie Raffa had a great race with fellow competitors Michael Leon & Amzy Nawaz & crossed the line in 5th place, his second 5th place finish of the season.
“I’m happy with the weekend. Gathering some momentum & definitly getting more & more comfortable on the Honda’s. A big thanks to Martine & Stephane Couturier for their advice & support as well as my mechanic Peter Fuerst & my wife\crew chief Anny, you guys work so hard for me, thanks again!” said Raffa.
Following Pro Sportbike action was the final for our Amateur rider Fiset. The race was red-flagged but Fiset managed a better launch on re-start and made several passes to finish in 13th position.
“Another hard weekend for me, very little track time. Had a hard time finding a decent setup, I found some better lines in the final but the track being so short, it’s hard to pass, so I found myself blocking more then being offensive, so basically I have to work even harder for the next round.” explained Fiset.
Later that afternoon was the main event of the day, the 22- lap Pro Superbike final. Lacombe had a stellar start & led the pack of 20 competitors for the first 5 laps of the race. On lap 7 entering corner seven, Suzuki-mounted Alex Welsh passed Lacombe for the lead who then got passed a couple of laps later by Jordan Szoke, who would take the win. Fellow teammate Samuel Proulx was running comfortably mid-pack when he made a minor mistake and missed the end of the straight. He was forced to rejoin after the rest of the field had gone by but redeemed himself by putting in some fast laps and crossing the line in 13th position.
According to Lacombe, “I’m super happy with my weekend, I’m working very hard with Patrice to get the bike as comfortable as possible for me to ride, but in the final I was missing 2-3 tenths per lap to be able to battle it out with Szoke and Welsh. It’s gonna go even better in Shubie. Thanks to Couturier Racing and the whole team.”
Meanwhile, Samuel Proulx was happy to be moving forward, “It was a great weekend. We’re still making adjustments for my shifting system and we still have a lot of work to do to get me comfortable on the bike but I’m confident we’re moving forward.” said Proulx.
After Round 2 of 6 of the Mopar Canadian Superbike championship here are the standings for the Team Couturier Racing riders:
Team Couturier Racing would like to thank: BMW Motorrad, MPG (Patrice Goyette), Acier St-Michel, Martin Brickwood Performance (MBP), TSBK, ProFuel, Ohlins, Importations Thibault, Arlen Ness, Puig, Suomy, Spectro, Puma, Hindle, K&N, D.I.D, Ferrodo, AFAM, HotBodies, Taz Grafix, Honda Canada, Centre Hamel Honda, Fast Company, EBC, Litho Select, Pirelli, Golo Motorsports, Pete’s SBK, HEL, Oakley, Rev-It, Rubaroc, WREX, BlueStreakRacing, Velocity Sportsgear, Visalus Science & Vision Chevrolet.
Round three of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Series takes place at Atlantic Motorsports Park in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia from July 20-22.
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