NEWS: Close Racing! Leon escapes a close call, finishes 6th.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

In the CSBK RD1 Pro Sportbike 600cc Race, held June 24 at Shannonville, Royal Distributing rider Michael Leon and his CBR600RR narrowly escaped an on-track incident with a crashing motorcycle.  He continued to finish in 6th place. 

Leon was running in 5th place on the 3rd lap, following closely behind Aubrey Bailey in 4th and Raphael Archambault in 3rd , when Archambault crashed out of the corner 3 right hander.  Michael’s CBR was struck by the sliding Suzuki.  Although he didn’t crash, Leon’s chain was knocked off in the process.  Archambault was unhurt and was able to remount and continue.

“As the bike was sliding toward the outside of the track, the tires gripped the pavement and it changed direction.  It started to veer back in front of Aubrey and me.  Aubrey squeaked by and as I was passing the bike, its front wheel struck the right side of my lower fairing.  I remember lifting my leg and feeling the tire hit the foot peg and then my rear wheel.  I managed to keep it upright but when I got back on the throttle the chain just started to spin.  It was the closest incident that I have had in a long time and I am very happy that Raphael was not hurt.” commented Michael.

Michael coasted to a stop beside the track.  He was able to get the chain back on by putting the bike in neutral and hooking up a few chain links to some of the sprocket teeth.  He then drove the bike forward.  He damaged some of the sprocket teeth in the process, but was able to continue the race and finish in 6th place.

The team had made steady progress throughout the weekend, chipping away at the lap times.  On Saturday afternoon, John Sharrard from Accelerated Technologies helped by re-valving  the compression stack in the team’s rear Elka shock.  That combined with stiffer fork springs had made a big difference.   In Sunday’s race, Michael’s best lap was within 1.5 second of the race winner.  “I felt really good going into the race and can’t wait to ride again.  I’m finally figuring out how to adapt my riding style from the big twin to the 600.  Hopefully, we can continue the progress and get on pace with the front runners.” said Michael.

The next event for the Royal Distributing Team is the CSBK Rd 2 at Autodrome St-Eustache, QC.  Racing action is on Sunday July 8th.  Come out to support the team! 

Follow the team this season on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leon-Racing/313192898765913 or at http://www.leonracing.com

The Royal Distributing Racing Team would like to thank Royal Distributing, Triple 7 Racing, Pro 6 Cycle, Dunlop Tires, Accelerated Technologies, Elka Suspension, Nexo Sports, PBI Sprockets, Woodcraft, Martin Brickwood Performance, Performance Friction, Armour Bodies, CVR Motors, LG Restorations and Gianmajor Inc.

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