Michael Leon

The title of this report could easily be confused as a reference to the well known May long weekend that often includes a case of beer. Wrong. It is a reference to our team’s results this past weekend, at the Shannonville Super Series event that was held on the long track layout where we scored 2nd place in four of the races.

Kyle was on hand Friday for practice, guiding the setup development of the 2024 Royal Distributing BMW S1000RR Superbike. We put to good use what we learned during a recent electronic engine control training session with Alpha Racing that I participated in. Alpha is the German company responsible for much of BMW Motorrad’s racing efforts and R&D. The training was a great experience, and I learned a lot. Kyle had already taken the training in 2021. Some parts of the ECU system program have changed since then, so a refresher was nice. Throughout the day, we worked on further refining the engine braking and traction control and made some good progress.

I was able to make further improvements in every session and got faster every time out. When the racing started on Saturday afternoon, I still didn’t have the pace of current and multi time overall Number 1 plate holder Eli Daccache. I finished second to him in Sprint Cup and Pro Superbike. During the Superbike race, I got a good start and led to the hairpin before being overtaken by Eli. I set my fastest lap of the weekend on lap two, a 1:47.396. I am content with the continued improvement, yet disappointed to fall short of our target time, which was to be in the 1:45 range. For reference, my personal best on long track is 1:45.5, set many years ago, and the Super Series Pro Superbike lap record is 1:43.8, set by Francis Martin also many years ago.

Sunday was much sunnier, and the track temps were higher providing less grip. The lap times for most competitors were a bit slower. Once again, I ended up second in both Sprint Cup and Pro Superbike. I managed another good start in Superbike and lead the race for the first lap and a half. It felt great to get a taste of leading a race again across the start line. Over the decades, I’ve probably won about 30 or 40 races at Shannonville, but it’s been a couple of years. It was very motivating to work toward being more competitive again soon.
To be honest, I don’t feel that I rode at my best on Sunday. I was feeling the pressure to bring it home safe and sound to depart for a planned family vacation. We are leaving today for a week.

From Shannonvile, I drove to Calabogie to work as a BMW ambassador and host the demo rides at the Pro 6 Cycle trackday on Monday. This program allows trackday rider to try out a new S1000RR or S1000R on track for a session, at no charge. The BMW demo rides are organized by Pro 6 at about a dozen of their track days each year at Calabogie. If you are ever riding at Bogie, you should try one of these amazing machines, to see how they perform on the track. After the demo rides were done, I headed home to prepare for our trip.
Our next race will be the Super Series season finale in September. We hope to see you there. It’s time for me to go, I have to pack!

Yours truly,
Michael Leon

About Royal Distributing:
Since 1990, Royal Distributing has built a reputation as Canada’s Powersports leader. Royal carries all the gear and aftermarket parts and accessories for Motorcycle, Snowmobile, MX, ATV, Bicycle, Ebike and Marine. Royal offers great product selection at everyday low prices and ships orders coast to coast within Canada for free on orders over $45*. For all your powersport needs, you can check them out at www.royaldistributing.com, call them at 1-800-265-2970 or visit one of their five “superstores” located in Guelph, Innisfil, Whitby, Sudbury and Kanata, ON.

The Royal Distributing Racing Team would like to thank Royal Distributing, Pro 6 Cycle, BMW Motorrad Canada, Dunlop USA, Windmill Motorsports, Bell Helmets, Joe Rocket Canada, Forma Boots, Hindle Exhaust, MWR Air Filters, and Dave Smith.