Race Report from Round 1: The Highs and Lows of Motorcycle Racing
Calabogie Motorsports Park held the first 2 races of 2021 CSBK season, with races Saturday and Sunday. The #613 of Mike Maguire and #28 of Harvey Renaud, both identically prepped Kawasaki Ninja 400 entries, were looking fast in practice. Qualifying results put Maguire's 613 machine on the front row in 3rd position out of 22 entries, while Renaud started 10th on his first outing.
Race 1 started well for both riders, but Maguire's clip-on handlebar came loose on the first lap, causing him to drop back to 9th as he adjusted for the bar that kept moving around on the bike.
Renaud climbed up to 5th place on his #28 Kawasaki mid-race, however numbness in his forearm and hand caused him to start slipping back in the latter part of the race.
Maguire, having come to grips with his new full-floating throttle and brake assembly, started picking off riders in the final laps, and finished on the podium in 3rd place behind 2 other Kawasaki riders, Mackenzie Weil in 1st and Jacob Black in 2nd. Renaud finished with a top-10 result in his first outing, and very limited time on the little 400.
Race 2 saw the same starting order, and both Motomike Canada riders were out in the lead pack of 20 on the first lap. In lap 2, Maguire and three other rides all vying for the top spot went 4-wide into turn five, and Maguire got pushed wide on the brakes at the end of Rocky Road (Calabogie's longest straight) and took the 613 through the grass before rejoining in turn six, only after seven other riders had passed by. The determined rider started picking off the pack that got by him, and half way through the third lap had passed 5 of the 7 back, with the front group locked in his sights.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, as Maguire was lining up a pass on the 6th rider of the lap, that rider lost control in front of him and crashed. The bike and rider crossed in front of the path of the 613, forcing Maguire to use "all of the brakes" to avoid running over the tumbling rider's head. Maguire wasn't so lucky, as his 613 was then struck by the sliding #16 Yamaha, throwing the rider to the ground. The track's emergency service arrived in less than 50 seconds, but the race was over as Maguire had suffered a broken collarbone and burst vein in his left leg from the impact.
The restart saw Renaud, who had climbed up a number of positions, again start from the middle of the grid. Again he rode the wheels off the 28 Kawasaki Ninja, only to have another red flag come out stopping the race for a second time due to another rider's incident.
The second restart was set to be a 3 lap sprint, however due to a flagging issue ended up being 4 laps, which was then also called back a lap due to a red flag in the closing corners of the race. While technically crossing the line in 2nd under the checkers, that red-flag incident meant the CSBK officials took the results from the previous completed lap, making it a 5th place for Renaud. A very solid improvement from the previous day's race!
TL;DR:
Race 1 Maguire 3rd, Renaud 10th
Race 2 Maguire DNF, Renaud 5th
The #613 and #28 ready for battle (spot the differences!).