Race Report From the Season Finale at Mosport (CTMP)
The final round of the 2022 CSBK season was held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport) just outside Bowmanville, ON. The triple-header superbike weekend drew the biggest crowd in years, and the fantastic weather set the stage for a great weekend of racing for all of the competitors.
The Motomike Canada Racing team showed up in full force, surrounded by friends, family, and fellow competitors to cap off the season with style. Friday evening included time trials on the virtual CTMP track. Props to Harvey Renaud for bringing Ride4 and a projector screen for the side of the RV. It turns out that the simulated track is very close to the real thing, aside from not having a single bump, so the fact that one of the Playstation regulars was solidly in the 1:20's on a Yamaha R3 was a little disheartening for the rest of the lightweight competitors seated around the screen.
Saturday's festivities were a little more realistic, with newly crowned Pro-Lightweight champ Jared Walker bringing over footage from brother Cameron's bike to show on the projector. The front of the field was seen to have been having an epic battle between the heavyweights of the Pro ranks including the legendary Gary McKinnon and newcomers Bryce DeBoer and Andrew Cooney, battling it out with the Walker boys the whole way through.
As for our team, Harvey Renaud had some great battles in the two races, edging out Ryan Venderputten and Jacob Black for 6th spot in Race 1, and finishing just behind Vanderputten's Yamaha R3 for 6th spot again in Race 2 after a hard fought race, with multiple passes for 5th position the whole way through.
Our newest rider in the Motomike tent is Sean Kitchen, who has been impressive all season at Calabogie Motorsports Park, showed up to Mosport for the first time ready to ride snatching 8th position in his first attempt at the famed circuit. A low-side in Moss corner put an end to what was a promising 2nd race, as he had to sit out the remainder of the race unable to re-start his Yamaha R3 after the low speed off. 
Meanwhile, Mike Maguire, who had 5th (rain) and 2nd place finishes in his last race weekend here back in 2020, was surprised at how fast the competition had gotten during his forced abscence in 2021. Over the course of the weekend, he shaved 2 seconds off his previous best, but still wasn't able to keep up with the talent at the sharp-end, finishing 6th in race 1 and 5th in race 2. 
Overall, Harvey Renaud had a great showing in the inaugural Pro-AM Lightweight season on his Kawasaki Ninja 400, finishing 3rd in the Championship behind the extremely quick, talented and well prepared Jared Walker, and Canadian racing legend Gary McKinnon.
Mike Maguire salvaged a 9th overall in the Super Sonic Road Racing School Amateur Lightweight class, after another rider took him out of the second race at Calabogie and he sat out Round 3 at Atlantic Motorsports Park altogether.
Sean Kitchen had a great learning year with a fast progression from casual track-day rider, to racer, to podium finisher at Calabogie, to low siding at Mosport. We can't wait to see what is in store for 2023!
Interested in getting out on the track or into racing? Contact us to find out how! We love to talk riding and racing. Our lightweight program has had some great success over the past 3 years, and we can help you with parts, equipment, gear, and the information necessary to have a fun and successful experience.
Want to get your kids into racing? You need to check out Toni Sharpless' Super Sonic Road Racing School! This weekend (August 17-21) they are at Lombardy Raceway in Smiths Falls, ON along with the MiniSBK Canada Cup series. Kids of all ages can learn to drag a knee, or rent a mini bike for the weekend and come out and compete yourself at a pace anyone from newbs to pros will find exciting.
We want to thank everyone who has made our racing season possible, from our families, friends, fellow competitors, marshalls, track staff, et al.
A special thanks to Mikey Moore at Mortgage Wellness for his support! Hope to see him out on his Yamaha R3 next season ;)