Motourage

Round One, Parts Canada Superbike Championship, Mirabel, Quebec, May 28-30, 2010

The final weekend in May – round one of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship – marked road racer Rheanna Christie’s first national race. She entered her Durham Honda Powerhouse CBR125R in the CBR125R Challenge Series’ double header at Mirabel, QC’s Circuit ICAR, located about 40 miles west of Montreal. ICAR hosted rounds one and two of the 10-round series, which will travel across the country to Calgary, and then return to Mosport, ON and on to Shubenacadie, NS for the final two rounds on Aug 5-8.

The heat and a new track made for some nervous moments Thursday, but after an orientation with head instructor Ed Sorbo, she was ready to take to the track. With instruction to take her time and learn the course, she did well and placed 11th in the first session with a time of 206.171. After a good night’s rest, a track walk the following day and a talk with her brother, Jodi, she felt more confident. In the Friday sessions, her times dropped to the 1.58 mark. With ongoing track instruction and more one-on-ones with some of the local racers, Rheanna was optimistic about Saturday qualifying and felt she could better her times. She ended qualifying on the third row with a time of 156.775 – a full 10-second improvement from her first day

Lining up for her first national race, Rheanna got a great start  and was through the first corner in 8th place  Riding a great race, she slowly picked off three more riders and ended her race in 5th place dropping another second off her time with a new personal best of 155.313.
“It took me a while to get my confidence at this track,” said Rheanna. “It’s a lot different than Shannonville; it’s very flat yet still quite bumpy. The track walk helped me a lot and I was able to improve over yesterday. It was a great battle for position out there, and my Durham Honda Powerhouse CBR125R was working great; traction on the Pirelli tires was good throughout the race” She was also happily surprised to see that 5th place paid $250.00.

By Sunday morning, there was one more practice session before the final race in the afternoon, and Rheanna decided to only turn a few laps and try a couple of changes in lines then come in and rest for the afternoon final.

Starting one row farther back proved to be a bit of a challenge. Off the fourth row she got a good start, but on the equally powered machines it was hard to make up time. She picked her way through the pack and ended up 10th, running times of 153.039 through the race.
“To have dropped that much time through the weekend was great; it sure felt a lot faster in the last race,” said Rheanna. “I have to be happy with my weekend. It’s a long series and all the tracks are new to me; I can’t wait for Calgary.”

The teams second development rider Giselle Philp had to sit out Icar but attended the weekend to support her fellow competitors, she is recovering from an ankle injury she received at the last Regional round and will be on track for Calgary’s triple header.

Roz-GarRacing’s newest rider Rheanna Christie of Keene, Ontario ended the silly season on a high note by signing to ride a CBR125R for Durham Honda Powerhouse.

On Saturday, Rheanna attended the open house at Durham Honda to relax and speak with staff and customers. Upon entering the shop Robert Bates introduced Rheanna to her new CBR125R that she will be riding in 2010. The keys were handed over to Rheanna by her brother, Jodi, who was also attending the open house. All of the staff were quite excited and very supportive.

Rheanna will take part in the RACE CBR125 School at Shannonville Motorsports Park in Shannonville, ON in April as well as a school put on by the Parts Canada Superbike Series with Ed Sorbo as the head instructor. She plans to compete in RACE Regional events and the Parts Canada National Series traveling with her team throughout Canada.