Jodi Christie on fire

Jodi Christie on a streak.

Photo: Rob MacLennan

In the second round of the RACE championship series, teenage
phenomenon Jodi Christie stamped his authority on Canadian racing, first by
beating defending National 600 and Superbike champ Jordan Szoke in a one-on-one
battle in the Pro 600 class, then following up by running down, catching, and
finally passing Shannonville expert and former RACE No. 1 competitor Frank
Trombino to also take the Superbike honours.

On the way, he set a new Long Track record of 1:44.617,
breaking Andrew Nelson’s record from July of 2007. The kid has definitely
thrown down the glove to the national series regulars just prior to the start
of the season.

It was a day for lap records, as no fewer than an amazing 11
class records were set in groups ranging from the CBR125s (set by rookie Will
Hornblower in only his second race weekend) to Pro Superbike (set by Francis
Martin on one of the official BMW Motorrad S1000 superbikes).

Equally impressive in the Pro Superbike race was Andrew
Nelson, RACE’s defending number one plate holder. With his Yamaha R1 outlawed
for the National series, considerable behind-the-scenes string-pulling landed
him one of the new BMWs in a privateer role. He’d just gotten it, and was still
adding parts to it over the weekend as bits trickled in. He managed an
eye-popping podium on what was not much more than a street bike, taking third
ahead of both the official Motorrad bikes.

Francis Martin was the fastest guy
on track, but his start was ruined by a wrong setting on the traction control
system that killed power when the front wheel started to lift as he launched.
He had to make a brief pit stop to recalibrate the electronics, then stormed
through from half a lap down to finish seventh.

Another notable ride was from rookie Pro racer Vicki
Schouten. She had a nasty qualifying race crash on Saturday, resulting in
considerable damage to her right foot. She couldn’t see an orthopaedic surgeon
until Monday, so decided she might as well race in the Women’s Cup race on
Sunday, taking a brave third. She stayed out of the Pro races, however, knowing
that her battered body simply wasn’t up to the challenge.

The next RACE event is on the Fabi Circuit
June 19–20.