Racing Roundup: CSBK, Pro 6 GP

The Canadian roadracing season is just around the corner—lots of moves made this month!

Pro 6 GP

As the new Ontario roadracing series nears its first race, the officials are putting deals in place to help fund this season’s fun.

(In case you’ve forgotten, the new Pro 6 GP series runs out of Calabogie Motorsports Park, with four rounds this summer. CSBK will help Pro 6 GP run the series—read more here and here).

Earlier this week, Canadian Kawasaki Motors, Liquid Moly Lubricants and DP Brakes all announced sponsorship deals for Pro 6 GP. Kawi is the title sponsor for the middleweight Pro Sport Bike series, which has a $1,500 purse in each race.

Longtime CSBK sponsor Liquid Moly (a German lubricant manufacturer) will also sponsor Pro 6 GP classes this year, as title sponsor of the Pro Lightweight Sport Bike series and the Amateur Sport Bike series.

(Note: The CSBK press release says “The debut of the Pro 6 GP race series at Calabogie will mark the first time that a Pro division will be available for the Lightweight category, and there is considerable interest to see who will compete and what machinery they might choose.” Interesting indeed, as anyone who’s spent time at a track recently knows some racers have machines developed far past current CSBK lightweight class rules. Maybe this class will give them a chance to flex their built bikes?).

Finally, DP Brakes (performance brake component supplier) will be the title sponsor for the series’ Amateur Sport Bike series.

Canadian Superbike

Not long ago, we told you American outlet Roadracing News reported Alex Dumas was going to race Pro Superbike in Canada this summer, but CSBK hadn’t confirmed that. Now, CSBK has confirmed that the hotshot from Quebec City is signed up to race here at home in 2021.

Dumas has been winning ice races in Quebec for years, but his roadracing success came in the US, where he won the 2018 Junior Cup and the 2019 Twins championship. Now, he’s planning to go to flight school this year, and also teach at FAST School, and will race a Suzuki in CSBK as well. Talk about a full schedule.

Dumas has always worked with top people; his father Francois was a Canadian pro roadracer. Dumas worked with Team Hammer and Jason Pridmore in the US, and for 2021, will continue a long-standing relationship with racebike builder Patrice Goyette. Goyette helped Dumas race in Mexico, when he was too young to get on-track elsewhere. Canadian racing insiders will remember Goyette’s been working with top national pros for years, including Brett McCormick for his convincing 2011 CSBK win. He also spent years with Blackfoot Suzuki’s program.

From CSBK’s press release, it sounds as if Dumas is approaching this season sensibly. He hasn’t raced most Canadian tracks, except for some time at Calabogie, and he hasn’t raced against most of the CSBK competition either. He’s looking to do as many track days as possible, to learn Canadian circuits, but as for learning how to race against his fellow countrymen? He’ll just have to learn that as the season goes by.

A couple of other CSBK notes: Michael Leon has confirmed he’s returning for 2021, and he also plans to race in Pro 6 GP. Leon will ride the the same 2020 BMW S1000RR that he had last summer, with good results at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. BMW Motorrad Canada has apparently “stepped up support,” which Leon deserves, due to his great work last summer.

Leon’s team will look mostly the same, with Kyle Blakely of Windmill Motorsports and Machine returning as crew chief, and Jaret Whiteside back as trackside crew.

The Burns Racing team also confirmed it’s returning for 2021, with Aaron Burns moving up to Amateur Sport Bike on a Kawasaki ZX-636. It’s good news for the series, as the Burns squad is exactly the sort of serious amateur the Lightweight series was designed for, and no doubt they’re happy to see riders moving up to faster classes. As for Alan Burns, he’s back on his Yamaha R3 in Pro 6 GP,  and also challenging endurance races in other series.