St. Eustache- June 17-18 Schouten Continues Winning Streak
Vicki travelled to St. Eustache, Quebec this past weekend for a Women’s Cup Challenge double header. It was a hot and humid weekend, but conditions could not have been better for Vicki Schouten, who took home back-to-back wins to continue a 5 round winning streak.
Practice sessions on Saturday morning were going well despite the heat.
On Saturday afternoon, the qualifying five lap heat race was held for the Women's Cup Challenge. Vicki’s Wheelsport HondaCBR600RR was running solid and she managed a strong start to ride with the Expert girls for most of the qualifier, leaving her novice competition behind and claiming three more points for qualifying in first place.
Sunday afternoon was race day. As this was a double-header for the Women’s Cup Challenge it meant the women would race two separate races in the afternoon. Round#5 of the Women’s Cup Challenge was the first race of the afternoon, while Round#6 was to take place as the 5th race on the afternoon’s schedule.
For the first race, Vicki did not get the start she wanted. Unfortunately the glaring sun made it difficult to see the light flash green on the starting grid, even with a special tinted visor on her Bell Helmet. “I saw the red flag go down, and I was watching for the green light but it never seemed to come”, explained Vicki. “All of a sudden the entire grid was advancing forward at full speed and I was being passed by my competitors…it all happened in a manner of milliseconds but I knew I had to move!” Despite the late start, Vicki’s HondaCBR600RR out powered a number of the other bikes and she was able to regain the lead position of the Novice women’s field. She was battling hard for the 10-lap race with Buell rider Randé Hilliard-Martin but was able to hang onto the lead and was able to relax a little when apparently Hilliard-Martin’s shifter came loose during the race. Vicki took the checkered flag once again in Round #5 of the Women’s Cup Challenge.
Round#6 of the Women’s Cup Challenge was held later Sunday afternoon. Once again, Vicki had a slow start, as she was not able to see the green light. Almost a carbon copy of the first race, Vicki managed to get in from of her competition and maintain a comfortable lead for the duration of the race. Tired from the heat and humidity she was simply happy to finish and happy to take the checkered flag once again to make it five in a row.
A successful weekend indeed with back-to-back wins for Vicki at the St. Eustache double header!
A very special thanks goes out to our sponsors Honda Canada, Wheelsport, Bell Helmets, Performance UnderGear and Compulsion Racing. A very special thanks also goes to Dave Shirley, Brad Clarke and Simon Blue for all of your technical advice and support in the pits. And to all of our friends and family who continue to come and support us!
