Kahuna Powerports Report on Series Opener at Calabogie Motorsports Park
VAUGHAN, ONTARIO (May 26th, 2009) - Kahuna Powersports rider Vicki Schouten enjoyed successful results at the Parts Canada Superbike Series opener at Calabogie Motorports Park this past weekend, posting a win in the Women’s Cup Challenge Expert division and a career best 6th place finish in the Armour Bodies Amateur Sportbike class.
Riding aboard an ex-factory Kawasaki ZX-6R, Schouten spent much of Thursday and Friday working with mechanic Jim Brooks and suspension tuner John Sharrard of Accelerated Technologies to set up the motorcycle for Calabogie’s beautiful long track course. “Having Jim on board this year has been a real relief,” explains Schouten, “Jim brings years of experience to the table, he is a really knowledgeable tuner and pays attention to all of the details, leaving me time to relax and focus on my riding.”
By Saturday morning the ZX-6R was dialed in thanks to suspension adjustments from John Sharrard, and the team was able to focus on Saturday afternoon qualifying for the Women’s Cup Challenge and Armour Bodies Amateur Sportbike class. Schouten set the pole position in the Women’s Cup Challenge class, and qualified a career best 6th place in Amateur 600, putting her on the second row of the grid for Sunday’s races. Schouten attributes some of her qualifying success to the help she had on pit wall, “My husband Dave, along with our friend Greg, did a great job running the pit board all weekend and it really helps quite a bit.”
The weather on Sunday was perfect for racing and the local Ottawa fans poured into Calabogie Motorsports Park to watch the action. First up was the Women’s Cup Challenge. Schouten started her Kahuna Powersports ZX-6R from the pole position and was able to hold the lead for much of the race. Eventually she crossed the line in second place, but much to her surprise was later granted the win as the first place rider was disqualified on a technicality. Schouten also received the Tirox “Won Bigtime” award, presented to the rider with the largest margin of victory over the weekend, having won the Women’s Cup Challenge race by over 18 seconds.
In the Armour Bodies Amateur Sportbike race, Schouten spent much of the race swapping positions with a pack of 2-3 other riders. “It was a lot of fun,” stated Schouten, who eventually finished a career best 6th place, “I am happy with 6th but I think next time I will aim for top five! The Kawasaki ZX-6R was running great all weekend and I cannot thank my crew and sponsors enough for all of the support they have provided me.”
Vicki would like to thank
Kahuna Powersports, Canadian Kawasaki Motors, Better Built by Brooks,
Bell Helmets,
Accelerated Technologies,
Performance Undergear, Bickle Racing,
Vortex, AutoTrim & Signs,
Giro Eyewear,
Pro6 Cycle and
Golo Racing for their tremendous support. Thank you also to Jim Brooks, Dave Shirley, Greg White and John Sharrard for all of the help throughout the weekend.
Special thanks to Kevin Virag, Rob MacClennan and Don Empey for the great photos.
