Photo: Rob O'Brien / cdnsuperbike.com

Bowmanville, ON – July 20, 2009

This weekend’s doubleheader was packed with surprise as Team Suzuki Blackfoot Picotte Racing headed out to Mosport International Raceway in Ontario, Canada. “Mosport is always an excellent event,” says Team Manager Pascal Picotte. “It’s probably the biggest event in Canadian Superbike racing because we are close to Toronto and all the manufactures are nearby.”

With the pressure on, the team went into the weekend with the intent to win. In Friday’s qualifying, Brett McCormick set a new track record, which had previously been set by McCormick’s mentor Pascal Picotte. Saturday brought more satisfying results when McCormick started the day with a clean pass on the last lap that won the Pro Sport Bike race.

Later on Saturday, in the Superbike race, the team was not so lucky. McCormick felt he had a bad start, entering the first corner in fourth position. After a few laps, he read on his pit board that he’d been docked five seconds for a jump-start. Earlier on, while the riders were waiting on the start line, McCormick had accidently bumped his clutch and moved a couple inches before they were given the green light. Consequently, McCormick realized he would need to win the race by five seconds in order to make up the docked time.

Over the next few laps, McCormick picked off one rider at a time, making his way from fifth to first place by the eighth lap. Once he passed Szoke and got comfortable in first, McCormick was ready to push for the five second lead, but rain started falling on parts of the track and McCormick decided it was safer to hang back and take a third place finish rather than risk crashing. Race officials shut down the race at lap twelve due to the worsening rainstorm. As a result, McCormick was the first man across the finish line, but took a third place finish. After the race, the team was docked another five positions for blowing over the horsepower maximum on the dynamometer resulting in an 8th place finish.

Despite the challenges faced in the Superbike race, the team felt confident going into Round 5. They realized that the day’s penalties had moved them from first to second in the championship, but with the remaining races, they were ready to start closing the gap and taking back the lead. Sunday started out with a fifth place finish in the Pro Sport Bike race:

“In the 600, we were in 2nd place when Brett made a small mistake,” states Picotte. “I had advised him to stay tucked back on the bike as far as he could and in the process, he accidently hit the kill switch so he pulled off thinking that he blew up the bike. Right away we had him back out on the track and he weaved through the racers and finished fifth. We are pretty lucky. Even if the bike had blown up, that wouldn’t be so bad. However if he had been injured, that would be awful. So at the end of the day, it really wasn’t too bad at all.”

Sunday’s Round 5 Superbike race kept everyone on their toes as the riders diced positions for the entire race. “The top four guys were right on top of each other and it seemed like the lead changed every lap throughout the race,” says Picotte. “It was a very suspenseful race and we were happy to take 2nd.” After holding the lead at different times throughout the race, McCormick was third behind Jordan Szoke and Kevin Lacombe in the final laps. Then, McCormick pulled his classic move and passed Lacombe in the last turn of the last lap securing second place right behind Szoke.

“Jordan is always there for a fight. He is an awesome racer,” says McCormick about his championship rival who has reigned as Canadian Superbike 5-time national champion. “But you know what? Our Suzuki bikes keep getting better and I keep improving and as a result things on the track are getting a lot easier for me. I’m doing my homework with the training and the mental prep and I know it’s going to come together. If this is the worst luck we have all year, then I’m okay with that. We can get back up and win some races. Plus, a little action is good for the series.”

Picotte feels positive about the rest of the season as he discloses: “The results were there this weekend, we just had the two small mistakes – Saturday in Superbike and in 600 on Sunday and they definitely hurt us as far as points go towards the championship, but as far as the team goes, we have something really great. And as far as performance, Brett has done a fantastic job. We lost some points, but it’s certainly not the end of the world. We have two more Rounds to go, four more races, so we’ll do the best we can and keep the pressure on and hopefully we’ll win them all.”

Pat Chambers Team Owner from Blackfoot Racing explained that “it was a challenging weekend. Overall the team did a great job. There were some hiccups along the way but Brett continues to show us that he’s got great speed and we know that we have what it takes to win championships. The team is still gelling and working very well together so now we are going to buckle down and get ready for the next round.”

You can watch the Mosport excitement on TSN and TSN HD. Round 4 will be televised on Tuesday August 25 from 1:00 – 2:00pm and Friday August 28 from 4:00-5:00am and Round 5 will hit the air on Wednesday August 26 from 1:00-2:00pm and Saturday August 29 from 4:00-5:00am.

Round 6 will be held at the Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia from August 6th – 9th.