August 28, 2016
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Mitch Card of Ripley had outstanding results last weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, in the Canadian Superbike Championship final two rounds.
Card has been focusing his efforts on the Moto America Race Series Superstock class all summer. This series has allowed him to learn from some of the top riders in North American. helping him improve his riding skills.
He and his father, Bill (who completes all the wrenching on the motorcycles), participated in races in Alabama, Atlanta, New Jersey and Virginia. He also completed one SOAR round in Grand Bend where his love of racing started with Racer 5 School.
Card returned to the Canadian Superbike Championship final two rounds, Aug. 19-21. This series competes across eastern Canada, including two rounds in Ontario, one round in Quebec and one round Nova Scotia. Card was excited to compete in the two final rounds as this is one of his favourite tracks.
Friday's qualifying had Card third in Pro 600 Sportbike, and on his first outing aboard his 2015 R1M had him in 15th at the end of the Superbike session. With some help from Jon Cornwall, better known as Corndog, a suspension specialist in the road-racing world in Canada and the United States, some small adjustments were made to the R1 suspension and it was ready for the first race Saturday.
Saturday's racing, under sunny skies, had Card come away with his first-ever Pro National win in a hard-fought battle with Kawasaki’s Reidmann No. 1 national plate holder. Card pulled off the fastest lap of the race on the final lap.
In Superbike, he wrestled his Yamaha R1M to a 10th-place finish out of a 32-bike field.
Sunday’s racing, with no morning practice due to rain showers, saw Card come away with another Pro 600 win, capping off a perfect weekend in Pro 600 class aboard his Yamaha R6. A four-bike break-away, some very close racing and plenty of lead changes, made it exciting for the fans to watch.
In the Superbike race, he finished a close 12th-place after two red flags and battling with 10th- and 11th-place finishers.
Mitch Card (centre) of Ripley holds up his two Pro National trophies, at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville; photo courtesy of CSBK
Special thanks to all of Cardracing’s supporters in the 2016 race season:
Maclyn Dust Control for picking up this year’s entry fees
Shoei Helmets for providing a superb-fitting helmet with great trackside support
Vortex for providing rear sets, clip-ons, brake guards and stands for the bikes
Bluestreak racing for getting us parts at a good price, fast and reliable
Bickle racing for tire warmers, leather repairs and decals throughout the year
Fast Company for work on the R1M motor, dyno runs and suspension mods
DP brakes for providing excellent stopping power for both bikes
Zero Gravity for tough durable race screens
Pat Barnes of Goderich Toyota and Pete and Carol Swetish, avid road race fans from Michigan for picking up our Canadian Tire Motorsport Sunday race tire costs
Meen Motorsports for supplying race bits to put together a wicked R6
Hindle racing for the great sounding exhaust on the R1M
Special thanks to all the fans and words of encouragement during the season
To watch Card in racing action, check the following links:
http://www.csbk.ca/index.php/multimedia/csbk-videos/1616-2016-ctmp-pro-sport-bike-race-1
http://www.csbk.ca/index.php/multimedia/csbk-videos/1625-2016-ctmp-pro-sport-bike-race-2
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