I do not generally like to write about travel – anyone who has made more than one trip anywhere probably has a story. I also avoid behind the scenes stories about the structure of motorcycle competition since they tend to be of interest only to other workers.
In this case, however, I am going to make an exception.
Last weekend, Atlantic Motorsport Park near Shubenacadie (“Shubbie”), NS, was scheduled to host the third round of the Bridgestone CSBK National Championships. The A.M.P. event is a corner stone of the national series, with the longest continuous run of yearly events until COVID arrived in 2020.
I piloted a Toyota Tundra truck with a four wheeled trailer to the east coast early in the week and was struck by the almost continuous rain during the journey – I felt bad for the touring motorcyclists trying to enjoy their holidays while wearing rain gear all day.
When I got to the Halifax region, the weather remained unsettled, with high temperatures and the kind of total humidity you can only really experience near a very large body of water. Driving to Truro, north of the track, following the move in/set-up day Wednesday, I remarked to the CSBK Media guy, Cam, that I didn’t think I had ever seen so much rain. Aquaplaning on the well-grooved main highway in dusk traffic made for an entertaining journey.
Thursday’s official test was partially dry, but the weather predictions for the rest of the weekend were dire. CSBK experienced rain at their opening two events, and a check of the record books – encouraged by the king of those pages, Jordan Szoke – suggested CSBK had not previously experienced three rain events in one calendar year.
Rain tires and their allocation has always been a tricky part of running a series, and “away” races such as A.M.P. are one of the major factors that lead to spec tires deals with Pirelli, Dunlop, and currently new title sponsor Bridgestone. Allocation of resources is a big issue if everyone on the property ends up having to run treaded rain rubber for the entire event.
Fortunately, competitors already have good experience with the surprisingly-durable Bridgestone wet weather rubber. However, the series doesn’t like to risk injury to competitors or damage to machinery early in the program, especially at a double header event such as A.M.P.
So, we announced on Friday morning that practice times from the early session might be used to form the grid for the pending national races, depending on conditions. The rain held off much longer than the “Weather Underground” suggested, but in the end only Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike/Bickle Racing Pro Twins got a chance for a true, dry “Q” session. The rest of the classes would use the morning’s Free Practice One to establish grids, meaning no championship points due to this “fall back” plan.
At least that was the plan. Saturday, our big concern heading to the track was the damage caused by the incredible amount of rain during the previous 18 hours, and how long the clean up might take. It turns out the region received almost a metre of water, a whole summer’s worth of precipitation for the typically wet east coast.
The winding roads that lead to the track were increasingly challenging early on Saturday, and we stopped several times to determine the depth of the water before heading furth on, up the road. Eventually, right around the spot where the pavement ends, the flood zone was too big to judge. An intrepid staffer hiked through the ginormous puddle, only to report that the next bridge was flooded, and about to – make that is – a wash out.
No passable road means no ambulance service and no competition. It turned out the situation was similar nearby, with 16 bridges damaged and power out at many locations – there was even a concern of a dam failure.
So, the national event was cancelled, a first for the series. The focus switched to the paddock, now an isolated campground that needed access. Local authorities said construction on a new bridge would start Sunday morning, and a major project (heavy equipment, 14 crew) was underway as promised the next day – complete with a visit from Nova Scotia’s Provincial Premier.
The bridge was workable late Sunday evening, and construction continued when I went to the track to pick up a trailer on Monday morning.
There are, as you would imagine, many stories about the conditions and the response from those affected. It is easy to say that it stinks to travel far to a race that doesn’t happen, and there are all kinds of money related concerns that are hard to predict.
In the big picture, TSN looses four episodes of motorcycle racing action, and as I write this video staffers are trying to figure a plan that used that hard-earned airtime to the satisfaction of the national network.
From an individual point of view, the battle between Alex Dumas and Ben Young for the 2023 championship gets more complicated, since Young needs every race he can get to play catch up. Even Friday’s practice was telling – Dumas got the pole (but no points) even though Young was quickest for much of the restricted session. How close are the top guns now? Dumas went 1:07.5, Young 1:07.8.
If Daley hadn’t crashed, would Young have wound up fastest in the missing ten minutes? And then there is Daley, who required major surgery on his hip and is a question mark for the rest of the tour. The star of the previous, wet race at Grand Bend, Daley and his OneSpeed Suzuki crew will be much missed, but for how long?
Rookie Pro John Fraser is still a high school student, and not yet comfortable with media duties. At his home track, Fraser was solidly in the mix with the top two, and a podium result – maybe better than third – was a possibility. It is a shame Fraser didn’t get a chance to shine, and he looked eager and ready to deliver (at least on track) on his ex-Daley GSX-R1000R.
Tomas Casas benefits from the cancellation, since he had transport issues with the Yamaha Canada YZF-R1, arrived way late in Nova Scotia, and barely got out for one session. Qualifying 21st, Casas was set for a tough pair of races pushing through from the back of the grid on the twisty and demanding eleven turn A.M.P. layout.
In my last blog, I mentioned the impressive new Rocky Mountain facility in Alberta, and their much-delayed first motorcycle event with the Calgary Motorcycle Roadracing Association. These debut races were seriously affected by a major tornado. It might be wise for Canadian racers to watch out for a plague of locusts or similar during the remainder of the CSBK Series.
- From Colin Fraser
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