Trombino goes with the flow at AMP

By John Hopkins

SHUBENACADIE, N.S. – Frank Trombino was all smiles after a productive Friday at Atlantic Motorsport Park. The Kleinburg, Ont. ace had set the fastest time in practice for round three of the K&N Performance Filters Pro Sport Bike class and was third quickest in the Mopar Pro Superbike results, tops among those racing 600cc equipment in the big bike class.

“I like this track; it’s a lot of fun,” said a beaming Trombino, who turned a lap at 1:08.780 in Pro Sport Bike practice and got down to a 1:08.696 in the Superbike session on his Suzuki GSX-R600. “If you can have fun at this track it will work for you. You have to go slow to go fast here – pick your lines, stay clear of the bumps. You just have to get as comfortable as you can.”

Trombino comes into the race second in the Pro Sport Bike standings after winning the season opener at Shannonville Motorsport Park and finishing a distant second to Jodi Christie two weeks ago at Autodrome St-Eustache. After a thrilling battle with Christie at SMP, Trombino admits he was not at his best in Quebec.

“I just couldn’t get my head into the game there,” Trombino admitted on Friday. “James [Collins] had done a great job with the bike, we had a good tire for the race, but something was missing. I just wasn’t comfortable. But here I’m feeling good.”

Trombino continues to get support from longtime backer Acme Slate for his program, while Dua Bodywork and G Suspension have come on board as well.

The racing veteran is six points behind Christie in the Pro Sport Bike standings coming into the weekend. The Keene, Ont. racer suffered a fall in the afternoon practice and ended the day third overall on his Jodi Christie Racing / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR600RR. Between the two title rivals was Raphael Archambault aboard the Team Archambault Racing / Picotte Motorsport / G Suspension Suzuki GSX-R600.

Local star Austin Shaw-O’Leary is expected to be the man to beat in the Amateur national ranks this weekend and he didn’t disappoint on Friday. The Falmouth, N.S. racer took his Dua Motorsport / GoLo Racing Honda CBR600RR to fastest time in both the Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike and Bazzaz Amateur Superbike divisions.

Shaw-O’Leary turned a 1:09.639 in Amateur Sport Bike practice to lead the Yamaha YZF-R6 of Will Hornblower and points leader Philippe Masse and his Kawasaki ZX-6R.

In Amateur Superbike the former Honda CBR125R Challenge star was unofficially under the class lap record with a time of 1:09.946. Series leader Trevor Daley was second quickest and Masse third.

Steve Crevier continued to dominate the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup, leading practice on Friday with a time of 1:13.012 on the MotoSport Plus entry. Michael Taylor was second fastest for the Mackie Harley-Davidson team and Ruthless Racing’s Darren James placed third.

Stacey Nesbitt was fastest in practice for the Honda CBR250R National Race Series.