Wednesday, August 11, 2010

REPORT: 2010 Supermoto X Fest, Canadian National #4

The 2010 edition of the Supermoto X fest took place on the August 7-8 weekend at the Mecaglisse Circuit in Notre Dame de la Merci, Quebec. This track is a treat for riders and spectators alike. It is located in a beautiful mountainous area north of Montreal near Mt Tremblant. The track features a challenging dirt section with a couple nice jumps and an awesome paved portion with elevation changes and great corners to back-it-in to.


Riding began on Saturday with practice and qualifier races in the afternoon to set the grid positions for Sunday’s 2 moto race format.

On Sunday the races kicked off with the SM1 Semi-Pro class. Andy Cule took off with the holeshot and never looked back. Behind him Danny Bernier led Kevin Kiddle for a couple laps before Kiddle made his move and got past Bernier as they entered the dirt section .

In the second SM1 moto, Andy Cule took the lead off the start and repeated his performance from moto 1 leading start to finish. Behind Cule was Kevin Kiddle, Marc-Andre Viens and Danny Bernier. With 2 laps to go Viens made a pass on Kiddle then Bernier made an aggressive move under braking getting on the inside of Kiddle to also take his place. This didn’t last long because Kiddle was able to flat track the inside of the dirt right hander to get past both Bernier and Viens. Bernier also stalled his bike in the same dirt section dropping him further in the pack. Andy Cule went 1-1 to take the SM1 victory with Kiddle 2nd and Viens 3rd.
Danny Bernier chasing Jerrett Bellamy (Photo: Sarah Landry)

Only 2 riders were signed up for the SM2 250 class: Steve Scharfe and Danielle Hine who made the 14hr trip from Michigan. Scharfe took both moto wins over Hine to collect the SM2 overall victory. Scharfe wins the iron man award for racing 3 classes with a fractured ankle and injured wrist at the ripe age of 57!

When the Novice class got off the line it was Sam Harris who grabbed the early lead over Martin Horik and Jordan Lefbvre. Horik got by Harris as they came off the dirt and onto the fast back straightaway. Lefbvre would also get past Harris but this time the pass was made at the beginning of the dirt. Horvik took the first moto win over Lefbvre and Harris.
Lefbvre going inside with Harris and Viens going outside

In moto 2 Horvik took the lead off the start and never looked back. Behind him it was Lefbvre, Harris and J.François Viens. Early in the race Lefbvre crashed in the dirt section giving second place to Harris. Later in the race Viens attempted a pass on Harris in the dirt right hander but wasn’t close enough and ended up blowing over the berm. Lefbvre would eventually pull off after overshooting one of the asphalt corners and going down again. Horvik claimed the overall Beginner victory with Harris and Viens rounding out the podium.
Martin Horvik charging the dirt secion on his way to winning the Beginner class

Chris Barendregt grabbed the holeshot in the Veteran class over Martin Bélanger and Steve Scharfe. Bélanger was all over Barendregt on the asphalt and eventually made is move on the left hand corner in front of the spectator area to take the lead. Barendregt was never able to make a move on Bélanger who took the moto win.

Barendregt took another holeshot in the second moto this time over Scharfe then Bélanger who quickly got past Scharfe. Bélanger then set out to chase down Barendregt. Once again, Bélanger got past Barendregt on the asphalt and held the lead to the end to take the win and overall over Barendregt. Scharfe broke his chain near the end of the second moto which resulted in a DNF that hurt his overall score dropping him to 6th. Jean Louis Berthelot benefitted from Scharfe’s misfortune to inherit 3rd place.

The Vets going into turn 1 (Photo: Jodi Merritt)

The largest class of the weekend was again the Open Amateur which had 25 riders take to the grid. Barendregt continued his streak of good starts with another holeshot over Andy Cule, Kevin Kiddle, Steve Scharfe and Danny Bernier. Bernier would get past Scharfe in the dirt section on the first lap. The top 3 put on a good show battling for position. Cule would eventually get past Barendregt for the lead. Further back in the pack Jerrett Bellamy diced it out with Sam Harris for a couple laps before Bellamy would take 6th. Bellamy then tracked down Scharfe and made a pass for 5th. The battle for 2nd was still on with Kiddle pressing Barendregt but was unable to make a pass stick.

Open Am start - lots of riders!

In Moto 2 it was Cule who took the lead off the start ahead of Barendregt, Kiddle and Bellamy. Martin Horvik would sneak past Bellamy in the dirt on the first lap for 4th position. Again the top 3 held close keeping things interesting Horvik would also get into the mix by making a pass on Kiddle when he got the inside line on Kiddle while braking for a right hand asphalt corner. One lap later on the same corner Horvik pushed a little wide which allowed Kiddle to get past and keep his 3rd place. Danny Bernier rode the back wheel of Bellamy for a majority of the race before attempting a pass at the end of the fast back straight. Bernier wasn’t able to get a wheel on Bellamy and ended up hitting Bellamy’s back end crashing himself. Bernier was able to remount and finish the race. Cule collected the 2nd moto win along with the overall followed by Barendergt, Kiddle, Horvik and Bellamy rounding out the top 5.

Close Open Am racing - Barendregt (3) leading Cule (32) and Kiddle (4) (Photo: Jodi Merritt)

The Open Pro race was a single moto, winner take all format which featured points leader Dave Arnold looking to extend his lead over Maxime Sylvestre. When the green light came on it was Arnold who took the lead followed closely by Sylvestre, Yves Lagace, Erik McAdam and Paul Rouillard. Arnold set a blistering pace which only Sylvestre was able to match as the two of them pulled a large lead over the rest of the pack.

Arnold leading Sylvestre early

Arnold held the lead for half the race before he pushed the slightest bit wide allowing Sylvestre to stick his front wheel in for a pass. Arnold leaned in on Sylvestre in hopes of holding him off but was forced to let the pass happen or get run into the tires lining the track. Sylvestre edged Arnold out of the lead and opened up a 3 bike length lead that Arnold wasn’t able to close. While running 4th, McAdam over did it in the dirt and went down. This allowed Rouillard to take 4th. Lagace rode a consistent race by himself to claim 3rd place. Sylvestre took the 2010 Supermoto X fest Open Pro victory over Arnold. This leaves the points tied between Sylvestre and Arnold going into the last National of the season taking place October 3 at the Shannonville Motorsports Park.

Sylvestre making the pass on Arnold for the lead

Mad Max backin' it in one handed to win the Supermoto Bike Drift Contest


There was also quad racing... (Photo: Sarah Landry)

...and pit bike racing...

...and side by side racing

Special thanks to Mecaglisse, Franck Kirchhoff and his team for putting on a great event (Photo: Sarah Landry)