Great rides power down bike season

Shizuo Kambayashi/AP

Italian Loris Capirossi and his Ducati speed to victory ahead of second-place finisher Randy de Puniet, a Frenchman aboard a Kawasaki, in last month's Japanese GP at Motegi, north of Tokyo.

Larry Tate

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

To my wife's delight but the sadness of racing fans the world over, the 2007 motorcycle racing season is winding down, with most major championships decided.

Two weeks ago, it was Moto GP, the week before that it was the U.S. AMA series (more on those further down).

Last weekend the Ontario RACE championship ended at Shannonville Motorsport Park with a knock-down brawl for the series title between Andrew Nelson of Kars, near Ottawa, on his Z-1 Yamaha, and Vaughan's Frank Trombino on his Prostar Suzuki/American Legend Suzuki.

With only a three-point difference between the two, whoever beat the other last weekend would be the 2007 series champ.

They both did what they had to do. Nelson qualified first and Trombino second. Both got rocket starts, and both started gapping the rest of the superbike field immediately.

Nelson led initially, but Trombino stayed on his tail and at three-quarter distance pounced in his favourite spot, the quick left/hairpin right combination leading onto the back straight.

Nelson got back with a breathtakingly brave pass at the end of the straight on the next lap, but Trombino repeated his pass on the final lap and held Nelson off to the flag for his second straight title.

A YOUNG MAN (he turned 15 this summer) from Keene, Ont., named Jodi Christie had come out racing with his dad early in the spring, and impressed onlookers with his speed and maturity.

Among those impressed were members of the Yamaha Canada team, and to get a better look at him, race manager Paul Bastarache hired Christie to help the Yamaha National pit team at the last three nationals.

Further impressed, Bastarache talked to Yamaha Canada's racing manager John Bayliss about letting Christie use one of the factory bikes at the last RACE event (the national series being finished), and Bayliss was pleased to oblige.

They not only brought along the bikes of Pro racer Kevin Lacombe, they brought Lacombe along as well, to provide some coaching.

A surprised Jodi wandered around in shock most of the weekend – except when he was on the bike, that is. Then he looked more like a seasoned veteran than a kid getting an unexpected treat.

His seventh-place qualifying (out of 27 finalists) was impressive enough, but when the race started, he got a superb jump and was in the top five immediately.

With two laps to go, he was second, with only Paul Glenn, the new National Amateur 600 champion, some distance ahead.

Christie dug even deeper, caught Glenn at the end of the back straight and made a clean, aggressive pass to take the win in only his second-ever Amateur 600 race.

This kid is one to watch.

Two other riders who impressed were Amateur racers who are being promoted to the Pro ranks for 2008, and were granted the treat of running with the big dogs in this last event of the year. Catherine Nadeau and Scott Rupert both finished an impressive seventh in their Pro debuts.

NOW, BACK TO MOTO GP, at the race in Japan at Motegi and the world title: 21-year-old Aussie Casey Stoner and his Ducati were less than their usual dominating duo, managing only a sixth place.

Still, it was enough to take the 2007 title inasmuch as the only threat, multi-time champ Valentino Rossi, suffered tire issues and could only manage a lowly 13th.

It was an odd race, starting wet and drying by half-distance, so the riders were into the pits to change bikes to dry tires, the confusion and indecision over when to stop leading to some unusual results.

Winner, for the third year in a row, was diminutive Italian ace Loris Capirossi, who's leaving Ducati for Suzuki in 2008. He timed his stop perfectly and was simply untouchable after that.

Second place went to Frenchman Randy de Puniet on a Kawasaki. De Puniet has been coming on strong in the latter half of the season, and looks well-placed for results in 2008 – although he's swapping to the Gresini Honda team.

Third was Tony Elias, in a brave ride with a mending broken femur.

IN U.S. ACTION, the AMA Superbike title went to Texan Ben Spies for the second straight year.

Spies had a great first half of the season, then was overhauled by teammate and six-time champion Mat Mladin in the second half, so it was winner-take-all in the final.

Mladin looked good, but Spies looked better. After a hairy pass, Spies eked out a few 10ths per lap and took the win and the title.

The only major series yet to be decided goes this weekend, as World Superbike runs its last event of the year at Magny-Cours in France.

James Toseland holds the lead on his Honda, but Max Biaggi (Suzuki), and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) still have a chance.

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