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Headed to Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia last weekend for my second annual visit to Atlantic Motorsport Park, a 1.6 mile road course considered one of the most technical in Canada. I think of it as the Loudon of Canada.
This time, I took the EX250 with me in addition to the RS125. A new class, Mini Road Racing, appeared this year for 4 stroke street bikes under 250cc. It replaced the CBR125 spec class they had last year geared towards new racers. I have been excited about finally racing the EX250 ever since I found out I was eligible for this class!
Showed up at the track Thursday evening, but by the time I had setup camp, it was too dark to go for a bicycle ride on the track to jog my memory a bit.
Friday: Track Day/Practice
Woke up Friday morning ready for a full day of practice, but it was raining. The rain quit by 8AM and there was a breeze, so the track shouldn't stay wet for too long. Went out on the EX250 for the first 2 wet sessions so I could reacquaint myself with the track. Definitely didn't run at a pace where I could establish useful brake and shift points, but I at least was able to start wrapping my mind around this challenging track again.
Spent the rest of the day on the RS125, struggling many seconds slower than my PB. The sprocket I had used last year is cracked, and a replacement didn't arrive in time, so the best I could do was to use a 14/38 config instead of the 14/40 I used last year. Unfortunately, that different gearing had me feathering the clutch out of T2 on every lap, and I had trouble finding a gear that worked in a few other corners. Had fun despite being way off last year's pace. Managed to get down to 1:33, but my PB is 1:27.
Saturday: Race day 1
Woke up at around 7am and the place was quiet except for the chirping birds. People started waking up at about 8 to get ready for the 8:30 rider's meeting. The first of 3 practice sessions started at 9AM and I took out the RS125 in all of them, determined to overcome my gearing issue.
Next were the qualifying sessions. The first was on the RS125, and so far that day I didn't do better than 1:33. Finally, I get to take out the EX250 on a dry track. I follow an experienced big bike racer who was trying out a CBR125 so I can pick up a better line in a few spots. After two laps of following him, I go around him so I can finally start establishing my marks for the EX250 at a pace I'm ready to do on that bike. I get 2 more laps in before the session is red flagged early. I manage a 1:38 on the EX250, which puts in 7th out of 9 on the grid. The grid consists of CBR125s except for another EX250 and I.
Finally, I get to race. I raced each bike once that day, and those happen to be the last 2 races of the day. This will be my first time doing back to back races.
First is the Mini Road Racing on the EX250. My first time racing the Ninja 250 which also means the first time I race launch it! I get a good start, but I'm hesitant to charge into the pack as we go down into 1. First, that turn still scares me a bit, and I don't really know how that pack of 125s behave in the first turn of a race. So I start picking up a few positions until a red flag stops the race. We re-grid in race order and I'm pleased that I've made it up to 5th! My launch on the restart feels an awful lot like I'm on the RS125, in other words, I have to ride the clutch a whole lot while hardly accelerating! Not what I was expecting after the previous start. By the time I figure out I didn't start in 1st gear, the field has already left me behind. I make my way up to the 5th position and start reeling in the 4th place rider. I catch up to her by the last lap, but ran out of time before I could try a pass. I'm satisfied finishing 5th out of 9 in my first race on the EX250 and also very happy that my lap times consistently went down during the race establishing a PB of 1:35.9 on that bike.
As soon as I get off the track, I jump on the RS125 to join the grid for the last race of the day. Everyone else is a pro (equivalent to our experts), so my goal is just to be smooth and predictable while enjoying the track time. The field lapped my twice, but to my surprise I managed to drop my times to the 1:31s! I must have picked something up racing the EX250 which transfered over to the RS125!
Saturday was a great day with plenty of track time, with 7 on track sessions it was almost like a track day! Survived my first back to back races and I can now call the EX250 a race bike!
Sunday: Race day 2
The day starts with 2 practice sessions and I decide to focus on the EX250 since I'm actually competitive with it. I'm still figuring out how to deal with the track on the Ninja, so I'm happy with a 1:36.9, a second slower than my best the previous day.
The schedule has me racing in 3 out of a span of 4 races. First is the 125GP/Motard, where I race against 2 motards and manage to not get lapped (Small personal victory!). I get a one race break before racing in LWGP, with a bigger field. I get lapped in this one especially since I take it easy saving my energy for the following race.
Returning from LWGP, I swallow a gulp of water before jumping on the EX250 to join the Mini Road Racing grid in the 7th spot out of 10. I get a decent start, but still follow the field into 1. I pick my way through towards the front of the field. The last guy I passed repasses me on the last lap but I manage to reclaim the position before taking the checkers. Later found out I finished 2nd! I was very excited to make an unexpected trip to the podium and I'm not ashamed to admit I got beat by a girl on an EX250, who took the top spot! Established a new PB of 1:33.1 on the EX250 at Shubie!
After collecting my 2nd place medal, I packed up leaving the track at about 7PM and arriving home at about 5:30AM Monday morning.
Overall, a very good weekend. I was a bit disappointed with my performance on the RS125, but I did much better than expected on the EX250.
Observation:
Like we see at Loudon, attendance is down at Shubie as well. The exception is the Mini Road Racing class. When I visited last year, I got to watch the first CBR125 race after 2 new kids completed the race school finally filling the 3 race quota necessary to run the race.
This weekend the field has swelled to 9 local entries, and everyone was buzzing about how exciting they are to watch! Makes me wonder how successful the new CCS 250 class would be if it made it to Loudon. I now have a race prepped EX250 so I would definitely be running in it!
Videos!
My first race on the EX250.
‪ARL Round3 Mini Road Racing 1‬‏ - YouTube
My second time racing the EX250 and my first podium at Shubie!
‪ARL Round3 Mini Road Racing 2‬‏ - YouTube
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