Round #2 Novice, Pro Honda Oils Women's Cup Challenge presented by Honda, Parts Canada, Pirelli and Yamaha Canada

Calabogie Motorsports Park, Stadium Track - Calabogie, ON

May 23-25, 2008

Friday May 23 - Practice

Cool and overcast conditions greeted the riders as they attended the PMP riders meeting Friday morning at Calabogie Motorsports Park. Round Two of the Women's Cup Challenge was being held in conjunction with the Parts Canada Superbike National, the first ever motorcycle race held at the Calabogie facility. The riders would be testing their skills on the scenic 2.81 km, Stadium track. The afternoon brought mixed conditions, the sun came out but was accompanied by light showers which kept the track cool.

Novice Practice

Kawasaki rider Anissa Burachynsky repeated her strong showing from Round 1, to take the fastest time in the morning session with a 1:25.529. Michelle Dagenais was impressive in second turning in a 1:26.846 on her Yamaha YZF-R6. Suzuki SV650 mounted Kana Matsumoto continued her strong form, clocking a 1:28.937 good enough for third. Manon Lemire(1:37.217) and Maude Labrosse-Legris(1:46.030) round out the top five Novices.

The afternoon session saw Burachynsky drop 2 seconds off of her morning time with a 1:23.638, topping the timing charts again. Matsumoto upped her pace to 1:26.104 dropping over 2 seconds from the morning session. Dagenais was third fastest with a 1:27.096 and Lemire(1:39.177) fourth. Labrosse-Legris didn't record any time as her transponder signal wasn't picked up by the timing and scoring system.

Saturday May 24 - Practice and Qualifying

Ideal conditions greeted the Women's Cup Challenge competitors with sunny skies and warm temperatures for their practice sessions on Saturday.

Final Practice

Burachynsky continued her fine form improving to a 1:22.712 to take the fastest lap of the final practice session. Dagenais also showed improvement with a 1:24.776 good enough for second. Lemire was becoming more comfortable on the Calabogie track dropping 3 seconds to clock a 1:36.453 taking third fastest with Labrosse-Legris (1:40.309) taking fourth fastest. Matsumoto opted out of the last session as she had a good session with her National Suzuki SV Cup competitors.

Timed Qualifying

Burachynsky threw down the gauntlet early and recorded a 1:20.867 on her second lap of the session. This would hold up throughout the session and earn her a well deserved pole position for Sunday's final. Dagenais dropped into the 23's recording a 1:23.699 earning second position on the grid. Lemire continued her improvements and clocked a 1:32.100 good enough for third spot on Sunday's grid. Labrosse-Legris made a dramatic improvement shaving 7 seconds from her best practice time to record a 1:33.929 taking fourth. Unfortunately, Kana Matsumoto was unable to participate in Qualifying as she drove to the Renfrew Hospital to attend to her husband Rob Cousineau who fell heavily during Suzuki SV Cup practice and sustained serious injuries. The whole Women's Cup Challenge community sends out their best wishes for a speedy recovery to Rob.

Sunday May 25

Excellent racing weather prevailed on Sunday with sunny skies and temperatures in the 20's.

Morning warm-up

Burachynsky stayed consistent and held top spot with a 1:22.946. Dagenais clocked a 1:24.793 for second fastest. Lemire dropped another 4 seconds of of her fast Saturday time for a 1:28.689 in third and Labrosse-Legris improved to 1:32.374 for fourth. Kana Matsumoto would miss the warm up and the race as she stayed at the hospital with her injured husband.

Pro Honda Oils Women's Cup Challenge Final

Delays in the national schedule and a strict 5PM noise curfew in place caused the scheduled 10 lap Pro Honda Oils Women's Cup Challenge final to be shortened to 8 laps after multiple red flags throughout the day. The women racers took to the track just before 5PM with PMP officals annoucing the shortened race just before pre-grid. In an unusual turn of events the race was shortened another 2 laps to 6 during the race due to the strict noise curfew.

Novice Race

In the novice final Burachynsky took the holeshot from pole position and never looked back, although Dagenais was trying hard and managed to stay within 6 seconds at the checkered flag. Lemire continued her improvement and clocked her fastest lap of the weekend with a 1:27.847 to take third. Labrosse-Legris showed massive improvement over the weekend with a 1:30.369 in the final, some 16 seconds better than her first session on Friday. The riders were disappointed but understood when Kana Matsumoto missed the final as she attended her injured husband.

WCC Hot Lap Events/GoLo RACING "Hot Lapper" Award

Marie-Josee Bouchard was awarded the Hot Lap Events "Hot Lapper" of the weekend award for her stunning perfomance in the Pro Honda Oils Women's Cup Challenge. The Women's Cup Challenge would like to congratulate her on an impressive debut at the National Level qualifying 17th and finishing 15th competing against the best riders in Canada the Parts Canada Superbike Championship and qualifying 13th and finishing 13th in the Pro 600 final.

Click Here to view Novice Race Results and Points

Click Here to view Season Long Championship Points Standings after Round #2