Taylor swift on matching Kawasakis

Details

Category: CSBK News

Published on Friday, August 14, 2015 17:26 EDT

Written by Administrator

By Bob Dragich

The entire field of 16 Kawasaki Ninja 300s put on a great show in the inaugural Mopar CSBK Canadian Superbike Series Kawasaki Ninja 300 Spec Race.

After six laps, it was veteran rider Michael Taylor over Costa Mouzouris at the line, and just by inches. Hindle Racing engineer Scott Cartier finished third.

Due to rain most of the day, it seemed doubtful that the race would go off as scheduled on Friday afternoon, but the riders were given a 10 minute practice session after which they voted on whether or not to see a green flag that afternoon. The vote was unanimous and the race was on.

Because there was no dry qualifying and there were no points for this Kawasaki-guest first race, gridding was random and even seemed capricious. Asked after the race if veteran riders like two-time National Superbike Champ Taylor and spec racing ace Mouzouris were placed on the back row just for a little extra drama, series organizer Colin Fraser smiled and shook his head, “yes.”

The Kawasaki Ninja 300 spec races on Saturday and Sunday in the final double header weekend of the Mopar CSBK tour will feature a different grid, with VIPs and Media handling the same twenty identical twin cylinder, production-based machinery.

At the start of the race, it looked like Taylor would be the man to beat. Working quickly through the field, he was firmly in the lead by the end of the second lap. He might have run away except for Mouzouris, who stalked him the entire race.

Mouzouris finally got by Taylor on the last lap in turn eight, but Taylor just stuck to his rival’s rear tire for two more corners, looking for his chance. He got it when Mouzouris went way to the inside in the final corner to prevent Taylor from getting by on the inside.

“He compromised his corner speed when he did that,” said Taylor after the race. It also helped Taylor when Mouzouris missed his downshift entering the final turn, completing it on the exit instead. Taylor went wide, carried about four mph more through the corner, capitalized on the momentum and drafted Mouzouris down the front straight, nipping him just at the line. 

After the race, the top three on the podium all agreed that it was some of the most fun they had racing. Passing on the drying track didn’t prove to be much of a problem according to Mouzouris. “You just had to be a little careful. There are a wide variety of experience levels in the class, but there’s lots of room to pass because the bike is small.”

The happiest person in the winner’s circle was Scott Cartier. With just a little regional racing and some track days, Cartier went from twelfth on the gird to finish third. Pointing proudly at the Hindle exhaust on this Ninja, he said, “I designed that.” He also came up with the Hindle front and rear stands for the Ninja 300.

Not bad for someone who describes himself as not having much racing experience.