September 14th 2010,

    A 1st place finish in a 3 hour endurance race for Rob and anther win for Kana in the Femme race at SOAR.

A last minute decision to enter a hour hour endurance race in the newly formed SOAR (Southern Ontario Association of Racing) held at Toronto Motorsports Park resulted in a great finish for Rob and team mates Chris Dopke and Michel Sabourin. "We threw this together at the last minute not really knowing what we were getting into and I'd say it worked out pretty good" said Rob from the top spot on the podium. Each of the riders rode approximately an hour to complete 40 to 50 laps each. Riding the Suzuki SV650 meant all three would be comfortable on the bike as each has achieved success on the machine.

Rob also competed in the Novice 600 and Novice Superbike classes where he finished 15th and 12th respectively. He said after the race "I'm starting to have fun on the 600 now. There are still some suspension issues to deal with but they are minor and I can focus on riding the bike now. Next year should be interesting."

Kana put together another successful weekend. She qualified first in the Femme class and finished the race over 25 seconds ahead of second place finisher Sarah Bevan. "I had a good weekend, we don't come here often and it's nice to meet and compete against other racers in our area." She also competed in the Battle of the Twins race where she qualified 2nd and finished 5th after a tough battle with lap traffic.

September 6th 2010,

    Matsumoto wins and Cousineau finishes 2nd in the SV Cup at the R.A.C.E. regional series. 

It was a great finish for Bulletmoto racing in what were very difficult weather conditions. The weekend started with a Friday evening "Racing for Autism" event which managed to raise over $5000.00 for the cause. Rob managed to get a few practice laps in during the Friday evening event in very wet and rainy conditions. Saturday's weather was extremely windy and the afternoon's qualifying heat races had to be cancelled for the rider's and the official's safety.

    Sunday brought more unpredictable weather. The morning's practice sessions were dry but the afternoon would be a completely different story. Kana's WCC race was first up and she had to decide minutes before the race if rain tires or dry tires should be used. She went with rain tires and it was the right decision as the skies opened up and soaked the track  It was a bizarre start as none of the other Women's Cup Competitors made it to the grid and had to start from pit lane. After 2 laps Kana had established a 15 second lead when the race was red flagged. The track had time to dry out somewhat for the restart of the race twenty minutes later and that took away Kana's advantage over the higher horsepower 600 cc machine of eventual class champion Nathalie Provost.. She would score a well earned second place finish in the shortened 6 lap race.

    The SV Cup race brought the same indecision as there was a mix of tire choices, some racers showed up with rain tires and other with the regular dry tires. Both Kana and Rob's Motovan sponsored SV 650's were mounted with Pirelli rain tires.

July 12th 2010 - Mosport Race Report

    The Parts Canada Superbike Championship made its annual stop at Mosport International Raceway this past weekend for rounds 4 and 5 of the series. Thursday practice was held under the hottest conditions of the season so far with temperatures in the mid 30’s. Rob had planned on competing in the Sport Twins class and the AM600 class but back to back practices proved to be too much in the hot temperatures and he decided to concentrate on the AM600 for the weekend. Friday practice and qualifying was rained out.

   With the help of Michel Sabourin some changes were made on Saturday morning to the suspension of the “Motovan, Durham Top Quality Collision, Suzuki of Newmarket sponsored Suzuki GSX-R600” to eliminate a rear tire ripping issue experienced on Thursday. Friday morning practice showed improvement on the bike and gave a confident feeling for the race later in the day. Kana’s “Motovan, Durham Top Quality Collision, Suzuki of Newmarket Suzuki SV650” needed some minor adjustment also to better suit the high load demands of the fast flowing corners of Mosport.

Race 1, Saturday;

Kana was off first in the Sport Twins class. She rode a great race, challenging pro riders Atkinson on an SV650 and even Darren James on the Harley Davidson XR1200 to eventually finish 10^th. Even with a poor start Kana incurred a jump start penalty and was penalized 5 seconds. Parts Canada staff were very generous in handing these awards out at Mosport this year.

   The AM600 race was the final race of the day on Saturday and there was 34 hungry riders lined up to provide a spectacular show for the fans. The BulletMoto team received its second jump start penalty of the day when Rob slipped the clutch just a little too much for the Parts Canada officials. A good launch off the line saw him jump into the mix of the line ahead of him and taking a couple positions through turn 1. An exciting battle between Rob #108, Bonin #5 and Gauthier #224 went on throughout the race until #224 crashed out trying to make a pass on the outside of turn 5 on the final lap. Rob held off Bonin to finish in 23^rd position.

Race 2, Sunday;

   The AM600 race was early in the afternoon. Concentrating too hard on not jump starting took the focus away from getting a great start and Rob was second last going into the first turn. Quickly making up a few positions and settling in with a group of 3 riders for the first few laps provided some action at the back of the pack. A few mistakes had him loose ground on the group ahead and Rob rode a smart end of the race to bring the “Motovan, Durham Top Quality Collision, Suzuki of Newmarket sponsored Suzuki GSX-R600” home in 27^th position. “I’m very disappointed with today’s result. I had a good bike under me and expected a lot more out of myself from this race. Transitioning from the SV to the 600 is tougher than first anticipated. I need to sit back and re-evaluate future racing plans. Getting back on the SV may be what I need.”

   It was the Sport Twins that went last of the day and it was a very exciting race. Kana was determined to beat James and Atkinson in this race. “I know I can beat them both, that big XR1200 of James just holds me up man!” Not getting her usual rocket start Kana had some work to do right from the beginning of the race. Quickly getting to race pace Kana made her way past Darren James on the #29 and Craig Atkinson on the #41 in the first couple laps and lead a pack of four riders to the finish line. She would better her previous days finish by one position ending up in 9^th place. “That was race was a lot of fun for me. Darren and I swapped positions a couple times and I fought to stay ahead of Craig. I’m glad I was able to lead them to the line.”

   Although not a highly successful weekend BulletMoto Racing enjoyed Mosport. Seeing some of Canada’s racing greats on Saturday was a special treat for all. But the best part of racing is the time we get to spend with good friends at the track.

 BulletMoto would like to thank its supporters; Motovan, Durham Top Quality Collision, Suzuki of Newmarket, Armour Bodies, Quaker State - Shell Lubricants, Hindle exhaust, Vortex, Nexo leathers, Sabourinsky.

June 22nd 2010,

    Matsumoto becomes the first women to reach the podium in the SV Cup series.!!!  It was a hot weekend of practice and qualifying that lead up to this great achievement. Bulletmoto started the weekend with a refreshing Friday night practice on the Fabi circuit at Shannonville Motorsports Park. Getting the most out of the sessions the team got familiar with the track layout and made a few set up changes to prepare for the weekend.

    With the Saturday morning practices quickly out of the way it was time for some heat races. Rob finished 7th in the SV cup race after a bad judgment call put him on the outside of a rookie racer going into turn 1, a fast right hander. #98 Grekos had brake issues and ran both he and Cousineau into the paved run off area, both were able to continue and finish the race. The #107 of Matsumoto had a good pace and picked up third position on the final lap due to #320 taking a fall. Rob finished 8th in the middleweight sportsman heat race.

    Sunday's race action promised to be hot and so was the weather. Hot and humid, hopefully our time racing in the Dominican heat would help us here. The SV Cup race was the early race of the day getting started before the lunch break and Rob got a great start from the second row and blasted into second position by corner 2, hunting down the #171 of Sabourin. Kana would take that position away from Rob on the long back stretch. "I tried to stay with her and take the position back but she was just too quick today. It's really great to see her on the podium. First women to do it too. Pretty cool huh!" said Rob. Unfortunately Rob lost the third position to the #41 of Nadeau who capitalized on a slight mistake made going into the hairpin. The race was cancelled just after the half way point due to a red flag incident.

    Kana started fourth in the Race Women's Open and finished fourth in an an eventful race. Rob competed in the final race on the schedule, the middleweight sportsman race. After getting another great start from the second row a "brain fart" caused him to again run off into the turn 1 run off area on lap 1. "I just lost focus for an instant, it was stupid. I thought my race was done and there would be no one to race with but to my surprise Hans on the Orange #8 shot past me as I re-entered the track. I quickly passed him back, set a steady pace and thought it was done until I was saw the #595 of T.J. taking a look inside. From there I had a fun race playing with the two of them as battled for position". Rob finished 8th.

May 17th 2010,

    Round 2 of the RACE Super Series was held this past weekend at Shannonville. The weather was great and so was the racing. We used Friday practice to re acquaint ourselves with the Long track layout of the circuit. I haven't raced on it since 2007 and it's been a year for Kana. Having injured my back last week I decided to leave the new 600cc machine at home and ride my SV650 as it can offer a somewhat "plush" ride.

    The Saturday afternoon heat race for the middleweight went well and I secured a good spot for Sunday's final. Kana finished 5th in her WCC heat race. The SV Cup heat race was cancelled due to unscheduled delays on the track.

    Sunday morning came and with it sunny skies and warm temperatures. The morning was started with the annual MAX memorial breakfast hosted by Rahul Duha and Golo racing. It's a great event that raises money to go towards race track safety at Shannonville. This year a record $2600.00 was raised. I'm certain Michel Mercier will make excellent use of the funds, based on rider input.

    The morning practice sessions were quickly out of the way and my Middleweight Sportsman race was the first one on the schedule. I got a good start and started counting down the laps and kept a steady strong pace as there was really no one around me. I finished the race in 8th position and started to prepare for the SV Cup race later in the day.

    I was starting on the front row sandwiched between my wife on one side and my good friend on the other, this was going to be a good race. I tried to get a good start but anticipated a little too much, more on that later. The light went green and off we went, I was second into turn 1 right behind my friend Michel. By the third lap it was clear that Michel was running a very strong pace and I couldn't match it. I turned consistent laps and was passed by #41 Nadeau coming into Allen's corner on the 2nd last lap. I didn't let it go easily though, attempting several passes on the last lap to take back the position but it wasn't to be. I crossed the line in 3rd place. However that position would be taken away due to a 5 second jump start penalty, putting back to 6th.

    Kana did well in the first WCC round of the season, riding her SV650 to an uneventful yet strong 5th place finish. In the SV Cup race she struggled right from the start with a group of riders battling for third and the opportunity to get by and ride at her own pace never really presented itself. She crossed the finish line in 5th but was credited with 4th after the jump start penalty was applied to me #108.

After a long winter of training and prepping the 2010 race season finally got under way at Shannonville Motorsport Park last weekend. Both Kana and I were eager to get started and travelled to the track early Friday to get some extra track time in before the races. Saturday morning came and the practice sessions were quickly out of the way as we moved to the afternoon qualifying sessions.

 RC #108 - I was riding my new GSXR600 and was taking my time to get comfortable on it, slowly increasing the pace with every lap. I rode smart in both qualifiers knowing that the race is not won there but certainly can be lost there. Placing 15^th on the grid for the 600 and the Open class race I was near the rear and had a challenge ahead of me for Sunday.

 KM #107 – Due to a heavy rain fall and the low turnout for the Women’s Open Class, the qualifying session was cancelled. Kana did compete in the SV Cup heat race where she placed 5^th and start in that 5^th position for Sunday’s race.

 RACE DAY – In an effort to get ahead of the weather RACE director Chris Chapelle and his crew decided to shorten the morning practice schedule and get four races in before the lunch break. My Novice 600 race was the second to go and I was pumped to ride my first real race since last August. Starting 15^th on the grid I got a great launch for the start of the race which was quickly halted due to a massive mayhem back at the start line. A rider on the front row stalled his bike and that started a five bike pile up. I had just as good a launch on the re-start and was quickly ahead of at least 6 riders before turn 2. I ran a great race with consistent lap times and finished 8^th. The afternoon’s Novice Open race was similar with a thrilling finish. I got another great start from the 15^th grid position passing many riders before the second corner. I had a run a very steady race and caught up to lap a rider in the last few corners but his lines were very unpredictable and I was cautious in making the move on him when the rider who was chasing me tried to sneak inside the both of us in the last corner. I was very aggressive in shutting the door to claim my second 8^th position of the day.

 Kana rode an uneventful race in the Women’s class and finished 3^rd, there were only 4 riders in the race. The afternoon’s SV Cup race was thrilling as always. Getting an unusually poor start Kana found herself near the back of the pack going into turn 1. With determination and quick lap times she quickly put herself into 3^rd position. Trying a few times to pass #41 Sean Nadeau for second place Kana felt as she was being held up and needed to get by to ride at her own pace. It all went wrong in turn 5 on the second last lap when Kana missed a downshift and with the lack of engine braking closed very quickly on Nadeau. Unable to slow the bike enough the collision was unavoidable and her front wheel hit Nadeau’s rear wheel as he turned into the corner causing Kana to low side and slide off the track. The only injuries were to the bike and Kana’s pride as her first SV Cup podium position was gone.

 BulletMoto would like to thank those who make the dream possible; Motovan, Durham Top Quality Collision, Suzuki of Newmarket, Armour Bodies, Quaker State - Shell Lubricants, Hindle exhaust, Vortex, Nexo leathers.