This last weekend Calgary played host to the second round of the Canadian Superbike Championships. The event marked the first race back for Superbike contender, Clint McBain after suffering a 3rd degree shoulder separation just before the opening round in Calabogie, Ontario one month ago. For his14-year old teammate (and step-son) Cody Matechuk, it was a debut ride on the hometown track aboard the Alberta Cycle Suzuki SV650.

Smothered in sunshine, Saturday morning practice was the last opportunity for teams to find the ideal set-up to run in the afternoon Pirelli Superpole Qualifier. The top ten from this practice session each get one chance; one lap, to claim pole for Sunday's race. After several easy laps, the Acceleration team put on a fresh set of Pirellis and with just minutes left on the clock, the Alberta Cycle Suzuki GSX-R1000 found an opening in traffic. McBain laid down a flyer. The 1:15.751 ripped him from the 4-way battle and landed him top of the leader board with room to spare. News rippled throughout the paddock, “a new lap record has just been set by Clint McBain”. McBain cruised back to pit lane crowned lap record holder and provisional pole sitter for the Superbike class.

The afternoon Superpole session was warmer yet and teams worked diligently to try and find the perfect combination of tire compound and pressure to complete the one perfect lap. McBain was last to lay down his time and the time to beat was Szoke's 1:15.900. Running an easy pace and relatively clean lap, McBain fell just short (7/100ths of a second) of the time to beat, leaving him in the front row for Sunday's main event. Following closely from the other side of the tent the Suzuki SV Cup qualifiers were soon under way. Ontario based ex-pro J. Jarvie lead much of the session by nearly half a second, until Matechuk's last lap run. The Cochrane Dodge sponsored Alberta Cycle Suzuki SV650 worked its way smack dab in the middle of a dog fight for lead position. Narrowly missing victory (only 3/100ths of a second shy), Matechuk like his mentor McBain, would line up for Sunday's race in a second place grid position.

Sunday rolled around with temperatures upwards of 35 degrees Celsius and bleachers filled with sunscreen drenched enthusiasts. The morning super bike practice still tagged the Joe Rocket draped McBain as the man to beat. By the late afternoon, Canada's fastest racers rolled out for the featured event and when the track went green, the Hindle exhaust mounted GSXR launched down the front straight. Slipping through the first turn in 3^rd place, McBain took the next 5 laps to close in on polesitter Szoke before making a pass for the lead at the end of Canada's longest straightaway. From there, McBain's solid ride stretched a lead of over 10 seconds until lap 22 when he took the checkered flag and his first Superbike podium in 2008.”The bike was absolutely perfect today”, smiled McBain, “ I couldn't have asked for anything better. The SSS suspension we've run for the past two years, worked so well, we not only ran fast times, we ran them right to the end. The set-up was perfect in this heat. Patrice (Goyette - crew chief) has once again given me what I need to win out there”. The victory not only threw McBain into 4^th place in the Superbike standings, it also earned him the Tirox Big Winner Award (for Greatest Margin of Victory).

Following the thrill of the Superbike win, Acceleration teammate Cody Matechuk was on the line to fight for his first podium appearance in the Suzuki SV cup series. In a 14-lap tog-of-war, Matechuk had fans on the edge of their seats. Running through high speed corners side by side and swapping lead position, it all came down to the final lap. Matechuk used a perfect drive out of the carousel to draft Jarvie into turn one and take the lead one last time. The young protégé fought off two more challenges to earn his first podium performance on the National tour. “That was the most fun I have ever had racing”, shared champagne-soaked Matechuk. The double victory was a huge achievement for the Alberta Cycle privateer team. Special thanks to friends, family & sponsors again!