05/25/2026
CSBK Round 1 - Shannonville Motorsport Park. My aim for the weekend was to achieve top 5 finishes in both classes, as this would be my first weekend of competition on a 600cc super-sport.
We qualified 4th for the EBC brakes Amateur Supersport and 6th for the AIM insurance Amateur Superbike race, laying down respectable times against some local fast guys.
Saturday started out great, with morning practice out of the way and new tires mounted on my spare rims for the races. However, I encountered a setback on the warm-up lap of supersport when I discovered the front rotor was warped. 🤦🏻♂️ I initially thought I could push through and pick up some points, but it wasn’t safe. After pulling off, I was quite frustrated that the first race of the season resulted in a DNF.
Once I cooled off, I headed back to hot pits to check on things, only to find out I forgot to put a wheel spacer in as well, which was embarrassing to admit. The feeling of doing 200+ km/h down the back straight was unsettling, to say the least.
Scheduling is very tight between my teammate, Gary Mc Kinnon, and me, so we’re always rushing around to ensure everything is in order. A small mistake like that could have been tragic and likely prevented if I didn’t have my hands in there. Fortunately, Dave Oakley and some other good track friends jumped into action to assist.
After reassessing the situation, I reset my mind and got ready for the second race of the day. We held 4th for most of the race, and on the second-last lap, I got a great drive down the back straight on my Suzuki GSX-R600 and was able to draft an inside pass off the back straight on Jeff Barnard's 750. I managed to hold him off for the next 1 1/2 laps, and I was over the moon to collect 3rd place. Maybe even more exciting was the pass I made. This gave me tons of momentum going into Sunday.
Unfortunately, a heavy fog rolled through overnight into the morning, scrubbing all practice for everyone. I got 1 lap in just to make sure the bike was in working order and also to see if there was much water left on the track for my teammate, as he had his race coming up.
In the second Amateur supersport race, we held onto 3rd comfortably the whole race, with sights set on 2nd. Unfortunately, Jeff had a pretty fast low-side into 3, but for me, it meant picking up 2nd place and collecting a few extra points. I was glad to see my competitor was up and okay afterwards.
Moving on to the second Amateur superbike race, I got an excellent start and held onto 2nd place for half of the race. Then, I latched onto Js Lefebvre on his beautiful Ducati. We had a lot of fun chasing each other throughout the weekend. There were a few close calls, but that’s racing.
We’re very pleased coming out of the first national weekend with 2 3rds and a 2nd-place finish, exceeding expectations and getting down to a pretty fast pace. I managed 109.9 and a consistent 1:10 pace.
Look out Shubie boys, June 5th-7th….
I’m coming for the wins.
Hope to see everyone there.
Baillie Ives #6 ✊🏻 🏁 ❤️
Thank you to everyone whom makes this possible :
-Gary McKinnon
-Glen McKinnon
-Marley McKinnon
-My Parents (VickiKevin Ives)
-Alban Neves
-Finishline motorcycle supply
-Pro Cycle
-Millertyme Racing
-Importations Thibault
-Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship
📸 :
McWilliams
Shot
