Cody Matechuk of Accelration Racing 
By Josh Penner, reporter 

Several veteran riders returned to the track after long absences this weekend, while the Acceleration Racing team continued its dominance of the  Calgary Motorcycle Road Racing Association 2010 season.

Heat waves rolled off the tarmac and winds were strong and unpredictable this weekend at Race City Motorsports Park during round 2 of the CMRA season. On Saturday, gusting 70km/h winds were overturning everything that wasn’t pinned down, to the dismay of some racers and medical staff. The long awaited two day heat wave, however, was still welcomed with open arms by racers after Calgary’s cold wet Spring thus far.

The CMRA attracted almost a hundred competitive riders for a weekend of racing at Race City

Kicking off Saturday’s activities was the newly-billed endurance race. More than a dozen bikes and over 30 riders entered the competition, completing a grueling 60 lap dance around the 3.2 km road course.

This round’s first place award went the Acceleration Racing’s Clint McBain and Cody Matechuk. The McBain/Matechuk duo checked out on the field after only two laps, and the lead continued to grow, as their only contenders, Brad Gavey, Tyler Gobin, and Mikal Zottmann fell to electrical difficulties and were forced to retire their machine early.

The warm weather also enticed a few of the old-timers to don the leathers and get back on the track.

“Road racing is something that never leaves you” says Tom Cody, a veteran racer who’s been away from the track for more than 4 years. “I was given the opportunity to compete in the endurance race with a really good friend of mine, so I decided to give it a try.” Cody said.

Cody’s last season involved a horrific crash that sent his motorcycle cart-wheeling more than 30 feet in the air, only to land less than two feet away from him to the horror of onlookers. More than 5 surgeries later, Cody is excited to be given the opportunity to ride again.

“Aristotle asked me to partner up with him for the enduro, so here we are,” he added.

35-year old Aristotle Tipouikidis said he wasn’t expecting his wife to let him race again.

“I’ve got my second child due within the next few weeks, so it was a tough sell. I typically ride the track south of the border, and won’t be able to for a while so my wife and I agreed on letting me race here in town,” he said.

“I was given a new bike from Walt Healy Motorsports, and told to go race. We changed the tires, safety-wired all of the connections, messed a little bit with the suspension, and got on the bike literally moments before the race started.”

Aristotle Tipouikidis returned to competitive racing after an eight year absence

Tipouikidis said he hasn’t raced for eight years and feels fortunate to be able to return to Race City Speedway, though it’s showing signs of some pretty poor repair.

“We’re out here to have fun. I’ve seen a lot of my old pals from back when I raced here…it’s about hanging out with your friends, doing some riding and having fun,” Tipouikidis said.

Their 2009 Yamaha R6’s paint shined brightly in the pit area on Saturday and continued to do so on Sunday as they managed to complete all of their races, including a 4th place finish in the endurance race.

The results for Open Superbike were again graced with the presence of Cody Matechuk of Acceleration Racing in first place, Mikal Zottmann of MajikX in Second, and a third place finish for Peter Holzinger.  Peter Meier took fourth place, Tyler Gobin placed fifth, and Curtis Lindenbach placed sixth, with Brad Gavey in seventh and Tim Easton in eighth.

For the Ducati Cup:
1st Rupert Collins
2nd Carey Fougere
3rd Paul Roach
4th David Dunbar
5th Brad MacDougall
6th Nicolas Degama-Blanchet
7th Lindsey Redfearn
8th Michael Sutherland

Middleweight Sportbike:
1st Royce Maclean
2nd Cody Matechuk
3rd Tom Bodrovics
4th Rob Darlington
5th Matt Elder
6th Dave Sushynski
7th Chad Swain
8th Curtis Lindenbach
9th John Crump
10th Rupert Collins
11th Aristotle Tipouikidis

Middleweight Superbike:
1st Cody Matechuk
2nd Royce McLean
3rd Rob Darlington
4th Trevor Benhardt
5th Tom Bodrovics
6th Bodhi Edie
7th Chad Swain
8th Matt Elder
9th Peter Meier
10th Dave Sushynski

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