BGPR Turns up the Heat

June 23rd, 2008

The Sun was shining on Western Canada’s Premiere Motorsports Facility for Round 2 of the CMRA regional motorcycle roadracing championship series and the roadracers of Team BGPR Schools shined brightly on the hot, dry, freshly repaired road course.

Brad “Big Show” Gavey, BGPR patriarch, mentor, and head cheeseburger party chef forgot to not drink a two-four of Coors Light on Saturday night and struggled in the start of the Heavyweight Sportbike Expert race, allowing approximately 67 competitors to leave him at the start/finish line. B-Rad was not defeated though, putting his Cro-Magnon head down, wiping the meat-sweat from his sloping brow and working his way back to an 8th-place finish on his heavy slow number 17 Honda CBR1000RR. After sweating out the beer and cheeseburgers Brad used the newly improved power to weight ratio to battle to a convincing 2nd place in the Senior Open race, defending his points lead in the Geezer Championship.

Mitch “Rat” Rathje AKA “Marlborough Man” was Pedrosa’d by some douche on a Gixxer in turn 4 during Saturday practice, damaging his number 15 Yamaha R1 superbike and bruising his pasty white thigh. Failing to properly repair the Rat Yamaha, Mitch entered the Heavyweight Expert race and in spite of running lap times that would have put him in strong contention for Mitchth Place, he and his motorcycle Did Not Finish. With 2 out of 3 requirements for a Gavey Hat Trick in the bag, Mitch stole Brad’s number 17 slow heavy Honda CBR1000RR and challenged the Open Superbike race. Determined to win and take the trifecta, Mitch’s strategy of “hoping that all the fast guys would crash out, especially Guy LeDouche” failed to come to fruition, but the Marlborough Man still finished a solid 8th place in Calgary’s fastest race. There would be no Gavey Hat Trick.

Jennifer “Fish” Salmon opted not to race, still nursing a previous “upper body injury” though that didn’t stop her from proudly displaying her well-developed upper body to her BGPR and HardNox team mates. Now that’s Sportsmanship.

Mandy “Don’t f***ing call me Amanda” Mckay AKA Midge was able to keep her upper body clothed but showed everyone in the Novice races her ass, as she hosted a clinic on how to launch a racebike with her number 8 Honda CBR600RR. Leading both races through several turns, Midge fought hard and hung on for 5th place and 10th place respectively, defeating several challengers and racing with textbook consistency and smoothness. Still, had the BGPR crew not drilled a 3/8ths inch Barry Sheene cigarette hole in the chin bar of her Arai, she may not have been able to compete.

Taylor “Pretty Boy” King AKA “The Tan” was ecstatic about the sunny weather and accompanying UV rays. Skipping several of his practice sessions to fine-tune the golden hue of his freshly waxed chest, Taylor could not run the pace of the fast practice group he signed up for. After his novice win in round 1, the Tan’s handsome head was so incredibly swollen that he had to remove pads from his color-coordinated Shoei so that it would fit. However, after getting passed in the last turn of the last lap by an 8-year old on a SV650 in the Middlweight Sportbike Amateur race, the Pretty Boy’s ego shrunk from its previous “colossal” status to a more manageable “gargantuan”. The Tan finished 12th, and later finished (unofficially) 18th in the middleweight superbike race in his first weekend as an amateur racer. Taylor’s best lap times fell by 5 seconds over the 2 days, this in spite of having orange duct tape holding on his right knee puck which “totally clashed”.

The BGPR racers and crew had a lot of fun and would like to thank Pirelli, Coors Light, Trayr and the HardNox gang, Redline Motorsports and all the volunteers who made this weekend possible. See you at the track in round three!