Kelowna BC’s Marcel Irnie has been toiling in the ultra-competitive Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) circuit all spring in preparation for this summer’s Parts Canada Superbike National. Irnie traveled to Pacific Raceways near Seattle to hone his skills and finalize bike adjustments before the Calgary National at the end of the month.
To start off the weekend, Irnie took part in half of the Friday track day. He used this time to put more miles on his Seattle Tool 2008 zx-6r. His trusty 2005 race bike has been used for the bulk of his races so far, so more testing was needed to determine which bike will be best for racing in the Calgary Natonal.
Saturday brought sunshine and the first warm weather racing of the season for IrnieRacing. Irnie’s intense physical conditioning program would pay dividends in today’s heat. The first race of the day would be the 750 Supersport race. Irnie opted to ride his 2008 600cc unit against the faster 750cc bikes. Starting from the second row, Irnie entered the first turn in fourth spot when disaster nearly struck. The rider to his right swooped into his racing line causing Irnie to lift off the throttle in heavy traffic. He missed the rider by millimeters, but the sudden deceleration caused two trailing riders to rear-end Marcel. Irnie recounted, “Kevin Klemmer and Andrew Brackett were coming up behind me and when I lifted off the throttle to avoid a collision, I was hit hard. Kevin hit my left handlebar, bending my clutch lever forward. His brake lever was bent upright. We both separated into head shakers. I managed to bring my bike back under control at an estimated 150kmph. Kevin was not as lucky. His handle bar was ripped from his right hand, and he was falling off his motorcycle to his left. He was right off the seat, only hanging on with his left hand and it looked like he was going to fall off, but then Brackett ran into Kevin. Brackett's shoulder pushed Klemmer back onto his motorcycle and they both went off track.”
Superbike racer Marcel Irnie of Kelowna enjoyed a productive, albeit abbreviated trip to Washington State for a May 30th race at Spokane Motorsports Park. Leading up to the weekend, weather forecasts predicted wet, stormy weather for the Saturday race, but pleasant conditions for Sunday. Irnie opted to skip the Saturday races and instead get set for Sunday. His decision paid off as Sunday turned out to be sunny and relatively pleasant. Irnie had considered saving his resources and skipping Spokane altogether, but felt that he needed to get more racing under his belt before the Calgary Superbike National in a month. As Marcel had not been to the Spokane track in over a year, he would have to relearn the nuances of the technical racecourse.
For a couple of reasons, Kelowna BC’s Marcel Irnie went into round 2 of the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) series at Pacific Raceways with some trepidation. First, a recent knee injury suffered in a dirt bike crash left Irnie wondering whether he was fit to ride. Second, fresh in Irnie’s mind was a spectacular 130 kmph crash that ended his last race at Pacific Raceways just four weeks earlier. April was not exactly a banner month for Irnieracing.com. The April 3rd race-crash left Marcel scrambling for replacement parts for his damaged 2005 Kawasaki zx-6rr. The April 25th dirt bike training accident had Irnie spending many hours with his physiotherapist and personal trainer as they performed intensive therapy on his injured knee. Before his departure for Washington, Roy from Pinnacle Physiotherapy left him with the stern admonition.
"No wipe outs... Definitely no wipe outs!" Roy Gillespie
This did little to help Marcel's confidence. For this event, Irnie mounted two GoPro HD cameras on his bike and one on his helmet. As usual, he has produced an HD video chronicling the weekend.
Motorcycle road-racer Marcel Irnie of Kelowna BC, traveled to Pacific Raceway near Seattle Washington to participate in the opening round of the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) which was held on April 3rd and 4th. This was Irnie’s first ride of the season.
Irnie worked hard throughout the winter, not only preparing his bike, but also gathering new sponsors. Some valuable new partnerships were formed that will add some exciting new dimensions to Irnie’s 2010 campaign. New sponsor World Gym Kelowna provided a personal trainer (Mr.RyanBrown.com) who has been working very hard with Marcel. With an increased emphasis on physical conditioning, Marcel hopes to hit the track in the best shape of his life. To improve his motorcycles, Irnieracing was pleased to team up with Dave Alexander of Fluid Suspension Science. Mr. Alexander will provide suspension setup consultation as well as research and development. Marcel was also excited to transport his race gear in a new Royal Cargo 7x16 trailer with help from new sponsor British Columbia Trailer. As an experienced filmmaker, Marcel will chronicle the events with five new HD Hero cameras supplied by new sponsor GoPro. Irnie films everything from on-board race footage to his adventures as a privateer on the road.
AMSOIL-sponsored motorcycle road racer Marcel Irnie spent 6 weeks out east in the latter part of the summer to compete in the final two rounds of the Parts Canada Superbike Series. A hard crash ended his race on August 9th in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. He then made his way back to Shannonville, Ontario and lived in a tent until the race weekend of September 3 – 6! Such is the life of a privateer! Unfortunately Marcel didn’t have much better luck in the final round.
There’s no question that Marcel was very competitive this year, but poor luck and mechanical issues robbed him of valuable points. With the proper financial backing and competitive equipment we see Marcel vying for the series title in this class next year.
Marcel films randomly from the 'Second Person Perspective' and talks with fellow racers and crew including:
Brett McCormick, Jordon Szoke, Andrew Nelson, Steve Crevier, Bodie Edie, Cody Matechuk, Billy Shields, Efram Ellenbogen, Royce McLean, Jodi Christie, Sebastien Tremblay, Marcos Dongarra, Pascal Picotte, and the Go Lo Girls.
The Parts Canada Superbike National in Shubenacadie Nova Scotia. August 9, 2009
Irnie drives seven days (76 hours) across Canada, from Kelowna British Columbia to Shubenacadie Nova Scotia, to attend Round 6 of the Parts Canada Superbike National. Atlantic Motorsport Park was built in 1974, and is famous for its "roller coaster" back straight, and physically demanding course design. Occupying a 377 acre site, it is a 2.5km (1.6 mile) 11 turn road circuit, with original cracked pavement.
Marcel films his entire 10,000 Mile journey from the "second person perspective," with a unique film style he likes to call "active editing."
Marcel films randomly and talks with fellow racers and crew including Brian Blaauwendraat, Jim Brooks, Bodie Edie, Todd McLean, Steve Crevier, Jodi Christie, Billy Shields, Brett McCormick, and Efram Ellenbogen.
After Nova Scotia, Marcel visits Kreater Custom Motorcycles in Mississauga Ontario for rest and repair. Marcel will then venture to Shannonville Ontario where he must camp four weeks till the final national in September.
