EASTERN #CANADIAN DRAG #RACING SERIES – ROUND 3
@HarleyDavidson® V-Rod® DestroyerTM Motorcycles Heat It Up in Grand Bend on Father’s Day

CONCORD, Ontario (June 19, 2012) – Grand Bend Motorplex, Grand Bend, Ontario

With the thermometer cozying up to 30 degrees Celsius, conditions were ideal for the Harley-Davidson® V-Rod® DestroyerTM motorcycles in their third outing of the season at the beautiful Grand Bend Motorplex drag race complex in Ontario. The exciting all-motorcycle weekend slated for both the drag strip, as well as the new road course, rolled along smoothly under a mix of thunderstorms and brilliant sunny skies with hot summer temperatures.

Just as in the previous two rounds of action of the Eastern Harley-Davidson® V-Rod® DestroyerTM Series, eight V-Rod® DestroyerTM motorcycles elbowed their way through Saturday’s qualification runs to see what teams would be pitted against each other for Sunday’s final elimination contests.

Once again, Rocky’s Harley-Davidson® rider, Pete Thomson, came out on top of the leader board, qualifying with an ET of 9.453 and a top speed of 137.40 mph in his very first charge up the tarmac, setting the bar for the rest of the DestroyerTM motorcycle riders. After the third round of qualifying, Owen Sound’s Chris Fox of Fox Harley-Davidson® found himself in second place after improving his runs each time out. Yellowknife’s Trails End Harley-Davidson®-backed Jeff Pitre continued to hold a hot hand, riding to the third best qualifying time with an ET of 9.549 and a top speed of 140.75 mph, the best top speed of the day. Fourth place went to the hard charging Fox Harley-Davidson®-sponsored Ray Philp, who used the final session to break his tie with fifth qualifier, Rocky’s Harley-Davidson® rider, Dan Thomson. Western rider, Jamie Moench, riding for Edge Harley-Davidson®, made a huge come-back to grab the sixth spot with a healthy ET of 9.727 and to jump ahead of Thunder Road Harley-Davidson® rider, Paul Guerrieri. MotoSport Plus of Kingston-sponsored “Goose” Gosselin continued to improve in his rookie season and with the help of MotoSport Plus co-rider, Mitch McCallum, “Goose” has the makings to become a strong contender in the series.

Storm clouds rolled in Saturday evening bringing with them heavy rains. Thunder and lightning filled the skies and there was some question as to whether the thunder would impact the Sunday finals. The Grand Bend staff did an excellent job getting the track prepped and the racing went on as scheduled.

In the first of the elimination heats, points leader, Pete Thomson, removed “Goose” Gosselin from contention with a 9.641 and a top speed of 137.50 mph. Fellow westerners, Jeff Pitre and Jamie Moench, then lined up. Pitre’s V-Rod® motorcycle grabbed hard, bogging down while Moench shot into the lead and was handily awarded the win. Rocky’s Harley-Davidson® rider, Dan Thomson, ran a close battle with Ray Philp, with Thomson taking a narrow margin of victory over Philp, pitting the younger Thomson against his father, Pete Thomson, going into the next round – a fitting battle for a Father’s Day weekend. In the final round one elimination contest, Chris Fox sent Paul Guerrieri to the sidelines with a healthy ET of 9.523 and a top speed of 135.41 mph.


Father and son lined up for the first of the elimination heats in round two. Dan refused to issue a Father’s Day present and ran neck and neck with Pete Thomson, until the latter stages of the race when his DestroyerTM motorcycle limped through the finish with a suspected electrical problem. The elder Thomson ran a brilliant ET of 9.509 and a top speed of 137.74 mph, earning himself a spot in the final. In another close battle, Chris Fox bested Edge Harley-Davidson® rider, Jamie Moench, with an ET of 9.559 and a top speed of 137.09 mph, setting the stage for what would be one of the closest battles of the weekend.

With the threat of rain in the air once again, Thomson and Fox lined up to renew their battle for the weekend win. When the start lights flashed, both riders got great starts. Fox had the better reaction time with a 0.047 against Thomson’s 0.064, but it was not enough. Thomson crossed the line with barely a wheel width to spare with an ET of 9.482 with Fox posting a 9.513. Fox commented after the race, “I didn’t even see Pete beside me, it was that close, I really thought I had him.” An ecstatic Thomson was thrilled with the win saying, “That was close, I sure am happy to get that one in the books. Once again, it was a great weekend and all the thanks go to Rocky’s and Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada for making all this possible.”

The next event of the CMDRA V-Rod® DestroyerTM National Series will kick off July 21 and 22 at the Sturgis North Nitro Nationals in Ashcroft, British Columbia while the Eastern Series resumes action once again at the Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario on July 21 and 22.



About Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada
Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, Genuine Motor Parts and Accessories, and MotorClothes® apparel, which are provided through a national network of authorized Harley-Davidson® Retailers. Office and distribution warehouse facilities are located in Richmond, British Columbia, and Concord, Ontario.

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