Casas claims racing title
Peterborough’s Tomas Casas claimed his first professional motorcycle racing championship on Saturday.
The 18-year-old clinched the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike title with a second place finish in the 14-lap fifth race of the six-event series at Bowmanville’s Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. After winning a Canadian amateur title in 2014, Casas has finished fifth, third and now first in the Pro Sport Bike division, part of the Canadian Superbike Series.
“It’s a good way to pay back my family who have been behind me since the beginning and my sponsors, everyone who has been behind me,” Casas told The Examiner. “It gives me more confidence to know that we can go further and beyond just racing here in Canada. Hopefully this gives me a little more advantage in getting sponsors and to hopefully go race at a higher level.”
Riding his Peterborough Cycle/ Parts Canada Yamaha YZF-R6, Casas finished second to Ripley, Ont.’s Mitchell Card in a close three-way battle. Casas passed Will Hornblower on the second last turn to secure the points championship finishing 1.624 seconds behind Card.
“It was a very, very exciting race,” said Casas. “I knew it was going to be a battle between the three of us running up front. For practically all the race I stayed in third and just watched to see what I could do. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a big track and I was lacking a little bit on horsepower on the back straightaway. I was pushing through the corners to make up some ground.
“I knew I needed second and that the guys up front were going to risk it all because they wanted to win,” he said. “I managed to pull my second pass move on the second last corner and that was the moment that truly gave me the ability to clinch it.”
Casas crashed once in 2015 and twice in 2016 costing him a chance at the title. He says he pushed the limits those years because his bike wasn’t quite at the level of his competitors. Some increased sponsorship and a new bike helped this year.
“With more experience and a little bit more support behind us we were able to manage the championship and control the season,” he said.
It will take a more powerful bike, 1000cc compared to his 600cc, if he’s going to move up to the top level in the Mopar superbike series next year.
“Maybe next year if we have the right support we step it up and fully focus on the superbike class or, maybe, we go for both championships. We’ll see how that turns out over the off-season.”
In Sunday’s sixth and final Pro Sport Bike race of the season Casas again finished a close second to Card.
It’s a good way to pay back my family who have been behind me since the beginning and my sponsors, everyone who has been behind me.” Tomas Casas