Casas stepping up his ride for Pro Superbike series
National Pro Sport Bike champion acquires 1,000cc Yamaha YZF-R1 for 2019 CSBK season
Tomas Casas now has the machine and sponsorship to race Canada’s top motorcycle road series.
The defending two-time Canadian Pro Sport Bike Champion has secured a 1,000cc Yamaha YZF-R1, with the support of Yamaha Motor Canada, for 2019. He’s committed to running all seven races in the Canadian Pro Superbike (CSBK) series while continuing to ride his YZF-R6 to defend his Pro Sport Bike title.
“I’ve raced the superbike class in the past but more or less as a training tool because I was on a 600 and the superbike class is meant for a 1,000,” Casas, 19, said Wednesday. “This year I’ll be stepping up and committing to actually being competitive in that class.”
The series runs at five venues including Ontario’s Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Shannonville Raceway.
Casas has challenged for a CSBK top 10 spot on the R6 and hopes to run for the podium the R1.
“The bike’s electronics have a much bigger impact on how the bike handles. That makes a big difference setup wise,” Casas said.
“The big challenge for myself is getting used to, first, the amount of power difference and weight and secondly, probably the bigger impact is all the electronics a superbike has. The difference in machinery is huge.”
Casas’ family moved to Canada from Colombia when he was 10. He raced motocross in Colombia but began road racing at 12. He opened eyes winning the 2014 CSBK Amateur Sport Bike title.
Funding was always a challenge.
He and his father Julio started with a borrowed trailer, slept in their truck on road trips and wore tires bald.
Casas graduated from St. Peter Secondary School in June and now works at Sobeys and operates his own snow removal and lawn maintenance company.
He’s now secured enough sponsorship to not have to cut corners.
“When I won the first pro sport bike title that really opened a lot of doors,” Casas said.
“Being able to have more support means I can put more effort into racing and we don’t have to worry as much about how we use our budget.”
“We’re excited to see Tomas make the move to the Superbike category,” stated Graeme Jones, Yamaha motorcycles marketing co-ordinator, in a news release.
“This will be a development year as he gets accustomed to the performance level of the R1, but we are in full support of Tomas and proud of his successes. He has a great fan base, a strong work ethic and is a fantastic ambassador for the Yamaha brand and the bLU cRU racing program.”
Casas also renewed an agreement with Hindle Exhaust Systems, whose designer and machinist Scott Cartier will oversee the R1’s pre-season preparation.
“I’m really excited to see Tomas make the move up to the Superbike class,” stated Lee Hindle, director of operations.
“We’ve been supporting him since 2014 and we really just want to push the effort and help him get used to things as quickly as possible.”
Casas also has new sponsors GBRacing, J.J. Stewart Motors (Norwood) and EHR Sports.
“Having the support of a company as big and reliable as GBR is exceptional,” Casas said.
“J.J. Stewart Motors Ltd. has supported us in the purchase of a Dodge Ram 1500 to tow the race trailer during the season. We are also very glad to have the support of a Canadian-based company like EHR Sports.”
Other sponsors include Parts Canada, Pro 6 Cycle and Dunlop Tires, Brooklin Cycle Racing, Flexiglass, Bickle Racing, Blue Streak Racing, DP Brakes, Human 2.0, Vortex, HB Cycle, Peterborough Cycle Salvage and Trackdayhub.com.
Fans can meet Casas at the Toronto Motorcycle Show on Saturday at noon in the CSBK booth and 2 p.m. in the Yamaha booth.