MBP Racing
2004 Season
Ottawa area rider Dr. Steve Walker joined the team for the ‘04 season and we put together a mechanical package that allowed him to run in the front of the class regardless of venue. The highlight of the 04 bike was a 2 into 1 under tail exhaust designed by Guy and Cody that solved the perennial ground clearance issue and sounded like a banshee in heat. Dr. Steve got the season off to an excellent start with a 4th over ex-MBP rider Trottier the opening round at Shannonville. Round 2 sucked, though – with the bike out of commission from a hard crash in the rain-soaked event. Another fine 3rd place finish behind Buell’s James and Ducati-mounted Trottier in the 4th round followed by an amazing, hard-charging ride to 4th in the 5th round at Mosport. A late arrival to the pre-grid meant that Dr. Steve had to start the race from the pit entrance ramp once the entire 250GP and Cdn Thunder field had cleared turn 1. His lap times as he cut through the field would have put him in a heated battle for 1st. Steve completed the season 3rd in the overall series standings with his 4th place in the final round. At time of writing (Dec ’04), Steve has defected to BMW to run a Boxer Cup entry and we’re pondering our options for the 05 season but as a minimum, Steve Munro will run his vintage 750F1 (a 3rd in the Mosport round heat race showed the bike competitive, although ineligible for points) in four of the six rounds of the now National series.

2003 Season
Having spent the last two years helping out various American Pro-Thunder teams like Monroe Motors with their efforts, we decided to take a crack at a team in our own backyard. The recently formed Canadian Thunder Series offered a relatively inexpensive (not really) entry for our dyno mule, The Shop Bike, and we enlisted the help of vintage racer Adam Bennett and a semi-retired Bill Quail to split the riding duties during the season. By the halfway point in the season, we’d picked up a few podium finishes (and a bit of road rash) and made a few friends along the way. One of these was Robert Trottier, a hard-charging series veteran on a Monster who was holding 3rd place in the points standings when his motor (not built by MBP of course) packed it in. We decided to give Robert the Shop Bike for the balance of the season and in the final round at Mosport, he won the main event and clinched 2nd place in the series.

The Shop Bike ran flawlessly during the season and is heading into retirement on the street while Dr. Steve Walker (2nd Place RACE Hvywt Twins) will join the team on a 2002 900SS. Looks like a great combination for the 2004 season and an excellent shot at taking the series.