Canadian Amateur 600 Sport Bike champion Jodi Christie will ride Honda motorcycles in his bid for the 2009 HJC Pro Rookie of the Year Award in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship.
The 16-year-old from Keene, Ont. will compete aboard a CBR600RR in the Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport Bike class and Parts Canada Superbike feature division with backing from the Honda Powerhouse Dealers of Ontario.
His equipment will be prepared by Ben Gartner and his Port Perry, Ont.-based ProStar Motorsports outfit.
“I am very happy to be teamed up with the Honda Powerhouse Dealers of Ontario and ProStar Motorsports,” Christie said. “I am confident we have a solid team put together for my Pro rookie season. I am anxious to race with the other Pro riders and learn from this experience.”
Christie burst onto the national racing scene last year by claiming the Armour Bodies Amateur 600 Sport Bike title in his first attempt with three wins in six races. He also earned pole position in qualifying for every round and set class lap records at three venues.
In Ontario, Christie won the Amateur Superbike and 600 Sport Bike titles in the RACE SuperSeries Championship based out of Shannonville Motorsport Park with eight race wins, nine podium finishes and four lap records.
After an impressive tryout last fall he was scheduled to compete in the AMA Red Bull Rookies Cup in the U.S. this summer, but that program was cancelled in mid-January.
“Although I am not riding in the Red Bull Rookies Cup any more I am excited to be back in Canada and riding under a great team,” Christie added.
In addition to his Parts Canada Superbike Championship commitments, Christie will also race in the Pro Superbike and 600 Sport Bike classes of the RACE SuperSeries at Shannonville, using Pirelli tires on his Honda motorcycles.
Christie will make his Pro debut at the Parts Canada Superbike official preseason Pirelli tire test in Jennings, Fla. April 28-29.
The Race SuperSeries opens May 1-3 with the first round of the Parts Canada Superbike national tour at Calabogie Motorsports Park, near Ottawa, May 21-24.
