S.O.A.R: Southern Ontario Associates of Racing
SOAR is one of the fastest growing motorcycle road racing organizations in Ontario. They cater towards the novice racer and start every race weekend with a racing school on the Friday. You are given a chance to practice what you have learned with their track day and practice sessions. On top of learning what to do and how to do it, you are able to enjoy a family-friendly atmosphere where other riders are not opposed to giving you advice on how to improve while on the track.
I had the opportunity to speak with a couple of the racers last weekend (September 9th) one of whom is a novice rider in his first year of racing. Ryan Wilson has been riding street bikes for a number of years but it wasn’t until recently that he started racing motorcycles. He has advanced significantly within his first year of racing. He went from starting at the back of the pack to finishing on the podium almost every race. The weekend that I was there he finished 1st and 3rd beating the previous year’s leader around Grand Bend Raceway’s technical circuit. He’s had assistance from James Perreault who has been racing motorcycles for many years and is wealth of information when it comes to improving your technique.
“It’s my first year. I started at the back when i first started and every race I kept climbing up, now i’m running podium every race, almost”. -Ryan Wilson
Soar isn’t meant to be this hardcore MotoGP clone, it’s more than that. It’s about the people. This is a place where you can come to have a good time and enjoy racing along side the friends you make. The kinds of people who take part in SOAR aren’t necessarily there to win all the time (although that would be nice), they are there to help each other out. If you are having an issue with your bike, there are people there that would be more than happy to offer assistance. If you want some advice on how to improve your racing line, they will offer up advice. Yes, in the end you are competing against each other for a spot on the podium but SOAR is a family event and you definitely get that feeling when you are around these people.
Motorcycle racing is an incredibly dangerous sport. There is very little protecting you from an incident. If you fall the only thing between you and the ground is some protective gear. There isn’t any body work or roll cage like in traditional motorsports. To have to want to race motorcycles you have to be off your rocker. I have a lot of admiration for the men and women who put their lives on the line all in the name of motorsport.
