At the halfway point of the 2009 Parts Canada Superbike Championship, Moto123 spoke with Pascal Picotte, Team manager of Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing about the season so far, and how the relation with Brett McCormick is developing.

Pascal Picotte, McCormick and head mechanic Scott Cameron, ready for the start of the opening Superbike race of the parts canada Superbike Championship.

Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing have won the second and third Superbike races of the 2009 Parts Canada Superbike Championship, after finishing a close second to reigning Superbike Champion Jordan Szoke in the first round - all this from a 17-year old in his first season as lead rider on a professional team.

The Players
McCormick burst on the national racing scene in Amateur Sport Bike 600, then riding for Harley-Davidson Buell Canada in 2007, spending the 2008 season as second rider at Kawasaki Canada, before becoming lead and sole rider on Suzuki Canada-backed machines this year, with the Blackfoot-Picotte team.

Pascal Picotte, the Granby phenom, spent over a decade racing with top teams (Ducati, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Harley-Davidson) in the AMA before returning home to win Canadian championships in 2003 and 2004 aboard Yamaha machines, then switching to Suzuki where he built up a top level team with current partners Suzuki Canada and Pat Chambers, owner of Blackfoot Motorsports, a huge multiline dealer in Calgary.

Daytona 2009 - Getting to know you!
Pascal is an excellent communicator, and it was obvious from this first race together, that the chemistry with McCormick was going to work. During a panic filled weekend with the team slaving over a quickly prepared bike for Miguel Duhamel to race in the 200, the team found the time to prepare a 2008-spec GSX-R1000 to let McCormick gain some AMA Superbike experience and begin the relationship with the technical staff.

Picotte liked what he saw. "The kid is easy to live with, always in a good mood off the track, he listens better than any newbie I have ever dealt with, and goes straight out and applies what we discussed. I think we are going to have a fun year!"

The tall racer actually scrapes his elbow on the ground on even slightly banked corners.