Team Shoulder Check ( TSC ) is comprised of a group of motorcycle instructors from Ottawa, Ontario. They hold down mild mannered day jobs but volunteer some of their time to teach for the Ottawa Safety Council ( OSC )Motorcycle Rider Course. They are avid motorcyclists that enjoy the sport of motorcycling in all of its forms; street riding, dirt biking, trials, touring and especially road racing. The name Team Shoulder Check emerged from a comment made by a racing school instructor, recalls Frank Kevins (a Chief Instructor at the OSC). "The first time we went to FAST I think Mercier ( former Canadian Superbike Champ ) mentioned that we all seemed to shoulder-check, even when not necessary (i.e. around a turn on the track)." It appears that the survival instinct to check for cars and other vehicles on a closed course was a noticeable trait of the OSC Instructors. The idea of the name bounced around among the instructors but was never implemented. "When I did my abortive effort at St. Eustache with Stone and Ed Ianni, I coined the name", Frank said. However, the name Team Shoulder Check was never used in an actual race event. Disaster would strike at the St. Eustache endurance race that year and Frank's bike would be unable to race. Finally, in the summer of 1999 at the Shannonville Endurance race, a new group of instructors ( Brian Robitaille, Dave Fong and Pat Boyd ) brought back the dream of TSC by successfully entering and completing a race.

 

The summer of 2000 saw Team Shoulder Check's first expansion. John Dunlop joined TSC in the spring of 2000 and campaigned his 1975 CD550 in the vintage class. John has ridden very well for TSC and is a regular front runner.

 

In 2001 Team Shoulder Check expanded; Alan Burns joined the Ottawa Safety Council and TSC.

 

2002 saw Team Shoulder Check add a rider, and lost a rider. Dan Henri joined the team and quickly added respectability. Dan has regularly finished in the top 10; it is nice to see TSC out front. 2002 also saw the loss of Brian Robitaille, Brian has taken a sabbatical from racing to pursue new career opportunities.

 

Again in 2003 Team Shoulder Check expanded again; Rich Peillard joined the team near the end of the season.

2005 Saw John Dunlop take a leave from the Ottawa Safety Council and Team Shoulder Check. john is still racing vintage as far as we know.