Lacombe takes Superbike pole at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (August 24, 2012) Kevin Lacombe ended Jordan Szoke’s run of qualifying perfection at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Friday. The St-Cesaire, Que. racer claimed pole position for this weekend’s final two rounds of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship by turning a time of one minute, 21.716 seconds (171.815km/h) in Pirelli SuperPole qualifying on his Team Couturier Racing BMW S1000RR. Lacombe’s effort was over half a second quicker than Szoke, who had to settle for second fastest with a 1:22.225 aboard the Waznie Racing / Parts Canada / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR. Szoke had qualified on pole for the four previous rounds of the season. “I knew it would be hard but I love to ride here and I felt really comfortable on the bike,” said Lacombe, who is making his return to racing this year after missing most of the 2010 and 2011 seasons. “All year I’ve been trying to get used to the bike and we’ve made a lot of changes for this weekend.” Pole position gave Lacombe four more points in the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship standings and moved him into a tie for second with Jodi Christie at 141 points heading into this weekend’s pair of 20-lap races. Szoke added three points for setting the second quickest qualifying time and continues to enjoy a healthy 69-point lead at the top of the championship rankings with 210 points. A race win is worth 50 points. Matt McBride of Mississauga, Ont. qualified third with a time of 1:22.518 on the Riders Choice BMW S1000RR and rookie Pro Sebastien Tremblay of Longueuil, Que. completes the front row for this weekend’s races after recording a 1:22.683 with the MotoNation BMW S1000RR. Lacombe had put in the fastest qualifying time early in the 15-minute Pirelli SuperPole shootout. Szoke briefly got ahead with a lap at 1:22.474 with just a few minutes remaining, but almost immediately Lacombe replied with his 1:21.716 to lock down the top spot. “We’ll make some changes tonight,” Lacombe said. “We need to find a little more traction; the bike’s sliding all over the place. But we have a good shot at winning the races.” Szoke put in his two fastest laps right at the end of the SuperPole session as he gradually found more speed out of his BMW. “We’ve been working away at it and the speed is coming,” said the Brantford, Ont. rider, who is trying to clinch an unprecedented eighth Canadian Superbike title. “The bike feels pretty good and maybe I’m being a little more careful with the championship at stake. But at the end of the day we’re where we need to be and don’t count me out. I’ll be looking for the wins.” Szoke has won six of the last eight Superbike nationals at CTMP. McBride continued to display his good form at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He finished second here in last year’s season finale and already has two runner-up finishes in this summer’s Superbike tour. “I think our chances are good,” he said. “I know this track well. We’re working on the front end; it’s doing a couple of weird things and we’re fine tuning things. We’ll figure it out and I know we’ll be up there.” Tremblay produced a career-high qualifying result in the SuperPole session. “I didn’t think I would be on the front row but this has always been my favourite track and I seem to shine more here,” he said. “We will try a couple of changes for tomorrow because you are always trying to go faster, but the bike feels great so far.” A couple of riders in the thick of the battle for second in the point standings lead off the second row of this weekend’s Superbike grids. Andrew Nelson of Kars, Ont. was fifth in qualifying riding the Nelson Racing / Endras Motorrad / mcn.tv BMW S1000RR with a time of 1:22.753 and Keene, Ont.’s Christie was sixth with a 1:23.180 on the Jodi Christie Racing / Accelerated Technologies BMW S1000RR. Nelson, the winner of the opening round of the season at Shannonville Motorsport Park, sits fourth in points with 140, just one behind Lacombe and Christie. Warman, Sask.’s Bodhi Edie completes the second row after recording a time of 1:23.871 aboard the Edie Racing / Blue Streak / Fast Company BMW S1000RR. The top 10 qualifiers in Pirelli SuperPole are rounded out by Uxbridge, Ont.’s Alex Welsh on the AW7R / Kenwood Electronics Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000, who missed half the session with engine problems, St-Raymond, Que.’s Francois Dumas on the Team Dumas Superbike / boulangeriedumas.com BMW S1000RR, and Marcel Irnie of Kelowna, B.C. riding the Irnie Racing / Amsoil BMW S1000RR. In other action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Raphael Archambault claimed pole position for the K&N Performance Filters Pro Sport Bike class on his Team Archambault Racing / Picotte Motorsports / G Suspension Suzuki GSX-R600. The Terrebonne, Que. rider turned a lap at 1:25.274 right at the end of the session to edge the Honda CBR600RR of points leader Jodi Christie, who missed half the session after a crash on his first flying lap but still holds a commanding 77-point lead in the standings heading into this weekend’s races. Michael Leon of Beaconsfield, Que. set the third fastest time at 1:26.285 on his Royal Distributing Honda CBR600RR. Michael Barnes of Boca Raton, Fla. claimed pole position for this weekend’s pair of Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup races. Riding for the Ruthless Racing / Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada team, Barnes turned a lap at 1:31.570. Steve Crevier moved closer to repeating as class champion by qualifying second on his MotoSport Plus / Dominion Lending entry with a time of 1:31.910. The Maple Ridge, B.C. racer now has 226 points to the 166 of Deep Cove, B.C.’s Darren James, who qualified fifth on another of the Ruthless Racing / Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada machines. James is competing with a broken ankle sustained last weekend in Indianapolis. Tim Robinson of Gatineau, Que. claimed pole position for the Bazzaz Amateur Superbike class with a time of 1:24.636 on the Robinson Racing / Gym-Max BMW S1000RR. Points leader Trevor Daley of Mississauga, Ont. was second quickest with a 1:26.902 on the OneSpeed / ProStar / Riders Choice Honda CBR600RR and goes into Saturday’s penultimate round of the season with 186 points to the 139 of St-Hyacinthe, Que.’s Philippe Masse, who qualified third on the racingphil.com / Pete’s Superbike Kawasaki ZX-6R. Masse extended his lead in the Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike class by claiming pole position for this weekend’s races with a time of 1:27.123 on his Kawasaki ZX-6R. Masse now has 184 points in the class standings to the 137 of Sarnia, Ont.’s Will Hornblower, who qualified fifth on the Hornblower Racing / Blue Streak / ProPulsion Yamaha YZF-R6 and failed to add to his point total. Stacey Nesbitt got a bit of breathing room at the top of the Honda CBR250R National Race Series standings by taking the four points that go with pole position. The St-Lazare, Que. native recorded a time of 1:54.183 on her Powersports Canada entry while title challenger Ryan Roche of Pickering, Ont. could only manage the fifth best time of 1:55.142. Nesbitt now takes an eight-point lead, 364-356 over Roche into this weekend’s races. Costa Mouzouris of Montreal padded his lead in the Media Challenge division of the Honda CBR250R series by taking pole position with a time of 1:54.871. Since 2006 Pirelli has been the spec tire supplier to the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship. The series has been used as a development platform for the company’s products, and competitors in the K&N Performance Filter Pro Sport Bike, Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup, and Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike classes run on the same Diablo Super Corsa DOT racing tires used in the World Supersport Championship. Pirelli is currently developing 17-inch slick tires for use in the World Superbike Championship in 2013, and these will also make their way to the Canadian Championship in the future. Action continues at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Saturday with feature races in all six national classes. Off track features include the BMW Motorrad SummerFest, plus demo rides featuring the latest bikes from top manufacturers. Advanced Weekend Super Tickets are $50 and Sunday only tickets are on sale for $35. To purchase tickets or for more information visit www.canadiantiremotorsportpark.com or call 1-800-866-1072. BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (August 24) Starting line-up for this weekend’s fifth and sixth rounds of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, showing starting position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and qualifying time: 1. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, Que., BMW S1000RR, 1:21.716 (171.815km/h) 2. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:22.225 3. Matthew McBride, Mississauga, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:22.518 4. Sebastien Tremblay, Longueuil, Que., BMW S1000RR, 1:22.683 5. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:22.753 6. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 1:23.180 7. Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask., BMW S1000RR, 1:23.871 8. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:23.918 9. Francois Dumas, St-Raymond, Que., BMW S1000RR, 1:23.997 10. Marcel Irnie, Kelowna, B.C., BMW S1000RR, 1:24.809 11. Sylvain Dery, St-Colomban, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:25.355 12. Martin Hamel, Drummondville, Que., BMW S1000RR, 1:25.378 13. Scott Rupert, Gadshill, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:25.477 14. Michael Leon, Beaconsfield, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 1:26.666 15. Mike Bevan, Amherstburg, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:27.580 16. Raphael Archambault, Terrebonne, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600, No Time 17. Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, No Time