Nelson wins Superbike opener at Shannonville SHANNONVILLE, Ont. (June 24, 2012) Andrew Nelson took his first career national Superbike win in the opening round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park on Sunday. The Kars, Ont. rider grabbed the lead on the first lap and was never challenged the rest of the way to take a 4.270-sec. victory on his Nelson Racing / Endras Motorrad / mcn.tv BMW S1000RR. Matt McBride of Mississauga, Ont. finished second aboard the Riders Choice BMW S1000RR and Jordan Szoke of Brantford, Ont. completed the podium on his Waznie Racing / Parts Canada / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR. The race was held in damp conditions and Nelson completed the 18 laps around the 2.45km (1.53-mile) Shannonville ‘Pro’ track in 21 minutes, 47.263 seconds for an average speed of 121.445km/h (72.867 mph). “This is really special,” said the 27-year-old Nelson, who finished third in last year’s Canadian Superbike standings. “All my family is here and they’ve been behind me for the last 12 years, putting this together every year and helping me out. It’s going to be a great season.” Nelson put on a charge early in the race and was 3.4 secs. clear of McBride after only three laps. He stretched the lead to six seconds by half distance before dropping his pace in the waning laps as his rear rain tire started to wear on the rapidly drying track. “The track was drying out quickly and I wanted to put in my fast laps early,” Nelson explained. “I knew how fast I could go and I went hard on the first lap. I was surprised how big a gap I had after the second lap.” With his win Nelson took the early points lead in the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship standings with 55 points to the 43 of McBride. Szoke is a close third with 41. McBride was up in second by the end of the first lap but could not match the pace of Nelson. “In the beginning I had nothing for him,” McBride admitted. “In the second half of the race I started closing the gap but the tires were getting squirrely as the track dried. I thought it would be better to bring the bike across the finish line than have it come back in a crash truck.” Szoke had qualified on pole for the race but found himself fifth at the end of the opening lap behind Nelson, McBride, Francois Dumas on the Team Dumas Superbike / boulangeriedumas.ca BMW S1000RR, who charged up from the third row at the start, and the Team Couturier Racing BMW S1000RR of Kevin Lacombe. Szoke got by Lacombe on lap two and they both passed Dumas on lap five. Lacombe hung close to Szoke for most of the race but lost contact in lapped traffic, and then dropped behind the AW7R / Kenwood Electronics Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Alex Welsh. Welsh then hounded Szoke for the final podium spot, coming up just 0.043 secs. short at the line. “I wasn’t as aggressive off the start as I needed to be, and Nelson checked out,” said Szoke, a seven-time national Superbike champion. “Once I got past a few guys I settled in. I tried my best but this is just the first race in a long season.” Welsh performed a spectacular charge through the field after a rough opening lap found him lying in 12th. By half distance the Uxbridge, Ont. racer had climbed to sixth and he turned the fastest lap of the race, a 1:10.847, on the penultimate tour as he chased down Szoke. That was a second better than any other rider managed during the race. Welsh was rewarded for his performance with the KICKER Kick-Ass Pass of the Race award and received an iK501 iPhone/iPod Dock valued at $300. Lacombe settled for fifth at the finish and Jodi Christie of Keene, Ont. placed sixth aboard the Jodi Christie Racing / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR600RR. Bodhi Edie of Warman, Sask. came out on top of a wild battle for seventh on his Edie Racing / Blue Streak Racing / Fast Company BMW S1000RR. He just held off the 725 Sports / Acme Slate Suzuki GSX-R600 of Kleinburg, Ont.’s Frank Trombino at the line. After running third for the opening four laps St-Raymond, Que.’s Dumas faded to ninth at the finish and the top 10 was rounded out by Longueuil, Que.’s Sebastien Tremblay aboard the MotoNation BMW S1000RR. In other action at Shannonville, Trombino made a last lap pass of Christie to win a dramatic opener for the K&N Performance Filters Pro Sport Bike class. Riding his Suzuki GSX-R600, Trombino hounded Christie’s Honda CBR600RR for most of the 18-lap race. After the two traded the lead on lap 17, Trombino made the decisive move in turn three on the last lap to beat the Keene, Ont. rider by just 0.301 secs. “Today was the luck of the draw,” said the Kleinburg, Ont. racer, who won a pair of Pro Sport Bike races last season. “I think Jodi’s as talented as I am but I got the win today. There was no sense trying to get by early. I just wanted to play it safe and study Jodi.” Rookie Pro Aubrey Bailey of Parry Sound, Ont. finished an impressive third on his ProStar Motorsports Honda CBR600RR. Raphael Archambault of Terrebonne, Que. recovered from a fall to finish fourth on his Team Archambault Racing / Picotte Motorsports / G Suspension Suzuki GSX-R600 and Ste-Marthe, Que.’s Louie Raffa rounded out the top five aboard his Team Couturier Racing / Centre Hamel Honda CBR600RR. Maple Ridge, B.C.’s Steve Crevier opened the defence of his Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup title at Shannonville with a start-to-finish victory. Riding the MotoSport Plus-backed XR1200 Crevier finished 6.677 secs. ahead of North Vancouver’s Darren James in the 10-lap race. James’ Ruthless Racing teammate John Ross MacRae of Calgary completed the podium finishers. Philippe Masse won the shortened Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike race on his Racingphil.com / Pete’s Superbike Kawasaki ZX-6R. The St-Hyacinthe, Que. racer was in front at the end of seven laps when the race was stopped by an accident in turn one. A poor start had left Masse fourth at the end of the opening lap but his move to the front earned him the Performance Under Gear Performer of the Race Award. Pole qualifier Jean-Francois Aubin of St-Jerome, Que. finished second on his Ricky Bobby Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 and Falmouth, N.S.’s Austin Shaw-O’Leary was third aboard the Dua Motorsport / GoLo Racing Honda CBR600RR. Trevor Daley took the lead on lap two of the rain-affected 11-lap Bazzaz Amateur Superbike race and stayed in front the rest of the way to claim the win on his One Speed / Riders Choice Suzuki GSX-R1000. The Mississauga, Ont. racer finished 10.479 secs. ahead of the Century 21 / Track Cuts Yamaha YZF-R6 of Toronto’s Riley Dawe. Masse completed the podium aboard his Kawasaki ZX-6R. With his win Daley earned the Dua Motorsport $1000 contingency payback as well as a special prize pack from Mopar. For the second day in a row Ryan Roche of Pickering, Ont. won the Honda CBR250R National Race Series round at Shannonville. St-Lazare, Que.’s Stacey Nesbitt finished second and Costa Mouzouris of Montreal placed third overall and won the Media Challenge. The Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship resumes at Autodrome St-Eustache in St-Eustache, Que. July 6-8. For ticket information call (450) 472-6222 or (514) 591-4388, or visit www.autodrome.ca. SHANNONVILLE, Ont. (June 24) Results of Sunday’s opening round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park, showing finishing position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and laps completed: 1. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 18 2. Matt McBride, Mississauga, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 18 3. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 18 4. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 18 5. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, Que., BMW S1000RR, 18 6. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR600RR, 18 7. Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask., BMW S1000RR, 18 8. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R600, 18 9. Francois Dumas, St-Raymond, Que., BMW S1000RR, 18 10. Sebastien Tremblay, Longueuil, Que., BMW S1000RR, 18 11. Marcel Irnie, Kelowna, B.C., BMW S1000RR, 18 12. Samuel Proulx, Magog, Que., BMW S1000RR, 18 13. Franklyn Dominguez, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., Honda CBR1000RR, 18 14. Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, Que., BMW S1000RR, 17 15. Aubrey Bailey, Parry Sound, Ont., Honda CBR600RR, 17 16. Tony Stufko, Ottawa, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 17 17. Sylvain Dery, St-Colomban, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 17 Did Not Finish Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 14 Did Not Start Michael Leon, Beaconsfield, Que., Honda CBR600RR Louie Raffa, Ste-Marthe, Que., Honda CBR600RR Time of Race: 21:47.263 Average Speed: 121.445kmh (72.867 mph) Margin of Victory: 4.270 secs. Fastest Lap: 1:10.847 by Alex Welsh on lap 17 Point standings for the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship after one of six rounds, showing position, rider name and point total: 1.Andrew Nelson, 55 2. Matthew McBride, 43 3. Jordan Szoke, 41 4. Alex Welsh, 32 5. Kevin Lacombe, 31 6. Jodi Christie, 27 7. Bodhi Edie, 25 8. Frank Trombino, 23 9. Francois Dumas, 21 10. Sebastien Tremblay, 19 11. Marcel Irnie, 17 12. Samuel Proulx, 15 13. Franklyn Dominguez, 13 14. Marie-Josee Boucher, 12 15. Aubrey Bailey, 10 16. Tony Stufko, 8 17. Sylvain Dery, 6