BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (July 15) A compelling, see-saw battle for the 2009 Parts Canada Superbike Championship reaches its midway point at Mosport International Raceway this weekend. Seventeen-year-old Brett McCormick comes into the key doubleheader with an 11-point lead, 157-146, over five-time national champion Jordan Szoke after three of seven races. After Szoke won the opening round of the series on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R, McCormick picked up the next two wins aboard the Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. With full points races on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend’s action on the 3.9km (2.459-mile) Mosport circuit could prove critical in deciding the outcome of this year’s title chase. There has been very little to choose between the two protagonists. Szoke won the opener at Calabogie Motorsports Park in May after a dramatic last lap battle with McCormick. The victory was Szoke’s 27th career national Superbike triumph, making the 30-year-old from Brantford, Ont. the winningest rider of all time. McCormick replied with a narrow win over Szoke in round two at Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Que. Then the Saskatoon ace made it two wins in a row with a stunning pass of Szoke on the final lap at Calgary’s Race City Motorsport Park. While McCormick has been victorious in the two most recent races, Szoke always excels at Mosport and has won five times at the track, including once last year. Other racers will undoubtedly try to break up the McCormick/Szoke monopoly in the pair of Superbike feature races this weekend. Ottawa racer Andrew Nelson is enjoying his finest season yet on the Nelson Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 and the 26-year-old sits third in points with 96 coming into this weekend. Not far behind, however, is Cochrane, Alta.’s Clint McBain with 90 points. The 36-year-old has won twice at Mosport in the past two years and has finished in the top five in each of this season’s three races on his Suzuki Dealers / Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. Fifth in points is 43-year-old six-time champion Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, B.C., who is having a stellar year on the Deeley Racing Powered By Buell / Buell 1125R. Tied for sixth in the standings are Szoke’s Canadian Kawasaki Motors team-mate Alex Welsh of Uxbridge, Ont. and Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF Yamaha YZF-R1 rider Kevin Lacombe of Granby, Que., who finished third in last year’s title chase. Also in the top 10 are HJC Pro Rookie of the Year contenders Royce McLean (Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF Yamaha YZF-R6) of Coaldale, Alta. and Keene, Ont.’s Jodi Christie (Honda Powerhouse Honda Dealers of Ontario / Roz-Gar Racing Honda CBR600RR), along with the A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R of Granby, Que.’s Karl Daigle. Not to be discounted are GoLo Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 rider Frank Trombino of Kleinburg, Ont., who has two Mosport victories to his credit, and former two-time Canadian Superbike champ Michael Taylor of Toronto, who will make his 2009 debut on a Parkway Honda Powerhouse / ProStar Motorsports Honda CBR1000RR. The roles in the McCormick/Szoke battle are reversed in the Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike Championship, the national tour’s premier support division, where Kawasaki’s Szoke comes to Mosport with a nine-point lead over McCormick, 155-146 after narrowly beating the Suzuki rider at Race City. Yamaha’s Lacombe leads a tight battle for third with 99 points after three events, just one ahead of Welsh on the Kawasaki, with Yamaha racer Nelson (95), Crevier on the Buell (84) and Lacombe’s Yamaha team-mate McLean (82) all close behind. Honda stalwart Christie is a distant eighth in the standings, while the top 10 is rounded out by New Smyrna Beach, Fla.’s Dave Estok on the Deeley Racing Powered By Buell / Buell 1125R and two-time Canadian Superbike Champion Francis Martin of Sherbrooke, Que. on the BMW Motorrad Canada BMW HP2. This weekend’s action will also feature a single race for the Armour Bodies Amateur Sport Bike Championship, where Cochrane, Alta.’s Cody Matechuk (Suzuki Dealers / Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R600) enjoys a solid 155-134 lead over Longueuil, Que.’s Sebastien Tremblay (A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R). The 15-year-old Matechuk has won twice while Tremblay, 21, picked up the victory on home turf at Circuit ICAR. Efram Ellenbogen of Belleville, Ont. is third in the Amateur Sport Bike standings riding his BnE Racing Yamaha YZF-R6. Raphael Archambault of St-Colomban, Que. holds a narrow 119-112 advantage over Brantford, Ont.’s Rob Busby heading into this weekend’s pair of races for the Suzuki SV650 National Cup, and Bodhi Edie of Warman, Sask. is eight points clear of Hamilton, Ont.’s Steven Nickerson, 201-193 with a pair of Honda CBR125R Challenge races on tap. Practice for this weekend’s event begins on Thursday with qualifying, including the Pirelli SuperPole for the Inside Motorcycles Pole Position Award in the Parts Canada Superbike class set for Friday. Races in all national classes will go Saturday and Sunday, except in the Amateur Sport Bike division, where qualifying will be held Saturday for Sunday’s race. A three-day SuperTicket is $60 at the Gate and each ticket includes parking, paddock admission, and entrance to Saturday Night Stock Car racing at Mosport Speedway. For more information call the Mosport Hotline at 1-800-866-1072 (Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm ET) or visit online at www.mosport.com. All Time Mosport Superbike National Wins Pascal Picotte (Granby, Que.) 5; Jordan Szoke (Brantford, Ont.) 5; Don Munroe (Halifax, N.S.) 2; Frank Trombino (Kleinburg, Ont.) 2; Clint McBain (Cochrane, Alta.) 2; Rueben McMurter (London, Ont.) 1; Gary Goodfellow (Vancouver, B.C.) 1; Linnley Clarke (Barrie, Ont.) 1; Jeff Sneyd (Mississauga, Ont.) 1; Martin Gaudreault (Longueuil, Que.) 1; Francis Martin (Sherbrooke, Que.) 1; Steve Crevier (Maple Ridge, B.C.) 1 Mosport Fast Facts “¦This will mark the eighth time Mosport International Raceway has hosted a Canadian Superbike doubleheader. On three of those occasions one racer swept both feature races, Pascal Picotte managing the feat in 2004 and 2005, and Jordan Szoke in 2006. “¦Of the previous 15 years that a Superbike national has been staged at Mosport, a winner of one of the races has gone on to capture the Canadian title on only five occasions. Szoke did it three times (2002, 2006, 2008) and Picotte twice (2004, 2005). 2009 Point Standings Parts Canada Superbike: 1. Brett McCormick (Suzuki) 157; 2. Jordan Szoke (Kawasaki) 146; 3. Andrew Nelson (Yamaha) 96; 4. Clint McBain (Suzuki) 90; 5. Steve Crevier (Buell) 84 Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike: 1. Jordan Szoke (Kawasaki) 155; 2. Brett McCormick (Suzuki) 146; 3. Kevin Lacombe (Yamaha) 99 Armour Bodies Amateur Sport Bike: 1. Cody Matechuk (Suzuki) 155; 2. Sebastien Tremblay (Kawasaki) 134; 3. Efram Ellenbogen (Yamaha) 82 Suzuki SV650 Nat’l Cup: 1. Raphael Archambault 119; 2. Rob Busby 112; 3. Jeremie Hade Precourt 101 Honda CBR125R Challenge: 1. Bodhi Edie 201; 2. Steven Nickerson 193; 3. Ryan Roche 123 Provisional Weekend Schedule Friday July 17 11:10 a.m. 11:50 a.m. Parts Canada Superbike Pre-Qualifying to lock in top 10 for Pirelli SuperPole 1:30 p.m. 1:55 p.m. Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike Qualifying 3:05 p.m. 3:50 p.m. Parts Canada Superbike Championship Pirelli SuperPole Qualifying for the Inside Motorcycles Pole Position Award 4:00 p.m. 4:20 p.m. Honda CBR125R Challenge Qualifying 4:30 p.m. 4:50 p.m. Suzuki SV650 Cup Qualifying Saturday July 18 1:00 p.m. Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike Race (14 laps) 2:00 p.m. Suzuki SV650 National Cup Race (10 laps) 2:30 p.m. Pro Honda Oils Women’s Cup Race (8 laps) 3:00 p.m. Parts Canada Superbike Championship Race (20 laps) 4:00 p.m. 4:50 p.m. Armour Bodies Amateur Sport Bike Qualifying 5:00 p.m. Honda CBR125R Challenge Race (8 laps) Sunday July 19 11:40 a.m. Pro Honda Oils Women’s Cup Race (8 laps) 12:45 p.m. Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike Race (14 laps) 1:35 p.m. Honda CBR125R Challenge Race (8 laps) 2:20 p.m. Armour Bodies Amateur Sport Bike Race (12 laps) 3:15 p.m. Parts Canada Superbike Championship Race (20 laps) 4:10 p.m. Suzuki SV650 National Cup Race (10 laps) More, from a press release issued by RMP Racing: Millson and Nickerson Primed for Mosport HAMILTON ON, CANADA July 15, 2009 RMP Racing’s Ross Millson and Steven Nickerson are primed for a great weekend at Mosport International Raceway’s Doubleheader round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship. After a challenging race out west at Calgary’s Race City Motorsports Park, Millson is looking forward to returning to Mosport to compete in Canada’s premier road racing series aboard his Inside Motorcycles / Tri-City Cycle & Sports / Motovan sponsored #39 Suzuki GSX-R1000. “The doubleheader round at Mosport is always a highlight of the season for me” said Millson. “Not only do I get to enjoy twice the amount of track time on such a renowned and technical track, I’m also able to spend time with family who live in the area.” Millson and Nickerson’s pre-race weekend activities began last week when they sat down to talk with The Hamilton Spectator’s Motorsports columnist, Tim Miller, to discuss Nickerson’s racing background and his season so far. This past weekend Nickerson enjoyed taking his #661 RMP Racing / Canadian Motorsports Expo / Infinet Designs sponsored Honda CBR125R for a few laps around the streets of the Exhibition Place as part of a series of demonstration races at the Honda Indy Toronto. Nickerson, who has already achieved four consecutive podium finishes in the Honda CB125R Challenge series this season, is not only eager to race at Mosport but to also take in as many of Mosport’s doubleheader festivities as possible. This will be Nickerson’s first race on Mosport’s legendary 3.9km 10-turn road circuit. “I’ll be looking to Ross for lots of advice on line choice and setup” said Nickerson. “Horsepower in my class is limited so I really have to make the most of the draft, corner speed and line choice to gain an advantage. Courtesy of CRC Racwear, the RMP Racing crew will be sporting new pit crew shirts that now feature the 2010 Canadian Motorports Expo logo. The Canadian Motorsports Expo (CME) is where the RMP Racing’s season began last January and is proud to promote the 2010 CME which will be held January 22-24, 2010 at the International Centre in Toronto. Motorcycle enthusiasts are invited to drop by the RMP Racing paddock to pick up the Official Series Program, a copy of the latest issue of Inside Motorcycles and to fill out a ballot to enter a draw for a Zox Helmet. Millson and Nickerson will be on hand throughout the weekend to chat with spectators and sign posters digitally printed by the Essential Image. Canada’s biggest motorcycle road racing event of the year is not only renowned for some of the best racing of the year it boasts numerous off track activities for all to enjoy. Throughout the weekend Suzuki Canada will be offering demo rides on their latest models and on Saturday afternoon, July 18th, the first annual Motorcycle Road Racers Reunion will take place. Canadian recording artists Sloan and Crash Parallel will perform Saturday evening. A three-day SuperTicket is just $60 at the Gate and each ticket includes parking, paddock admission, and entrance to Saturday Night Stock Car racing at Mosport Speedway. Children 12 and under are free when accompanied by a paid adult admission. Single day tickets are also available. For more information call the Mosport Hotline at 1-800-866-1072 (Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm ET) or visit Mosport online at www.mosport.com.