TORONTO, Ont. (June 23) No one has had more success at Calgary’s Race City Motorsport Park than Jordan Szoke, and the Canadian Kawasaki Motors factory rider will be hoping to add to that legacy in the third round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship this weekend. The five-time Canadian Superbike champion has won eight races on the 3.2km (2.0-mile) road course, double the total of the next most successful racer. The 30-year-old from Brantford, Ont. comes into this weekend’s event playing catch-up in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship standings, six points out of first place with two of seven races in the books. “I’ve had a lot of success at Race City and I’m excited to get back there,” says Szoke, who scored his first career Superbike national win in Calgary for the Canadian Kawasaki Motors team in 1998. “I don’t know why, but I always seem to get along well with this place.” Although he sits second in the Superbike championship Szoke says the upcoming races on the schedule at Race City and then Mosport International Raceway should favour his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. “It’s nice to be going back to tracks I enjoy and excel at,” he says. “With Mike Crompton I’m guaranteed to have the strongest motors out there and we always seem to be able to get the bike off the corners well. The Kawasaki is also good under braking too. All that will help us at Race City.” Szoke also thinks the Calgary venue will suit his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R in the Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike class. The three-time defending class champion is also second in that category, but only two points out of the top spot. “I still believe this new ZX-6R is the best 600 ever built and I think as we get into more real race tracks like here and Mosport it will be the bike to beat,” Szoke says. “Through that twisty section from turn three to turn six and through the chicane, where you have to carry some speed, that’s where this bike will really excel.” Szoke’s Canadian Kawasaki Motors team-mate Alex Welsh is fighting fit after a qualifying crash at the previous event in Mirabel, Que. left him with a sore shoulder and back. He heads to Calgary sixth in the Superbike standings and fifth in the Pro Sport Bike rankings. “I took a few days off [after Mirabel] and physically I’m fine right now,” the 21-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont. says. “I started training again last Wednesday and now I’m 100 per cent.” In his first season as a factory Superbike rider the 2008 HJC Pro Rookie of the Year is looking forward to exploiting the speed of the Ninja ZX-10R on Race City’s long front straight. “The Kawasaki’s are so fast, I know that will play into my favour,” he says. “And our equipment is probably the best set up of anybody’s out there. I’m looking forward to utilizing what a Superbike is.” Welsh thinks he can make significant improvements in the Pro Sport Bike class. “I’ve just got to forget about the last round,” he says. “I know I can be riding up front. We’re just missing a little bit. But I have a great group of guys helping me out and they’ll get things figured out fast.” The Race City weekend kicks off with practice Friday, June 26. Qualifying for both the Parts Canada Superbike and Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike categories will be held Saturday, June 27. The 16-lap Pro Sport Bike feature will open Sunday’s racing action at 12:45 p.m. with the Superbike main event, set for 22 laps, scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start. For the latest news and photos, log onto http://www.kawasakiracing.ca/ or http://www.cdnsuperbike.com/ More, from a press release issued by Team YZF Yamaha: Doni Tata Pradita is hit and crashes Doni Tata Pradita was hurt last Sunday in Misano. He saw the doctors this morning (Tuesday) and the decision concerning his participation at the Donington race next weekend is positive. He will race in England. After the first lap, Doni is in 25th position in front of 65,000 spectators. He progresses to 19th on lap 6, and then to 17th on lap 8. The leader of the race is Eugene Laverty (Honda) in front of Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha). Sofuoglu, Pirro and Nannelli crash, and the race is interrupted with a red flag because there is some oil on the track. Doni is 16th, 22 seconds behind the leader. The race is restarted for 14 laps. Unfortunately, Doni is hit by another rider and he crashes in the first lap. He is taken to the medical centre. He has no broken bones, but his shoulder is dislocated. Happily, the doctors can give him the authorization to race this weekend at Donington. Doni Tata Pradita: “I am unlucky! I had a good start, I was 10th or 11th in the first corner. Then we were hit with Veneman and we crashed. I wanted to continue but I had a problem with my shoulder and one footrest was gone. I am disappointed because I could have finished in the top 10 with such a good start. I am sorry for my Indonesian friends and for the team. It’s racing.” Team-manager Martial Garcia: “In the first part of the race, Doni did not have a good start, but he progressed later very well. Unfortunately the race was stopped with a red flag and he lost the benefit of his progress. He did a fantastic second start, gaining 5 to 6 positions, but then he was hit from behind by another rider. Before that, he proved that he is progressing very well and that he deserves to be in the top 15.” Race result: 1. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha SSP YZF R6 36mins 51.032secs 22 laps 2. Eugene Laverty IRL Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR +0.263s 3. Massimo Roccoli ITA Intermoto Czech Honda CBR600RR +16.289s 4. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Provec Motocard.com ZX-6R +20.894s 5. Mark Aitchison AUS HANNspree Althea Honda CBR600RR +21.615s 6. Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN Kawasaki Provec Motocard.com ZX-6R +22.272s 7. Anthony West AUS Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR600RR +25.099s 8. Fabien Foret FRA Yamaha SSP YZF R6 +26.374s 9. Gianluca Nannelli ITA Triumph BE1 Racing 675 +34.558s 10. Miguel Praia POR Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR +49.578s Supersport World Championship standings: 1. Crutchlow, 160 points 2. Eugene Laverty, 146 3. Sofuoglu, 108 4. Lascorz, 86 5. West, 75 6. Pitt, 73 7. Foret, 63 8. Aitchison, 61 9. Pirro, 48 10. Roccoli, 40 “¦19. Pradita, 8