SZOKE ON SUPERBIKE POLE CALGARY, Alta. Jordan Szoke continued his hot streak in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship by claiming pole position for this weekend’s doubleheader at Race City Motorsport Park on Friday. The 28-year-old from Brantford, Ont. took his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R around the 3.2km (2.0-mile) 11-turn track in a record one minute, 15.772 seconds, giving him his second straight Inside Motorcycles Pole Position Award of the season. He also claimed the award at the season opener at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant, which he followed up with the race win. Granby, Que.’s Kevin Lacombe recorded the second fastest time of 1:15.880 on the Team Toyota Yamaha / Brooklin Cycle Yamaha YZF-R1 and Clint McBain of Cochrane, Alta. was third quickest with a time of 1:15.928 on the Suzuki Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. All three riders were under Szoke’s previous lap record of 1:16.052 set in qualifying for last year’s event. Pascal Picotte of Granby will complete the front row for Saturday and Sunday’s Superbike feature races after recording a lap time of 1:16.138 on his Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Performance Suzuki GSX-R1000. “Everything’s sweet,” said Szoke, who won last year’s event at Race City on his way to his third Canadian Superbike national title. “The race pace is there for us but I don’t think I’ll be able to run away from everybody.” Pole position also gives Szoke four more points toward the Parts Canada Superbike Championship. He now has 56 points to the 43 of Picotte and Lacombe’s 40. After struggling through testing on Thursday Lacombe made major improvements to his motorcycle to claim second spot on the grid. “We changed everything on the bike so to be starting from second is pretty good,” he said. “We need to improve a little bit for tomorrow and Jordan has got his bike dialed in just like last year.” McBain thought he had a shot at a faster time but came across slower traffic in the closing stages. “The bike was working really well but I just didn’t get a run at the end,” said McBain, who swept both ends of the Race City doubleheader in 2005. “But we’re on the front row, which is where we need to be, and we have a good race set-up already.” Picotte’s Suzuki teammate Francis Martin of Sherbrooke, Que. will head the second row for this weekend’s races after recording a time of 1:16.606. Maple Ridge, B.C.’s Steve Crevier is in the middle of the second row on the Team Toyota Yamaha / Fast Company Yamaha YZF-R1 and 15-year-old Brett McCormick of Saskatoon completes the row on the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R. Saturday’s feature will be the 25th Superbike national event to be held at Race City. The first was in 1987, when Vancouver’s Gary Goodfellow won. Only Shannonville Motorsport Park near Belleville, Ont. has staged more events, with 41. Qualifying for the Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport Bike, International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike, Thunder and Suzuki SV650 National Cup classes is scheduled for Friday afternoon. Feature races will go Saturday and Sunday, with practice starting at 9:15 a.m. and the first race scheduled for 1:00 p.m. For more series information, visit www.cdnsuperbike.com Starting line-up for this weekend’s second and third rounds of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Race City Motorsport Park, showing starting position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and qualifying time: 1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:15.772; 2. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, Que., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:15.880; 3. Clint McBain, Cochrane, Alta., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:15.928; 4. Pascal Picotte, Granby, Que., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:16.138; 5. Francis Martin, Sherbrooke, Que., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:16.606; 6. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, B.C., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:16.645; 7. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, Sask., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:16.838; 8. Matt McBride, Mississauga, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:17.249; 9. Andrew Nelson, Nepean, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:17.539; 10. Erick Beausejour, Val Senneville, Que., Honda CBR1000RR, 1:19.184; 11. Jean-Paul Tache, North Bay, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:19.396; 12. Jeremy Stepper, Calgary, Alta., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:20.421; 13. Ross Millson, Hamilton, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:21.280; 14. Dany Jourdain, St-Jean-sur Richelieu, Que., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:21.540; 15. Andrew Dunlap, Truro, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:21.670; 16. Sean Heydorn, Stouffville, Ont., Honda CBR600RR, 1:22.014; 17. Dave Stokowski, Calgary, Alta., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:22.421; 18. Stephan Chabot, Oshawa, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:23.064; 19. Alain Larouche, St-Bruno, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 1:23.657; 20. Steve Bourdeau, Verdun, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 1:23.703; 21. Karl Meema, Calgary, Alta., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:23.735; 22. Craig Atkinson, Toronto, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:23.883; 23. Terry Steeves, Dartmouth, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:24.484. More, from another press release issued by series organizers: SZOKE TO START ON 600 POLE CALGARY, Alta. Defending series champion Jordan Szoke of Brantford, Ont. will start from pole position in Saturday’s Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport Bike Championship round at Race City Motorsport Park, the first event in a doubleheader weekend. While qualifying for the Parts Canada Superbike Championship feature class was held Friday morning, extreme weather conditions forced the cancellation of qualifying for the four support classes. Series point standings will be used to set the starting line-up for Saturday’s 18-lap Pro 600 Sport Bike race and the 16-lap Thunder twins round. Thursday afternoon practice times will establish the starting line- ups for the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike and Suzuki SV650 National Cup events. Szoke won the Pro 600 Sport Bike season opener at Le Circuit Mont- Tremblant on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-6R to take the series points lead coming into the Race City doubleheader. He picks up the $500 Inside Motorcycles Pole Position Award but will not receive the four-point bonus traditionally awarded to the fastest rider in timed qualifying. Pascal Picotte of Granby, Que. will start second in Pro 600 Sport Bike on his Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Performance Suzuki GSX-R600 and Maple Ridge, B.C.’s Steve Crevier will line up third aboard the Team Toyota Yamaha / Fast Company Yamaha YZF-R6. Picotte’s Suzuki teammate Francis Martin of Sherbrooke, Que. completes the front row. Toronto’s Michael Taylor won the Mont-Tremblant Thunder opener and will start Saturday’s race on pole aboard his BMW R1200S. Racers who haven’t scored points yet this season will be gridded according to time of entry. Grids for Sunday’s Pro 600 Sport Bike and Thunder races will be formed using class point standings following Saturday’s races. “We are sorry we had to cancel the qualifying sessions but we weren’t comfortable with the track conditions for the competitors,” said Brian Williams, Director of Competition for the Parts Canada Superbike Championship. “We have done our best to produce starting grids that are fair to the racers and reflect the level of competition at this weekend’s event.” Times from Friday morning practice would generally have been used to set starting line ups in the event qualifying was cancelled, but poor weather spoiled the sessions for the four support classes. While representative practice times were gathered for Amateur 600 Sport Bike and Suzuki SV Cup on Thursday, no such times were available for the Pro 600 Sport Bike or Thunder competitors. Marcel Irnie of Kelowna, B.C. will start from pole for both Amateur 600 Sport Bike races this weekend after setting a time of one minute, 25.150 seconds on his Kawasaki ZX-6R on Thursday afternoon. Montreal’s Martin Grande topped Suzuki SV Cup practice with a 1:27.345. Earlier on Friday, Szoke qualified on pole for both Parts Canada Superbike events at Race City with a new track record of 1:15.772 on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R. Feature races for all five classes will go Saturday and Sunday, with practice starting at 9:15 a.m. and the first race scheduled for 1:00 p.m. For more series information, visit www.cdnsuperbike.com