Welsh Superbike win at CTMP sends title down to wire BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (August 11, 2013) – Alex Welsh ensured the battle for the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship will go down to the final round after scoring a dramatic last-lap victory over Jordan Szoke at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday. Riding his AW7R / Kenwood Electronics Canada / Parts Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000, Welsh dove inside Szoke’s Waznie Racing / BMW Motorrad Canada / Parts Canada BMW S1000RR at the end of the backstraight on the final lap and hung on to edge the series points leader by just 0.185 secs. The result means Szoke will take a 41-point lead over Welsh into the final round at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant August 23-25. A race win is worth 50 points. “I’m just over the moon. I’m super happy to get it done today,” said Welsh, who had finished third in each of the previous four rounds of the season, including Saturday’s first race of the doubleheader weekend. “We’ve had such a rough year and had strange things happen. We’ve left a lot of races frustrated. Now we’re going into Mont-Tremblant with a shot at the championship. It’s going to be interesting.” Matt McBride of Mississauga, Ont. came out on top of a fierce five-way scrap to finish third on the Riders Choice BMW S1000RR. Jodi Christie of Keene, Ont., who came into the weekend second in the point standings, could only manage an eighth place finish on Sunday as he battled handling issues and a broken fairing on his Jodi Christie Racing / Honda Canada / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR1000RR. Although he sits third in the standings he has been mathematically eliminated from title contention. Saturday’s race winner Bodhi Edie of Warman, Sask. was unable to make the start on Sunday after the transmission broke on his Edie Racing / Charles Antle / Ffun Motorsports BMW S1000RR during practice. Welsh grabbed the lead from the start of the 20-lap race and he and Szoke quickly broke away from the rest of the pack. The pair traded the lead six times and each led 10 laps, sharing the two-point bonus for leading the most laps of the race. Szoke had the lead at the start of the final tour but Welsh was able to get alongside him as they headed into turn eight of the 10-turn track for the final time and the Brantford, Ont. racer was unable to respond in the final two corners. “I didn’t get the best of drives onto the backstraight but I was just able to get beside him,” said Welsh, who scored his first career national Superbike win at CTMP a year ago. “From there I just tried to get through turn eight as best as I could. I was sideways going through there.” Szoke settled for his third straight runner-up finish after winning the opening two races of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship season. He is trying to claim a record ninth Canadian Superbike number one plate. “The race was fantastic but I’m pretty disgusted with myself for going two years here without a win,” said Szoke, who has won 10 Superbike events at CTMP but none since 2011. “If you’re talking about golf, this is like the Masters for us here in Canada, and I’m really disappointed not to win. But we’re still right in there for the championship so I can’t be too disappointed.” McBride spent the second half of the race trading third spot with the MotoNation / ASM Motosport BMW S1000RR of Sebastien Tremblay. McBride had been using the final turn for most of his passing but got ahead at the end of the backstraight on the final lap and held off the Longueuil, Que. racer at the line. “They had already seen my move in turn 10 so I knew I couldn’t use that again,” McBride said. “But I got a good drive onto the backstraight and I was able to go around the outside into turn eight. We worked hard for it, that’s for sure, and I’m thrilled to be up here.” Right behind Tremblay, Kristopher Garvie claimed fifth on his Genics Inc. Kawasaki ZX-10R and took the $500 Sunoco / Brooklin Cycle Racing Rookie of the Race Award. He also moved into fourth in the point standings. Frank Trombino of Kleinburg, Ont. was sixth aboard the Trombino Racing / Royal Plumbing / FDS Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory and Mississauga, Ont.’s Trevor Daley finished seventh riding the One Speed Suzuki GSX-R1000, Barely a second covered third through seventh at the line. Christie had his front fairing break early in the race, which caused his windscreen to drop and left him vulnerable to wind buffeting. After running third in the early laps he slipped down the order to eighth at the end. Matt Cooper of Guelph, Ont. finished ninth aboard the Bain Machine Racing / Hindle BMW S1000RR and Franklyn Dominguez of St-Lazare, Que. completed the top 10 on the Excel Honda / Holt / Seamont Brokerage Honda CBR1000RR. In other action at CTMP, Christie clinched his third straight Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike title with his fifth win of the season on Sunday. Riding his Honda CBR600RR, Christie came out on top of an exciting five-rider battle for the win, edging the Riedmann Racing / Castrol / Blackfoot Triumph 675 of Calgary’s John Ross MacRae by just 0.316 secs. at the line. Garvie was third aboard the Honda Canada Honda CBR600RR, Austin Shaw-O’Leary of Falmouth, N.S. took fourth riding the O’Leary Bros. / Pro Cycle / GoLo Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 and Thornbury, Ont.’s Ben Young completed the lead bunch in fifth on his BYR Racing / Tim Hortons (Sudbury) / Hindle Yamaha YZF-R6. MacRae is still second in the championship with 207 points to the 271 of Christie, while Garvie is now third with 170. MacRae scored his first career Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup win of the season at CTMP on Sunday. The Ruthless Racing rider was in the lead when the race was red-flagged after 10 of a scheduled 14 laps for a crash involving Jon Cornwell of Erin, Ont. Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, B.C. finished second and the MotoSport Plus-backed rider extended his points lead to 28 points, 213-185 over Toronto’s Michael Taylor heading into the Mont-Tremblant season finale. Taylor finished third in the race for the Mackie Harley-Davidson team. Cornwell was transported to hospital with a broken leg. Mitch Card took over the lead of the Bazzaz / Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike standings with his second win of the weekend aboard the ProStar Motorsports / Blue Streak Racing Honda CBR600RR. The Ripley, Ont. rider held off the Suzuki GSX-R600 of Marco Sousa by just 0.343 secs. in the 12-lap race and takes a 12-point lead over the Schomberg, Ont. racer into the Mont-Tremblant finale. Hugo Fournier of L’Islet, Que. placed third riding his Yamaha YZF-R6. Riley Dawe came into the race with the points lead but the Toronto racer crashed his Riley Dawe Racing / Adrenaline X / Pete’s Superbike Yamaha YZF-R6 in turn five on lap four. Dawe goes to Mont-Tremblant third in the class standings 47 points behind Card. Tomas Casas of Peterborough, Ont. clinched the Honda CBR250R National Race Series with his sixth win of the season on Sunday. The 14-year-old led all 10 laps on his Peterborough Cycle Salvage-backed entry and finished 5.064 secs. clear of Dartmouth, N.S. rider Connor Warnell, who just held off Ottawa’s Samuel Dutrisac for second spot. Video coverage of both Mopar Pro Superbike races, Sunday’s Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup event and Saturday’s Honda CBR250R National will be available on www.csbk.ca, as well as highlights from the Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike races. The Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship concludes at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Mont-Tremblant, Que. on August 23-25 Tickets are available by calling (819) 425-6363, or by emailing [email protected]. Fans can also visit the website at www.lecircuit.com. BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (August 11) – Results of Sunday’s fifth round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, showing finishing position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and laps completed: 1. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 20 2. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20 3. Matt McBride, Mississauga, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20 4. Sebastien Tremblay, Longueuil, Que., BMW S1000RR, 20 5. Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 20 6. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, Ont., Aprilia RSV4 Factory, 20 7. Trevor Daley, Mississauga, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 20 8. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 20 9. Matt Cooper, Guelph, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20 10. Franklyn Dominguez, St-Lazare, Que., Honda CBR1000RR, 20 11. MJ Boucher, Montreal, Que., BMW S1000RR, 20 12. Scott Rupert, Gadshill, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 20 13. Austin Shaw-O’Leary, Falmouth, N.S., Yamaha YZF-R6, 19 Did Not Finish Chris Murray-Audain, Scarborough, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 14 Did Not Start Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask., BMW S1000RR Martin Ricard, Montreal, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R Louie Raffa, Ste-Marthe, Que., Honda CBR600RR Philippe Masse, St-Hyacinthe, Que., Kawasaki ZX-6R Will Hornblower, Sarnia, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6 Michael Leon, Beaconsfield, Que., MV Agusta F3 Time of Race: 27:21.411 Average Speed: 173.573km/h Margin of Victory: 0.185 secs. Fastest Lap: 1:21.473 by Jordan Szoke on lap two Lap Leaders: Alex Welsh 1-4, Jordan Szoke 5, Welsh 6-7, Szoke 8-13, Welsh 14-16, Szoke 17-19, Welsh 20 Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship point standings after five of six rounds, showing position, rider name and point total: 1. Jordan Szoke, 251 2. Alex Welsh, 210 3. Jodi Christie, 168 4. Kristopher Garvie, 125 5. Sebastien Tremblay, 118 6. Frank Trombino, 114 7. Matt McBride, 100 8. Franklyn Dominguez, 92 9. Austin Shaw-O’Leary, 91 10. Trevor Daley, 79 11. Matt Cooper, 76 12. Louie Raffa, 59 12. MJ Boucher, 59 14. Bodhi Edie, 50 15. Chris Murray-Audain, 31 16. Martin Ricard, 28 17. Ron Munroe, 25 18. Caleb Noiles, 23 18. Jean-Francois Cyr, 23 20. Scott Rupert, 15