Szoke closes in on Superbike history at Mont-Tremblant

TORONTO, Ont. (August 8, 2012) Seven-time national champion Jordan Szoke is in a position to add another chapter to his legendary career at round four of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant this weekend.

Victory in Sunday’s 16-lap race around the 4.26km (2.65-mile) circuit would give the Brantford, Ont. racer 40 career Canadian Superbike race wins. No one in the history of the sport has claimed that many victories. Indeed, the next most successful racer is Steve Crevier, who has 26 career triumphs to his credit.

Momentum is certainly on the side of Szoke, who will arrive at Mont-Tremblant in firm control of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship standings with 151 points. Riding the Waznie Racing / Parts Canada / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR, Szoke has won two of the first three races of the year. He has also won three of the four Superbike nationals held at Mont-Tremblant.

Victory on Sunday would also put Szoke in a strong position to lock up an unprecedented eighth career Canadian Superbike title. His closest Challenger in the standings, Andrew Nelson is 35 points behind with only this weekend’s event and the season finale doubleheader at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on August 25-26 remaining on the schedule. A race win is worth 50 points.

Nelson is the only rider to have beaten Szoke this season. The Kars, Ont. veteran claimed the season opener at Shannonville Motorsport Park on his Nelson Racing / Endras Motorrad / mcn.tv BMW S1000RR but could only manage a fifth at Autodrome St-Eustache after a bad start and sixth two weeks later at Atlantic Motorsport Park due to clutch problems.

Nelson’s struggles have allowed Kevin Lacombe to close to within 11 points of him in third in the standings. Making his return to racing after a two-year layoff, the St-Cesaire, Que. racer has a season-high finish of third at St-Eustache on the Team Couturier Racing BMW S1000RR.

A pair of youngsters are next up in the standings. Jodi Christie of Keene, Ont. is fourth following a great ride to second at AMP on the Jodi Christie Racing / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR600RR, but the smaller 600cc bike will likely struggle to match the pace of its 1000cc rivals on the high speed Mont-Tremblant track.

Warman, Sask.’s Bodhi Edie, last year’s Pro Rookie of the Year, has moved up to fifth in points thanks to consistent and competitive rides on the Edie Racing / Blue Streak Racing / Fast Company BMW S1000RR.

Other potential challengers include Alex Welsh of Uxbridge, Ont., who crashed at AMP on his AW7R / Kenwood Electronics Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000 after a great ride to second at St-Eustache, and Mississauga, Ont.’s Matt McBride, who missed the AMP round on his Riders Choice BMW S1000RR.

In support race action, Christie takes an 18-point lead over Kleinburg, Ont.’s Frank Trombino into Sunday’s K&N Performance Filters Pro Sport Bike race. Trombino won the season opener on his Acme Slate Suzuki GSX-R600 but Christie has been victorious in the two races since. Also up front should be Terrebonne, Que.’s Raphael Archambault on the Team Archambault Racing / Picotte Motorsport Suzuki GSX-R600.

Maple Ridge, B.C.’s Steve Crevier is unbeaten in the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup for the MotoSport Plus / Dominion Lending team, but the gap is closing. He should face a strong challenge from Toronto’s Michael Taylor on the Mackie Harley-Davidson entry and Ruthless Racing’s Darren James of Deep Cove, B.C.

Trevor Daley enjoys a solid 30-point lead in the Bazzaz Amateur Superbike Championship. The Mississauga, Ont. rider is coming off a strong runner-up finish in the most recent round at AMP on his One Speed / Riders Choice Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Philippe Masse of St-Hyacinthe, Que. enjoys a 32-point cushion in the Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike class but his closest title challenger, AMP hero Austin Shaw-O’Leary will miss this weekend’s event due to a knee injury.

In the closest points battle in the national tour, Ryan Roche of Pickering, Ont. comes into the weekend with only a four-point cushion over St-Lazare, Que.’s Stacey Nesbitt, 278-274, in the Honda CBR250R National Race Series.

Montreal’s Costa Mouzouris leads the Media Challenge portion of the Honda class.

Practice for this weekend’s event gets underway Friday with qualifying taking place on Saturday. The first of two Honda CBR250R National Race Series rounds goes Saturday afternoon, with feature races in all six national classes set for Sunday.

Tickets are $15 for Friday, $25 for Saturday and $35 for Sunday, and are available through the main gate ticket office. For more information visit www.lecircuit.com or call 819-425-6363.

2012 Point Standings

Mopar Pro Superbike: 1. Jordan Szoke (BMW) 151; 2. Andrew Nelson (BMW) 116; 3. Kevin Lacombe (BMW) 105; 4. Jodi Christie (Honda) 104; 5. Bodhi Edie (BMW) 81

K&N Performance Filters Pro Sport Bike: 1. Jodi Christie (Honda) 160; 2. Frank Trombino (Suzuki) 142; 3. Louie Raffa (Honda) 85

Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup: 1. Steve Crevier 167; 2. Michael Taylor 124; 3. Darren James 121

Bazzaz Amateur Superbike: 1. Trevor Daley (Suzuki) 137; 2. Philippe Masse (Kawasaki) 107; 2. Simon Hamel (BMW) 90

Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike: 1. Philippe Masse (Kawasaki) 151; 2. Austin Shaw-O’Leary (Honda/Kawasaki) 119; 3. Will Hornblower (Yamaha) 113

Honda CBR250R National Race Series: 1. Ryan Roche 278; 2. Stacey Nesbitt 274; 3. Sean Smith 192

Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant Superbike National Wins

2007 Jordan Szoke (Brantford, Ont.) Kawasaki 2006 Jordan Szoke (Brantford, Ont.) Kawasaki 2004 Jordan Szoke (Brantford, Ont.) Honda 2003 Tom Kipp (Chardon, Ohio) Kawasaki

Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant Fast Facts

“¦Among his long list of accolades in Canadian Superbike racing, Jordan Szoke has the distinction of being the most successful racer on Quebec circuits. The seven-time national champ has scored nine victories in the province over his career. Steve Crevier, Michael Taylor and Don Munroe are tied for second on that list with four victories each. Top Quebec-based rider on that list is Michel Mercier with three wins.

“¦Victory at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant puts a racer in the company of some of the greatest competitors in motorsport history. The venue has hosted two Formula 1 World Championship car races, which were won by New Zealand’s Denny Hulme in a McLaren in 1968 and Jacky Ickx of Belgium in a Ferrari in 1970. Hulme was the 1967 World Champion.

Provisional Weekend Schedule

Saturday, August 11

11:45 a.m. 12:05 p.m. Honda CBR250R National Race Series Qualifying

1:00 p.m. 1:20 p.m. K&N Performance Filters Pro Sport Bike Qualifying

1:30 p.m. 1:50 p.m. Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike Qualifying

2:00 p.m. Honda CBR250R National Race Series Race (10 laps)

2:40 p.m. 3:20 p.m. Mopar Pro Superbike Pirelli SuperPole Qualifying

3:30 p.m. 3:50 p.m. Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup Qualifying

4:00 p.m. 4:20 p.m. Bazzaz Amateur Superbike Qualifying

Sunday, August 12

1:00 p.m. Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup Race (12 laps)

K&N Performance Filters Pro Sport Bike Race (12 laps)

Honda CBR250R National Race Series Race (10 laps)

Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike Race (12 laps)

3:20 p.m. Mopar Pro Superbike Race (16 laps)

Bazzaz Amateur Superbike Race (12 laps)