Mopar CSBK returns to Shannonville Motorsport Park
TORONTO, Ont. – The Mopar CSBK motorcycle road racing tour will return to favourite venue Shannonville Motorsport Park for the opening National of 2016 on May 27, 28 and 29.
SMP, located east of Belleville, Ont., just south of Highway 401, offers several different track configurations, and the CSBK National will utilize the perimeter, 2.45km, nine-turn “Pro” layout. This will be the 40th Anniversary season for SMP, originally Nelson International Raceway.
Shannonville has hosted more Superbike races than any other venue on the Canadian tour, and the event on May 29 will be the 51st National at the track, a new record. In 10 of the last 15 years, the winner at the opening round has gone on to win the National Championship. For much of the history of the CSBK tour, Shannonville has hosted the first race of the season.
Key for the return of the CSBK tour to Shannonville is the arrival of event organizer Peter Derry of Toronto. Derry, a racer and long-time track enthusiast, was instrumental in the return of motorcycle racing to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the late 1990s with the creation of ‘Bike Week at Mosport’.
Peter Derry Productions Inc. hosts the 26th annual Motorcycle Spring Show at the International Centre in Toronto, April 9 and 10, 2016. Derry was looking for an opportunity to expand his business, and aims to get back onto the scene with the return of the National Series to the Shannonville facility.
“Bringing CSBK back to Shannonville Motorsport Park is an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up,” explained Derry. “I think we have a great chance to build this event into something special, a unique stop on the tour. We’re aiming to exploit Shannonville’s prime location between Toronto and Montreal, the great history of this event and the fact that Shannonville offers a unique opportunity to see almost the entire lap from the spacious main straight grandstands.
“I’m really fortunate to have great support, specifically Sandy Noce and all his Pro 6 Cycle team, and working with strong partners will be crucial to building this event for the future. We aim to place Shannonville back at the centre of the CSBK universe, as one of the crucial events on each year’s calendar.”
In the upcoming months, Derry’s team will be building support for the event, and announcing some unique fan activities in association with the opening 2015 CSBK National event.
The first ever spectator event held at Shannonville Motorsport Park was a motorcycle race on Thanksgiving, 1976. The first Superbike National at SMP was held in September of 1980 and won by Rueben McMurter on a Kawasaki. The most recent CSBK round at Shannonville took place on June 8, 2014, and was won by BMW’s Jordan Szoke.
Reigning and 10-time Mopar CSBK Champ Szoke of Brantford, Ont. will be the rider to beat at the 2016 Shannonville Motorsport Park opener, coming off a perfect, seven-race winning season with his BMW S1000RR last year. The 37-year-old Szoke has also won the last two Nationals held at Shannonville, and has won a total of five Pro Superbike Feature class races at the venue.