Szoke clinches Mopar CSBK title at CTMP
BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (August 19, 2017) – Jordan Szoke clinched the 2017 Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship in style, winning the penultimate race of the season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Saturday.
The 38-year-old from Lynden, Ont. took the lead from racelong pacesetter Samuel Trepanier two laps from the end of the 20-lap race and held on to win by 0.251 secs. aboard the Mopar Express Lane/Motovan BMW S1000RR. Trepanier scored a career-best second on the Blysk Racing/Neuroperforma BMW S1000RR and Bodhi Edie placed third after a dramatic charge in the closing laps on his Z1 Tuning/Parts Canada Yamaha YZF-R1.
Szoke completed the race in 27 minutes, 16.958 seconds for an average speed of 171.538km/h. He made the decisive pass for the win in turn 2 on lap 19.
“We had a little front end issue early in the race and the bike wasn’t quite as strong as it had been earlier in the weekend,” said Szoke after his fifth straight race win at CTMP. “But when we got down to the last couple of laps I decided I needed to put my head down, get around Samuel and do what I could to get away. I turned the traction control down one setting and really hung it out. It was pretty exciting.”
Szoke has now won an unprecedented 12 Canadian Superbike championships and three in a row.
“I’m so pumped to win the championship that way,” said Szoke, who will try to complete a sweep of the weekend doubleheader on Sunday. “It’s nice to have the championship out of the way for tomorrow.
“I’m glad to be able to win the championship here at CTMP. It’s just a great crowd and riding around on the cool off lap is really something. I’ve been racing 20 years now and I’d love to keep going 40 more.”
Starting from second on the grid Trepanier took the lead with a move around the outside of Szoke through turn 8 on the opening lap and the St-Isidore-de-Laprairie, Que. rider stayed there for the next 17 laps. He set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:21.056, on his third lap.
“I planned to get away from the start, but I knew Jordan would be right there,” Trepanier said. “I was managing the pace a bit, trying to save the tire for the end but maybe I should have opened the throttle earlier. When Jordan took the lead I made some mistakes, I didn’t have it together like Jordan. Tomorrow I’ll just try to be consistent again and keep a strong pace.”
Kenny Riedmann and Ben Young disputed third place for most of the race. After a slow start left him sixth at the end of the opening lap Young worked his way up to third by lap 4 but fell back behind Riedmann on lap 10.
“I saw Jordan and Samuel go and I wanted to get past Kenny and chase them said the Collingwood, Ont. rider. “But I think I used up too much tire. I also couldn’t hang onto Kenny down the backstraight.”
With two laps to go Edie joined the Young and Riedmann battle and the Warman, Sask. racer got around both in turn 9 in a dramatic final few turns of the race.
“I got a decent start but I couldn’t quite run the pace the first few laps,” explained Edie, who was one of the few frontrunners to run with a medium rear tire as opposed to a soft. “But I was able to put the last four or five laps together and Kenny and Ben were really hammering at each other. I thought I could make a move and capitalize through turns 8 and 9.”
Young made a run at Edie out of the final turn but came up 0.219 secs. short on his Scot-Build Developments BMW S1000RR. Belfountain, Ont.’s Riedmann finished right behind in fifth aboard the Sturgess Cycle/Liqui Moly Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Riedmann retains a solid second place in the Mopar Pro Superbike standings heading into Sunday’s final race but just 12 points separate Young, Edie and Trepanier in the fight for third.
Montreal’s Michael Leon emerged from another entertaining scrap to claim sixth on his Royal Distributing BMW S1000RR, while Matt McBride of Mississauga, Ont. placed seventh with the Riders Choice BMW S1000RR.
Making his first start of the 2017 season, Mississauga, Ont.’s Trevor Daley made up ground in the closing laps and passed Jeff Williams on the final lap to claim eighth on the One Speed/Shoei Kawasaki ZX-10R. Inverary, Ont.’s Williams settled for ninth on his BMW S1000RR.
Ripley, Ont.’s Mitch Card came out on top of a three-way scrap for 10th on his Goderich Toyota/Shoei Helmets Yamaha YZF-R1 holding off Sebastien Tremblay and Chris Murray-Audain.
In the battle for the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year title, Doug Lawrence of Mississauga, Ont. closed to within two points of Montreal’s Jean-Marc Bilger by finishing 15th on the Parts Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000 while Bilger was 16th with his Vortex Kawasaki ZX-10R.
In other action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Tomas Casas of Peterborough, Ont. clinched the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike title with a second place finish in Saturday’s 14-lap race on his Peterborough Cycle/Parts Canada Yamaha YZF-R6. Card scored the win on his Yamaha YZF-R6 after a close battle with Casas and Will Hornblower, winning by 1.624 secs.
Casas passed Hornblower’s 402bike.com/Blue Streak Yamaha YZF-R6 two corners from the finish to snatch the runner-up spot, while Hornblower settled for third.
“I didn’t want to risk a whole lot but I managed to stick it in there at the end,” said the 17-year-old Casas after claiming his first career Pro title. “This is a big moment in my career. Dreams are big but I hope one day to be racing in the World Championship.”
Ottawa’s Jason Thoms held off fellow BMW S1000RR rider Mike van Ek of Ajax, Ont. to win the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike race, with Serge Perras, also of Ottawa, placing a distant third on another BMW. Lasalle, Que.’s Samuel Desmarais extended his series lead to 32 points with a sixth place finish on his Kawasaki ZX-6R after chief rival Ernest Bernhard of Ste-Brigide, Que. was involved in a last lap, last corner crash and could only salvage a 15th-place finish on his Yamaha YZF-R1.
Cameron Walker of Oakville, Ont. rode his Kawasaki ZX-6R to a 2.644-sec. victory in the Shoei Premium Helmets Amateur Sport Bike class. With a second place finish Desmarais closed to within three points of Jean-Francois Aubin for the lead in the class championship heading into Sunday’s final race. St-Jerome, Que.’s Aubin placed fourth on Saturday aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600, just behind the Yamaha YZF-R6 of Montreal’s Vincent Levillain.
Jared Walker gained ground on Xavier Paradis in the duel for the Kawasaki Ninja 300 Spec Series crown by winning Saturday’s race while Paradis placed second. Paradis, from Shannon, Que., takes a 27-point lead over Oakville, Ont.’s Walker into Sunday’s final race. Jake Leclair of Blackstock, Ont. completed the podium on Saturday.
Jared Walker also rode his Kawasaki Ninja 300 to victory in the Bickle Racing Invitational Lightweight race, edging the Yamaha YZF-R3s of Laval, Que.’s Alex Berthiaume and Milford, N.S. racer Richard Thompson, who placed second and third, respectively.
Competition at CTMP concludes on Sunday with feature races in all five national classes. Practice begins at 9:00 am with the first race, the Bickle Racing Lightweight Sport Bike Invitational, set to go at 11:30.
Off the track, Jordan Szoke’s Extreme Show will include freestyle motocross exhibitions throughout the weekend. Additionally, fans at CTMP will have a chance to win one of six Toronto Argonauts Family Packs for a remaining Argos home game.
Tickets are $35 for Sunday. Children under 16 are free with paid adult admission. For more ticket information, visit www.canadiantiremotorsportpark.com