Szoke scores dramatic Superbike win at AMP SHUBENACADIE, N.S. (July 22, 2012) Jordan Szoke passed Jodi Christie on the final lap and hung on to win a thrilling third round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Atlantic Motorsport Park on Sunday. The Brantford, Ont. rider took advantage of a slight miscue by Christie as they entered the back straight for the final time, and then held off the Keene, Ont. rider by just 0.230 secs. for his second straight victory this season on the Waznie Racing / Parts Canada / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR. Christie matched his career high with second place on the Jodi Christie Racing / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR600RR and Frank Trombino was just 0.385 secs. back in third riding the Acme Slate / Dua Bodywork / G Suspension Suzuki GSX-R600. Szoke completed the 14 laps around AMP’s 2.56km (1.6-mile), 11-turn road course in 16 minutes, 5.075 seconds for an average speed of 133.693km/h (80.216 mph). “I knew Jodi was going to be tough today,” said Szoke after his sixth career national Superbike win at AMP. “I thought he’d be the one to beat. I was lining him up to try something on the last lap and got a break.” With the victory Szoke extended his lead in the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship standings to 35 points over Andrew Nelson, who finished sixth on Sunday. Szoke has 151 points to Nelson’s 116 at the halfway point of the six-race season. After claiming his third straight pole position of the season in qualifying on Saturday, Szoke was only third off the line at the start of the race behind Trombino and the Nelson Racing / Endras Motorrad / mcn.tv BMW S1000RR of Kars, Ont.’s Nelson. Nelson took the lead from Trombino on lap four and Szoke also got the Suzuki rider a lap later. He then took the lead from Nelson in turn two on lap seven. “I didn’t get a good start, but you’ve got to be patient around here,” said Szoke, who is looking for an eighth Canadian Superbike title. “I just tried to settle in and pick off guys where I could.” Christie was fourth off the start but moved ahead of Trombino on lap five, took second from Nelson on lap seven and then grabbed the lead from Szoke with a bold move into turn nine on lap eight. That effort earned the Keene, Ont. racer the KICKER Kick Ass Pass of the Race Award, and he was presented with an iK501 iPhone / iPod Dock valued at $300. “The bike was handling awesome,” said Christie, who improved on his third place finish at this event last year. “I tried to just put down consistent laps but Jordan kept me honest.” The decisive moment in the race came as the leaders hit the back straight for the last time. “I just had a little slide heading onto the back straight,” Christie said. “I had another opportunity to try him back in turn nine but I wasn’t quite able to do it.” Christie had struggled with a problem that caused his engine to cut out during qualifying, and he was forced to switch to his back-up Honda for the Superbike race. “I was able to do my fastest times of the weekend on the back-up bike,” he said. Trombino put in a brave ride as he struggled with a shoulder injury, a legacy of a crash in 2000. “We numbed my shoulder and I took an Advil, and from there I screwed my head down and tried to be extra smooth,” said the Kleinburg, Ont. rider, who set the race’s fastest lap at 1:08.280. “When I was behind Jordan I was trying to get him around the outside because he was protecting the inside. I was waiting for an opening but it was not there.” Kevin Lacombe finished fourth on his Team Couturier Racing BMW S1000RR after spending most of the race battling with the Edie Racing / Blue Streak Racing / Fast Company BMW S1000RR of Bodhi Edie. Lacombe was expected to challenge for the win after leading practice on Friday and qualifying third, but the St-Cesaire, Que. rider struggled with handling problems in the race. Lacombe did have the consolation of moving up to third in the Mopar Canadian Superbike point standings with 105 points, one more than Christie. Edie finished a career high fifth and the Warman, Sask. rider improved to fifth in the point standings. Nelson faded to sixth at the finish, the victim of a damaged clutch. Samuel Proulx of Sherbrooke, Que. was the top rookie finisher in seventh on his Team Couturier Racing BMW S1000RR. Sebastien Tremblay of Longueuil, Que. finished eighth on the MotoNation BMW S1000RR after a racelong battle with the Freedom Cycle / Beta CNC Technologies / Podium One Kawasaki ZX-6R of Beaver Bank, N.S. rider Ron Munroe and Upper Coverdale, N.S.’s Caleb Noiles aboard the G-Bourque Racing / Absolute MMA / Letterman Glenn Kawasaki ZX-6R. Munroe finished ninth while Noiles crashed near the finish Also among the non-finishers was Uxbridge, Ont.’s Alex Welsh, who suffered a crash on the AW7R / Kenwood Electronics Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000. In other action at AMP, Austin Shaw-O’Leary of Falmouth, N.S. scored a sweep in Amateur action. Riding a Kawasaki ZX-6R borrowed from Ron Munroe after crashing his Honda CBR600RR in practice Sunday morning, the Dua Motorsports / GoLo Racing-backed rider took the lead halfway through the Bazzaz Amateur Superbike race and pulled clear to take a 6.732-sec. victory over the One Speed / Riders Choice Suzuki GSX-R1000 of points leader Trevor Daley, with Philippe Masse of St-Hyacinthe, Que. third riding the Racingphil.com / Pete’s Superbike Kawasaki ZX-6R. In the Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike race, Shaw-O’Leary led virtually all the way to win by 6.553 secs. from series leader Masse with Sarnia, Ont.’s Will Hornblower third on the Hornblower Racing / Blue Streak Racing / ProPulsion Yamaha YZF-R6. His effort in the Amateur Sport Bike race earned Shaw-O’Leary the Performance Under Gear Performer of the Race Award. Christie extended his lead in the K&N Performance Filters Pro Sport Bike class with his second straight victory at Atlantic Motorsport Park on Sunday. Riding his Honda CBR600RR the defending series champion took the lead from Trombino on lap five of the 18-lap race and pulled clear to an 8.339-sec. victory. Trombino battled through his shoulder injury and a sick engine to salvage second on his Suzuki GSX-R600, but the Kleinburg, Ont. racer now trails Christie by 20 points, 164-144 halfway through the season. Noiles completed the podium on his Kawasaki ZX-6R. Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, B.C. made it three straight wins in the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup at AMP. The MotoSport Plus rider finished 5.016 secs. ahead of polesitter Michael Taylor of Toronto on the Mackie Harley-Davidson entry. Darren James of Deep Cove, B.C. placed third for the Ruthless Racing team. St-Lazare, Que.’s Stacey Nesbitt won her second Honda CBR250R National Race Series event of the season on her Powersports Canada-backed CBR250R after another dramatic battle with Ryan Roche and Tomas Casas. Roche actually crossed the line first on his Brooklin Cycle entry but the Pickering, Ont. racer was penalized a position for rough riding, giving Nesbitt the victory. Casas crashed on the final lap, so Dartmouth, N.S. rider Connor Warnell took the final podium spot for the Pro Cycle team. Roche now leads Nesbitt by just four points in the CBR250R National Race Series standings, 278-274. For the second straight day Sackville, N.B.’s Rob Harris won the Media Challenge for CMGOnline. Costa Mouzouris of Montreal continues to lead the Media Challenge standings. Since 2006 Pirelli has been the spec tire supplier to the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship. The series has been used as a development platform for the company’s products, and competitors in the K&N Performance Filter Pro Sport Bike, Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup, and Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike classes run on the same Diablo Super Corsa DOT racing tires used in the World Supersport Championship. Pirelli is currently developing 17-inch slick tires for use in the World Superbike Championship in 2013, and these will also make their way to the Canadian Championship in the future. The Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship opens the second half of its season at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Mont-Tremblant, Que. August 10-12. For ticket information call 819-425-6363, email [email protected] or visit www.lecircuit.com. SHUBENACADIE, N.S. (July 22) Results of Sunday’s third round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Atlantic Motorsport Park, showing finishing position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and laps completed: 1.Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 14 (133.693km/h) 2. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR600RR, 14 3. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R600, 14 4. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, Que., BMW S1000RR, 14 5. Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask., BMW S1000RR, 14 6. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 14 7. Samuel Proulx, Magog, Que., BMW S1000RR, 14 8. Sebastien Tremblay, Longueuil, Que., BMW S1000RR, 14 9. Ron Munroe, Beaver Bank, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 14 Did Not Finish Caleb Noiles, Coverdale, N.B., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 11 Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2 Did Not Start Raphael Archambault, Terrebonne, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600 Marcel Irnie, Kelowna, B.C., BMW S1000RR Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, Que., BMW S1000RR Paul Whitehead, Baddeck, N.S., Honda CBR600RR Richard Thompson, Milford, N.S., Suzuki GSX-R600 Louie Raffa, Ste-Marthe, Que., Honda CBR600RR Time of Race: 16:05.075 Average Speed: 133.693 km/h (80.216 mph) Margin of Victory: 0.230 secs. Fastest Lap: 1:08.280 by Frank Trombino on lap 2 Point standings for the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship after three of six rounds, showing position, rider name and point total: 1. Jordan Szoke, 151 2. Andrew Nelson, 116 3. Kevin Lacombe, 105 4. Jodi Christie, 104 5. Bodhi Edie, 81 6. Alex Welsh, 75 7. Matthew McBride, 68 8. Sebastien Tremblay, 63 9. Frank Trombino, 60 10. Samuel Proulx, 53 11. Francois Dumas, 44 12. Marcel Irnie, 34 13. Marie-Josee Boucher, 31 14. Franklyn Dominguez, 25 15. Ron Munroe, 21 16. Sylvain Dery, 16 17. Martin Hamel, 15 18. Aubrey Bailey, 10 19. Tony Stufko, 8 20. Michael Leon, 8 21. Louie Raffa, 6