Szoke wins second straight Shannonville Superbike opener
SHANNONVILLE, Ont. (June 8, 2014) – Brantford, Ont.’s Jordan Szoke held off Keene, Ont. racer Jodi Christie to win the opening round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park on Sunday.
The victory was Szoke’s second straight at Shannonville and gives him an 11-point lead over Christie, 56-45, after one of five series events.
Riding the Waznie Racing / BMW Motorrad / Mopar Express Lane BMW S1000RR Szoke took the lead on the opening lap and then survived a last lap move by Christie, who briefly got in front entering the hairpin only to have Szoke quickly move back ahead, to beat the Jodi Christie Racing / Honda Canada / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR1000RR by 0.196 secs. at the line.
Szoke completed the 22 laps in 23 minutes, 59.139 seconds for an average speed of 135.931km/h (81.559 mph) around the 2.45km (1.53-mile) Shannonville ‘Pro’ track.
“I consider this my worst track performance-wise on the schedule, so to get a win here feels really good and really jump-starts my season,” said Szoke, who has now scored 44 career national Superbike wins with four of them coming at Shannonville.
Aboard the Trombino Racing / Royal Plumbing Aprilia RSV4 Frank Trombino rocketed into the lead off the line only to have Szoke blast past him on the back straight on the opening lap. Christie dropped the Kleinburg, Ont. rider down to third on the following lap.
By lap seven Szoke and Christie had pulled clear to battle on their own. Christie shadowed the BMW rider but didn’t make his move until the final lap, when he snuck inside Szoke entering the hairpin that leads onto the backstraight. Christie slid wide, however, and Szoke was back underneath and held on the rest of the way.
“Jodi is getting smarter and really maturing,” said the 35-year-old Szoke, who is bidding for his 10th national Superbike title and third in a row. “I got on the gas a little strong out of turn three and that gave Jodi a chance. I was expecting him to try something out of Allen’s [Corner, the second last turn on the track] but I got a good drive and could hold him off to the line.”
Christie did have the consolation of setting the race’s fastest lap, a 1:05.142 on the penultimate tour.
“I felt like I had the bike to win and I was really comfortable out there,” said the 21-year-old, who also finished second to Szoke in last year’s Mopar Canadian Superbike opener. “But I made a little mistake when I passed Jordan at the hairpin and pushed the front. I’ve been racing Jordan a long time and I knew as soon as I pushed the front, he’d be squaring it up to make the pass.”
After completing the opening lap in seventh Trevor Daley worked his way up to a third place finish on his One Speed Chop Shop / Motovan.com Suzuki GSX-R1000, his first career Pro podium finish.
“I made a bit of a mistake at the start and I had to work a bit to try and not lose too much time to the guys in front,” the Mississauga, Ont. racer said. “The bike was working great and was really easy to ride.”
Trombino ran off the track at Allen’s Corner on lap 10 after hitting a false neutral and rejoined in fourth, where he stayed the rest of the way.
After battling for the first half of the race with Kristopher Garvie and Franklyn Dominguez, Sebastien Tremblay pulled clear to finish fifth on his MotoNation / Laval Moto Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Last year’s Sunoco / Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year, Garvie finished sixth aboard the Fast Company / Honda Canada / Platinum Painting Honda CBR1000RR and Dominguez took seventh on the OCM Racing / egopay.com Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Marco Sousa was the top rookie finisher in eighth with his Z1 Cycletech / Blue Streak / BMW Motorrad BMW S1000RR and Tim Robinson held on for ninth riding the Robinson Racing / GymMax BMW S1000RR.
After qualifying third on his Riders Choice BMW S1000RR, Matt McBride of Mississauga, Ont. was running third when he pulled into the pits after seven laps with apparent technical issues on his bike.
In other action at Shannonville, Kenny Reidmann scored his first career national Pro win in an exciting Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike season opener. The Belfountain, Ont. racer held off a desperate last turn move by three-time defending class champion Christie to take the win by 0.358 secs. on his Reidmann Racing / Castrol Triumph 675.
The victory was also the first for the Triumph brand in national Pro competition.
Christie was forced to settle for second aboard his Honda CBR600RR and Sarnia, Ont.’s Will Hornblower completed the podium with the Hornblower Racing / Blue Streak Yamaha YZF-R6 after running with the lead duo in the early laps.
Fourth place went to Elie Daccache on his Yamaha YZF-R6 and North Vancouver’s Darren James was fifth aboard the Ruthless Racing / Dragon Eyewear Yamaha.
Tim Toldnes of London, Ont. held off Mississauga, Ont.’s Pedro Sousa to win the opening round of the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike Championship. Riding his Inglis Cycle / Blue Streak Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R, Toldnes took the lead on lap five of the 14-lap race and finished just 0.120 secs. ahead of Sousa’s Honda CBR1000RR.
Early race leader Steve Hamer of Gravenhurst, Ont. held on for third aboard his Yamaha YZF-R6.
Stacey Nesbitt took the lead two laps from home to win the Bell Helmets Amateur Sport Bike race at Shannonville. Riding the OCM Racing Honda CBR600RR, the St-Lazare, Que. racer finished 0.477 secs. ahead of the Triumph 675R ridden by Ariss, Ont.’s James Moore.
Tomas Casas of Peterborough, Ont. was third on his OCM Racing / GoLo Motorsport / Peterborough Cycle Salvage Yamaha YZF-R6.
Nesbitt’s OCM Racing squad also picked up the Ipone Award in the Amateur Sport Bike class for team professionalism and presentation, while teammate Casas was selected for the Dion Device Hard Luck Award after a practice crash on Friday morning.
Oakville, Ont.’s Cameron Walker turned the tables on Saturday winner Jacob Shaw-O’Leary in the second round of the Honda CBR250R National Race Series. Walker beat the Falmouth, N.S. racer by 7.044 secs. after making a last lap pass at the end of the backstraight and then seeing Shaw-O’Leary run off track as he tried to make a move on the outside two corners from the finish.
Eric Quintin of Notre Dame de L’Ile Perrot, Que. was third for the second day in a row aboard his Centre Hamel Honda entry.
Pro Cycle-sponsored Shaw-O’Leary, who edged Walker to the win on Saturday, leads the Honda CBR250R point standings by three over Walker, 100-97.
The official Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship website, www.csbk.ca, will have full race coverage of Saturday’s opening round of the Honda CBR250R National Race Series, as well as Sunday’s Hindle Pro Sport Bike and Mopar Pro Superbike feature events.
The Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship resumes at Autodrome St-Eustache in St-Eustache, Que. July 4-6. For ticket information call (450) 472-6222 or (514) 591-4388, or visit www.autodrome.ca.
SHANNONVILLE, Ont. (June 8) – Results of Sunday’s opening round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park, showing finishing position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and laps completed:
1.Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 22
2. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 22
3. Trevor Daley, Mississauga, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 22
4. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, Ont., Aprilia RSV4, 22
5. Sebastien Tremblay, Longueuil, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 22
6. Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 22
7. Franklyn Dominguez, St-Lazare, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 22
8. Marco Sousa, Schomberg, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 21
9. Tim Robinson, Gatineau, Que., BMW S1000RR, 21
Did Not Finish
Matt McBride, Mississauga, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 6
Did Not Start
Will Hornblower, Sarnia, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6
Stephane Houle, Gatineau, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R
Louie Raffa, Ste-Marthe, Que., Honda CBR600RR
Caleb Noiles, Upper Cloverdale, N.B., Honda CBR600RR
Jeff O’Leary, Falmouth, N.S., Honda CBR600RR
Michael Leon, Beaconsfield, Que. MV Agusta 675
Brent Strong, Mississauga, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6
Time of Race: 23:59.139
Average Speed: 135.931km/h
Margin of Victory: 0.196 secs.
Fastest Lap: 1:05.142 by Jodi Christie on lap 21
Lap Leaders: Jordan Szoke, 1-22
Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship point standings after one of five rounds, showing position, rider name and point total:
1.Jordan Szoke, 56
2. Jodi Christie, 45
3. Trevor Daley, 37
4. Frank Trombino, 33
5. Sebastien Tremblay, 29
6. Kristopher Garvie, 27
7. Franklyn Dominguez, 25
8. Marco Sousa, 23
9. Tim Robinson, 21
10. Matt McBride, 2