McBride fastest in practice at Shannonville SHANNONVILLE, Ont. (June 22, 2012) Matthew McBride set the pace on the opening day of action for the first round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park on Friday. Aboard his Riders Choice BMW S1000RR, the Mississauga, Ont. racer toured the 2.45km (1.53-mile), 11-turn Shannonville ‘Pro’ track in one minute, 05.051 seconds in the second of two practice sessions for an average speed of 135.586km/h (84.672 mph). That effort put him 0.340 secs. clear of Andrew Nelson on the Endras BMW / mcn.tv / mcnsports.tv BMW S1000RR, who recorded a lap at 1:05.391. Seven-time Canadian Superbike champion Jordan Szoke was third fastest with a time of 1:05.462 riding the Parts Canada / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR. “I think there’s still a lot more to come,” said McBride, who was also fastest in the morning practice session with a time about two-hundredths of a second off his afternoon effort. “I was confident coming here. We’ve done a lot of work to the bike over the winter and I thought we had a good set-up coming here.” While McBride was in a confident frame of mind, Nelson admitted to having a tough day on his machine despite turning the second best time in practice. The Kars, Ont. racer is starting his third year as a BMW rider but has a new 2012 model at his disposal. “It feels like a brand new bike and it’s taking time to adjust,” Nelson admitted. “It’s a steep learning curve but we learned a lot today that we can apply to tomorrow.” Szoke also conceded to having his struggles as he made his debut with the BMW S1000RR. “We’re taking it slow and we’re working on comfort and consistency,” said the Brantford, Ont. veteran, who finished second in last year’s national Superbike standings and won five titles in a row between 2006 and 2010. “It’s also true that Shannonville is not my favourite place to be. I struggle a little around here.” Uxbridge, Ont.’s Alex Welsh was fourth fastest with a 1:05.532 on the AW7R / Kenwood Electronics Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000 despite a fall in turn three halfway through the afternoon session, and Kevin Lacombe of St-Cesaire, Que. was fifth fastest with a time of 1:05.798 on his Couturier Racing BMW. In other action at Shannonville, Kleinburg, Ont.’s Frank Trombino was fastest in practice for the K&N Performance Filters Pro Sport Bike class with a time of 1:06.053 aboard the 725 Sports / ACME Slate Suzuki GSX-R600. Defending class champion Jodi Christie set the second best time of 1:06.474 on his Jodi Christie Racing / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR600RR and Raphael Archambault of Terrebonne, Que. completed the top three at 1:06.712 riding the Team Archambault Racing / Picotte Motorsport / G Suspension Suzuki. Darren James of North Vancouver led practice for the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup at Shannonville with a time of 1:12.535 on his Ruthless Racing / Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada entry. Tim Robinson of Gatineau, Que. paced practice for the Bazzaz Amateur Superbike class with a time of 1:08.955 on his Robinson Racing / Gym-Max BMW S1000RR while Falmouth, N.S.’s Austin Shaw-O’Leary was fastest in practice for the Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike class with a time of 1:10.604 on his Dua Motorsports Honda CBR600RR. Peterborough, Ont.’s Tomas Casas led practice for the Honda CBR250R National Race Series with a time of 1:23.708. Action at Shannonville continues Saturday with qualifying for all six national classes, including the battle for Pirelli SuperPole in the Mopar Pro Superbike division. The first of two Honda CBR250R National Race Series rounds goes Saturday afternoon, with feature races in all classes set for Sunday. For ticket information call 1-800-959-8955 or 613-969-1906. Or go to www.shannonville.com.