SHANNONVILLE, Ont. (June 30) If you’re in the vicinity of Shannonville Motorsport Park this weekend, cover your eyes. There’s a streaker on the loose.
Brett McCormick comes into the second and third rounds of the Canadian Superbike Championship by Parts Canada with a couple of winning streaks on the go, and the 19-year-old from Saskatoon is in a good position to keep the string going.
The radX / BMW Motorrad Canada rider will be looking for his third straight victory at the legendary Canadian motorcycle racing venue, which hosted is first Canadian national event in 1980. McCormick picked up his first ever Canadian Superbike win here in 2008 and followed that up with another triumph in 2009. Shannonville did not host a national round last season.
McCormick is also riding a stretch of three consecutive wins on the Canadian Superbike Championship trail. He won the final two rounds of the 2009 season before spending last year racing in the U.S. He marked his return to Canada with a win in the season opener of this year’s title chase at Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Que. on May 29.
McCormick’s domination of that event he started from pole and led every lap on his BMW S1000RR put him in control of the seven-race championship with 56 points.
There will be plenty of racers in a position to put an end to McCormick’s streaking at this weekend’s doubleheader, however. Among them will be fellow BMW rider Andrew Nelson. The Kars, Ont. ace placed second at Circuit ICAR aboard his Nelson Racing / Gymax / Monette Sports S1000RR and is second in the standings with 44 points.
Nelson is on a streak of his own, having now placed runner-up in the last three national rounds dating back to last season. He can practically taste his first ever Canadian Superbike triumph.
McCormick will also want to be wary of Brantford, Ont.’s Jordan Szoke, who knows plenty about streaks, having won seven Superbike races in a row to take his fifth consecutive national title last year. The 31-year-old is third in points with 40 for the Competition Systems Kawasaki Race Team on its Ninja ZX-10R.
Other racers hoping to pick up their first career National Superbike triumph this weekend include Alex Welsh of Uxbridge, Ont. and Mississauga, Ont. racer Michael Ferreira.
Welsh is coming off a solid fourth at Circuit ICAR on the Z1 CycleTech Suzuki GSX-R600 and will be hoping to debut the team’s GSX-R1000 this weekend. Ferreira was fifth in the season opener after qualifying on the front row aboard the second of the radX / BMW Motorrad Canada factory entries.
Not to be discounted either is two-time Canadian Superbike Champion Francis Martin of Sherbrooke, Que. The Couturier Racing BMW rider was sixth in round one but was lying third before falling on the final lap.
This weekend’s event will also see doubleheaders for the Pirelli Pro Sport Bike, Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup, K&N Performance Filters Amateur Superbike, Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike and Honda CBR125R Challenge national classes.
Woodbridge, Ont.’s Frank Trombino won the Pro Sport Bike opener at Circuit ICAR on the Suzuki Canada / Hindle / Sturgess Cycle Suzuki GSX-R600 and is a multi-time Shannonville regional champion.
Cody Matechuk of Cochrane, Alta. won the XR1200 Cup curtain raiser at Circuit ICAR after a thrilling duel with legend Steve Crevier, as the class made its national debut.
Alex Coelho of Longueuil, Que. took the first round of the Amateur Superbike Championship on the Black Sheep Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R and Magog, Que.’s Samuel Proulx was the victor in the Amateur Sport Bike class riding the Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson-backed Suzuki GSX-R600.
St-Lazare, Que.’s Stacey Nesbitt leads the Honda CBR125R Challenge point standings after a fifth place finish and a victory in the opening weekend doubleheader at Circuit ICAR.
Practice and qualifying for this weekend’s events take place on Friday. Racers will be battling for the Kawasaki S4-R Lubricants Pole Awards and, in the Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup the Tactical Products Canada Pole Award. Races in all national classes will go Saturday and Sunday.
For ticket information call 1-800-959-8955 or go to www.shannonville.com.
2011 Point Standings
Parts Canada Superbike: 1. Brett McCormick (BMW) 56; 2. Andrew Nelson (BMW) 44; 3. Jordan Szoke (Kawasaki) 40; 4. Alex Welsh (Suzuki) 32; 5. Mike Ferreira (BMW) 30
Pirelli Pro Sport Bike: 1. Frank Trombino (Suzuki) 40; 2. Jeremie Hade-Precourt (Suzuki) 40; 3. Sean Huffman (Honda) 40
Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup: 1. Cody Matechuk 56; 2. Steve Crevier 44; 3. Darren James 40
K&N Performance Filters Amateur Superbike: 1. Alex Coelho (Kawasaki) 50; 2. Alain Lefebvre (Suzuki) 44; 3. Jody Greening (Honda) 39
Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike: 1. Kristopher Garvie (Kawasaki) 44; 2. Samuel Proulx (Suzuki) 42; 3. Jean Francois Aubin (Suzuki) 41
Honda CBR125R Challenge: 1. Stacey Nesbitt 81; 2. Austin Shaw-O’Leary 69; 3. Seth Van Dongen 65
All Time Shannonville Superbike National Wins
Steve Crevier (Maple Ridge, B.C.) 11; Michel Mercier (Thetford Mines, Que.) 5; Pascal Picotte (Granby, Que.) 4; Rueben McMurter (London, Ont.) 3; Francis Martin (Rock Forest, Que.) 3; Miguel Duhamel (Repentigny, Que.) 2; Jeff Gaynor (Toronto) 2; Michael Taylor (Toronto, Ont.) 2; Don Munroe (Halifax, N.S.) 2; Jordan Szoke (Brantford, Ont.) 2; Kevin Lacombe (Granby, Que.) 2; Brett McCormick (Saskatoon, SK) 2, etc.
Shannonville Fast Facts
“¦Honda CBR125R Challenge racer Stacey Nesbitt is the first woman to ever lead a Canadian national road racing class. With her win and fifth place finish in the opening two rounds of the season at Circuit ICAR the 14-year-old from St-Lazare, Que. has a 12-point edge in the standings.
“¦Nesbitt also became the second woman in Canadian national road racing history to claim a race victory. The first was Kathleen Coburn, who won an Amateur 600 Production National in Gimli, Man. in June, 1985.
“¦Although plenty of racers have won consecutive Superbike nationals at Shannonville, should McCormick win Saturday’s race he will join elite company. Only Michel Mercier and Steve Crevier have won three or more in a row. Mercier enjoyed a string of five straight wins at SMP between 1985 and 1987, and Crevier took three in a row from 1991-92.
Provisional Weekend Schedule
Friday, July 1
10:05 a.m. 10:45 a.m. Parts Canada Superbike Pre-Qualifying to lock in top 10 for Pirelli SuperPole
1:00 p.m. 1:25 p.m. Pirelli Pro Sport Bike Qualifying
1:35 p.m. 1:55 p.m. Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike Qualifying
2:05 p.m. Parts Canada Superbike Championship Pirelli SuperPole Qualifying
4:00 p.m. 4:20 p.m. Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup Qualifying
4:30 p.m. 4:50 p.m. K&N Performance Filters Amateur Superbike Qualifying
5:00 p.m. 5:20 p.m. Honda CBR125R Qualifying
Saturday July 2
1:00 p.m. Pirelli Pro Sport Bike Race (18 laps)
Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike Race (14 laps)
Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup Race (16 laps)
2:50 p.m. Parts Canada Superbike Championship Race (20 laps)
Honda CBR125R Challenge Race (10 laps)
K&N Performance Filters Amateur Superbike Race (14 laps)
Sunday July 3
11:40 a.m. Honda CBR125R Challenge Race (10 laps)
1:00 p.m. Pirelli Pro Sport Bike Race (18 laps)
Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike Race (14 laps)
Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup Race (16 laps)
2:50 p.m. Parts Canada Superbike Championship Race (20 laps)
K&N Performance Filters Amateur Superbike Race (14 laps)