Sunoco/BCR rookie race heats up at halfway point BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (August 9, 2013) – As the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship begins its second half this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the battle for the Sunoco/Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year Award is heating up. Just nine points separate season leader Kristopher Garvie from second place rider Austin Shaw-O’Leary heading into this weekend’s doubleheader, the fourth and fifth rounds of the six-race season, and three different riders have claimed the $500 Rookie of the Race award in the opening three races. Garvie opened the year as the top rookie at Shannonville Motorsport Park with an eighth-place finish in the Mopar Pro Superbike feature on his Honda Canada / Genics Inc. Honda CBR600RR. The former Bazzaz / Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike national champion from Caledon, Ont. followed up with a 10th at Autodrome St-Eustache and a fine fifth two weeks ago at Atlantic Motorsport Park. Shaw-O’Leary, meanwhile, is coming off an outstanding weekend at his home track of AMP. The Falmouth, N.S. teenager qualified on the front row and finished fourth aboard his O’Leary Bros. / Pro Cycle / GoLo Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 to take the $500 top rookie prize. After a slow start to the season, Shaw-O’Leary is starting to show the confidence that helped him excel in the Amateur ranks last summer before a leg injury cut short his season. Not to be discounted from the Sunoco / BCR Pro Rookie race is Mississauga, Ont.’s Trevor Daley, who enters this weekend’s action at CTMP third in the rookie standings with 27 points. The 2012 Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike champion took the $500 top rookie award at St-Eustache with a sixth place Pro Superbike finish on the ProStar Motorsports / One Speed Honda CBR1000RR. Unfortunately, crashes at Shannonville and AMP have slowed his season, but Daley has shown the ability to run near the front of the Pro Superbike field. He has qualified in the top 10 easily in each of the first three races. Sunoco is the spec fuel supplier for the 2013 Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship, and all racers in the feature class run exclusively on Sunoco 260 GTX fuel. Longtime race supporters Brooklin Cycle Racing is the vendor of the Sunoco fuel at each Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship round, and has joined with Sunoco to sponsor this year’s Pro Rookie of the Year Award. The top finishing rookie in the Pro Superbike class at each Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship round receives a $500 cash prize from Sunoco and BCR, while points are tabulated at each round to determine the year-end Sunoco / Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year. This weekend’s action at CTMP opens Friday with qualifying for all six national classes, including the Magneti Marelli SuperPole in the Pro Superbike division. A full slate of feature races is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available by calling 1-800-866-1072 or (905) 983-9141, or by emailing [email protected]. Fans can also visit the website at www.canadiantiremotorsportpark.com. Video coverage of both Mopar Pro Superbike races, Sunday’s Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup round and Saturday’s Honda CBR250R National will be available on www.csbk.ca, as well as highlights from the Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike races.