Szoke completes Mopar CSBK sweep
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
ST-EUSTACHE, Que. – Jordan Szoke completed a sweep of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship doubleheader at Autodrome St-Eustache with victory in Sunday’s 22-lap race aboard his Express Lane / Motovan / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR.
After an exciting battle with Kenny Riedmann and Ben Young over the early laps Lynden, Ont.’s Szoke took the lead for good on lap 9 and pulled clear for his sixth straight Superbike win at St-Eustache and his 10th consecutive Mopar CSBK win.
Riedmann finished second on the Sturgess Cycle / Liqui Moly / Speed And Strength Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja, 4.835 secs. behind Szoke, while Young completed the podium riding the Tim Horton’s / Scot-Build Developments / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR.
The top three positions were identical to Saturday’s opening race of the doubleheader weekend.
“It was really exciting and a lot of fun battling with Kenny and Ben and it shows how competitive the series is this year,” said the 37-year-old Szoke, who has now won an all-time leading 55 Canadian Superbike races. “I wanted to settle in but I also wanted to avoid getting caught up in anything. I was trying to be smart out there.”
Szoke averaged 151.162km/h (90.697 mph) over the 42.46km (25.476-mile) race distance.
Mopar CSBK newcomer Young grabbed the holeshot from his front row position and led Kevin Lacombe, Riedmann and Szoke after the opening lap. Riedmann moved up to second on lap 2 and then took the lead on lap 4, while Szoke got up into second spot after six laps of the 1.93km (1.2-mile) 10-turn St-Eustache circuit.
As on Saturday, Szoke made his move for the lead at the end of the backstraight under braking for the chicane, on lap 9. Once in front, Szoke set the race’s fastest lap, a 45.333 on lap 10 and managed to open up a gap to his pursuers.
“I didn’t feel too much pressure to make a great start but I wish I’d made a better start,” admitted Szoke, who took the Dalton Timmis Insurance Pole Award in qualifying on Saturday. “The track was greasier today and the tire was really spinning up so you had to manage things.
“We did our homework this winter and Fast Company helped us get more power out of this engine.”
Although unable to catch Szoke, Riedmann managed to pull away from Young to score his third straight runner-up finish of the 2016 Mopar CSBK season.
“It was an exciting battle with Jordan and Ben and it’s difficult to pass here,” explained Belfountain, Ont.’s Riedmann, who was runner-up to Szoke in last year’s Mopar CSBK standings. “Once Jordan got by me he seemed to just put his head down for a couple of laps. We found a great set-up for today and the bike was definitely better than yesterday.”
Young battled handling problems as the race wore on but the Collingwood, Ont. racer managed to secure a second straight podium finish on the weekend.
“It was a lot of fun to lead my first Superbike race,” said the rookie Pro CSBK competitor. “I don’t know what I did right at the start. But as the race went on I couldn’t get the grip. I think it was just the heat today.”
Szoke now leads the Mopar CSBK standings after three of seven races with 162 points to the 129 of Riedmann and Young’s 109.
After running in second on the opening lap Lacombe slipped into a fierce battle for fourth with Sebastien Tremblay and Michael Leon. Riding the Motosport St-Cesaire / Motovan / Zox Yamaha YZF-R1, Lacombe held off Tremblay and Leon until lap 13, when Tremblay got his MotoNation / Laval Moto Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja ahead. The Mirabel, Que. racer eventually pulled clear to secure fourth place, finding his Kawasaki handling much better after overnight set-up changes.
Beaconsfield, Que.’s Leon also got around Lacombe and crossed the line in fifth with his Royal Distributing Race Team / BMW Motorrad Canada / Pro 6 Cycle BMW S1000RR, while Lacombe settled for sixth, the St-Cesaire, Que. racer finding himself battling electronics issues and fading brakes in the closing stages.
Trevor Daley of Mississauga, Ont. ran a lonely race to seventh on his OneSpeed Yamaha YZF-R1, while St-Isidore de LaPrairie, Que.’s Samuel Trepanier took eighth aboard his BMW S1000RR after a lengthy battle with the Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja of Franklyn Dominguez.
Dominguez spent the last eight laps of the race trying to hold off the advances of fellow Kawasaki rider Derrick Whyte, who finally grabbed ninth spot from Dominguez two laps from home on his Snow City / Kawasaki / Lucas Oil-sponsored Ninja. Montreal’s Dominguez completed the top 10 finishers.
In other action at St-Eustache, Riedmann scored his second straight Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike victory of the season on his Kawasaki ZX-6R. The Belfountain, Ont. rider took the lead from a fast starting Alex Coelho on the opening lap of the red-flag interrupted, 10-lap race and led the rest of the way.
Last year’s Pro Sport Bike winner at St-Eustache, Louie Raffa of Ste-Marthe, Que. finished second, 1.888 secs. behind Riedmann on his Raffa Racing / Fog Off / Motosport St-Eustache Honda CBR600RR and Brossard, Que.’s Coelho placed third riding the Black Sheep Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R.
Coelho’s fellow rookie Pros Phillip Leckie and Martin Cote placed fourth and fifth, respectively. London, Ont.’s Leckie was aboard a Kawasaki ZX-6R while Cote, from Notre Dame de l’Ile Perrot, Que., was riding a Honda CBR600RR.
Michael Taylor had battled with Riedmann for the lead in the first part of the race but crashed his Triumph Canada / GP Bikes / Goderich Toyota Triumph 675R on the opening lap of the restart and the Toronto rider was unable to rejoin despite several attempts to restart his bike.
After being left on the line at the start of the original race Peterborough, Ont.’s Tomas Casas had worked his way up to sixth before crashing on lap 7 and bringing out the red flag. The rider of the Peterborough Cycle Salvage / Parts Canada Yamaha YZF-R6 was not seriously hurt in the fall.
Mississauga, Ont.’s Doug Lawrence made a spectacular debut in the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike class, the Canadian Flat Track champion taking the lead on the final lap to score a stunning victory on his Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja.
Top qualifier Ernest Bernhard of Ste-Brigide, Que. finished second on his Yamaha YZF-R1, just 0.414 secs. behind Lawrence, while Montreal’s Jean-Marc Bilger completed the podium riding a BMW S1000RR.
Alexandre Guay of Levis, Que. worked his way up from seventh on the opening lap to win the 16-lap Shoei Premium Helmets Amateur Sport Bike race. Riding a Yamaha YZF-R6, Guay passed racelong leader Samuel Desmarais on the final lap and held off the Honda CBR600RR rider from Lasalle, Que. by just 0.448 secs. at the line.
Ottawa’s Chris Brent, the opening round winner, was also part of the lead battle and took a close third place finish on his Honda CBR600RR.
Brandon Pemberton scored his first win of the season in the Kawasaki 300 Ninja Spec National Series to close the points gap to Eric Quintin in the class standings. After a racelong battle with the series leader Pemberton secured the win when Quintin ran off the track two corners from the finish. The Windsor, N.S. rider crossed the line 3.312 secs. ahead of Ile Perrot, Que.’s Quintin, who now leads the standings by 28 points, 288-260 heading to Pemberton’s home track of Atlantic Motorsport Park.
Jared Walker of Oakville, Ont. recovered from a first lap fall to place third and maintain third place in the point standings.
Both of this weekend’s Superbike feature races will be shown on TSN1, presented by Dalton Timmis Insurance. Saturday’s race is due to premiere on July 11 at 7:30 p.m. with Sunday’s round slated for an August 2, 7:30 p.m. premiere. Check www.csbk.ca or local listings for any changes as well as rebroadcast dates and times.
Video coverage of Sunday’s Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike Championship race will be available at www.csbk.ca on Monday morning.
The Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship continues with a doubleheader weekend at Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, N.S. July 15-17. The event will feature two points-paying races for all five national classes.
Information is available online at www.atlanticmotorsportpark.com or www.atlanticmotorsportpark.com or by calling Pro Cycle at (902) 468-2518.
ST-EUSTACHE, Que. (June 26) – Results of Sunday’s round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Autodrome St-Eustache, showing finishing position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and laps completed:
1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 22 (151.162km/h)
2. Kenny Riedmann, Belfountain, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 22
3. Ben Young, Collingwood, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 22
4. Sebastien Tremblay, Mirabel, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 22
5. Michael Leon, Beaconsfield, Que., BMW S1000RR, 22
6. Kevin Lacombe, St-Cesaire, Que., Yamaha YZF-R1, 22
7. Trevor Daley, Mississauga, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 22
8. Samuel Trepanier, St-Isidore-de-Laprairie, Que., BMW S1000RR, 22
9. Derrick Whyte, Oshawa, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 22
10. Franklyn Dominguez, Montreal, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 22
11. Philip Leckie, London, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 21
12. Alex Coelho, Brossard, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 21
13. Pedro Sousa, Mississauga, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 21
14. Marco Sousa, Schomburg, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 21
15. Martin Cote, Notre Dame de L’Ile Perrot, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 21
Did Not Finish
Reiner Griese, Picton, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 6
Did Not Start
Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask., Yamaha YZF-R1
Michael Taylor, Toronto, Ont., Triumph 675
Tomas Casas, Peterborough, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6
Louie Raffa, Ste-Marthe, Que., Honda CBR600RR
Stacey Nesbitt, St-Lazare, Que., Honda CBR600RR
Grant Smith, Ottawa, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R
Time of Race: 16:51.207
Average Speed: 151.162km/h
Margin of Victory: 4.835 secs.
Fastest Lap: 45.333 by Jordan Szoke on lap 10
Lap Leaders: Ben Young, 1-3, Kenny Riedmann 4-8, Jordan Szoke 9-22
Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship point standings after three of seven rounds, showing position, rider name and point total:
1.Jordan Szoke, 162
2. Kenny Riedmann, 129
3. Ben Young, 109
4. Michael Leon, 87
5. Sebastien Tremblay, 84
6. Trevor Daley, 77
7. Samuel Trepannier, 63
8. Kevin Lacombe, 62
9. Derrick Whyte, 57
10. Franklyn Dominguez, 52
11. Matt McBride, 42
12. Pedro Sousa, 40
13. Michael Taylor, 30
13. Marco Sousa, 30
15. Alex Coelho, 25
16. Bodhi Edie, 21
17. Chris Murray-Audain, 19
17. Tomas Casas, 19
19. Martin Cote, 18