Szoke on Superbike pole at Atlantic Motorsport Park

SHUBENACADIE, N.S. (July 26, 2014) – Jordan Szoke took another step toward winning his 10th national Superbike title by qualifying on pole Saturday for this weekend’s third round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Atlantic Motorsport Park.

Riding the Waznie Racing / BMW Motorrad / Mopar Express Lane BMW S1000RR the Brantford, Ont. racer turned a lap at one minute, 7.610 seconds (136.311km/h) in Magneti Marelli SuperPole to keep his perfect 2014 qualifying record intact and earn four more points toward the Mopar Canadian Superbike title.

His closest rival in the championship, Jodi Christie qualified second with a time of 1:07.730 on the Jodi Christie Racing / Honda Canada / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR1000RR and picked up three championship points. The Keene, Ont. rider now trails Szoke by 23 points, 116-93, with 50 points on the line in Sunday’s 22-lap race.

“The weather was nice and hot going into the session and we knew that would work well with the Dunlop tires,” said the 35-year-old Szoke, who is going after a record-tying seventh Superbike win at AMP. “In the session before the SuperPole we did some work with the electronics and found one engine map we really liked. After that it was just a matter of trying to find a clear track.”

Szoke put in his fast lap early in the 15-minute Magneti Marelli SuperPole session and then waited to see if Christie could top it.

“When I saw the lap time I thought we had it for sure,” Szoke admitted. “But my hat’s off to Jodi. He made it close. He’s going really fast and showing a lot of confidence. It should make for a great race tomorrow.”

Christie edged Szoke and Alex Welsh in last year’s Mopar Canadian Superbike round at AMP for his first national Superbike win. The 22-year-old has finished second to Szoke in the first two rounds of this year’s series.

“I was making little mistakes during SuperPole and I stayed out and kept trying to put in a fast lap when really I should have come into the pits and taken a minute to regroup,” Christie said. “It was mostly in the first half of the track, a few times in turn one and also exiting turn two. But being on the front row is important and tomorrow getting a good start will be all that matters. It’s going to be between Jordan and I.”

Trevor Daley recovered from mechanical issues on Friday to qualify third fastest in SuperPole with a time of 1:09.649 aboard the ProStar Motorsports / One Speed Honda CBR1000RR.

“We had a problem with the fuel pump and it was really hard to diagnose,” said the Mississauga, Ont. racer, who is third in the Mopar Canadian Superbike point standings heading into Sunday’s race. “Fortunately Jodi’s team had an extra pump, so thanks to them for helping us out. Considering that we only got things sorted out this morning I’m pretty happy overall and excited for tomorrow.”

Belfountain, Ont.’s Kenny Riedmann completes the front row for Sunday’s race after turning a lap at 1:10.303 on his Riedmann Racing / Castrol Triumph 675.

“The tires had a lot of laps on them and we tried some set-up changes that didn’t work,” Riedmann said. “We’ll work on some things tonight to try and improve the stability over the bumps.”

Sarnia, Ont.’s Will Hornblower was fifth fastest in qualifying with a time of 1:10.406 on the Hornblower Racing / Blue Streak Yamaha YZF-R6. He will be joined on the second row of the grid by St-Lazare, Que. racer Franklyn Dominguez, who recorded a time of 1:11.244 on the OCM Motor Sports / egopay.com Kawasaki ZX-10R, and the MotoNation / Laval Moto / CrossfitLaval.com Kawasaki ZX-10R of Longueuil, Que.’s Sebastien Tremblay, who lapped at 1:11.699.

Kristopher Garvie of Caledon, Ont. (Honda Canada / Fast Company / Platinum Painting Honda CBR1000RR) and Schomburg, Ont.’s Marco Sousa (Z1 Cycletech BMW S1000RR) will line up on the third row of the grid alongside top local riders Caleb Noiles of Upper Coverdale, N.B. (C&C Racing / Capstan Haulage / Toys For Big Boys Honda CBR600RR) and Beaver Bank, N.S.’s Ron Munroe (Freedom Cycle Kawasaki ZX-10R).

In other action at Atlantic Motorsport Park, Christie qualified on pole for Sunday’s Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike race to gain a point on championship leader Riedmann, who will start second. Christie set a time of 1:09.097 on his Honda CBR600RR while Riedmann managed a 1:09.750 aboard the Triumph 675.

Riedmann now leads Christie by four points, 99-95 in the Pro Sport Bike standings.

Hornblower starts third on Sunday after qualifying with a time of 1:10.759 on his Yamaha YZF-R6 and Daley completes the front row after setting the fourth best time of 1:11.107 aboard his Honda CBR600RR.

Noiles starts on the second row in sixth spot on his Honda CBR600RR.

Tomas Casas moved up to third in the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike standings by earning the four points for qualifying on pole for Sunday’s race. The Peterborough, Ont. rider turned a lap at 1:12.633 on his OCM Motor Sports / Peterborough Cycle Salvage Honda CBR600RR.

Stacey Nesbitt of St-Lazare, Que. was second quickest on the OCM Motor Sports / FTR / Honda Canada Honda CBR600RR and moved to within three points of class leader Pedro Sousa. The Mississauga, Ont. rider, stiff and sore following a fall on Friday qualified seventh on his Honda CBR1000RR.

Lee Hammond of Lakeview, N.S. will start fifth on a Kawasaki ZX-6R.

Casas stretched his lead in the Bell Helmets Amateur Sport Bike class by qualifying fastest on Saturday with a time of 1:12.110 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Casas has 96 points to the 87 of Nesbitt, who will start third on her Honda CBR600RR.

Hammond set the fourth fastest time riding his Kawasaki ZX-6R.

Jacob Shaw-O’Leary of Falmouth, N.S. won his second Honda CBR250R National Race Series event of the year and closed to within 11 points of Eric Quintin for the class points lead. Riding the Pro Cycle-backed entry, Shaw-O’Leary finished 9.339 secs. ahead of Notre Dame de l’Ile Perrot, Que.’s Quintin after Cameron Walker crashed unhurt from second place in the final turn on the last lap.

Walker’s brother Jared picked up the final podium spot.

Quintin now has 228 points to Shaw-O’Leary’s 217 heading into Sunday’s second race for the CBR250R class, while Oakville, Ont.’s Cameron Walker is now third with 180 points.

Action at Atlantic Motorsport Park concludes Sunday with feature races in all five national classes. Practice begins at 9:00 a.m. with the first race, for the Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike competitors, set to launch at 1:00 p.m.

For ticket information call the track at (902) 758-2237 or the Atlantic Roadracing League at (902) 499-3610. Fans can also visit www.atlanticmotorsportpark.com or www.atlanticmotorsportpark.com for more details.

The official Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship website, www.csbk.ca, will have full race video coverage of Saturday’s round of the Honda CBR250R National Race Series, as well as Sunday’s Hindle Pro Sport Bike and Mopar Pro Superbike feature events.

SHUBENACADIE, N.S. (July 26) – Starting line-up for Sunday’s third round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Atlantic Motorsport Park, showing starting position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and qualifying time:

1.Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:07.610 (136.311km/h)

2. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 1:07.730

3. Trevor Daley, Mississauga, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 1:09.649

4. Kenny Riedmann, Belfountain, Ont., Triumph 675, 1:10.303

5. Will Hornblower, Sarnia, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:10.406

6. Franklyn Dominguez, St-Lazare, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:11.244

7. Sebastien Tremblay, Longueuil, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:11.699

8. Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 1:11.772

9. Marco Sousa, Schomberg, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:13.984

10. Caleb Noiles, Upper Cloverdale, N.B., Honda CBR600RR, No Time

11. Ron Munroe, Beaver Bank, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:14.584

12. Crowdis Roberts, Dartmouth, N.S., Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:14.743

13. Louie Raffa, Ste-Marthe, Que., Honda CBR600RR, No Time