BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (August 16, 2015) – Jordan Szoke was in seventh heaven following the final round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday.
With victory in the 20-lap season finale the Lynden, Ont. rider completed a perfect season of seven wins from seven races aboard his Mopar Express Lane / BMW Motorrad BMW S1000RR. Szoke is the only rider to sweep all races in a Canadian Superbike Championship season in its 35-year history. He also managed the feat in 2010.
On Saturday Szoke had clinched his 10th Canadian Superbike crown.
The 36-year-old had to work hard for his perfect win record. For the second day in a row he battled tooth-and-nail with Kenny Riedmann aboard the GE Capital / Sturgess Cycle Kawasaki ZX-10R.
“It’s one thing to win a race; it’s another thing to win a perfect season,” said Szoke after his 12th career victory at CTMP and 52nd overall in Canadian Superbike competition. “What an amazing feat for the whole team! Most of the races this year have been wicked just like this one. I’m looking forward to repeating this next year.”
Riedmann led at the start of the final lap around CTMP’s 10-turn, 3.957km (2.459-mile) road course only to have Szoke steam past him on the Mario Andretti Straight heading into turn 8. Riedmann tried to reply in the last corner but instead went wide, allowing Uxbridge, Ont.’s Alex Welsh to sneak by into second place at the line on the Hindle / Parts Canada Yamaha YZF-R1M. Welsh wound up just 0.402 secs. behind Szoke while Riedmann settled for third, just 0.046 secs. back of Welsh’s Yamaha.
Szoke completed the race distance in 27 minutes, 29.725 seconds for an average speed of 172.698km/h (103.619 mph). He set the race’s fastest lap on his final tour, a 1:21.677.
No fewer than four different riders took a turn at the front and for the opening six laps the top spot was furiously disputed between Riedmann, Szoke, Welsh and Jodi Christie on the Accelerated Technologies / Honda Canada Honda CBR1000RR SP. Christie led a couple of times past the start/finish stripe but the outgoing Mopar CSBK champ crashed in turn 8 on lap 7, without injury.
With Christie gone, Szoke and Riedmann swapped the lead back and forth over the remaining laps, with Welsh keeping in close touch in third. There were nine official lead changes between Szoke and Riedmann over the final 13 laps of the race. In total there were 13 official lead changes over the 20 laps between Welsh, Christie, Riedmann and Szoke.
“Kenny’s riding really well,” Szoke admitted. “He’s smart and aggressive and that bike has a rocketship motor. He could go by me on the straights. I put my head down on the first lap to try to get away but I just couldn’t break the draft. I got by him in turn 8 on the last lap and held it through 10.”
In his first Mopar Canadian Superbike appearance of the year Welsh had qualified fastest during Magneti Marelli SuperPole qualifying on Saturday morning only to crash out of that afternoon’s race. After leading the opening lap on Sunday he settled in at the rear of the lead train before taking advantage of Riedmann’s miscue at the last turn.
“I can’t believe how everyone welcomed me back to racing with open arms,” said Welsh, a two-time Superbike winner at CTMP. “We only started building the R1 a week and a half ago.”
Riedmann’s fifth straight podium finish assured him of second place in the Mopar CSBK point standings in his first season aboard a true Superbike, and for the second day in a row the 23-year-old reaped the two-point bonus for leading the most laps in the race.
“I thought I learned in the first race how to beat Jordan, but I think I failed in that,” said Riedmann, who finished second to Szoke on Saturday. “Jordan is really strong in turns 1 and 2. Even when he went by me I thought I could keep his pace, but he’s got a lot of experience around here.”
For the second day in a row Chris Murray-Audain briefly climbed into the lead battle but after spending a few laps on the back of Welsh’s Yamaha the Scarborough, Ont. racer faded to fourth on his BMW S1000RR, 4.812 secs. behind Welsh.
Kemptville, Ont.’s Sean Huffman grabbed fifth place from Mirabel, Que. rider Sebastien Tremblay after a good scrap over the second half of the race. Tremblay worked his way up from 10th on lap 2 with the MotoNation / Laval Moto Kawasaki ZX-10R to pass Huffman’s Endras / Pro 6 Cycle / Forsaken Motorsports BMW S1000RR on lap 15, only to have Huffman return the favour on the final lap.
With sixth place Tremblay secured fourth place in the final Mopar CSBK standings with 205 points, just 14 behind Christie.
Front row starter Matt McBride finished seventh on the Riders Choice BMW S1000RR, just ahead of a fast closing Tim Robinson aboard the Robinson Racing / Gym-Max BMW S1000RR. The Gatineau, Que. rider had worked his way up from 13th place on the opening lap.
Michael Leon of Beaconsfield, Que. took ninth on the Royal Distributing / Multi-Tact BMW S1000RR and the top 10 was rounded out by series newcomer Billy Ethridge of Lawrenceville, Ga., riding the BEI Racing / Dunlop Suzuki GSX-R1000.
In a dramatic conclusion to the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year battle, Tomas Casas of Peterborough, Ont. finished the race in 14th spot on his Parts Canada / Peterborough Cycle Salvage Yamaha YZF-R6, one position ahead of St_Lazare, Que.’s Stacey Nesbitt on her Statoni Racing / Honda Canada Honda CBR600RR, resulting in a tie for the rookie award.
Szoke’s Waznie Racing crew was named the Inside Motorcycles Team of the Year.
In other action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Riedmann clinched his second straight Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike title in style with a dramatic victory over Thornbury, Ont. racer Ben Young and Will Hornblower of Sarnia, Ont. in Sunday’s 14-lap season finale.
Riding the Castrol Triumph 675R Riedmann edged Young’s Hindle Yamaha YZF-R6 by just 0.066 secs. at the line after the pair had swapped the top spot repeatedly throughout the race. Hornblower was just 0.283 secs. behind at the finish on the 402bike.com / Bob’s Motorsport Yamaha YZF-R6.
“That was probably the most fun I’ve had on a motorcycle right there,” Riedmann enthused. “I was really looking forward to racing with Ben. It was the hardest fight I’ve had so far. I’ve never seen Ben ride that hard before. I had to work really hard and we battled right to the end.
“I’d really like to thank Triumph. They’ve been with me since 2009 when I was an amateur.”
Riedmann’s fifth straight win gave him 347 points to the 300 of Christie, the only rider who came into the race with a shot of snatching the Pro Sport Bike crown. After challenging for the lead most of the way on his Honda CBR600RR the Keene, Ont. faded to seventh at the finish with apparent mechanical issues.
Newcastle, Ont.’s Elie Daccache took fourth on his Yamaha YZF-R6 after holding off the Wall Energy / Mikey Moto Honda CBR600RR of Caledon, Ont. rider Kristopher Garvie at the finish.
With his second victory in a row Derrick Whyte came from behind in the standings to snatch the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike title at CTMP on Sunday. The Oshawa, Ont. rider took his Kawasaki ZX-10R to a convincing 9.174-sec. victory over the BMW S1000RR ridden by Ottawa’s Jason Thoms to finish the year with 279 points to the 235 of Samuel Trepanier. The class points leader coming into the final round, St-Isidore-de-Laprairie, Que.’s Trepanier was unable to start Sunday’s race due to apparent mechanical issues with his BMW S1000RR.
Philip Leckie of London, Ont. finished the 10-lap race third on a Kawasaki ZX-10R and snuck into third in the final standings.
Alex Coelho dominated the final round of the Bell Helmets Amateur Sport Bike Championship to claim his fourth victory of the season and clinch the title. Riding a Kawasaki ZX-6R the Brossard, Que. racer led all 10 laps and finished 2.873 secs. ahead of Milton, Ont.’s Andrew Burgel aboard a Yamaha YZF-R6. Burgel snatched the runner-up spot on the final lap from the Honda CBR600RR ridden by Notre Dame de l’Ile Perrot, Que.’s Martin Cote, who nevertheless made a strong charge up from ninth on the starting grid for the second day in a row.
Leckie came into the final round with a shot at taking the Amateur Sport Bike title from Coelho but lost two laps in the pits at the start of the race with suspected mechanical issues on his Suzuki GSX-R600.
Mississauga, Ont.’s Matt McBride won another exciting Kawasaki Ninja 300 Racing Series VIP/Media event, edging out Halifax’s Adam Roberts and Doug Lawrence, also from Mississauga. Just 1.259 secs. covered the top eight finishers after 10 laps.
Combined with his second place finish on Saturday, flat track racer Lawrence took the two-race weekend championship by just a point over former Grand Prix competitor Roberts, who had placed fourth on Saturday, and two-time Canadian Superbike champion Michael Taylor of Toronto, who after winning Saturday’s race finished sixth on Sunday.
The official Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship website, www.csbk.ca, will have full race video coverage of both of this weekend’s Mopar Pro Superbike contests, as well as one of the Hindle Pro Sport Bike features and one of the Kawasaki Ninja 300 Media/VIP events.
BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (August 16) – Results of Sunday’s seventh round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, showing finishing position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and laps completed:
1. Jordan Szoke, Lynden, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20 (172.698km/h)
2. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1M, 20
3. Kenny Riedmann, Belfountain, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 20
4. Chris Murray-Audain, Scarborough, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20
5. Sean Huffmann, Kemptville, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20
6. Sebastien Tremblay, Mirabel, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 20
7. Matt McBride, Mississauga, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20
8. Tim Robinson, Gatineau, Que., BMW S1000RR, 20
9. Michael Leon, Beaconsfield, Que., BMW S1000RR, 20
10. Billy Ethridge, Lawrenceville, Ga., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 20
11. Franklyn Dominguez, Montreal, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 20
12. Justin Knapik, Edmonton, Alta., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 20
13. Sean Heydorn, Stouffville, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20
14. Tomas Casas, Peterborough, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6, 20
15. Stacey Nesbitt, St-Lazare, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 19
Did Not Finish
Trevor Daley, Mississauga, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 17
Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 16
Darren James, North Vancouver, B.C., Yamaha YZF-R1, 11
Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 6
Reiner Griese, Wellington, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 6
Did Not Start
Will Hornblower, Sarnia, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6
Jeff Williams, Inverary, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6
Louie Raffa, Ste-Marthe, Que., Honda CBR600RR
Elie Daccache, Newcastle, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6
Brent Strong, Mississauga, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6
Jean-Francois Cyr, Terrebonne, Que., Triumph 675R
Time of Race: 27:29.725
Average Speed: 172.698km/h
Margin of Victory: 0.402 secs.
Fastest Lap: 1:21.677 by Jordan Szoke on lap 20
Lap Leaders: Alex Welsh 1, Jodi Christie 2, Kenny Riedmann 3, Christie 4, Riedmann 5-6, Jordan Szoke 7, Riedmann 8-9, Szoke 10, Riedmann 11-13, Szoke 14, Riedmann 15-16, Szoke 17-18, Riedmann 19, Szoke 20
Final Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship point standings, showing position, rider name and point total:
1.Jordan Szoke, 378
2. Kenny Riedmann, 268
2. Jodi Christie, 219
4. Sebastien Tremblay, 205
5. Trevor Daley, 166
6. Michael Leon, 136
7. Tomas Casas, 106
8. Stacey Nesbitt, 106
9. Sean Huffman, 85
10. Chris Murray-Audain, 82
11. Justin Knapik, 80
12. Franklyn Dominguez, 78
13. Reiner Griese, 58
14. Mike Zottmann, 54
15. Matt McBride, 54
16. Alex Welsh, 46
17. Ross Millson, 46
18. Shane Caravan, 44
19. Tim Robinson, 44
20. Kristopher Garvie, 40
21. Bez Cajee, 40
22. Billy Ethridge, 31
23. John Crump, 30
24. Spero Benias, 27
25. Jim Proulx, 23
26. Ken LaLonde, 23
27. Ron Munroe, 21
28. Sean Heydorn, 21
29. Geoff Cole, 17
30. Darren James, 17
31. Ernie McCafferty, 14
32. Colin Lolacher, 14
33. Will Hornblower, 1