Szoke tops Jennings test From Professional Motorsports Productions JENNINGS, Fla. Defending Parts Canada Superbike Champion Jordan Szoke set the pace through two days of testing at Jennings GP in northern Florida this week. The Brantford, Ont. rider ended the Official Pirelli Tire Test with the fastest Superbike time of one minute, 15.643 seconds aboard his Canadian Kawasaki factory Kawasaki ZX-10R. Szoke set his time on Tuesday’s final day of testing, when temperatures were considerably warmer than on Monday. “We’re really happy, we did what we set out to do,” Szoke said. “We did a couple of long stints, and we’re really pleased with the way the Pirellis were working we didn’t vary as much as a second over a race simulation.” Granby, Que.’s Pascal Picotte trimmed nearly a second and a half off his Monday time to wind up second on Tuesday with a time of 1:15.690 on the Team Suzuki / Blackfoot Motosports / Picotte Performance Suzuki GSX-R1000. But the former two-time Parts Canada Superbike champ suffered a big crash late in the day, on what was his first flying lap of the final session. Picotte reportedly slipped off the left side of his bike entering turn 1 and the GSX-R1000 slid through the sandy run-off. Picotte was unhurt in the incident. Third fastest on Tuesday, and overall for the test, was Granby rider Kevin Lacombe on the Team Toyota Yamaha / Brooklin Cycle Yamaha YZF-R1. Lacombe, the runner-up to Szoke in last year’s Superbike title fight, set a best time of 1:16.494. Fourth overall was Picotte’s teammate Francis Martin of Rock Forest, Que. with a time of 1:16.988 on his GSX-R1000 and fifth went to Matthew McBride with a 1:17.747 aboard his Rider’s Choice GSX-R1000. The Mississauga, Ont. racer was one of only two riders to set his best time on Monday. Six-time national Superbike champ Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, B.C. was sixth in his debut with the Team Toyota Yamaha/Fast Company YZF-R1 at 1:17.763 and new Kawasaki signing Brett McCormick of Saskatoon, Sask. placed seventh at 1:18.457. “That thing exceeded my expectations, it’s really fast,” said the 15-year-old McCormick, last year’s Amateur racing sensation, of his ZX-10R Superbike. “You get off the Superbike and back on to a 600, and suddenly the bike you’re used to doesn’t seem so fast anymore.” Lacombe wound up with the fastest time in Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike testing with a 1:16.052 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Szoke, the defending champion in that class as well, was unable to improve on his Monday time and placed second with a 1:16.565 on the new Kawasaki ZX-6R, while Picotte took third with a 1:16.685 on his Suzuki GSX-R600. Conditions on Monday were challenging as temperatures hovered around the freezing mark early in the day before peaking in the mid-70s Fahrenheit in the afternoon. On Tuesday, however, track temperatures exceeded 50 degrees Celsius.