Szoke goes for a “perfect 10” at Mopar CSBK finale

TORONTO, Ont. (August 13, 2015) – Jordan Szoke will try to keep one more date with history as the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship concludes its 2015 season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park this weekend.

Two weeks after claiming a milestone 50th all-time national Superbike win at Atlantic Motorsport Park, the runaway leader of the Pro Superbike point standings will look to lock up a 10th Canadian Superbike crown, a feat never before accomplished in the 35-year history of the sport.

The Brantford, Ont.-born resident of Lynden, Ont. is also looking to complete a perfect season of seven race wins from seven starts. That has only been managed once before, by Szoke himself in 2010.

Szoke heads to CTMP with a massive 91-point lead in the Mopar CSBK standings, having scored 275 of a possible 276 points through the first five events. With 108 points available through qualifying on Friday and this weekend’s pair of Superbike races, his total is not insurmountable, although it will take a massive shift in momentum to deny him the crown.

If there is a glimmer of hope for his rivals, it lies in the fact that the Mopar Express Lane / BMW Motorrad BMW S1000RR rider has not won at CTMP since 2011; he missed last year’s event completely after breaking his thumb in a trials riding accident.

But the 36-year-old does have 10 career victories at the legendary 3.9km (2.459-mile) road circuit, more than any other racer.

Two riders have a mathematical shot at overhauling Szoke for the title. Belfountain, Ont. Pro Superbike rookie Kenny Riedmann moved into second place in the standings with 184 points thanks to a runner-up finish to Szoke at the previous round at AMP. After injuring his shoulder in an opening round fall, the 23-year-old rider of the GE Capital / Sturgess Cycle Kawasaki ZX-10R looks poised to break into the Mopar CSBK win column.

Current number one plate holder Jodi Christie of Keene, Ont. is just two points behind Riedmann, with 182 in the standings. A winner at CTMP last season on his way to his first national title, the 22-year-old Accelerated Technologies / Honda Canada Honda CBR1000RR rider finished second to Szoke in the first three rounds of the series and qualified on pole for the Calabogie MotorSport Park season opener.

There will be a couple of wildcards thrown into the mix. Two-time CTMP race winner Alex Welsh of Uxbridge, Ont. makes a return aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1 backed by Hindle and Parts Canada, while Billy Ethridge of Lawrenceville, Ga. makes his Mopar CSBK debut on a Suzuki GSX-R1000 with support from Dunlop.

In other action at CTMP this weekend, just nine points separate Riedmann and Christie for top spot in the Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike standings. Defending champion Riedmann took over the points lead with 239 thanks to his victory at AMP on his Triumph 675R. Christie has 230 points riding his Honda CBR600RR and is looking to regain the crown he owned from 2011-2013.

The Pro Sport Bike field will be spiced up by the appearance of Thornbury, Ont.’s Ben Young on a Hindle-backed Yamaha YZF-R6. Young has been competing in the MotoAmerica Supersport class this summer with a top finish of third in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

St-Isidore-de-Laprairie, Que.’s Samuel Trepannier leads a tight battle for the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike title with 190 points aboard his BMW S1000RR. No fewer than seven riders head to CTMP with at least a mathematical shot at the championship.

Kawasaki ZX-6R rider Alex Coelho of Brossard, Que. enjoys a 42-point lead over London, Ont. Suzuki GSX-R600 pilot Philip Leckie, 243-201 in the Bell Helmets Amateur Sport Bike standings.

This weekend also sees the debut of the Kawasaki Ninja 300 Racing Series with a race for dealers and Kawasaki staff on Friday afternoon, and a pair of Media/VIP events on Saturday and Sunday. The Media/VIP field will include former Canadian Superbike champion Michael Taylor.

Action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park opens Friday with qualifying for all four national classes, including the Magneti Marelli SuperPole in the Pro Superbike division. Friday will also see Kawasaki staff and dealers compete in the first of the weekend’s three races for the Kawasaki Ninja 300 Racing Series.

Saturday and Sunday will feature full points-paying rounds for the four national classes and the Media/VIP races for the Kawasaki Ninja 300 series.

Ticket information is available through www.mosport.com, emailing [email protected], or by calling (905) 983-9141, Tickets can also be purchased by following the blue ticket link in the event info section at www.csbk.ca.

The official Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship website, www.csbk.ca, will have full race video coverage of this weekend’s Mopar Pro Superbike contests, both posted the morning after the race, as well as one of the Hindle Pro Sport Bike features and one of the Kawasaki Ninja 300 Media/VIP events.

2015 Point Standings

Mopar Pro Superbike: 1. Jordan Szoke (BMW) 275; 2. Kenny Riedmann (Kawasaki) 184; 3. Jodi Christie (Honda) 182; 4. Sebastien Tremblay (Kawasaki) 155; 5. Trevor Daley (Suzuki) 134

Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike: 1. Kenny Riedmann (Triumph) 239; 2. Jodi Christie (Honda) 230; 3. Darren James (Yamaha) 166

Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike: 1. Samuel Trepannier (BMW) 190; 2. Alex Coelho (Kawasaki) 178; 3. Derrick Whyte (Kawasaki) 173

Bell Helmets Amateur Sport Bike: 1. Alex Coelho (Kawasaki) 243; 2. Philip Leckie (Suzuki) 201; 3. Martin Cote (Honda) 140

Recent Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Superbike National Wins

2014 – Frank Trombino (Kleinburg, Ont.) Aprilia / Jodi Christie (Keene, Ont.) Honda

2013 – Bodhi Edie (Warman, Sask.) BMW / Alex Welsh (Uxbridge, Ont.) Suzuki

2012 – Kevin Lacombe (Granby, Que.) BMW / Alex Welsh (Uxbridge, Ont.) Suzuki

2011 – Brett McCormick (Saskatoon, Sask.) BMW / Jordan Szoke (Brantford, Ont.) Kawasaki

2010 – Jordan Szoke (Brantford, Ont.) Honda / Jordan Szoke (Brantford, Ont.) Honda

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Fast Facts

…Jordan Szoke’s 10 national Superbike wins at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park include three doubleheader sweeps – in 2006, 2009 and 2010. His four straight CTMP victories between 2009 and 2010 are matched by former champion Pascal Picotte of Granby, Que., who swept doubleheaders in 2004 and 2005.

…No fewer than seven different motorcycle manufacturers have tasted Superbike victory at CTMP, a unique show of variety in the Canadian series. Yamaha leads the way with 10 victories, followed by Kawasaki on eight, Suzuki with seven, Honda with four, BMW with three, and Ducati and Aprilia with one apiece.

…Canadian Tire Motorsport Park hosted the first ever Superbike event in Canada in the fall of 1978, when the track was still known as Mosport Park. American John Long won the event on a BMW.

Provisional Weekend Schedule

Friday, August 14

11:20 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. – Kawasaki Ninja 300 Qualifying

12:45 p.m. – 1:05 p.m. – Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike Qualifying

1:15 p.m. – 1:35 p.m. – Bell Helmets Amateur Sport Bike Qualifying

1:45 p.m. – 2:25 p.m. – Mopar Pro Superbike Magneti Marelli SuperPole Qualifying

2:45 p.m. – 3:05 p.m. – Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike Qualifying

3:20 p.m. – Kawasaki Ninja 300 Race (8 laps)

Saturday, August 15

11:15 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. – Kawasaki Ninja 300 Qualifying

1:00 p.m. – Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike Race (14 laps)

Bell Helmets Amateur Sport Bike Race (12 laps)

Kawasaki Ninja 300 Race (10 laps)

3:00 p.m. – Mopar Pro Superbike Race (20 laps)

Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike Race (12 laps)

Sunday, August 16

1:00 p.m. – Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike Race (14 laps)

Bell Helmets Amateur Sport Bike Race (12 laps)

Kawasaki Ninja 300 Race (10 laps)

3:00 p.m. – Mopar Pro Superbike Race (20 laps)

Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike Race (12 laps)