Szoke clinches 10th title and stays perfect at CTMP
BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (August 15, 2015) – Jordan Szoke clinched his 10th Canadian Superbike title and kept his bid for a perfect season intact by winning the sixth round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Saturday.
The Lynden, Ont. rider aboard the Mopar Express Lane / BMW Motorrad BMW S1000RR ran second to Kenny Riedmann through most of the 20-lap race around the challenging 10-turn, 3.957km (2.459-mile) road course before taking the lead going into turn 9 on the final tour. He then held off Riedmann’s GE Capital / Sturgess Cycle Kawasaki ZX-10R by 0.272 secs. for his sixth win of the season and the 51st of his career.
“I love coming here,” said Szoke after his 11th victory at CTMP but his first at the track since 2011. “Sometimes you get into championship management mode but you end up battling with someone during the race. Why not battle for the lead with someone you know?”
Outgoing champion Jodi Christie placed third on the Accelerated Technologies / Honda Canada Honda CBR1000RR, just 0.632 secs. behind Szoke after running in the lead fight all race. He just held off the OneSpeed / Parts Canada / Suzuki Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Trevor Daley, as the top four were covered by just 0.700 secs. at the finish.
Szoke’s win gives him an insurmountable 99-point lead over Riedmann in the Mopar CSBK standings, 328-229, with just Sunday’s season finale to go. A race win is worth 50 points.
By finishing second and taking the two-point bonus for leading the most laps, Belfountain, Ont.’s Riedmann was able to increase his lead over Christie to 10 points in the fight for second spot in the point standings.
Szoke grabbed the holeshot at the start of the race but on lap 3 Riedmann took charge of a lead battle that at times comprised as many as six bikes. Szoke ran a dogged second behind the Kawasaki and after the two traded the lead in turn 5 on the penultimate lap Szoke made his winning pass on the final tour, just two corners from the finish.
“I knew it was going to be a battle,” admitted the 36-year-old Szoke, who scored his first Canadian Superbike crown in 1998. “Kenny’s bike is really fast on the straights and he was getting a good drive off the turns. But he was packing us up a little in the corners. I thought if I could break the draft, I could get away. But it all came down to the last lap.”
Szoke completed the 20-lap distance in 27 minutes, 34.319 seconds for an average speed of 172.218km/h (103.331 mph) and he set the race’s fastest lap in the decisive final tour, a 1:22.178.
Riedmann had to settle for his third straight runner-up finish of the season after leading his second straight Mopar CSBK race. The 23-year-old also spent time at the front of the previous round at Atlantic Motorsport Park two weeks ago.
“The ZX-10 was really hauling down the back straight,” Riedmann said. “I just ran in to the last turn a little too hot. I knew I had a chance against Jordan, but I learned a lot racing with him. I’m going to take that into the race tomorrow and go for the win.”
Christie held second spot for the first two laps but soon slipped into an intense battle for third with Daley and the BMW S1000RR of Chris Murray-Audain. The 22-year-old Keene, Ont. racer finally grabbed the final podium spot from Daley for good on lap 17.
“The brakes started to fade toward the end of the race, and there’s no adjuster,” Christie explained. “I was a little nervous after last year when I went into turn 8 with no brakes.
“The race itself was awesome. It was a pretty easy pace. I was sitting in third, but I got shuffled around a lot more than I should have. I tried to be as close as I could on the last lap.”
Mississauga, Ont.’s Daley picked up valuable ground on Sebastien Tremblay in the battle for fourth place in the final Mopar CSBK standings. After finishing eighth on Saturday Tremblay now has 178 points to Daley’s 166 heading into Sunday’s season finale.
In only his second appearance of the season, CTMP specialist Murray-Audain was in the thick of the lead battle by lap 7, and rose as high as third at one stage. The Scarborough, Ont. racer turned the race’s second fastest lap, a 1:22.223.
Alex Welsh claimed the Magneti Marelli SuperPole Award in qualifying on Saturday morning with his Hindle / Parts Canada Yamaha YZF-R1 and the Uxbridge, Ont. rider was also part of the lead fight before crashing, uninjured, in turn 3 on lap 7.
After qualifying third in his first CSBK start of 2015 on the Riders Choice BMW S1000RR Mississauga, Ont.’s Matt McBride finished sixth, just ahead of the Endras / Pro 6 Cycle / Forsaken Motorsports BMW S1000RR ridden by Kemptville, Ont.’s Sean Huffman.
Mirabel, Que.’s Tremblay had a lonely ride to eighth on his MotoNation / Laval Moto Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Tim Robinson of Gatineau, Que. came out on top of an intense three-way fight for ninth on his Gym-Max / Robinson Racing BMW S1000RR, finishing just ahead of the Royal Distributing / Multi-Tact BMW S1000RR of Beaconsfield, Que.’s Michael Leon and North Vancouver rider Darren James aboard the Ruthless Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
St-Lazare, Que.’s Stacey Nesbitt took a narrow two-point lead in the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year Award race with an 18th place finish on her Statoni Racing / Honda Canada Honda CBR600RR. Her rival for the prize, Tomas Casas of Peterborough, Ont., finished 19th with his Parts Canada / Peterborough Cycle Salvage Yamaha YZF-R6 after falling in turn 9 while lying 15th in the late stages of the race.
In other action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Riedmann stretched his lead over Christie to 20 points in the Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike standings after scoring a narrow victory over his title rival in Saturday’s 14-lap feature event.
Riding his Triumph 675R the Belfountain, Ont. racer crossed the line just 0.147 secs. ahead of Christie’s Honda CBR600RR for his fourth victory in a row.
Riedmann goes into Sunday’s season finale with 295 points to the 275 of Christie as he tries to retain the number one plate he took from the Honda rider last year.
“I wasn’t able to get away. They were right on me the whole time,” said Riedmann, who managed to lead every lap despite the frantic battle at the front that at times numbered six bikes. “I managed to keep everyone behind me though. I’ve definitely got a really strong motor.”
Thornbury, Ont.’s Ben Young finished third on his Hindle Exhaust Yamaha YZF-R6, Darren James placed fourth aboard the Ruthless Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 and Will Hornblower was classified fifth on the 402bike.com / Bob’s Motorsport Yamaha YZF-R6.
James solidified his hold on third place in the Pro Sport Bike standings with 198 points but was mathematically eliminated from title contention.
Derrick Whyte ensured the battle for the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike Championship will go to Sunday’s season finale after scoring his first victory of the season aboard his Kawasaki ZX-10R. The Oshawa, Ont. racer finished just 0.301 secs. ahead of the BMW S1000RR of championship leader Samuel Trepanier after a thrilling race and closed to within just eight points of the class lead. St-Isidore-de-Laprairie, Que.’s Trepanier now has 235 points to Whyte’s 227.
A fourth place finish for Brossard, Que.’s Alex Coelho on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 kept him in the title race with 210 points heading into Sunday’s final round.
London, Ont.’s Philip Leckie kept his Bell Helmets Amateur Sport Bike title hopes alive with his second victory of the season. The Suzuki GSX-R600 rider beat points leader Coelho by 1.139 secs. and closed to within 33 points of the Kawasaki ZX-6R rider for first place in the standings. Coelho has 289 points and Leckie 256 heading into Sunday’s finale.
Martin Cote from Notre Dame de L’Ile Perrot, Que. moved up from ninth on the grid to finish third in Saturday’s race on his Honda CBR600RR.
Former Canadian Superbike champion Michael Taylor won a thrilling VIP/Media Kawasaki Ninja 300 Racing Series event, beating flat track racing star Doug Lawrence and Kawasaki racer Adam Faussett of Kent, Wash. Just 0.780 secs. covered the top six finishers after 10 laps.
Sunday is the final day of Mopar CSBK action at CTMP. Practice begins at 9:00 a.m. with the first race, for the Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike Championship, set to launch at 1:00 p.m.
Ticket information for this weekend’s Mopar CSBK doubleheader finale 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.mosport.com,
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.
BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (August 15) – Results of Saturday’s sixth 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 (172.218km/h)
2. Kenny Riedmann, Belfountain, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 20
3. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 20
4. Trevor Daley, Mississauga, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 20
5. Chris Murray-Audain, Scarborough, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20
6. Matt McBride, Mississauga, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20
7. Sean Huffmann, Kemptville, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20
8. Sebastien Tremblay, Mirabel, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 20
9. Tim Robinson, Gatineau, Que., BMW S1000RR, 20
10. Michael Leon, Beaconsfield, Que., BMW S1000RR, 20
11. Darren James, North Vancouver, B.C., Yamaha YZF-R1, 20
12. Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 20
13. Franklyn Dominguez, Montreal, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 20
14. Billy Ethridge, Lawrenceville, Ga., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 20
15. Justin Knapik, Edmonton, Alta., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 20
16. Sean Heydorn, Stouffville, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 20
17. Reiner Griese, Wellington, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 19
18. Stacey Nesbitt, St-Lazare, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 19
19. Tomas Casas, Peterborough, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6, 18
Did Not Finish
Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1M, 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: 27:34.319
Average Speed: 172.218km/h
Margin of Victory: 0.272 secs.
Fastest Lap: 1:22.178 by Jordan Szoke on lap 20
Lap Leaders: Jordan Szoke 1-2, Kenny Riedmann 3-19, Szoke 20
Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship point standings after six of seven rounds, showing position, rider name and point total:
1.Jordan Szoke, 328
2. Kenny Riedmann, 229
2. Jodi Christie, 219
4. Sebastien Tremblay, 178
5. Trevor Daley, 166
6. Michael Leon, 115
7. Stacey Nesbitt, 96
7. Tomas Casas, 94
9. Justin Knapik, 65
10. Franklyn Dominguez, 61
11. Reiner Griese, 58
12. Sean Huffman, 56
13. Mike Zottmann, 54
14. Chris Murray-Audain, 50
15. Ross Millson, 46
16. Shane Caravan, 44
17. Bez Cajee, 40
17. Kristopher Garvie, 40
19. John Crump, 30
20. Matt McBride, 29
21. Spero Benias, 27
22. Jim Proulx, 23
22. Ken LaLonde, 23
24. Ron Munroe, 21
24. Tim Robinson, 21
26. Geoff Cole, 17
26. Darren James, 17
28. Colin Lolacher, 14
28. Ernie McCafferty, 14
30. Billy Ethridge, 12
31. Sean Heydorn, 8
32. Alex Welsh, 4
33. Will Hornblower, 1