SZOKE TAKES SEASON OPENER MONT-TREMBLANT, Que. Defending Parts Canada Superbike champion Jordan Szoke edged Pascal Picotte for victory in the first round of the 2007 season at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant on Sunday. The Brantford, Ont. racer took his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R past the Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Performance Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Picotte on lap 8 of the 16-lap race and held off the Granby, Que. racer by 1.724 seconds for his third win at the 4.275km (2.65-mile) circuit. “It’s an awesome feeling whenever you can beat Pascal,” said the 28-year-old Szoke. “He’s a great competitor and he’s been around a long time.He’s so much fun to race with.” Kevin Lacombe completed the top three finishers on his Team Toyota Yamaha / Brooklin Cycle Yamaha YZF-R1 and set the race’s fastest lap of one minute, 40.291 seconds. Szoke started from pole position but was beaten into the first corner by Picotte. Early on the lead battle consisted of Picotte, Szoke, Francis Martin on the second Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Performance Suzuki, Lacombe and Clint McBain’s Suzuki Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. By lap 6, however, Picotte and Szoke had pulled clear and Szoke made the pass on Picotte two laps later. “I saw his tires were starting to slip a little and I managed to get by him,” Szoke said. “I got a few breaks in traffic, and on the last lap I just pinned it.” Picotte said he started to have trouble with rear traction in the second half of the race. “We’re a little bit green with the new GSX-R and we need to figure out the suspension a little bit better,” the St-Cecile de Milton, Que. racer explained. “The first half of the race the traction was OK but then it dropped off and there was not much I could do with Jordan.” Lacombe passed Martin on lap 6 and then pulled clear of McBain. Martin later retired with engine trouble, and McBain faded in the last few laps with a flat rear tire. He lost fourth place to the Team Toyota Yamaha / Fast Company Yamaha YZF-R1 of Maple Ridge, B.C.’s Steve Crevier two laps from the end. Fifteen-year-old rookie Pro Brett McCormick of Saskatoon was sixth on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R. In other action at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Szoke held off Picotte and Crevier for the win in the Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport Bike division. Along with Martin, the three were part of a racelong battle for first place. Szoke took advantage of a break in lapped traffic in the final turn to claim the win while Picotte nipped Crevier for second in the run to the checkered flag. Paul Glenn of Keene, Ont. led all the way to win the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike Championship race on his Suzuki GSX-R600. Lachine, Que.’s Catherine Nadeau became the first woman in 22 years to stand on a national event podium when she placed second on her Yamaha YZF-R6 and Montreal’s Martin Ricard was third on his Kawasaki ZX-6R. Toronto’s Michael Taylor was declared victor of the Thunder “big twins” event on his BMW R1200S after race winner Darren James was penalized five places for not passing post-race technical inspection, and Orangeville, Ont.’s Derek Vammus won the Suzuki SV650 National Cup race. The Parts Canada Superbike Championship resumes with a doubleheader at Calgary’s Race City Motorsport Park June 30-July 1. For more series information, visit www.cdnsuperbike.com Results of Sunday’s opening round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Mont-Tremblant, Que., showing finishing position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle, laps completed, status and reason out, if available: 1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont. Kawasaki ZX-10R, 16, Running; 2. Pascal Picotte, St-Cecile de Milton, Que., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16, Running; 3. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, Que., Yamaha YZF-R1, 16, Running; 4. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, B.C., Yamaha YZF-R1, 16, Running; 5. Clint McBain, Cochrane, Alta., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16, Running; 6. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, Sask., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 16, Running; 7. Matthew McBride, Mississauga, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16, Running; 8. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 16, Running; 9. Frank Trombino, Vaughan, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16, Running; 10. Erick Beausejour, Val Senneville, Que., Honda CBR1000RR, 16, Running; 11. Jean-Paul Tache, North Bay, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16, Running; 12. Matthew Cooper, Guelph, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 16, Running; 13. Jeremy Stepper, Calgary, Alta., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16, Running; 14. Dave Young, Woodstock, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16, Running; 15. Adam Roberts, Hammonds Plains, N.S., Yamaha YZF-R6, 16, Running; 16. Ross Millson, Hamilton, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R600, 16, Running; 17. Andrew Dunlap, Truro, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 15, Running; 18. Zenon Nelson, Bowmanville, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R600, 15, Running 19. Steve Bourdeau, Verdun, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 15, Running; 20. Dany Jourdain, St-Jean-Richelieu, Que., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 15, Running; 21. Terry Steeves, Dartmouth, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 15, Running; 22. Alain Campagna, Mascouche, Que., Yamaha YZF-R6, 15, Running; 23. Elie Daccache, Ottawa, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 15, Running; 24. Bill Clark, Stillwater, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 15, Running; 25. Junior Dallaire, Drummondville, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600, 15, Running; Did Not Finish Chris Murray-Audain, Scarborough, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 14, Out of Fuel; Larry Orde, Peterborough, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 13, Pitted after Crash; Sean Heydorn, Stouffville, Ont., Honda CBR600RR, 9, Crash; Nicolas Audet, St-Hisidore, Que., Yamaha YZF-R1, 8, Pitted; Francis Martin, Sherbrooke, Que., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 7, Engine; Dean Plater, Ottawa, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1, Not Running; Did Not Start Jesse Sherstan, Stoney Plain, Alta., Yamaha YZF-R6; Yoshi Hamaguchi, Toronto, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6; Todd Scott, Hammonds Plains, N.S., Suzuki GSX-R600; Alain Larouche, St-Bruno, Que., Honda CBR600RR; Craig Atkinson, Toronto, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6; Pascal Gagne, Boucherville, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600; Louie Raffa, St-Marthe, Que., Yamaha YZF-R6; Parts Canada Superbike Championship point standings after 1 of 7 rounds showing position, rider name and point total: 1. Jordan Szoke, 52; 2. Pascal Picotte, 42; 3. Kevin Lacombe, 37; 4. Steve Crevier, 32; 5. Clint McBain, 29; 6. Brett McCormick, 27; 7. Matthew McBride, 25; 8. Andrew Nelson, 23; 9. Frank Trombino, 21; 10. Erick Beausejour, 19; 11. Jean Paul Tache, 17; 12. Matthew Cooper, 15; 13. Jeremy Stepper, 13; 14. Dave Young, 12; 15. Adam Roberts, 10; 16. Ross Millson, 8; 17. Andrew Dunlap, 6; 18. Zenon Nelson, 4; 19. Steve Bourdeau, 2; 20. Dany Jourdain, 1 More, from a press release issued by Two-Tired Racing: Two-Tired Racing’s André Talbot continued with success in the first round of Parts Canada National Superbike Championship at the renowned Mont-Tremblant track. The Canadian national championship sanctions races in 5 categories, including the Canadian SVCUP. Talbot, now a seasoned veteran of the series, qualified on the first line with a 4th in an unusual turn of events. Light intermittent rain resulted in cancellation of the official Saturday qualifications because the track was considered dangerous on any type of rubber. Saturday morning practice times were used instead. Luckily, Talbot had begun building good times in practice. With a front line start, he was in better position to deal with the technically difficult chicane that funnels the field into a very tight pack only a couple of hundred meters from the start. In Sunday’s SVCUP final, Talbot was held up at the chicane by an off-track excursion by Pro-rider Derek Vammus. In doing so, Talbot lost 2 positions and found himself in 6th place and a hard fight to get back up and a 4way battle for 3rd place. He managed to pass number 6 bike David Coté in lap 3, and began a slow climb back to catch the 4th place bike that was now way ahead. He was helped by #291 (Chartrand)’s withdrawal with transmission problem, and made contact with then 3rd place Pierre Drouin (#955) by lap 6. Then ensued a battle for position which was won by Talbot on lap 8, achieved by drafting climbing up the back straight, capitalizing on a well-prepared powertrain with the help of twins genius Gregg Spears from Spears Enterprises (www.spearsenterprises.com). “I could gain on Drouin on the brakes but it wasn’t enough.” said Talbot. “However, I knew that I could draft him effectively from practice and stuck to his tail around the tight part of the circuit to put me in an ideal position for the back straight” he added. Talbot brought the bike home in 3rd place finish of a 10 lap race of the 4.3km circuit, sometimes referred to as the Canadian Laguna Seca. Winner was Derek Vammus (pro 44) of Orangeville, Ont, and runner up Martin Grande (AM 898) of St-Jean, Qc. “It was the first national event of the season and I wanted to do well.” explained Talbot. “¦with good success in the RACE Superseries in 3 classes so far this year, including a win and 3 podiums, I knew I had a good bike and that I could be fast. I’m happy with the results so far.” Next up for Talbot and the Two-Tired Racing team is round 2 of the Canadian national championship in Calgary, Alberta on June 28th to July 1st 2007.