Canadian Superbike racing comes to the Maritimes this weekend, with this year’s fifth round running at Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, N.S.
Series leader Brett McCormick and his BMW S1000RR will be in the spotlight; the 19-year-old has scored 219 of a possible 220 points this year. Jordan Szoke beat him to pole at the Autodrome St-Eustache race, but otherwise he’s undefeated.
Szoke knows about perfection himself; he went undefeated in 2010, and you can bet he’d love to take 50 points for winning at Shubenacadie to put him back in the fight. Currently, Szoke’s sitting on 173 points, but he’s won the Nova Scotia series the last two years running, so he’s probably got a good chance at giving McCormick a run for his money.
Of course, the Superbike series’ all-time points leader at Shubenacadie is Steve Crevier, with seven national Superbike wins. Crevier returns to AMP as well this weekend, leading the XR1200 Cup standings, with 208 points to series second-place contender Cody Matechuk’s 187 points. Matechuk is sponsored by Halifax’s Privateers Harley-Davidson, so this is his big chance to take a win in front of his home crowd, if he can defeat the track’s all-time champ.
Pro Sport Bike leader Jodi Christie goes to Shubenacadie with 183 points; Alex Welsh is close behind with 168.
Amateur Superbike leader Jody Greening will be hoping to take his first win this weekend on his CBR600RR; he’s got a 24-point lead, but hasn’t finished first yet this season. Second-place Amzy Nawaz is only two points ahead of third-place Kristopher Garvie, while in the Amateur Sport Bike series, Garvie leads Nawaz and Greening; these could be some tight, interesting races.
CBR125R Challenge leader Austin Shaw-O’Leary, from Falmouth, N.S., takes a 15-point lead into the race at his home track this weekend.
Fans can meet and greet some of the racetrack heroes tonight at Pro Cycle, in Dartmouth, N.S.; call them at 902-468-2518 for more information. Practice sessions run on Friday. The weekend’s race schedule kicks off Saturday at 10 a.m., with qualifying running all day. See the tentative schedule below:
Saturday
10:00 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. – Parts Canada Superbike Pre-Qualifying for Pirelli SuperPole
1:30 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. – Pirelli Pro Sport Bike Qualifying
2:00 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. – Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike Qualifying
2:30 p.m. – Honda CBR125R Challenge Race (10 laps)
3:00 p.m. – 3:40 p.m. – Parts Canada Superbike Championship Pirelli SuperPole
3:50 p.m. – 4:10 p.m. – Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup Qualifying
4:20 p.m. – 4:40 p.m. – K&N Performance Filters Amateur Superbike Qualifying
Sunday
11:40 a.m. – Honda CBR125R Challenge Race (10 laps)
1:00 p.m. – Pirelli Pro Sport Bike Race (18 laps)
Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike Race (14 laps)
Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup Race (16 laps)
2:50 p.m. – Parts Canada Superbike Championship Race (22 laps)
K&N Performance Filters Amateur Superbike Race (14 laps)
