In the third race of the six-race Mopar Canadian Superbike series, BMW rider Jordan Szoke passed Honda’s Jodi Christie on the final lap and hung on to win a thrilling race in Shubenacadie, N.S. at Atlantic Motorsport Park July 22.
Christie, leading the superbikes on his 600 on the tight, bumpy, hilly, and twisty Shubie track made a slight miscue while leading on the last lap – “I just had a little slide heading onto the back straight,” Christie said. “I had another opportunity to try him back in turn nine but I wasn’t quite able to do it” – and that was that.
Szoke said, “I knew Jodi was going to be tough today. I thought he’d be the one to beat. I was lining him up to try something on the last lap and got a break.”
Frank Trombino was just 0.385 secs. back in third riding the Acme Slate / Dua Bodywork / G Suspension Suzuki GSX-R600, despite pain from a nagging shoulder injury suffered several years ago. “We numbed my shoulder and I took an Advil, and from there I screwed my head down and tried to be extra smooth,” said the Kleinburg, Ont. rider, who set the race’s fastest lap at 1:08.280. “When I was behind Jordan I was trying to get him around the outside because he was protecting the inside. I was waiting for an opening but it was not there.”
The win extended Szoke’s lead in the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship standings to 35 points over Andrew Nelson, who finished sixth on Sunday, fighting a damaged clutch.
Christie extended his lead in the K&N Performance Filters Pro Sport Bike class with his second straight victory. Riding his Honda CBR600RR the defending series champion took the lead from Trombino on lap five of the 18-lap race and pulled clear to an 8.339-sec. victory.
In Amateur action, Austin Shaw-O’Leary of Falmouth, N.S. scored a sweep of both Superbike and 600 races riding a Kawasaki ZX-6R borrowed from Ron Munroe after crashing his Honda CBR600RR in practice Sunday morning.
Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, B.C. made it three straight wins in the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup at AMP, finishing 5.016 seconds. ahead of polesitter Michael Taylor of Toronto.
Tomas Casas of Peterborough Ontario took the win on Saturday’s round of the Honda CBR250R National Race Series, crossing the line a mere 0.049 of a second ahead of St-Lazare, Que.’s Stacey Nesbitt, who lost valuable time when she failed to get pass the expanding Editor ‘Arris (riding in the media challenge class – full report to come) on the last lap. Ryan Roche of Pickering, Ontario took third.
However, ‘Arris was a little faster for Sunday’s race and so didn’t need to be lapped, allowing Nesbitt to win her second Honda CBR250R National Race Series event after another dramatic battle with Ryan Roche and Tomas Casas. Roche actually crossed the line first on his Brooklin Cycle entry but the Pickering, Ont. racer was penalized a position for rough riding, giving Nesbitt the victory.
Casas crashed on the final lap – for the second time this year – so Dartmouth, N.S. rider Connor Warnell took the final podium spot for the Pro Cycle team.
Check out the videos of the action and the podium shenanigans at http://www.youtube.com/user/cdnsuperbike?ob=5
Next event, Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Mont-Tremblant, Que. August 12.
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Shubie Superbike results:
1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., BMW S1000RR (133.693 km/h)
2. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR600RR
3. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R600
4. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, Que., BMW S1000RR
5. Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask., BMW S1000RR
6. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont., BMW S1000RR
7. Samuel Proulx, Magog, Que., BMW S1000RR
8. Sebastien Tremblay, Longueuil, Que., BMW S1000RR
9. Ron Munroe, Beaver Bank, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-6R
Superbike Standings after three of six rounds
1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., Waznie Racing / Parts Canada / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR, 151 points
2. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont., Nelson Racing / Endras Motorrad / mcn.tv BMW S1000RR, 116
3. Kevin Lacombe, Ste-Cesaire, Que., Team Couturier Racing BMW S1000RR, 105
4. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Jodi Christie Racing / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR600RR, 104
5. Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask, Edie Racing / Blue Streak Racing / Fast Company BMW S1000RR, 81
6. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont., AW7R / Kenwood Electronics Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000, 75
7. Matthew McBride, Mississauga, Ont., Riders Choice BMW S1000RR, 68
8. Sebastien Tremblay, Longeuil, Que., MotoNation BMW S1000RR, 63
9. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, Ont., Acme Slate / Dua Bodywork / G Suspension Suzuki GSX-R60060
10. Samuel Proulx, Sherbrooke, Que., BMW S1000RR, 53
