Christie Doubles Up (With Shubenacadie photo gallery!)

SHUBENACADIE, N.S. – Jodi Christie scored his first career superbike win in dramatic fashion on Sunday at Atlantic Motorsport Park, taking his Honda CBR1000RR to victory over eight-time series champ Jordan Szoke by a wheel-width in the third race of the 2013 season.

Christie also grabbed the 600 cc Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike feature on his Honda CBR600RR, giving him a perfect weekend and extending his lead in the Sport Bike series. The win was Christie’s third in a row in the class.

“Words can’t explain how I feel right now,” said the 20-year-old Christie, who finished second to Szoke in the first two superbike races of the season. “I’ve been coming here since 2008 … I needed to get the monkey off my back and I knew I could do it. I was just never quite aggressive enough before.”

In the superbike feature, Uxbridge, Ont. Suzuki rider Alex Welsh grabbed the early lead but fell back with an apparent repeat of the fueling problem that dogged him in the last race at St.-Eustache, Que. First Szoke, then Christie got by, but Welsh hung on to complete the podium in third place.

Christie dogged Szoke’s tail and grabbed the lead two laps from the end. “I figured he’d be expecting a pass on the last lap, so making my move two laps from the end seemed like a good idea,” he explained.

Szoke stayed close and got an excellent drive out of the final corner on the last lap. He drew alongside the Honda but couldn’t quite get ahead at the line. “I couldn’t match my practice or qualifying times,” said a frustrated Szoke. “I thought if I could get by Jodi and Alex quick I could get away, but from the word go I had no traction.”

The top five was rounded out by local teenage hero Austin Shaw-O’Leary on his Yamaha R6, while another rookie Pro, Trevor Daley of Mississauga, lost fifth when he crashed unhurt two laps from the end. That promoted Kris Garvie of Caledon, Ont., to fifth on his Honda CBR600RR.

In the Sport Bike contest, Christie was followed home by Shaw-O’Leary, while John Ross MacRae of Calgary grabbed third on the Reidmann Racing / Castrol / Blackfoot Triumph 675.

The action leaves Christie 16 points behind Szoke in the Superbike chase, and 42 ahead of MacRae in the Sport Bike class.

In other racing, Toronto’s Michael Taylor held off Vancouver’s Darren James and Dartmouth, NS veteran Blaise Fougere to grab his first career H-D XR1200 Cup race. That gave James the series lead over Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, B.C., who crashed out of the race.

Riley Dawe took the win and the series lead in the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike standings on his BMW S1000RR. Steve Hoffarth of Orangeville, Ont., the points leader coming into the race, crashed his BMW S1000RR out of third on lap 11. He was uninjured.

Lunenburg, N.S.’s Dan Rudolf won the Bazzaz / Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike race on his Carroll Bridgewater Honda Powerhouse Honda CBR600RR. Despite a 10th place finish after crashing his Yamaha YZF-R6, Dawe still leads the Amateur Sport Bike standings with 124 points.

Tomas Casas completed a clean sweep of the Honda CBR250R National Race Series events at AMP with convincing wins both Saturday and Sunday. Casas now has 301 points to the 177 of Oakville, Ont.’s Cameron Walker, who finished fourth on Sunday.

Series Standings after three of six races

1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 159 points
2. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 143
3. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 118
4. Franklyn Dominguez, St-Lazare, Que., Honda CBR1000RR, 73
5. Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, Ont., Honda CBR600RR, 71
6. Frank Trombino, Vaughn, Ont., Aprilia RSV-4, 64
7. Austin Shaw-O-Leary, Falmouth, N.S., Yamaha YZF-R6, 63
8. Louie Raffa, Ste-Marthe, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 59
9. Sebastien Tremblay, Longeuil, Que., BMW S100RR, 57
10. Matt Cooper, Guelph, Ont., BMW S100RR, 34

Next event, August 9-11, series double-header at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park), Bowmanville, Ontario.

GALLERY

Check out all the pics that go with this story! Click on the main sized pic to transition to the next or just press play to show in a slideshow.

Jodi Christie was ecstatic over his first career pro superbike win at Shubenacadie. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Szoke breaks down his impressions of his bike’s issues post-race at Shubenacadie in 2013. For perspective, realize this is the last CSBK race someone’s beaten Jordan Szoke. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Locals always do well at Shubenacadie; Austin Shaw-O’Leary had a great weekend. Ron Munroe, seen here, didn’t do quite as well, but still managed a 9th in pro sportbike. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Darren James ended up in second in the XR1200 race. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Tomas Casas racked up more points in his huge lead in the CBR250R series; he took both wins on the weekend. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

As always, some folks camped out at Shubie, but due to rain, that crowd was a bit smaller this year. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

J.P. Schroeder ran in the XR1200 series as a privateer, towing his bike all the way from Drummondville in a trailer behind his car. That’s commitment. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Michael Taylor was very happy to be on the podium at day’s end. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Steve Crevier looked good in practice, but crashed in the XR1200 race. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Just behind Turn 1, waiting for the races to start. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Here’s a nice, clean vintage Honda from the parking area. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Three very different approaches to motorcycling. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

You see all kinds, in the parking lot. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Crevier’s other ride. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

As always, a few folks brought their toys to show at Shubie. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Christie took the Supersport win, as well as Superbike. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

The ARL also ran a few races from their local series over the weekend. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Vintage-looking leathers, but not vintage racing … Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Tomas Casas took an early lead in the CBR250 race. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Some locals on CBR125s ran in the CBR250 series. Photo: Zac Kurylyk