Recently, I visited TSN’s Marshall Ferguson to participate in his Podcast reviewing the 2024 Bridgestone CSBK National tour. That broadcast will be available Christmas day, but if you want the written version, here is my take on our conversation.
This is a summary of that Bridgestone CSBK podcast, in list form, to help promote discussions and arguments:
Torin Collins
It is rare for an unranked racer to appear in a Series and immediately be a contender, but that is exactly what MotoAmerica SuperSport racer Collins did at the third round of CSBK at Rad Torque Raceway south of Edmonton, Alberta, last June. Aboard his well-travelled practice bike, a silver Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja, Collins was up front from the start, battling points leader Ben Young (just back from testing in Japan) for the win on Saturday.
Come Sunday, Young had some minor set-up issues, slowed his lead pace, and Collins out-dueled Ducati first-timer Alex Dumas to take the Feature race victory in his first weekend of CSBK.
Most Canadians had no idea who Collins was, given he has been busy in the feeder classes in southern Europe for the past two seasons.
FYI, Dumas won his very first career CSBK start, in Pro Superbike, at Calabogie back in 2021.
The next day, many of the series regulars attended the first CSBK test at the new Rocky Mountain venue, and once again Collins set the pace.
Trevor Daley
Focused on 2024 Daytona plans for the Bridgestone-backed Canadian squad, Trevor Daley made it clear he did not plan to contest the entire CSBK tour. Daytona went well, with Ben Young doing as much as could be expected. Next Young took too his Dailey-built GSX-R750 to the S.M.P. opener and won Econo Lube Pro Sport Bike; but Daley did not attend.
However, Daley was very much a factor in round two at Grand Bend, a venue where he was typically fast but previously luckless. Sunday’s severe weather turned out to be the former “Wild Child’s” ideal circumstances, with Daley taking victory in both the major Pro classes. This marked Daley’s first career Pro Superbike Feature win and his second Pro Sport Bike success on his OneSpeed Suzukis.
At C.T.M.P., Daley crashed early in a tight and rain-affected program, but once again came up on top on Sunday. He opened the action with a battle against Young’s Suzuki (twin to the Daley bike) piloted by a returning former Champ Jodi Christie. Then in Superbike, Daley held off intense pressure from Young’s BMW on a drying track – maybe the toughest way to earn another feature success.
Samuel Guerin
Knocking on the door since his Pro debut during COVID in 2020, Samuel Guerin had his much-anticipated breakthrough season in 2024, earning his first pair of victories. Both were in unusual, challenging, and difficult conditions: the first in the wet at Calabogie in a solid fight with Young and Daley, and then an inspired charge on a drying track at Atlantic Motorsport Park Saturday, using a mixed set of tires chosen at the last moment.
Former Flat Track star and chassis guru Steve Beattie was a big part of Guerin’s ever-improving BMW program, now based on a Euro-built M1000RR similar to Young’s set-up.
But Guerin’s newfound maturity and race-long consistency were also noticeable, and the Quebec City-based racer should now be considered a legitimate threat for the number one plate. Guerin’s efforts on a massive Harley in the Bagger Racing League are also worth checking out.
Ben Young
The rider to beat in 2024, Young was the unquestioned pace setter and expanded his influence to include the MotoA-spec GSX-R750 in the Pro Sport Bike support class. He won both Pro classes on the opening National Saturday at Shannonville, prompting discussions of a perfect year.
The Sport Bike middleweight perfect plan came apart first. Battling with Sebastien Tremblay’s Suzuki in a much-anticipated showdown between CSBK’s two class top guns, Young was a close second when a water leak put him down, gently, at the hairpin late in the race.
The next distraction for Young was an opportunity to ride a strong BMW entry at the International World Championship Coca-Cola Suzuka Eight Hour Endurance. Japanese testing went well, the race even better, and Young was a solid contender in a deep field of top racers.
Young’s middleweight GSX-R750, rebuilt by tuner Scott Cartier, returned to action at C.T.M.P., with family friend Jodi Christie showing well and bringing back great memories for long time CSBK supporters. So, the Young family were now also successful team owners, with the Daley-built bike originally aimed at the Daytona 200.
Meanwhile Young was busy dealing with Saturday winner Alex Dumas (Ducati), Trevor Daley (Suzuki), Sam Guerin (BMW) and the returning Tomas Casas (Yamaha).
With a wild weekend at C.T.M.P. ended in drying conditions, Young was oh-so-close to another CSBK number one plate. He duly collected the GP Bikes Pro Superbike Champion overall honors, along with the B.S. Battery Pole season Award, at S.M.P, after a difficult qualifying session.
A.J. Van Winkle
If not for the incredible arrival of Collins in Edmonton, the big story would be 2023 Pro Twins newcomer star Van Winkle. Aboard an immaculate Suzuki GSX-R600 provided by the now-750 equipped Sousa Team, Van Winkle was immediately with the top guns in Pro Sport Bike: Tremblay (Suzuki 750), Elliot Vieira (Ducati 955 twin), Mavrick Cyr (Ducati 955 twin) and John Laing (Kawasaki Ninja 636).
On the east coast, at a track famous for chewing up newcomers, Van Winkle was on fire, and his last lap fight for the Sunday Pro Sport Bike win against middleweight legend Tremblay was superb. Given that the lanky Van Winkle was Mini Cycle racing just two years ago, his climb is one of the most impressive in Canadian road racing history.
Mavrick Cyr
Cyr had the kind of Amateur season in 2023 that you hope might lead to opportunities in the near future, but money in Canadian racing doesn’t usually work that way these days. Father Jean-Francois, the famed privateer Superbike winner of the big money 2000’s era, knows how to make a program run, and that got the Cyrs to Daytona where the rookie managed to finish on their well-travelled Triumph triple – a daunting task in your first attempt.
The same 675 took Cyr to the season opener, but soon the Economy Lube squad furnished a Ducati 955 V-twin Desmo and Cyr’s potential was confirmed. The first Pro win came at A.M.P., Cyr conquering the “roller coaster” as a rookie Pro. By the Shannonville final, Cyr was battling for the win with class king Tremblay – is this the new Sport Bike pecking order?
Alex Dumas
It tells you much about what a wild season CSBK provided in 2024 that former Champion Alex Dumas wound not be the number one or two story. Firmly established as Ben Young’s arch-rival over the last three years with his potent Patric Goyette built Suzukis, Dumas did not plan to compete with CSBK in 2024.
Then Trevor Dion, the hottest Canadian prospect last Spring, opted to take a leave of absence from the nationals, providing an opportunity on the ex-works Ducati Panigale V4 owned by Steve Moxey of Economy Lube. Various star riders were mentioned as possible pilots for the very desirable Ducati, but at Edmonton, Dumas was on hand to work with tuner Scott Miller and the big red Desmo for the first time.
It took some time for the pairing of Dumas and Ducati to gel, but by A.M.P, they had a set-up to put them in contention with the BMWs. A few weeks later, Dumas won on Saturday at C.T.M.P. but crashed on the first lap after a tire gamble on Saturday. Dumas certainly has the potential to regain the overall Canadian Title.
John Laing
In 2023, Laing left the Alberta Club scene to visit the Bridgestone nationals with the goal of testing himself against the best of Eastern Canada. Last year went well, Laing scored a wet win at “old Mosport,” and he returned for 2024 with updated, Vass-built equipment and a goal of continuing, steady improvement.
Leading the charge for the “old rules” middleweights, Laing ran closer to the front, and when the series returned to his “home” track in Edmonton for the first time in a decade, he stepped up and performed to (remarkably high) expectations. A win on Saturday and pace setter Sunday at Rad Torque, Laing had a strong year in the ultra-competitive middleweight division.
On a couple of occasions, the popular and charismatic Laing fought with Tremblay, and no doubt those outings will serve as inspiration as Laing readies his 2025 program.
Phil DeGamma-Blanchet
PDB first jumped to my attention in 2022, when he started to show well on a spec Aprilia in the US Talent cup – a great concept that sadly failed after just one year but is scheduled to return in 2025. Last year, DeGamma-Blanchet attracted attention in a couple of Amateur appearances and confirmed his pace in testing at the new Rocky Mountain facility north of Calgary.
For 2024, the family put together a shoestring effort to attend the Nationals, and PDB pushed all out in every session in both Pro classes. He certainly turned some heads in Edmonton, and Collins/Van Winkle/PDB trio had many insiders wondering what the next few years of competition might look like.
On a drying track at Atlantic Motorsport Park during Saturday’s delayed Superbike main event, DeGamma-Blanchet made the most of his rain tires, turning the fastest laps mid-race. Crashes derailed his late season efforts, but such pace at such a youthful age means he is certainly a racer to watch.
Sebastien Tremblay
During my discussions for the Podcast with Fergeson, the status of Seb Tremblay proved a challenge – do you rate the Middleweight King specifically, or just note that he is mentioned in the summary of almost every other top rider, to prove their skills?
The Tremblay story is a good one, given he was dominant for Kawasaki, then retired for 2023, only to rejoin the CSBK tour as a Suzuki racer in preparation for the upcoming new “Gen 2” rules.
This year, he was on a GSX-R750 for the entire year, and was the expected, and respected, pace setter. Only in Alberta, where he suffered a non-racing shoulder injury, was he not right up front – and he still made the Podium. He had trouble at time in Qualifying but always seemed to find a way to make it to the front.
At C.T.M.P., he made a big tire gamble, a theme to several stars (Guerin, Daley, Szoke) during 2024. It should have worked, but the race weas red flagged early due to a severe storm, so we will never know if that was another specific skill that Tremblay could confirm.
Battles with fast rising stars Van Winkle and Cyr proved that Tremblay is not afraid to race for the win, and everyone is looking for more of the same (particularly the TSN vide crew!) in 2025.
