Championship leader Torin Collins made up for his unfortunate Saturday with a much more familiar performance on Sunday, cruising to a race two victory in the second round of the Bridgestone CSBK Pro Supersport class at Atlantic Motorsport Park.
Collins saw his early title hopes take a massive hit in race one when he was caught up in an opening lap collision, ending his bid for a perfect season and cutting his points lead to just four points over winner Andrew Van Winkle.
The pole-sitter instantly made sure to avoid the same fate on Sunday, as Collins grabbed the lead off the line and didn’t look back, charging clear of Van Winkle in second to earn his third victory in four races to begin 2025.
The Novalda Suzuki star had a few brief scares to keep the gap close – including a very minor fluid leak that cut his lead in half with six laps to go – but was never really threatened by Van Winkle as he restored a nine-point advantage entering his home track in round three.
“I just wanted to get as many points as possible after I was taken out yesterday,” Collins said. “I grabbed the holeshot and was able to just put my head down. I had some grip issues but thankfully we brought it home.”
The determined effort makes up for his huge points loss on Saturday, though Van Winkle was understandably pleased with his weekend as he put himself firmly into the championship mix with a strong second-place finish for Mountainview Motorsports Suzuki.
“This round went so much better for us than Shannonville, getting almost as many points as possible. Torin took five off us today, but it was a decent race,” Van Winkle said. “It’s not what we hoped for today, but it is what it is. Torin’s riding great, so I just tried to keep it consistent.”
The 19 and 18-year-olds were joined on the podium by reigning champion Sebastien Tremblay, locking out another Suzuki podium aboard his S.T. Motosport machine.
However, the #1 plate holder had his work cut out for him with 21-year-old Alex Michel, who put in a defensive masterclass against Tremblay for majority of the race in their battle for third.
After Michel resisted a number of pass attempts throughout their race-long duel, Tremblay ultimately got the job done with a great move into turn three with two laps to go, securing a crucial podium to keep himself within 20 points of Collins at the front.
“My fitness level is not with these kids. Too many days working at the shop,” Tremblay joked. “The crash yesterday didn’t help. It was a tough race, but Alex rode so well, so we’ll take it.”
While Michel missed out on a second consecutive podium, the SpeedFactory67 Kawasaki rider capped off his excellent weekend with a valiant battle against Tremblay, moving to fifth in the championship
Charging to fourth was Elliot Vieira, putting in a great ride aboard his GP Bikes Ducati to keep himself in touching distance of the title fight and two points clear of Michel as the top non-Suzuki in the championship in fourth overall.
Vieira was matching the pace of the leaders in the last few laps but spent much of the race stuck behind the group of Michel, Tremblay, and John Laing, with Laing looking like an early threat for the podium but fading in the closing stages.
The Vass Performance Suzuki rider desperately tried to find a way into third but couldn’t maintain the pace into the final stint, dropping behind Vieira and settling for sixth.
Laurent Laliberte-Girard would finish seventh after taking a first career pro podium in Saturday’s chaotic first race. The result keeps the Nadon Sport Yamaha rookie seventh in the championship with a tiebreaker over Nathan Playford, who finished eighth on Sunday ahead of Mackenzie Weil.
Absent from the final order was Trevor Daley, who couldn’t make the start after injuring his left wrist in a crash on Saturday. The OneSpeed Suzuki star amazingly picked the bike up to finish sixth in race one, but couldn’t clear medical for race two as he slips from third to sixth in the championship.
The podium lockout for Suzuki will give them a commanding 82-point lead over Ducati in the Constructors standings, though the Panigale brand maintained a slight cushion over Kawasaki in the battle for second overall.
Full results can be found on the series’ official website.
