MONT-TREMBLANT, Que. – Jordan Szoke signalled he will not give up his Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship crown without a fight by dominating practice for the final round of the season at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant on Friday.
The Brantford, Ont. rider, who is chasing a second straight national title and ninth overall, turned a time of one minute, 40.269 seconds on his Waznie Racing / BMW Motorrad Canada / Parts Canada BMW S1000RR to lead the field by over a second. Szoke averaged 152.949km/h (91.769 mph) around the 4.26km (2.65-mile) track.
“Both bikes felt phenomenal and I was able to set good times on both of them,” said Szoke, who comes into the weekend with a 41-point lead, 251-210, over Alex Welsh in the Mopar Canadian Superbike standings. “We did a lot of laps in the low to mid-40s and I felt very comfortable.”
A win in Sunday’s race is worth 50 points, and there are also four points available for the fastest qualifier in Magneti Marelli SuperPole qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
Uxbridge, Ont.’s Welsh was fourth fastest in practice on Friday with a time of 1:42.247 riding the AW7R / Kenwood Electronics Canada / Parts Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000, despite a crash in the afternoon session.
“I think we made a little setting error in the front fork,” explained Welsh, who is bidding for his first Canadian Superbike title and won the most recent event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. “There wasn’t a ton of damage and we should be good for tomorrow. I went out on the back-up bike and it was pretty good.”
Matt McBride of Mississauga, Ont. was second fastest in practice with a 1:41.603 on the Riders Choice BMW S1000RR, while Keene, Ont. racer Jodi Christie had the third fastest time of 1:42.019 riding his Jodi Christie Racing / Honda Canada / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR1000RR.
In other action John Ross MacRae edged Christie, who has already clinched the title, for the best practice time for the Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike Championship. Calgary’s MacRae turned a lap at 1:44.454 aboard his Riedmann Racing / Castrol / Blackfoot Triumph 675 while Christie managed 1:44.495 on his Honda CBR600RR.
Toronto’s Michael Taylor turned the fastest lap in practice for the Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup on Friday, with a 1:51.304. The Mackie Harley-Davidson rider is chasing Maple Ridge, B.C.’s Steve Crevier in the series standings. The MotoSport Plus rider was fourth overall on Friday.
Stephan Houle of Gatineau, Que. was fastest in the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike class with a time of 1:45.676 on his 613 Motorsports / Wheelsport Kawasaki ZX-10R while points leader Riley Dawe of Toronto could only manage 22nd as he battled technical issues with the Riley Dawe Racing / AdrenalineX BMW S1000RR.
Hugo Fournier of L’Islet, Que. set the fastest time in Bazzaz / Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike practice with a 1:47.840 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Points leader Mitch Card of Ripley, Ont. was third quickest on the ProStar Motorsports / Blue Streak Racing Honda CBR600RR.
Newly-crowned Honda CBR250R National Race Series champion Tomas Casas of Peterborough, Ont. led practice on Friday with a time of 2:10.139 on his Peterborough Cycle Salvage-backed entry.
Action at Mont-Tremblant continues Saturday with qualifying, including the Magneti Marelli SuperPole in the Pro Superbike division. Saturday’s action also includes the penultimate rounds of the Amateur Superbike championship and CBR250R series. Feature races in all six national classes will run Sunday.
Tickets are available by calling (819) 425-6363, or by emailing info@lecircuit.com. Fans can also visit the website at www.lecircuit.com.
Video coverage of the Mopar Pro Superbike, Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup and Saturday’s Honda CBR250R National will be available on www.csbk.ca, as well as highlights from the Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike race.
–From Frontline CSBK Inc.
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