Superb Szoke wins Superbike Stunner

Jordan Szoke came out on top of a thrilling scrap to win the fifth round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Mosport International Raceway this past Sunday.
The win completed a sweep of the weekend doubleheader at Mosport and
put the three-time defending series champion in a commanding lead of the
Superbike point standings with two races remaining in the season.

Riding his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R, Szoke finished
just 0.274 secs. in front of his closest championship rival, Saskatoon’s
Brett McCormick on the Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing Suzuki GSX-
R1000. Granby, Que. racer Kevin Lacombe finished third on the Team Toyota
Yamaha / OTSFF Yamaha YZF-R1 just 0.336 secs. behind Szoke.
These three traded the lead repeatedly throughout the 20-lap race
around Mosport’s 3.9km (2.459-mile) track.

“What a great race, anybody could have won that one,” said Szoke
after his 29th career Canadian Superbike win and his sixth at
Mosport. “Fortunately I pulled it off today. I got a good break through
lapped traffic near the end and was able to hold on.”
The win gives Szoke 251 points in the Parts Canada Superbike
Championship standings to the 226 of McCormick heading into the penultimate
round at Nova Scotia’s Atlantic Motorsport Park Aug. 7-9. A race win is
worth 50 points.

Starting from pole position, the 17-year-old McCormick led the
opening four laps before Szoke took over for the first time on lap five.
McCormick was in front again from laps 9-12, Szoke led laps 12 and 13 and
then Lacombe led two laps before Szoke finally got ahead for good on lap 17.
“When I got out front I tried to slow Brett down a little and keep
the pack as tight as possible,” said Szoke, who led the most laps with
10. “I thought maybe I could get a couple of guys between us at the end and
help my points situation.”

Lacombe held second until the last turn on the final lap, when
McCormick was able to sneak inside.

“That was a lot of fun,” said McCormick, who came into the Mosport
weekend leading the Parts Canada Superbike standings and set a new track
record in qualifying on Friday. “My goal was to get out front and check out
but the other guys thought otherwise. I just didn’t have quite enough today.”
McCormick was coming off an eighth place finish in Saturday’s
Superbike feature, where he was penalized five seconds for a jump start and
then lost five positions when his bike failed post race technical inspection.
Lacombe had planned to make a move for the win but admitted to
missing the last lap signal in the flurry of action late in the race.

“I knew I had to get the holeshot at the start and ride on the
edge,” said Lacombe, who dropped out of Saturday’s lap on the opening lap
with a blown engine. “I was getting a bad drive onto the back straight every
lap but my bike was fast, especially on the infield.”

Clint McBain finished fourth on the Suzuki Dealers / Acceleration
Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. The Cochrane, Alta. rider spent the entire race
glued to the back of the lead fight but lost a chance to go for the win when
he was stuck behind lapped traffic on the final tour.

McBain is now third in the Parts Canada Superbike point standings
with 164.

Szoke’s Canadian Kawasaki Motors team-mate Alex Welsh of Uxbridge,
Ont. took fifth on another ZX-10R and moved up to fourth in points with 145.
Matt McBride of Mississauga, Ont. ran a lonely race to sixth on the
Riders Choice Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Kars, Ont.’s Andrew Nelson came out on
top of a three-way battle for seventh on his Nelson Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
In other action at Mosport, Szoke opened up a 27-point lead in the
Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike Championship with his third win of the season on
his Kawasaki ZX-6R.

The three-time defending class champion finished 0.232 secs. ahead
of team-mate Welsh in the 14-lap race with Lacombe third on his Yamaha YZF-
R6 and Crevier a close fourth aboard the Buell 1125R. The top four were
covered by less than half a second.

Szoke opened up a 27-point lead, 255-228, over McCormick in the Pro
Sport Bike standings with two races to go. McCormick was part of the lead
scrap but dropped back to a sixth place finish when he suffered a brief
technical problem on lap nine.

Cochrane, Alta.’s Cody Matechuk extended his lead in the Armour
Bodies Amateur Sport Bike class to 31 points with his third win of the year
on the Suzuki Dealers / Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R600.
His closest title rival, Sebastien Tremblay of Longueuil, Que. took
second aboard the A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R and Efram Ellenbogen
of Belleville, Ont. completed the podium riding the BnE Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
Raphael Archambault of St-Colomban, Que. completed a weekend sweep
of the Suzuki SV650 National Cup races at Mosport and opened up a 33-point
lead in the standings over Brantford, Ont.’s Rob Busby, who finished third.
Jeremie Hade Precourt took second in the dramatic race, with the top three
covered by 0.099 secs. at the line.

Steven Nickerson of Hamilton, Ont. took over the lead of the Honda
CBR125R Challenge with a win at Mosport on Sunday while his closest rival,
Bodhi Edie crashed out of the lead battle. Nickerson finished 5.854 secs.
ahead of Quesnel, B.C.’s Ryan Appenrodt while Karl Robitaille of Ste-Julie,
Que. placed third.

Nickerson now leads Edie by 39 points in the Honda CBR125R Challenge
standings, 318-279. The Warman, Sask. rider was unhurt in his fall.

Vicki Schouten of Richmond, Ont. won for the second day in a row in
Pro Honda Oils Women’s Cup riding the Kahuna Powersports Kawasaki ZX-6R.

Photo by Paolo Cescato www.cescato.com