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By: Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship
July 22, 2024
July 22, 2024
Hamilton, Ontario – Three-time Canadian Superbike champion Ben Young turned in an excellent performance in his FIM World Endurance debut on Sunday, helping Team Taro Plus One BMW finish 13th overall at the famed Suzuka 8 Hours in Japan.
Young joined Japanese riders Taro Sekiguchi and Kyosuke Okuda in the Team Taro program, qualifying 23rd out of 46 entries with an average time of 2:08.944.
Initially slated to ride third in the rotation, Young’s long-run pace and consistency led the team to promote him to second on race day, taking over from Sekiguchi in 28th position and helping them climb to 19th by the end of his first stint.
After the team slipped back to 20th by the midway point, Young regained three positions in his second stint and exited in 17th. His third and final rotation would be the most crucial, climbing to 15th and stretching his stint long enough to avoid an extra stop in the final hour, something many teams ahead of them couldn’t avoid.
Sekiguchi would take over in the final hour and gain two more positions, finishing 13th overall and 12th in the feature WEC Superbike class, the best result in team history at Suzuka.
Johann Zarco, Takumi Takahashi, and Teppei Nagoe would win the Suzuka 8 Hours for Team HRC with Japan Post, Honda’s record-extending 30th victory at the circuit.
A full hour-by-hour recap, including more information on Young and Team Taro BMW’s efforts, can be found below.
Hour One (11:30 am local time)
Markus Reiterberger would grab the holeshot for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, but his lightning start was quickly negated by pole-sitters YART Yamaha and Niccolo Canepa.
A hard-charging Ryo Mizuno would put Ducati Team Kagayama into the lead on lap five, before Mizuno, Canepa, and Takumi Takahashi traded blows over the next handful of laps in an epic early battle. Takahashi would ultimately take the lead for good on lap 13 and began to stretch his advantage for Team HRC.
A difficult start saw Taro Sekiguchi drop from 23rd on the grid to as low as 30th for Team Taro Plus One BMW, though he was able to stabilize his pace and reclaim two positions by the time Ben Young took over roughly 50 minutes into the race.
Sekiguchi’s stop would set Young up to undercut some of the riders ahead, climbing to 22nd by the end of the first hour.
Hour Two
MotoGP star Johann Zarco would take over for Team HRC, extending their lead further to over 25 seconds through the first 90 minutes of the race. YART remained second, while SDG Team Honda climbed to third ahead of Ducati Kagayama and Yoshimura SERT Suzuki.
Young continued to charge his way up the field, climbing to 19th by the 90-minute mark and lapping better than the three riders ahead of him. He would hand things over to Kyosuke Okuda roughly an hour and 45 minutes into the race, with Okuda holding steady in 20th for the remainder of his stint.
Hour Three
With track temperatures exceeding 60ºC, Team HRC managed to extend their gap over YART to nearly 35 seconds, with Josh Waters and Ducati Kagayama moving up to third.
Sekiguchi would take over for Okuda and manage the Team Taro machine back to 18th, benefitting from a string of issues for former WEC champions F.C.C. Honda.
Young would then begin his second stint just before the halfway point, making up another position to 17th.
Hour Four (2:30 pm local time)
Yoshimura SERT Suzuki continued to charge up the leaderboards, with Dan Linfoot moving them past Ducati Kagayama for third. Moto2 star and former Moto3 champion Albert Arenas, who missed practice and qualifying with passport issues, took over for Linfoot despite his lack of track time with SERT Suzuki.
Young would end his second rotation in 17th place, putting in 24 laps across nearly a full hour, with Sekiguchi quickly making up a pair of positions to climb to 15th.
Hour Five
Team HRC continues their dominant showing, with Zarco helping lap up to fifth place on the grid. YART trails by over 40 seconds, with a pit stop ranging between 40 and 45 seconds for the top teams, nearly giving HRC a “free” stop.
Sekiguchi caps off his stellar third run in 16th, with Okuda staying in the same position throughout the rest of hour five. Eleven of the top 12 teams are running Bridgestone tires, as are Team Taro BMW.
Hour Six
YART has responded slightly, cutting their deficit to just under 40 seconds and erasing a “free stop” for Team HRC. Ducati Kagayama moves back past Yoshimure SERT Suzuki for third, while BMW Motorrad hunts down SDG Team Honda for fifth.
SERT Suzuki is given a ride-through penalty for a fuel cap infringement, which came as Arenas exited the pits for his first stint. This pushes them nearly a minute behind Ducati Kagayama in the battle for the final podium spot.
Young takes over for Okuda once again at 6:17 local time, joining in 16th and quickly chasing down Team Beringer Honda for 15th. Young claims 15th on lap 171, extending a large cushion between himself and the group behind Team Taro. Sekiguchi takes over once again just before the seven-hour mark, with the sun beginning to set.
Hour Seven
Team HRC has restored their 45-second advantage, securing a “free” stop as teams juggle their strategy over the final two hours. Ducati Kagayama makes an early stop, forcing them to make two more over the final 90 minutes.
SDG Team Honda drops down the order after late mechanical issues, slipping from fifth to tenth and promoting BMW Motorrad into the top-five.
Young take over for Sekiguchi early in the hour and puts in a long stint, completing 25 laps and crucially allowing Team Taro to require only one stop in the final hour. Other teams will not have enough fuel to do so, needing a “splash and dash” scenario in their final rotation.
Hour Eight (6:30 pm local time)
Now fully dark, Zarco extends Team HRC’s lead to over 50 seconds, with Ducati Kagayama slipping behind SERT Suzuki after they are forced to make an extra stop for fuel. Hafizh Syahrin tries to fend off Cocoro Atsumi for Ducati, but it is unsuccessful as Atsumi seizes third place.
Young pits for the final time with 45 minutes to go, allowing Sekiguchi to take over in 15th with no extra stops required. Sekiguchi quickly passes Koki Suzuki and Team ATJ for 14th, before a late crash from Anthony West promotes Team Taro to 13th.
Final Results (7:30 pm local time)
Team HRC is handed a 40-second penalty for a pit lane infringement, but Takumi Takahashi manages the gap enough to win his record sixth Suzuka 8 Hours and hold off YART Yamaha by just over seven seconds.
Despite the loss, YART Yamaha extend their lead in the WEC standings over Yoshimura SERT Suzuki with only one round remaining. SERT Suzuki holds onto the final podium spot, with Ducati Kagayama settling for fourth.
MotoGP star Zarco becomes the first premier class winner to take a victory at Suzuka since Valentino Rossi in 2001, and the first Frenchman to win the event since 1989.
Sekiguchi crosses the line 13th overall for Team Taro Plus One BMW, finishing 12th in the feature WEC Superbike class, their best result in team history. Young earns the best result for a Canadian in the modern Superbike era of the Suzuka 8 Hours, and the best finish in any classification for a CSBK rider since Jordan Szoke was 13th in 2002.
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- Category: Motorcycle
By: Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship
July 9, 2024
July 9, 2024
Hamilton, Ontario – After an extremely brief mid-season break, the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship will get back underway with round four action this weekend, returning to the east coast and Atlantic Motorsport Park, July 12-14, presented by Pro Cycle and Canadian Kawasaki.
The trip back to Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia will be a welcome one for GP Bikes Pro Superbike championship leader Ben Young, who is preparing for a whirlwind week ahead of him on the verge of a debut Suzuka 8 Hours appearance.
Young will depart AMP and head almost straight to Japan for the historic World Endurance event next weekend, set for July 21, but not before a crucial fourth round of the feature class at one of his favourite circuits.
The narrow, twisty, and physically demanding layout of “Shubie” has played a key part in some of Young’s greatest performances, including his spectacular 2019 comeback from ninth and his momentum-swinging victory over Alex Dumas in 2022.
Overall, the three-time Canada Cup champion has racked up three victories and ten podiums at AMP, never missing out on a top three finish since he made his full-time CSBK Superbike debut in 2016.
It’s a trend he will surely continue this weekend barring any major issues, but where he fits onto that podium isn’t necessarily a guarantee. The Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider has settled for just one win in his last four races after sweeping the Shannonville opener, and with Suzuka on the horizon he may be looking to avoid any significant risk in the lead battle, which will feature yet another new wildcard name.
This one – unlike most recent winner Torin Collins – won’t be as unfamiliar to CSBK fans, as 2023 top rookie John Fraser is expected to return to the series at his home track.
Fraser looked to be on course for at least a maiden podium last season as he qualified third on the grid and within a half-second of Alex Dumas, but he never got the chance to show off his local knowledge as historic flooding cancelled the rest of the weekend.
The 19-year-old is now back for a second try with some upgraded firepower, bringing one of Dumas’ former Suzuki GSX-R1000’s under the RLS Contracting Suzuki tent for his 2024 debut after missing the first three rounds.
The Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia native has dominated all three sARL regional races he has entered this season, winning by an average of almost 14 seconds, and will hope to keep that 100% record going and become the latest surprise winner of 2024.
Not to be discounted will be the previous owner of his machines, however, as Dumas also looks to settle his own personal score with Atlantic Motorsport Park.
It hasn’t been a circuit Dumas will have fond memories of, having derailed his 2022 title bid with a race one crash and losing out to Young in a bizarre mixed-weather race two that same weekend, but the newly minted Economy Lube Ducati rider is still a threat to win at virtually every track on the calendar.
While Dumas sorted through some slight mechanical gremlins in his Ducati debut at Edmonton, his V4R Panigale should be better suited to AMP than it was out west and will now have a weekend of data under its belt to work from.
It will be perhaps the most critical weekend of the season for current championship runner-up Sam Guerin, who saw his title hopes suffer a massive blow in round three.
The EFC Group BMW rider never seemed fully comfortable at RAD Torque, salvaging a pair of fifth place finishes after four consecutive podiums to begin 2024, and his track record at AMP shows another track that isn’t clearly his favourite.
Guerin qualified fifth a year ago before the cancellation and was no better in 2022, qualifying sixth and finishing fourth and fifth in races one and two respectively. That won’t be good enough to keep his title hopes alive this time around, though he is certainly talented enough to change his fortunes in his third trip to the east coast.
A rider who has built up the opposite resumé in Nova Scotia is Jordan Szoke, who racked up 14 victories at the venue between 1999 and 2019.
It’s now been almost five years since the 14-time champion last won at AMP, and his continued recovery from 2022 injuries won’t help around the punishing eleven-turn, 2.5 km “rollercoaster,” but Szoke has consistently been there to pick up the pieces in 2024 if things go wrong and will try to do the same this weekend for CKM Kawasaki.
He may have to deal with his unofficial teammate to do so, however, as Connor Campbell looks forward to a return east for B&T MacFarlane/Kubota Kawasaki.
It’s surprising to hear Campbell confess his love for AMP after a scary crash in 2022 ended his Sport Bike season, but the rookie has always felt fast around the venue and is now fully recovered from a rib injury that limited him in the first three rounds.
Feeling a much different way about Shubenacadie is David MacKay, who didn’t always enjoy his trips to Nova Scotia whilst in the Pro Sport Bike class.
The reigning middleweight champion scored just two of his 19 career podiums at the venue (both second place finishes in 2022) and cracked the top-five only three times in eight career races at AMP before switching to Superbike in 2024.
His adaptation to the CBR1000RR-R has been quicker than expected, however, and he may change his tune on the circuit if he can fight for a first career podium in the feature class this weekend.
More information can be found on the series’ official website.
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- Category: Motorcycle
By: Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship
June 24, 2024
June 24, 2024
Calgary, Alberta – The first official Bridgestone CSBK test at Rocky Mountain Motorsports concluded on Monday, with local star Torin Collins topping the timesheets at the private circuit just north of Calgary, Alberta.
Following a successful round three at Edmonton’s RAD Torque Raceway, the Canadian national series invited its competitors to make the trip to nearby Carstairs for a one-day test at RMM, with the goal of collecting data and information for a potential future race weekend.
The 18-turn, “chicane-layout” version of the track, featuring ten rights and eight lefts and numerous elevation changes, was popular with the pro paddock but described as a unique circuit with elements of various other tracks.
Collins – the most recent winner in the feature GP Bikes Pro Superbike class – had prior experience at the venue located just north of his hometown in Calgary, and was the rider to beat all day as he topped every pro session aboard his Novalda Kawasaki.
The 18-year-old didn’t have to face all the same threats as this past weekend, as championship leader Ben Young, runner-up Sam Guerin, and former champion Alex Dumas were amongst the absences on Monday.
However, he did have to go up against 14-time champion Jordan Szoke, with the two exchanging fast laps throughout the afternoon. Collins would ultimately set the fastest motorcycle lap ever recorded in the final session, a time of 1:41.174, with Szoke going second-best and just 0.986 off the front in his first ever trip to RMM.
While Collins admittedly has slightly more track time at the venue than most of the other riders in attendance, the rookie (who’s currently racing full-time in MotoAmerica) had nothing but good things to say about the day.
“It’s a fun track. It would be interesting for racing, it has some tight sections but I think there’s a lot of spots to pass still, and the asphalt is really good,” Collins said. “There would be some really fun races if CSBK came here. It’s physical, so it might be a bit of a tough race and the pace might drop off a bit, but I think it would be really cool.”
Despite lacking the experience of his younger counterpart at RMM, Szoke worked his way down to a very competitive time by the end of the day, going slightly faster than Collins’ previous unofficial lap record was at the start of the day.
The CKM Kawasaki rider opened up a near 1.5 second gap to the rest of the field, with Sebastien Tremblay going third-fastest on the day. The Turcotte Performance Suzukl rider was the lead Sport Bike rider on the day and very competitive with the Superbike field, a good launching point for a potential middleweight round in the future.
Home rider Philip DeGama-Blanchet was fourth and only marginally behind Tremblay for top honours in the Sport Bike ranks, posting a time of 1:44.360 aboard his Vass Performance Kawasaki.
Last year’s Sport Bike championship runner-up Matt Simpson turned in an excellent effort for PMR/Vass Performance BMW, going fifth-fastest with a time of 1:45.837 in just his first ever day riding a Superbike machine, filling in for Paul Macdonell.
As for the most recent Sport Bike winner, teenager Andrew Van Winkle was sixth-fastest for FD Racing Suzuki, only 0.129 seconds behind Simpson for a spot in the top-five.
Pro Rookie of the Year frontrunner Connor Campbell was seventh on the day, putting in a number of late improvements for B&T MacFarlane/Kubota Kawasaki to put himself just 0.020 seconds clear of fellow star rookie Mavrick Cyr aboard the Economy Lube Ducati.
Photos and times from the official test can be found on the series’ official website.
For more information on the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca
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By: Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship
July 8, 2024
July 8, 2024
Hamilton, Ontario – After an extremely brief mid-season break, the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship will get back underway with round four action this weekend, returning to the east coast and Atlantic Motorsport Park, July 12-14, presented by Pro Cycle and Canadian Kawasaki.
The Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia venue will hope this weekend brings better fortunes after historic flooding cancelled the event in 2023, and better weather will be music to the ears of two Economy Lube Pro Sport Bike riders who were eagerly anticipating their races one year ago – Sebastien Tremblay and Andrew Van Winkle.
The two find themselves in very opposite spots in the championship battle, as Tremblay has paced the standings since race two of the season and built up a 32-point advantage in the process, while Van Winkle only made his Sport Bike debut in round three.
However, the contrasting resumé’s meant very little in race two at Edmonton when Van Winkle stunned the field to become the youngest winner in Pro Sport Bike history, carving his way to the front in only his second appearance in the middleweight category.
The 17-year-old did capitalize on an injured shoulder that limited Tremblay all weekend, but there was plenty of other top riders he needed to beat at RAD Torque, including home favourite and race one winner John Laing who sits second in the championship.
What’s the biggest concern for the Sport Bike grid is that if anyone believed Edmonton could be a one-off for the Chilliwack, B.C. teenager, they should be reminded that his “home round” isn’t even Van Winkle’s favourite track – that honour would instead go to AMP.
It was at that track last season where the then-16-year-old took his first career pole position in the Pro Twins class, narrowly beating Jeff Williams who at that point had built up a perfect season. While he never got the opportunity to start from pole after the flooding cancelled the weekend, it was a turning point that launched Van Winkle’s championship season in the Twins category.
The FD Racing Suzuki rider will now enter Nova Scotia as a proven race winner at the track he loves most, a threatening message to the paddock as he looks to continue his winning ways on the east coast.
However, a more rested Tremblay will have his own fond memories of Shubenacadie, a track he is no slouch at either. The Turcotte Performance rider won there in 2018 and nearly did again in 2019, taking three consecutive podiums in the Sport Bike class at AMP, and he was set to be the pole-sitter himself one year ago.
He won’t need to concern himself with Van Winkle in the points battle, holding an 87-point lead over the teenager, but Tremblay saw his title grasp diminish at round three as he fought through the pain and will want to maximize every chance to restore that in round four.
It will represent the opposite type of weekend for Laing, who trimmed his deficit to Tremblay with a win and third-place finish at his home track but is one of the least experienced riders in the class at AMP.
The Vass Performance Kawasaki rider made the 49-hour drive straight from RAD Torque to AMP to race the sARL regional event last weekend, finishing second in each Pro Sport Bike race, but his best time of the round (1:11.363) would have placed him only seventh on last year’s grid.
The Cochrane, Alberta native will need to find more improvement if he hopes to keep his title hopes in good shape – a strong possibility for someone of his talent, but a tough spot to be in with only one day of unofficial practice before Friday qualifying.
Another pre-season favourite who now finds his back against the wall is Elliot Vieira, who wasn’t even scheduled to ride at AMP when the weekend was cancelled in 2023.
The Economy Lube Ducati rider has crashed out of three of the last four races to see his championship dreams evaporate, and his last AMP visit in 2022 yielded only sixth and fourth-place finishes, putting Vieira’s chances of a 2024 comeback on thin ice.
Hoping to leapfrog the title contenders will be teenage sensations Mavrick Cyr and Philip DeGama-Blanchet, who have traded weekends as the rookie to beat in their own personal rivalry.
Cyr seemingly moved the goal posts last time out as he earned his first career pro podium for Economy Lube Ducati, finishing second to Van Winkle in race two at Edmonton, and he will have another advantage coming his way as DeGama-Blanchet makes his first ever trip to Shubenacadie.
The 19-year-old Cyr took provisional pole in both Amateur Superbike and Amateur Sport Bike before the weekend was washed out in 2023, and the circuit was also the site of his first Amateur Superbike podiums as he finished third in each race, a strong indicator of how comfortable he feels around “Shubie.”
It will be the opposite for the 16-year-old DeGama-Blanchet who owns zero prior knowledge of the tight, twisty layout, but the Vass Performance Kawasaki star has exceeded expectations in virtually every race thus far and could continue to impress in his first visit to the east coast.
As for potential locals to throw into the mix, Atlantic Motorsport Park hasn’t seen as many wildcards in recent years but has plenty of regional talent to offer if that changes in 2024, including Eric Stanley.
The Halifax native beat Laing in both sARL races last weekend and posted times that would have placed him fifth on the national grid in 2023, making him a legitimate podium threat if he joins CSBK for round four at his home track.
More information can be found on the series’ official website.
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- Category: Motorcycle
By: Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship
June 23, 2024
June 23, 2024
Edmonton, Alberta – The Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship produced another new GP Bikes Pro Superbike winner on Sunday, as wildcard Torin Collins came out on top of a thrilling battle with Alex Dumas in race two at RAD Torque Raceway.
The two young talents first had to fight through championship leader Ben Young, who got a terrific start from pole position and led for the opening four laps, but all the chaos kicked off on lap five as Young got a bad launch out of the final corner and was passed by both riders into turn one – including a brave move around the outside by Collins.
The pair would quickly break away from Young and begin their showdown, with Collins attempting a number of passes and Dumas slamming the door each time. It appeared as though Dumas may have secured the win after a brilliant move to put lapped traffic between himself and Collins late in the race, but Collins immediately reeled the 2021 champion back in with five laps to go.
The Calgary native would then make the decisive move one lap later, barging his way through on Dumas with an aggressive pass in turn 12 to take the lead and promptly stretching out a slight advantage, one he would hold the rest of the way en route to a spectacular maiden victory.
The win puts Collins firmly in the CSBK record books, becoming the third-youngest Pro Superbike winner in history at 18 years old and 347 days (ironically surpassing Dumas by eleven days), and becoming the second-fastest rider to win a feature class race after doing so in just his second start.
“I got a bad start again, but today I just didn’t want to waste any time so I put my head down right away and was able to get around Ben on the outside in turn one,” Collins said. “I didn’t know how I was going to get past Alex, he was just so strong everywhere, so I kind of just went for it. We did make a little bit of contact – I hope he’s not too upset about that – but rubbing is racing!”
The stunning victory also proved to be a historic one for Kawasaki, as the Novalda-sponsored rider handed the manufacturer their 75th all-time Superbike victory, despite piloting a privateer machine he normally only uses for testing.
As for his future in Canada, Collins wouldn’t rule out a return to the CSBK paddock, as he juggles his duties with Altus Suzuki in the MotoAmerica Supersport championship.
“Obviously my commitment is to the current MotoAmerica season, but if there’s no conflicts, I’m open to anything,” Collins admitted. “I knew this was a great series, but even still I’ve been pleasantly surprised. It’s a lot of fun and the grid is really strong, so I definitely won’t close any doors.”
As for Dumas, the newly-minted Economy Lube Ducati rider will be forced to leave Edmonton without a win, but his third and second-place finishes will still represent a fantastic return to the series after missing the opening two rounds.
“It was a fun race, I’m pretty happy with most of it. There was a bit of contact, for sure, but I knew Torin was faster than me in some spots so I had to defend hard,” Dumas said. “I really wanted the top step of the podium today, but I’m happy to be back in CSBK and I can’t thank Steve Moxey and Economy Lube enough for the opportunity.”
While it was an unusually quiet third-place finish for Young, the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider admitted that once he lost the lead he was content with avoiding any unnecessary drama between the two non-title contenders.
“Congrats to these two, they both rode unbelievably well and it’s nice to have another new winner in the series,” Young said. “We had some front-end issues yesterday that I thought were resolved, but then I lost a lot of drive and they both got by me. After that I knew they were really going to push the issue and race hard, so I just kept the championship in mind.”
Despite his worst result of the season, Young would manage his 12th consecutive podium (the fourth-longest streak of all-time) and exit Edmonton with a 34-point lead, a much higher total than the eleven-point gap he held coming into round three.
That advantage was aided by Jordan Szoke in fourth, who held off title challenger Sam Guerin in an exciting battle further back. The two both ran with Young for majority of the race, with Szoke even attempting a few daring passes on his old rival, but their late duel would prove to be insufficient for Guerin as he settled for fifth.
David MacKay put his race one crash behind him and finished a much-needed sixth on Sunday, retaining fourth overall in the championship as he continues to build momentum for ODH Snow City Cycle Honda.
Local star Brian Worsdall was seventh, battling with fellow Alberta native Philip DeGama-Blanchet before Worsdall separated himself late on for Mots Machining Honda.
DeGama-Blanchet would take eighth for Vass Performance Kawasaki and move into third in the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year fight, albeit 31 points behind his close friend Collins, who takes over the award lead from Connor Campbell.
Collins’ victory will also help boost Kawasaki’s hopes in the Constructors Championship, cutting their deficit to 71 points behind leaders BMW and giving them a larger cushion over third-place Honda, who are also coming under fire from Ducati with the addition of Dumas to the mix.
The series will now get two full weeks of recovery before venturing east to Atlantic Motorsport Park, with round four getting underway in Nova Scotia, July 12-14.
Full results from Sunday’s action can be found on the series’ official website.
For more information on the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca