By: Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship
August 19 2016
Bowmanville, Ontario – Jordan Szoke broke Brett McCormick’s five-year-old lap record on Friday to claim pole position for this weekend’s final two rounds of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Riding the Mopar Express Lane / Motovan / BMW Motorrad BMW S1000RR the Mopar CSBK points leader took advantage of the new Dunlop Qualifying tires on offer for this final weekend to turn a lap at one minute, 20.778 seconds (176.350km/h) around the 3.9km (2.459-mile) track in the Dalton Timmis Insurance Qualifying Shootout and complete a sweep of pole positions for the 2016 season.
McCormick’s previous record was 1:20.866.
“I’m so glad we got the lap record; it feels great to do it at this place, this track means so much to the riders,” said the 37-year-old from Lynden, Ont. “Thanks so much to Dunlop. Qualifying tires are always exciting and they’re a great addition to the series. They make things so exciting for the riders and fans.”
Szoke received a cheque for $600 from Qualifying Award sponsor Dalton Timmis Insurance as well as a Rockwell watch courtesy of Canadian distributor Motovan.
Mississauga, Ont.’s Matt McBride qualified second fastest for this weekend’s pair of 20-lap races with a time of 1:20.867 on his Riders Choice / Dainese BMW S1000RR and picked up a cheque for $500 and Ben Young set the third fastest time of 1:20.906 aboard the Tim Horton’s / Scot-Build Developments / BMW Motorrad BMW S1000RR, good for $400 from Dalton Timmis Insurance.
Kenny Riedmann of Belfountain, Ont., currently second in the Mopar CSBK standings, qualified fourth at 1:21.028 riding the Sturgess Cycle / Liqui Moly / Joe Rocket Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja and completes the front row for this weekend’s pair of races.
As nice as the lap record and prizes were for Szoke, his pole position effort also allowed him to increase his lead over Riedmann in the Mopar CSBK standings. The 10-time Canadian Superbike champion picked up four points and now has a 54-point lead over Riedmann, who earned a single point, 272-218, with 50 points available for first place in each of the two Superbike races at CTMP. Szoke is also trying to complete his second straight sweep of all Pro Superbike races, and his third perfect campaign in his career.
Young is 30 points behind Riedmann, third in the standings with 188 points, after adding two more to his total in Dalton Timmis Insurance qualifying.
Szoke made a relatively early switch to the special, sticky Dunlop Qualifying slick, which made its debut in qualifying on Friday and turned his record lap just past the halfway point of the 20-minute Top 10 shootout.
“I felt like I left a bit out there but I can’t complain,” Szoke said. “I had a bit of traffic at Moss’s [turn 5] on my second lap and I missed a shift and ran wide.”
McBride is making his return to the Mopar CSBK series after qualifying second and leading the most laps at the season opener at Shannonville Motorsport Park, where he finished third. He was fastest in the morning practice session but admitted to not getting the best out of the Dunlop qualifier.
“I thought I had something for Jordan,” he admitted, “but I didn’t trust the rear tire enough at the beginning of my lap. That tire has so much, but I just didn’t trust it. But we’ve still got the races ahead of us and I want to win a couple of these, or at least one.”
Young bounced back from troubles with his bike during testing on Thursday to add to his lead in the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year standings to claim his fourth straight front row qualifying spot.
“I’m a bit frustrated,” Young said. “On my fast lap I pushed too much in [turn] 5B, tucked the front and ran wide. With the times so close it made a big difference. But at the end of the day we’re in one piece and it’s nice to come back to a track I know.”
Riedmann was another rider to admit to difficulties adapting to the new qualifying tire.
“By the time I had learned how to ride the qualifier it was garbage,” said the 24-year-old of the narrow performance window afforded by the qualifying rear. “Even one session to get some practice on it would have been helpful. But I’m happy to be on the front row and I feel we have a good consistent race pace.”
Chris Murray-Audain of Scarborough, Ont. qualified fifth fastest with a time of 1:21.758 on his One Stop Dealer Services / Hindle Exhaust / Endras BMW S1000RR. He will be joined on the front row by Claudio Corti on the HSBK / Canadian Aprilia Dealers Group / Pure Genius Beverages Aprilia RSv4 and the OneSpeed Yamaha YZF-R1 ridden by Trevor Daley.
A regular on the U.S.-based MotoAmerica tour, Corti is making his first visit to CTMP and the 29-year-old Italian turned a lap at 1:21.806.
Daley’s best lap was a 1:21.972, faster than he has previously gone at CTMP.
The third row of the Superbike race grids will be made up of Mirabel, Que.’s Sebastien Tremblay on the MotoNation / Laval Moto Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja, the Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR1000RR ridden by Jeff Williams of Inverary, Ont., Michael Leon of Beaconsfield, Que. on the Royal Distributing Race Team / BMW Motorrad / Pro 6 Cycle BMW S1000RR and Warman, Sask.’s Bodhi Edie with the Trip-Dub Racing / Z1 Cycletech / Birkett Freight Solutions Yamaha YZF-R1.
During the post-qualifying podium ceremony Dan Avon, Vice President of Personal Insurance and a Partner with Dalton Timmis Insurance, was presented with a Shoei helmet signed by the top three qualifiers in appreciation for his company’s involvement with the Mopar CSBK series.
In other action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Riedmann closed in on his third straight Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike title by claiming pole position for this weekend’s races on his Kawasaki ZX-6R with a time of 1:24.454. Riedmann now has 224 points, 102 more than his nearest challenger, Alex Coelho of Brossard, Que. Coelho was 10th quickest aboard his Black Sheep Racing / Liqui Moly / A.G. Graphique Kawasaki ZX-6R and failed to add to his point score.
Sarnia, Ont.’s Will Hornblower was second quickest in qualifying with a time of 1:25.264 while Ripley, Ont.’s Mitch Card and Newcastle, Ont. racer Elie Daccache complete the front row in the Pro Sport Bike class. All three were aboard Yamaha YZF-R6s.
Toronto’s Michael Taylor came into the weekend third in Pro Sport Bike points but suffered a broken leg in a crash during morning practice and has been ruled out of racing for the remainder of the weekend.
Mississauga, Ont.’s Chris Gray took pole position in the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike class with a time of 1:26.172 on his Suzuki GSX-R1000. Neither Jean-Marc Bilger, in sixth, nor 10th fastest Chris Brent managed to add to their point totals meaning Bilger retains his 33-point lead over Brent heading into this weekend’s races.
Jacob Shaw-O’Leary clawed back a point to Shoei Premium Helmets Amateur Sport Bike Championship leader Brent by claiming pole position for this weekend’s races and four points. The Falmouth, N.S. racer turned a lap at 1:26.785 on his Honda CBR600RR and now has 143 points to Brent’s 191. Battling lower back problems, Ottawa’s Brent was second quickest at 1:27.275, also on a Honda CBR600RR, and added three points to his class-leading total.
Windsor, N.S.’s Brandon Pemberton was quickest in practice for the Kawasaki Ninja 300 Spec National Series with a time of 1:43.319. Pemberton comes into the weekend just a point behind class leader Eric Quintin of Ile Perrot, Que., who set the third fastest overall practice time on Friday.
Competition at CTMP continues on Saturday with feature races in all five national classes. Practice begins at 9:00 am with the first race, for the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike Championship, set to burst into action at 1:00 pm.
For more information and to order tickets, call the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Hotline at 1-800-866-1072 (Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm ET), visit online at www.canadiantiremotorsportpark.com, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Starting line-up for this weekend’s fifth and sixth rounds of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, showing starting position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and qualifying time:
1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:20.778 (176.350km/h)
2. Matt McBride, Mississauga, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:20.867
3. Ben Young, Collingwood, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:20.906
4. Kenny Riedmann, Belfountain, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:21.028
5. Chris Murray-Audain, Scarborough, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:21.758
6. Claudio Corti, Como, Italy, Aprilia RSv4, 1:21.806
7. Trevor Daley, Mississauga, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:21.972
8. Sebastien Tremblay, Mirabel, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:22.378
9. Jeff Williams, Inverary, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 1:22.399
10. Michael Leon, Beaconsfield, Que., BMW S1000RR, 1:22.902
11. Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:23.096
12. Samuel Trepanier, St-Isidore-de-Laprairie, Que., BMW S1000RR, 1:23.312
13. Marco Sousa, Schomburg, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:23.867
14. Scott Rupert, Gadshill, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:23.996
15. Mitch Card, Ripley, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:24.054
16. Ross Millson, Hamilton, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:24.488
17. Derrick Whyte, Oshawa, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:24.662
18. Franklyn Dominguez, Montreal, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:24.753
19. Alex Coelho, Brossard, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:24.984
20. Riley Gage Dawe, Toronto, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:25.732
21. Sean Heydorn, Stouffville, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:25.840
22. Tomas Casas, Peterborough, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:25.847
23. Will Hornblower, Sarnia, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:26.534
24. Darren James, North Vancouver, B.C., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:28.161
25. Mike Rainowski, Brighton, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:28.844
26. Stacey Nesbitt, St-Lazare, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 1:28.999
27. Reiner Griese, Picton, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 1:29.209
28. Martin Cote, Notre Dame de L'Ile Perrot, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 1:32.064
29. Ernie McCafferty, Leduc County, Alta., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:34.146
30. Grant Smith, Ottawa, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, No Time
31. Louie Raffa, Ste-Marthe, Que., Honda CBR600RR, No Time
32. Michael Taylor, Toronto, Ont., Triumph 675, No Time