By: Hindle Exhaust  
May 28 2019 

Port Perry, Ontario - The opening round of the 2019 Canadian Superbike Series (CSBK) took place May 17-19 at Shannonville Motorsport Park in Shannonville, Ontario.

On Friday during practice, Ben Young, on the Scot-Build/Hindle/BMW S1000RR, turned the fastest lap, which set the pace for qualifying the following day. Unfortunately, Jordan Szoke, on the Mopar Express Lane/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-10R, had a freak mishap in the last corner which sent the bike flying over pit wall and hitting the edge of the grand stands. Thankfully, no one was hurt - except for Szoke who was sent to the hospital for stitches in his arm.

Later in the afternoon, Young kept the momentum going in Superpole, claiming the top spot on the front row of the grid, followed by Jeff Williams on the Hindle/BMW S1000RR, Kenny Riedmann on the Sturgess Cycle/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-10R and reigning Superbike Champion Jordan Szoke, on the Mopar Express Lane/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-10R in 4th.

On Sunday for race day, the weather cooperated to make for some exciting racing. Young led the race the entire time, with race rivals Riedmann and Szoke close on his tail. Young ended up keeping the fast pace and finishing on the top spot on the podium, followed by Riedmann in 2nd and Szoke in a close 3rd.

"It feels really great. We had a great start, but I knew they were behind me the whole way, so I really had to push," said Young. "It's nice to see BMW continuing their run of wins here this season, and I'm just honored to be a part of that."

For Riedmann, on the Sturgess Cycle/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-10R, this is the second time in his career that he has finished ahead of reigning champion, Szoke. "Jordan's a 13-time champion, so obviously keeping him behind me was never going to be easy, but I was really trying to find a weak spot on Ben to make a pass and just couldn't find one," Riedmann said. "He put in a really fast lap at the end that I just couldn't match, so I'm really glad to be here on the podium and fighting with these guys. It was a lot of fun."

In his debut race aboard a Superbike, Pro Sportbike champion Tomas Casas finished in an impressive 4th place on his Parts Canada/Hindle/Yamaha YZF-R1. Rounding up the top 5 was Samuel Trepanier, on the Blysk Racing/Hindle/BMW S1000RR, who had a massive crash earlier on in the weekend but still managed to finish 5th despite his injuries.

In the Liqui Moly Pro Sportbike Class race, things got a little shaken up as the #1 plate holder Tomas Casas, on the Parts Canada/Hindle/Yamaha YZF-R6, had an unfortunate crash during the last lap of the race, also taking out race leader Sebastien Tremblay, on the DB Moto/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-6R.

With the two leaders now out, Hamilton, Ontario's Will Hornblower (Yamaha YZF-R6) was able to secure the top spot on the podium, followed by David MacKay on the Mack Attack/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-6R in 2nd place and Samuel Desmarais, on the Playground Poker/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-6R in 3rd place.

Dave Natale on the Aprilia RSV4 took home 1st in the Mopar Express Lane Amateur Superbike Race
In Amateur racing, Dave Natale, on the Hindle-powered Aprilia RSV4, rode consistently to first place in the Mopar Express Lane Amateur Superbike class. Guillaume Fortin (Kawasaki ZX-10R) finished in 2nd place, followed by Julien Lafortune (Kawasaki ZX-10R) in 3rd place.

In the Parts Canada Amateur Sportbike class, Christian Allard on the Hindle-powered Kawasaki ZX-6R finished in 1st place, followed by Jared Walker (Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-6R) in 2nd place and Wayne Marchand (Yamaha YZ-R6) in 3rd place.

In other Amateur racing, the ever-popular TSN Motorcycle Experience Amateur Lightweight class is back for another year. In Race 1, Ben Leclair, brother to last year's champion Jake Leclair, won on his Oshawa Cycle/Yamaha YZF-R3, followed by Avery Hart (who hails from Princeville, Nova Scotia) on the Hindle-powered Yamaha YZF-R3 in 2nd place and Matt Simpson on the Hindle-powered Honda CBR500R in 3rd place. In Race 2 of the TSN Motorcycle Experience Amateur Lightweight class, Hart took home the win followed by Leclair in 2nd and Simpson in 3rd.

The next round takes place at Grand Bend Raceway in Grand Bend, Ontario, June 7-9. For more information, including rider bios and current championship standings, check out the Canadian Superbike Championship website.

The Grand Bend round will be extra special as it will be in conjunction with the Classic Superbike Racing Series (CSBR) which is in its inaugural year. There just may be a special Superbike (hint: KZ1000) being taken out for the opening ceremonies/parade lap. See you at the races!