Toronto, Ontario – A new race division will join the Bridgestone CSBK national series in 2024, with the addition of an Amateur Twins category, and a brand-new Cup class for near standard “spec” Kawasaki ZX-4RR machinery.

“Our goal is to provide an opportunity for affordable competition within the Bridgestone CSBK range of classes,” explains series owner Ross Millson. “We’re excited to have Kawasaki join us in offering something new and exciting for Canadian road racing competitors.”

In 2023, CSBK offered a Pro Twins division in conjunction with the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike category, but next season that category will stand alone with an additional Amateur component for the two-cylinder machinery offered by Suzuki, Aprilia, and Yamaha. The rules structure for Pro Twins will mirror other national divisions, with horsepower established at 90 and enforced on the official Dynojet Dyno by Brooklin Cycle Racing of Pickering, ON.

All three manufacturers won National Pro Twins races in 2023, with Aprilia veteran Jeff Williams leading the category prior to a race injury suffered in July. Eventually, Suzuki-mounted first-year pro Andrew Van Winkle, age 16 from Chilliwack, BC, earned the inaugural Bickle Racing Pro Twins title.

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4RR Cup

Meanwhile, the big news is the development of a category focused on the brand new, high-revving four-cylinder Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4RR family of sports offerings.

Restricted in street trim due to noise regulations in the U.S.A., the CSBK Cup Series will allow for electronic upgrades that increase the engine’s power output. The unrestricted ZX-4RR is capable of more than 75 horsepower on a rear wheel Dyno.

Details of the Ninja ZX-4RR rules package and specific guidelines will be available shortly, the class offering only mild updates (bodywork, suspension, exhaust) to the standard high spec of the Ninja ZX-4RR.

The new series will be supported by Canadian Kawasaki Motors and be open to both Pro and Amateur level competitors.

Kawasaki last supported a “spec” type class in 2015, when CSBK produced 22 identical Ninja 300 twins for use in a special debut media event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. These Kawasakis formed the basis for what would become the debut of the Amateur Lightweight Sport Bike category in 2018.

The initial 2024 plan will see Pro and Amateur Twins classes share track time with the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4RR Series, practicing, qualifying, and racing together. As with the Pro-AM Lightweight category, each group will have one podium post race, with Pros and Amateurs sharing the rostrum.

However, if the two categories see sufficient entries, they could be separated in select later rounds.

In terms of Championship status, the Pros and Amateurs will be scored separately, meaning there will be a total of four National class Champions crowned at the completion of the 2024 season for the Pro-AM Twins/Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4RR class.

For more information on the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca

Toronto, Ontario – The Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship will return to Shannonville Motorsport Park to close out its season, but it won’t be the same circuit fans remember from five months ago as CSBK officials have confirmed the use of the 15-turn, interior “long track” layout.

After running the perimeter nine-turn, 2.4 km “pro track” in round one, the original plan was to return to SMP on the roughly 4 km layout to close out the season, a configuration not used on the national calendar since 2006.

Following consultation with a number of top pro riders during recent testing, the decision was made by CSBK and Shannonville officials to proceed with the long track layout.

The tighter configuration and longer lap have generated plenty of thrilling races in CSBK’s history, and previously served as the season finale from 2002-2005.

That span included a pair of nail-biting title deciders, as Pascal Picotte finished sixth to narrowly win the 2003 title by five points over Steve Crevier and race winner Francis Martin, only for Martin to get his revenge two years later and defeat race-winner Picotte by five points for his second championship.

It seems very likely history will repeat itself again in 2023, as the finale will serve as the title deciding shootout between championship leader Alex Dumas and reigning champion Ben Young, with Dumas carrying a three-point lead into the tripleheader.

Picotte currently holds the overall lap record around the long track layout with a time of 1:42.820, set during qualifying in 2004 aboard a factory Yamaha YZF-R1.

The Bridgestone CSBK season finale will feature three Superbike races and a full doubleheader for each of the remaining six national classes throughout the weekend, September 15-17 at the circuit just east of Belleville, Ontario.

More information can be found on the series’ official website at CSBK.ca.

For more information on the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca

Shannonville, Ontario – The 2024 Super Series schedule will include five rounds of double-header competition to be held between May and September at Shannonville Motorsport Park.

“We are already getting ready for the 2024 season and happy to release our dates so racers can plan their summer,” affirms Series General Manager, Dominique Bondar. “We have been working hard to make the 2024 season free of scheduling conflicts. As a regional series, it’s important to give those who aspire at a racing career the chance to do so without jeopardizing their championship at home. We have seen some great riders mature into remarkable racers within our group and I feel very proud.”

It’s no secret, Shannonville Motorsport Park is the finest venue for grassroots motorcycle racing in Canada. Its different configurations allow for diversity and the Super Series uses this advantage to create a five-event campaign that includes a variety of the best configurations.

The 2024 calendar will also include two racing schools and test days exclusively dedicated to Super Series competitors. The season kicks off on May 3rd with the Spring Super Series Racing School. The following weekend, May 10-12, the riders will take to the track layout for the first double header of the year.

2024 Schedule
Thursday (evening), May 2nd
& Friday (all day), May 3rd
Spring Racing School

Round 1
May 10 (Test Day)
May 11-12 (PRO Circuit)

 Round 2

June 14 (Test Day)
June 15-16 (LONG Circuit)

 Round 3

July 5 (Test Day)
July 6-7 (NELSON Circuit)

 Round 4

August 2 (Test Day)
August 3-4 (LONG Circuit)

 Round 5

September 6 (Test Day)
September 7-8 (PRO Circuit)

The 2024 Competition Licence will be available for purchase on December 1st, 2023. As usual, riders that purchase their licence before February 1st will be granted a free Test Day.

The 2023 Photo Book will be available for purchase shortly on our website. It is a collection of pictures that many photographers took during the season. The Super Series extends special thanks to all the photographers that shared their work with the series.

To find out more about the schedule, competition licences or the racing schools, please visit our website at www.super-series.ca.

Toronto, Ontario – The much-anticipated factory Kawasaki program of Jordan Szoke and Trevor Dion has come to an early end, as the two have finalized plans to run a separate effort at the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship finale in Shannonville later this month.

The split has been described as amicable, with both parties agreeing to go in their own direction for round five of the GP Bikes Pro Superbike class and beyond.

Szoke will maintain the status quo aboard his factory ZX-10R Ninja machine, though with a change in sponsorship as he continues with the official Canadian Kawasaki program from SMP. The 14-time champion currently sits fifth in the overall standings, scoring a podium in round one.

The biggest change comes for Dion, who will remain mounted on Kawasaki machinery for the season finale but now as a privateer with continued support from LDS Consultants.

The 21-year-old will run a privately owned 2019 ZX-10R Ninja in the feature Superbike category, a bike he has tested on throughout the 2023 campaign between national rounds, but perhaps more notably will also return to the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike grid for the season finale.

Dion won the Sport Bike championship a year ago aboard a privateer LDS Consultants Kawasaki, becoming the first rookie in class history to do so and the third-youngest champion ever, before joining forces with Szoke prior to this season for his first full Superbike effort.

While it’s been a frustrating year at times for the feature class rookie, sitting eleventh in the overall standings, Dion has shown flashes of brilliance – including a podium finish at Grand Bend – and remains in the thick of the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year battle, trailing John Fraser and Paul Macdonell by only eight points.

Both Dion and Szoke will continue to play a pivotal role in the Constructors Championship for Kawasaki, where the brand looks to erase their 32-point deficit to Yamaha for third in the overall standings.

Aside from his changing Superbike plans, Dion’s return to the Sport Bike class will be his first appearance since capturing his #1 plate at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park a year ago – a number he’ll now get to put on his ZX-6R Ninja machine.

“Having earned it last season, I’m pretty excited to be able to run the number-one plate at a national event, even if it’s for only one round,” Dion said. “Obviously Superbike is still going to be my main focus of the weekend, but I’m excited to hop on a Sport Bike again and have some fun after having some of the best races of my career in that class last season.”

The reigning champ won’t be able to defend his title but could play a significant role in deciding the 2023 crown, where David MacKay currently leads Matt Simpson by just 16 points. Ironically, it was MacKay who came closest to Dion one year ago, losing out on the championship by just eight points after a last-round comeback fell short.

The final round of the Bridgestone CSBK season is scheduled for September 15-17 at Shannonville Motorsport Park, just east of Belleville, Ontario, with a Superbike tripleheader on tap to decide the 2023 crown.

For more information on the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca