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Lombardy, Ontario – The inaugural round of the Canadian Mini Superbike National Championship series wrapped up in familiar but exciting fashion on Sunday, as rising star Vincent Lalande won another close Canada Cup battle at the Lombardy Raceway. 

The season opening event, presented by the Super Sonic Road Race School, saw Lalande emerge as the early favourite in the paddock on Saturday after conquering race one of the feature Canada Cup and two other support races. His impressive form did not wear off overnight, however, as he entered Sunday with even more pace despite another stiff challenge from emerging rival Ben Hardwick. 

Hardwick would start on pole position for race two by virtue of his qualifying performance on Saturday, but the pressure was on the youngster after Lalande won race one before setting a new outright lap record on Sunday morning. Nevertheless, Hardwick ignored the momentum as he grabbed the holeshot in race two, pacing Lalande in the early going aboard his mandatory Pirelli-mounted Ohvale machine. 

After sustained pressure throughout the first four laps, Lalande finally made a move stick on lap five, forcing Hardwick into a rare mistake as he ran wide in the hairpin to fall roughly two seconds back of the lead. The pole-sitter would dramatically chip away at that deficit as he carved his way back to Lalande, but it ultimately was too little, too late as Lalande held on for a narrow victory to sweep the first-round doubleheader. 

The duo was again joined on the podium by Merik Sommer, who continued to ride a quietly strong weekend and complete his double-podium debut in third. While Sommer remained firmly off the pace of Lalande and Hardwick, he was equally as impressive in his lonely ride for third, entrenching himself as the dark horse in the title fight should the front-running duo encounter any problems. 

By virtue of the two victories, Lalande will exit the opening round with a championship lead atop the Canada Cup standings, with Hardwick and Sommer close behind as they prepare for round two at Lombardy next weekend.  

Lalande’s efforts weren’t limited to just the feature category, as he again stormed to a pair of support wins aboard his Speed Factory Buccimoto machine. The 14-year-old Mirabel, QC native won both the Moto1 and GP-1 class races to add to his trophy haul, beating Hardwick in both events as he displayed his proficiency on both bike types. 

Sommer, meanwhile, captured another MiniSBK victory in the GP2 category, while Aaron Burns won the Sport-1 race and Michael Galvis won the Sport-2 category. Jacob Black did double-duty as both racer and announcer, winning the Moto3 class race after a spirited battle with Connor Campbell, while Campbell got his revenge later on to beat Black in the Sport-3 category. 

The riders won’t have long to wait before returning to the Lombardy Raceway, with the second round doubleheader scheduled to get underway May 14-15, while the Super Sonic Road Race School will also host a customary track day on Friday. 

The full season schedule, including registration details, can be found on the series’ official website at www.supersonicschool.com. 

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

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Toronto, Ontario – The nail-biting 2021 Canadian Superbike Championship season will come to a thrilling conclusion this weekend, as the three-headed title fight in the feature Pro Superbike class returns to Calabogie Motorsports Park, September 17-18.

With five races in the books and two more left to run in the final doubleheader weekend, the gap atop the Superbike class remains as minimal as ever, with rookie sensation Alex Dumas leading the championship by just ten points with 108 left for grabs.

The Liqui Moly MPG/Fast School Suzuki rider saw his lead shrink slightly in the round two tripleheader at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, failing to win either of the three races as he saw title rivals Ben Young (race one) and Jordan Szoke (races two and three) sweep the weekend.

Still, Dumas showed championship poise well beyond his years, finding the podium in all three contests to escape with a slim advantage as he returns to Calabogie, the site of his historic two-win CSBK debut back in July.

As for Young, the 2019 champion is Dumas’ biggest threat to the title, as he remains the only other rider to find the podium in all five races so far. Young previously placed his Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW in second place in both of the round one races at Calabogie, before capturing his first victory in nearly two years at CTMP.

Young famously backed out of a self-described “sketchy” last lap pass on Dumas in race two at the Calabogie opener, knowing he had five more races to consider, but the Scotland native will have less reason to back down when the two sides reignite their battle this weekend with a championship on the line.

The dark horse in the title battle will be reigning champion Jordan Szoke, who remains in the running for a record 15th Canada Cup but will need a bit of assistance from his rivals as he enters with a 30-point deficit to Dumas.

The Canada General Warranty Kawasaki rider will at least have momentum on his side as he heads to Calabogie fresh off a pair of thrilling victories, and Szoke will have no reason to be conservative as he tries to make up for his sizeable points deficit.

Neither of the three riders will be able to map out any definitive championship scenario or “magic number” as of yet, given the massive haul of points still on the table that includes two races, qualifying points, and a bonus for laps led, but there are three likely scenarios that could award each of the top three the title.

The first, which will see Dumas capture his first Canada Cup and become the youngest Pro Superbike champion in history, requires only that he win one of the two races and find the podium in the other. If he does so, it doesn’t matter what Young does in the other race, as Dumas will have enough of a gap built up to control his own fate.

The second scenario, which would see Young clinch his second Pro Superbike title in three seasons, requires that he beats Dumas in both races and takes a top-two finish in each. Should he win once and Dumas not win at all, Young can make up the remaining deficit with just a second-place finish.

The third and final scenario, which would see Szoke storm back to add another trophy to his resumé, requires that Dumas misses the podium at least once and Young fails to crack the top-two in both races. While unlikely, the outcome is not impossible given the deep field we have seen in 2021.

The headliners of that deep group of talent are a pair of impressive rear-gunners battling for the fourth spot in the championship, as Trevor Daley (4th) and Sebastian Tremblay (5th) have each been pivotal in helping their respective factory mates.

Daley, riding for OneSpeed Suzuki, has been the only rider outside the top three in the championship to crack the podium this season, which has been crucial not just to Suzuki’s quest for a Constructors Championship but also to Dumas’ title bid out front.

Tremblay, meanwhile, could be a major X-factor in the final weekend, as the Turcotte Performance Kawasaki rider is expected to break out his ZX-R1 Ninja superbike for the first time at Calabogie.

The Mirabel, QC native finished sixth in both races at round one aboard his lesser-powered ZX-6R, but the likely Pro Sport Bike champion should be a legitimate podium threat in his return to Calabogie, which could play into the hands of fellow Kawasaki star Szoke.

Another pair of riders to watch on race day will be youngsters Tomas Casas and Samuel Guerin, who have had two wildly different campaigns thus far but remain two of the most talented young riders on the grid.

Casas has been extremely consistent if unspectacular in 2021, finding the top-six in every race so far but failing to improve upon a best result of fifth. Still, the Parts Canada Yamaha rider has flashed the pace to win at the Superbike level, and he could do so this weekend in what should be a wide-open battle at the front.

Another rider with truly nothing to lose, Guerin has had an abysmal rookie Pro campaign, finishing just once sandwiched between four DNF’s as he sits 18th in the championship. However, Guerin consistently has podium pace when he does finish, and the EFC Group BMW rider will be desperate to come away with something positive to cap off his disappointing debut season.

The full schedule for the final weekend of the 2021 season can be found on the series’ official website at csbk.ca.

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

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Burlington, Ontario — REV TV YOUR MOTORSPORTS & AUTOMOTIVE DESTINATION 24/7 is really excited to have the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup represented on the channel this year. The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup has been the launching pad for so many future Champions over the last 15 years, and we can’t wait to see who’ll shine in their 16th.

Riding Moto3 specification KTM RC 250 R 4-stroke machines across a 14-race, seven-round season featuring some of the most classic Grand Prix circuits of Europe, the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is a crucible out of which greatness is born. Their track record speaks for itself with the MotoGP™ paddock’s Johann Zarco, Brad Binder, Joan Mir, Jorge Martin, Enea Bastianini and Pedro Acosta, as well as reigning WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, among the list of impressive former Rookies.

“The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is truly a birthplace of motorcycle racing champions and we are thrilled to add coverage of all 14 rounds to REV TV,” said Mike Garrow, President of REV TV. “Having the Rookies on REV is a great compliment to our MotoGP and WorldSBK coverage, which features a number of riders who cut their teeth in the ultra-competitive series, the future of fast rides on REV TV” he added.

 “The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is one of the biggest and most successful paths on the Road to MotoGP, with so many former Rookies having gone on to incredible success in World Championship motorcycle racing. We’re delighted fans in Canada will be able to follow the progress of the Champions of the future on REV TV and enjoy the incredible racing in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup each and every round.”

Coverage of the 2022 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup begins on May 8th as a part of our Monster Moto Mother’s Day Weekend Marathon, which will feature the first four rounds of the series back-to-back at 8PM ET following a day full of two-wheeled action as we recap the MotoGP and WorldSBK seasons so far.

About the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup began in 2007 and has released new stars into the world of Grand Prix racing since.  Former Rookies now compete with enormous success in all classes of Grand Prix racing. For five of the last six seasons, the Moto3™ World Champion has been an ex-Rookie and the 2020 Rookies Cup winner, Pedro Acosta, stepped up and won the Moto3™ World Championship in his debut season.

About REV TV 

YOUR MOTORSPORTS & AUTOMOTIVE DESTINATION is available to over 6 million households across Canada and features over 200 races from around the world and right here at home. From two-wheels to four and so much more. REV TV showcases all forms of high-octane racing, such as MotoGP, Monster Jam, AMA Supercross, World Rally Championship, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Indy Lights, World Endurance Championship, World RX Championship, IndyCar Classics, SPEED SPORT TV, along with news coverage such as The Inside Line (F1), Winged Nation (winged sprint cars) and Tuning 365 Performance Auto & Sound Magazine. We also have a slate of original programming with REV Culture with Todd Lewis that features interviews with motorsports luminaries, All North Racing which focuses on grassroots racing, a slew of how-to and behind-the-scenes programs, and so much more.

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Toronto, Ontario – The 2021 Canadian National motorcycle road racing Championship series, CSBK, will launch the season’s TSN broadcast schedule on Tuesday, August 24. The Sports Network will eventually broadcast eleven episodes of Canadian National event coverage during 2021, including all seven Pro Superbike Feature races and four of the 2021 Liqui Moly Sport Bike class events for middleweight machinery.

The TSN broadcast format will conclude with events staged at the final CSBK event of the 2021 tour back at Calabogie Motorsports Park, southwest of Ottawa, Ontario, held on September 17 and 18. Currently, races from Round Two at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, near Bowmanville, On, are in development by Professional Motorsports Productions (PMP).

PMP have broadcast the CSBK tour in conjunction with TSN since 1995.

In 2020, Jordan Szoke of Lynden, ON., won the pandemic-abbreviated four race Superbike series, his unprecedented 14th top Canadian title effort, this time riding the All Canada Warranty Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja.

No title was awarded for the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike Championship last year, but Sebastien Tremblay of Laval, QC, won both the 2020 middleweight races for the Turcotte Performance Kawasaki equip, and “the Shaker” is odds on favorite to earn his first National crown in 2021.

Broadcast dates and times for the first two 2021 CSBK episodes

2021 Pro Superbike Round One, Race 1 from Calabogie Motorsports Park, TSN Airings
Tuesday August 24, 2021 at 5:00pm ET, 2:00pm PT on TSN 2
Thursday August 26, 2021 at 4:30pm ET, 1:30pm PT on TSN 1
Friday August 27, 2021 at 2:00pm ET, 11:00am PT on TSN 5

2021 Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike Race 1 from Calabogie Motorsports Park, TSN Airings
Monday August 30, 2021 at 1:30pm ET, 10:30am PT on TSN 4
Wednesday September 1, 2021 at 3:30pm ET, 12:30pm PT on TSN 2
Thursday September 2, 2021 at 10:30am et, 7:30am PT on TSN 2

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