McBain fastest at Shannonville

From Professional Motorsports Productions

SHANNONVILLE, ON – Clint McBain paced practice for the final round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park on Friday.

Riding the Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000, the Cochrane, AB racer turned a lap time of one minute, 4.952 seconds around the 2.45km (1.53-mile) ‘Pro Track.’

Mississauga, ON’s Matt McBride was second with a time of 1:05.520 aboard his Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000, and series points leader Jordan Szoke of Brantford, ON was third at 1:05.756 riding his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R.

McBain is the only rider who can catch Szoke for the Parts Canada Superbike title. He comes into the weekend trailing by 43 points with 56 points available.

“I’m a little bit surprised,” the 35-year-old McBain said. “There was still some water on the track [from rain earlier in the day] but the bike was pretty good. I wish they gave points for practice because I could use a few.”

Szoke, 29, is trying to wrap up his third straight Parts Canada Superbike crown and fifth career title.

“Things felt pretty good considering the track was still damp and I haven’t been here since last year,” Szoke said. “I didn’t get as many laps as I wanted because it was spitting at the end. We’re trying to treat it like a normal race weekend but we are being extra cautious.”

McBain will get his first shot at closing the gap to Szoke in Saturday afternoon’s Pirelli SuperPole qualifying session for the Inside Motorcycles Pole Position Award, which awards four championship points to the fastest qualifier.

Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, BC was fourth fastest in practice on Friday with a time of 1:05.860 aboard the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada / Ruthless Racing Buell 1125R and Granby, QC’s Kevin Lacombe placed fifth on his Team Toyota Yamaha / Fast Company Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 at 1:06.299.

In other action at Shannonville, McBride was quickest in practice for the Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport Bike class with a time of 1:07.621 on his Suzuki GSX-R600.

Alex Welsh of Uxbridge, ON placed second at 1:07.970 aboard the Z1 Cycletech Triumph 675 and Saskatoon rider Brett McCormick was third with a 1:08.389 riding the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-6R.

Szoke has already cinched his third straight Pro 600 Sport Bike crown.

Points leader Valter Bartolini of Bologna, Italy paced the Canadian Thunder class with a 1:07.631 on his NCR-Ducati 848. His teammate and only title challenger Andrew Nelson of Kars, ON did not venture on track Friday.

Langley, BC’s Olivier Spilborghs was quickest in Canadian Sport Twins at 1:11.153 aboard a Buell XB12R. Jim Proulx of Ottawa, who has already secured the title, was second with a 1:11.306 on a similar bike.

Montreal’s Martin Grande led the way in the Armour Bodies Amateur 600 Sport Bike class with a 1:08.854 on his Suzuki GSX-R600. Neither points leader Jodie Christie of Keene, ON, nor his title rival Patrick Marques of Calgary, set practice times on Friday.

Cody Matechuk of Cochrane, AB was fastest in the Suzuki SV650 National Cup class with a time of 1:10.922. The 14-year-old comes into the weekend only two points behind John Jarvie for the class lead. Jarvie, from Burlington, ON, was fourth in practice on Friday.

Jeffrey Dion of St-Cecile-de-Milton, QC led practice for the Honda CBR125R Challenge with a time of 1:09.233 on the shorter ‘Nelson Circuit.’ Class champion Raphael Archambault of St-Colomban, QC, who is trying to complete a perfect season this weekend, was second fastest at 1:09.439.