McCormick snags Calabogie pole

By John Hopkins

CALABOGIE, ON – Saskatoon’s Brett McCormick continued his mastery of Pirelli SuperPole qualifying at the opening round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Calabogie Motorsports Park on Saturday.

The 17-year-old claimed pole position for Sunday’s feature race and $500 from Inside Motorcycles magazine with a lap time of two minutes, 0.251 seconds (151.184 km/h) around the 5.05km (3.05-mile) circuit aboard his Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Motorsports / Suzuki GSX-R1000.

McCormick has finished on top of the single-bike top 10 shootout for three consecutive races dating back to last season, when he was top qualifier at the final two events at Atlantic Motorsport Park and Shannonville Motorsport Park.

“It’s a pretty neat feeling [to win three in a row],” McCormick said. “I made a couple of little mistakes but I had a few really good corners. I missed a downshift into the bowl turn and messed that up. But I’m happy and everybody on the team’s pretty happy.”

Three-time defending Parts Canada Superbike champion Jordan Szoke of Brantford, ON qualified second with a time of 2:00.798 on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors / Kawasaki ZX-10R and Granby, QC’s Kevin Lacombe will start third in Sunday’s race after setting a 2:01.213 aboard the Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF / Yamaha YZF-R1.

The front row is completed by local hero Andrew Nelson of Kars, ON, who recorded a lap at 2:01.964 on his Nelson Racing / Yamaha YZF-R1.

McCormick came close to topping the outright Calabogie circuit record of 1:59.600, which was set at a car racing event.

“Maybe if I’d had the perfect lap and the temperature was a little cooler I could have got there,” he said.

Szoke won last year’s Parts Canada Superbike Championship season opener at Calabogie but felt a poor tire choice spoiled his chances of claiming pole on Saturday.

“I think I took the wrong front tire,” said the five-time Canadian champion. “It’s such a long lap here I was trying to take it easy on the rear during my warm-up lap but I don’t think I got enough heat into the front.

“But I’m glad we’re on the front row and I know what we can do with this bike. I don’t know if the other guys can do those times consistently.”

Szoke added that he was chasing some minor chassis problems and the team would make some overnight changes to his ZX-10R.

Lacombe was fastest in the morning pre-qualifying session that selected the 10 riders for the Pirelli SuperPole shootout with a time of 2:00.920. But last year’s Calabogie pole qualifier struggled with the handling of his Yamaha in the afternoon.

“We tried the tire in the morning when it was cooler and it worked well but the set-up wasn’t so good in the heat this afternoon,” he explained. “I don’t know if I had something for Brett but I definitely could have gone faster.”

Lacombe also ran off the track on his warm-up lap when he accidentally downshifted one too many gears.

The 26-year-old is optimitstic about his prospects in Sunday's race.

"From where we started this weekend we're right there on the pace now," he explained. "I think we're about equal to the other two guys [McCormick and Szoke]. I think we'll be there, we just have to get a set-up I'm comfortable with."

Nelson managed to improve his time by a second from the morning.

“I’m very, very happy,” the 24-year-old said. “My dad made a few changes to the set-up after the warm-up and they helped. The bike was extremely planted and I think we have a good set-up for the race.”

Nelson didn't run a qualifying tire until the afternoon and thought that may have cost him a bit of time.

"I wish I had maybe used the tire in pre-qualifying," he said. "As my qualifying lap went on I found more traction and I started trusting the tire more."

Clint McBain (Suzuki Dealers Acceleration Racing / Suzuki GSX- R1000), Alex Welsh (Canadian Kawasaki Motors / Kawasaki ZX-10R) and Steve Crevier (Deeley Racing Powered By Buell / Buell 1125R) make up the second row of the grid for Sunday’s 20-lap race. Crevier finished third here last year.

Karl Daigle (A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R), Matt McBride (Riders Choice / Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Jodi Christie (Honda Powerhouse Dealers of Ontario / ProStar Motorsports / Honda CBR600RR) round out the top 10 qualifiers from SuperPole.

Christie reached the SuperPole shootout in his first Pro appearance and both he and Daigle were the only riders on 600cc equipment to crack the top 10 in Superbike.

Qualifying Results (SuperPole in bold)
1. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, Sask., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:00.251
2. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:00.798
3. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, Que., Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:01.213
4. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:01.964
5. Clint McBain, Cochrane, Alta., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:02.247
6. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:02.429
7. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, B.C., Buell 1125R, 2:02.969
8. Karl Daigle, Roxton Pond, Que., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 2:03.511
9. Matthew McBride, Mississauga, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:03.966
10. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR600RR, 2:06.602
11. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:04.760
12. Royce McLean, Coaldale, Alta., Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:05.551
13. Jim Proulx, Ottawa, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:06.137
14. Ross Millson, Hamilton, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:06.193
15. Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, Que., Honda CBR1000RR, 2:06.471
16. Martin Grande, Montreal, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:07.036
17. Erick Beausejour, Val D’Or, Que., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:07.343
18. Todd Scott, Bedford, N.S., Honda CBR600RR, 2:08.172
19. Larry Orde, Peterborough, Ont. Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:08.229
20. Franklyn Dominguez, Montreal, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:08.370
21. Sean Huffman, Kemptville, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:08.483
22. Chris Murray-Audain, Toronto, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:09.272
23. Elie Daccache, Ottawa, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 2:09.491
24. Terry Steeves, Dartmouth, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:09.636
25. Dean Plater, Ottawa, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:14.999
26. Genevieve Lesieur, Quebec, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:15.386
27. Jean Paquet, Chambly, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 2:15.577
28. Dave Stokowski, Calgary, Alta., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:18.264 (Provisional)