Szoke takes second straight

By John Hopkins

CALGARY, AB – Brantford, ON’s Jordan Szoke kept his perfect Parts Canada Superbike Championship record intact with his second straight win of the 2010 season at Race City Motorsport Park on Saturday.
       
The six-time national Superbike champion took his Waznie Racing / Ciclo Werks BMC / DeWildt Honda Powerhouse Honda CBR1000RR to a 3.052-sec. victory over St-Cesaire, QC’s Kevin Lacombe riding the Lacombe Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000.
       
Francis Martin of Sherbrooke, QC finished third riding the radX HD / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR, giving the new bike a top three finish in only its second Canadian Superbike race.
       
Szoke completed the 22 laps around the 3.2km (2.0-mile) track in 28 minutes, 6.855 seconds for an average speed of 150.244 km/h (93.903 mph).
       
Szoke elected to ride his back-up Honda CBR1000RR in the race after trying it out in the morning warm-up session.
       
“I never rode the bike before this morning,” he said after his 31st career Canadian Superbike win and his ninth victory at Race City. “I was just supposed to break it in, but my fastest lap was faster than my qualifying time yesterday. It was awesome.”
       
The victory gave Szoke a perfect score of 112 points heading into Sunday’s third round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship as he bids for an unprecedented fifth straight title and seventh overall. Lacombe moved into second in the standings with his runner-up finish, 30 points behind Szoke.
       
Szoke survived some anxious moments early in the race. After taking the lead into turn one off the start he gave up first place to the Orion Motorsports / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR of Andrew Nelson on lap three. Nelson held the lead for two laps before Szoke reclaimed the advantage and was able to stretch out a bit of a gap.
       
“I knew I had to get by Andrew and open up a gap,” the 31-year-old Szoke said, “but on one lap I went in to turn one too hot and I basically crashed. I just managed to save it. As the fuel load came down the bike started to work very well.”
       
Lacombe passed Nelson into the Bus Stop on lap seven and found himself about a second and a half behind Szoke. But the 27-year-old was unable to close up and then had to worry about a challenge from Martin, who moved into third on lap eight.
       
“I lost a bit of time in traffic,” Lacombe explained. “I lost a little bit here and there. Tomorrow I have to lead with Jordan and stay on his tail. I’m missing a bit of top speed and it took me too long to get my fastest laps in.”
       
Martin was unable to get within a second of Lacombe and eventually finished 3.8 secs. behind the Suzuki. He backed off in the final few laps when his low fuel warning light started to flash. It was his first Superbike podium finish since a third place at Mosport International Raceway in July, 2008.
       
“I’ve waited a long time to get back on the podium,” said the two-time Canadian Superbike champion. “It’s nice to prove that I can still do it. Tomorrow maybe we’ll put a little more gas in the bike.”

After qualifying third Martin had to work his way up from a poor start that left him in fifth at the end of the opening lap. He missed a shift accelerating away from the line then got a false neutral as the field funnelled into turn one.

       
Cochrane, AB’s Cody Matechuk made a big charge from 10th on the grid to finish fourth on the Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. The 16-year-old, who injured his left hand in a crash on Friday, was seventh at the end of the first lap before passing the second radX HD / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR of Mike Ferreira on lap seven and then getting by both Nelson and Alex Welsh on lap 16.
       
“I’m still taking it easy into turn one and I was trying to conserve my tires a bit,” Matechuk said. “When I saw I was catching those guys ahead of me I put my head down and tried to catch up. I felt really good today and I think with a better start tomorrow I can push the top pack.”
       
Nelson hung on to finish fifth. The Kars, Ont. racer battled over the final laps with the Competiton Systems Kawasaki Race Team Kawasaki ZX- 10R of Uxbridge, ON’s Alex Welsh, who settled for sixth after running as high as fourth early on.

"I'm really in favour of running a series of six-lap sprints instead of one 22-lap race," joked Nelson, who managed to lead a national Superbike event for the first time in his career. "We just need to get the bike more consistent."

Welsh said the handling of his Kawasaki started to deteriorate around lap 12.

"I was having trouble pulling the bike into the apexes," he explained. "Speed is not an issue."

Mississauga, ON’s Ferreira was seventh and six-time Canadian Superbike champ Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, B.C. made a late pass of Calgary’s Mike Zottmann to take eighth on the Mile Zero Motorsports / Rocket Leathers Suzuki GSX-R1000.
       
Zottmann settled for ninth on the Majik X / Red Bull Suzuki GSX- R1000 and Keene, ON’s Jodi Christie completed the top 10 aboard his Jodi Christie Racing / Durham Honda-backed Honda CBR600RR.

Race Results
1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, ON, Honda CBR1000RR, 28:06.855 (150.244 km/h)       
2. Kevin Lacombe, St-Cesaire, QC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, +3.052      
3. Francis Martin, Sherbrooke, QC, BMW S1000RR, +6.892  
4. Cody Matechuk, Cochrane, AB, Suzuki GSX-R600, +21.648        
5. Andrew Nelson, Kars, ON, BMW S1000RR, +25.643        
6. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, ON, Kawasaki ZX-10R, +26.611   
7. Mike Ferreira, Mississauga, ON, BMW S1000RR, +32.829 
8. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, +43.992    
9. Mike Zottmann, Calgary, AB, Suzuki GSX-R1000, +46.746        
10. Jodi Christie, Keene, ON, Honda CBR600RR, +1:06.300
11. Dave Stokowski, Calgary, AB, Kawasaki ZX-10R, +1:18.400     
12. Franklyn Dominguez, Montreal, QC, Kawasaki ZX-10R, +1 lap*
13. Peter Meier, Langdon, AB, Suzuki GSX-R1000, +1 Lap
14. Justin Knapik, Edmonton, AB, Kawasaki ZX-10R, +1 Lap
Did Not Finish
Greg White, Raleigh, NC, Kawasaki ZX-R6
Scott Rupert, Gadshill, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000
Did Not Start
Sebastien Tremblay, Sherbrooke, QC, Honda CBR600RR
*Penalized five seconds for jump start

Time of Race: 28:06.855 (150.244 km/h)
Margin of Victory: 3.052 seconds
Fastest Lap: 1:15.874 by Andrew Nelson on lap 3
Lap Leaders: Jordan Szoke 1-2, Andrew Nelson 3-4, Szoke 5-22

Point Standings
1.Jordan Szoke, 112
2. Kevin Lacombe, 82
3. Francis Martin, 68
4. Jodi Christie, 62
5. Andrew Nelson, 56
6. Mike Ferreira, 54
7. Cody Matechuk, 53
8. Alex Welsh, 52
9. Frank Trombino, 32
10. Steve Crevier, 23
11. Mike Zottmann, 21
12. Jean-Francois Cyr, 19
13. Dave Stokowski, 17
13. Kenny Riedmann, 17
15. Franklyn Dominguez, 15
15. Marie-Josee Boucher, 15
17. Peter Meier, 13
17. Ross Millson, 13
19. Scott Rupert, 12
19. Justin Knapik, 12