Szoke's second straight

From Professional Motorsports Productions

MONT-TREMBLANT, QC --­ Brantford, ON’s Jordan Szoke scored his second straight Parts Canada Superbike Championship win at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant on Sunday.

Riding the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R, Szoke took the lead on lap 4 of the 15-lap race and held off the Team Suzuki / Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000 of defending series champion Francis Martin of Rock Forest, QC by 1.106 secs. for the win.

Granby, QC rider Kevin Lacombe placed third on the Picotte Performance / Yamaha Canada / Toyota Yamaha YZF-R1.

Szoke also won the season opener at Shannonville Motorsport Park on May 21.

“It’s nice to be winning again,” said Szoke, whose last Parts Canada Superbike series win before the start of this season had come at Le Circuit in August, 2004. “It was all I could do to win one race in two years, and now I’ve got two in a row.”

Szoke completed 15 laps around the 4.27km circuit at an average speed of 153.2 km/h.

With two races in the seven-round Parts Canada Superbike Championship run, Szoke enjoys a solid lead in the standings. The two-time national champion has 106 points to the 80 of Martin and Lacombe’s 79.

Martin led Lacombe and Szoke off the start, but the Kawasaki rider passed Lacombe’s Yamaha on lap 3 and got by Martin at the end of the backstraight a lap later. Martin stayed close to Szoke the rest of the way but was unable to challenge him at the end.

“I’m very happy with my race,” Martin said. “He [Szoke] got a little more of an advantage in lapped traffic near the end.”

Szoke’s teammate Tom Kipp of Chardon, OH finished fourth on his Kawasaki ZX-10R. Injured two-time champion Pascal Picotte put in a brave ride to fifth on the second Picotte Performance / Yamaha Canada / Toyota Yamaha YZF-R1. The St-Cecile Milton, QC rider held off the Riders Choice Suzuki of Matt McBride and Andrew Nelson’s Z1 Cycletech Yamaha at the finish.

In other action at Le Circuit, Szoke also won his second straight Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike event of the season on his Kawasaki ZX-6RR. Calgary’s Clint McBain finished second, just 1.07 secs. behind on his
Team Suzuki / Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R600, and Kipp was third on his Kawasaki.

Fourteen-year-old Saskatoon sensation Brett McCormick passed Ross Millson on the final lap to win the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike race on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Millson was second, half a second behind on his Suzuki GSX-R600 and St-Pierre Becquets, QC’s Eric Brisson placed third aboard a Kawasaki ZX-6RR.

North Vancouver’s Darren James won his second straight Canadian Thunder feature on his Buell and Brantford, ON’s Rob Busby was victorious in Suzuki SV650 National Cup for the second race in succession.

The Parts Canada Superbike Championship continues at Race City Motorsport Park in Calgary June 30-July 2.