Szoke fastest on first day

From Professional Motorsports Productions

JENNINGS, FL – Jordan Szoke ended the opening day of testing for the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at the top of the table in both the Superbike and Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport Bike classes at JenningsGP.

The Brantford, ON rider took his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R around the 2.01-mile JenningsGP circuit in a scorching one minute, 15.239 seconds late in the afternoon. His time was over a second quicker than the next best rider, Granby, QC’s Kevin Lacombe, who clocked a 1:16.415 on the Team Toyota Yamaha Fast Company Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.

“At the end of the day I felt I should put my head down a little and see what we could come up with,” said Szoke, the two-time defending Parts Canada Superbike champion. “We found a little something with the front end and it felt good. But we’re still out from where we want to be, funny as it sounds.”

Szoke’s lap was also the fastest time recorded by a Parts Canada Superbike competitor at JenningsGP during the official preseason test, beating the 1:15.444 set by Pascal Picotte in 2006.

Making his debut with the Fast Company Yamaha team, Lacombe carved almost a second out of his best time from Tuesday morning.

“It’s a new team for me, and new everything, but we’re not that far off the pace,” Lacombe said. “We changed the bike a little bit during the day. But I have ridden the R1 for a few years, and as soon as I got onto it, it felt like home.”

Szoke’s teammate Brett McCormick of Saskatoon was third in Superbike with a 1:17.419 on his Kawasaki ZX-10R.

“I’m shaking the cobwebs out,” said last year’s HJC Pro Rookie of the Year. “I haven’t been riding all winter, except for some ice racing, so it’s a little tough when they hand you a 180-horsepower motorcycle and let you loose. But each time out it’s a little better, and I’m riding a little better.”

Szoke turned a best lap of 1:16.454 on his Kawasaki ZX-6R 600 Sport Bike, with Lacombe again second on the Yamaha YZF-R6 at 1:16.951 and McCormick also third, turning a 1:17.455 on another Kawasaki.

Andrew Nelson of Kars, Ont. was the lone Canadian Thunder rider at JenningsGP, and he lowered his best time from the morning to 1:18.915 on the NCR Ducati 848.

Course conditions were much improved for the afternoon after morning testing was held in chilly weather.

The Parts Canada Superbike riders will complete their two days of testing at JenningsGP on Wednesday.