Szoke on Sport Bike pole

By John Hopkins

CALABOGIE, ON – Jordan Szoke qualified on pole for the Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike feature at Calabogie Motorsports Park on Saturday with a time of 2:01.200 on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors / Kawasaki ZX-6R. The Brantford, ON racer had the quickest time for most of the session but improved it by close to a second on his final lap.

“We put on a fresh rear tire and I got a clear, clean lap,” said the three-time defending class champion and last year’s Calabogie winner. “I just managed to nail every corner perfectly.”

Brett McCormick was second quickest with a time of 2:02.399 on his Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Motorsports / Suzuki GSX-R600 and Kevin Lacombe turned the third best time at 2:02.709 aboard the Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF / Yamaha YZF-R6.

"We're making progress," the Saskatoon rider said. "We're getting quicker every session. We haven't made a lot of changes to the bike. I'm still getting used to the track."

Karl Daigle was fourth quickest with a time of 2:03.300 on the A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R and Alex Welsh completed the top five on the second Canadian Kawasaki Motors factory ZX-6R, despite a crash right at the end of the session.

Rookie Pro Jodi Christie set the sixth best time of 2:04.416 on his Honda Powerhouse Dealers of Ontario / ProStar Motorsports Honda CBR600RR. Christie's effort came on just his third lap of the session as he later crashed in turn two. The Keene, ON racer returned to action on a spare bike but couldn't improve on his time.

Solid rookie performances also came from Lacombe's Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF teammates Royce McLean and Tony Kasper. The 14-year-old McLean was ninth quickest and Kasper 10th.

Efram Ellenbogen of Belleville, ON qualified fastest for the Armour Bodies Amateur Sport Bike field with a time of 2:08.252 on his BnE Racing / Yamaha YZF-R6.

Cochrane, AB’s Cody Matechuk set the second best time of 2:08.533 on a Suzuki Dealers Acceleration Racing / Suzuki GSX-R600 and Longueuil, QC’s Sebastien Tremblay placed third at 2:08.813 riding his A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R.

Brantford, ON’s Rob Busby qualified on pole for the Suzuki SV650 National Cup, lapping the Calabogie circuit at 2:15.461. Philippe Masse of St-Dominique, QC and Burlington, ON’s Jody Greening completed the top three.

Steven Nickerson of Hamilton, ON was fastest in qualifying for the Honda CBR125R Challenge with a time of 2:50.153. Next up were Bodhi Edie of Warman, SK and Ste-Julie, QC’s Karl Robitaille.

Richmond, ON rider Vicki Schouten was fastest of the Pro Honda Oils Women’s Cup qualifiers with a time of 2:12.976 on her Kawasaki ZX-6R. Natalie Catherine Provost of Laval, QC was second on her Honda CBR600RR and Cambridge, ON's Karen Grujic completed the top three.