Szoke wins Superbike thriller

By John Hopkins

CALABOGIE, ON – Brantford, ON’s Jordan Szoke edged Saskatoon racer Brett McCormick for the win in a dramatic season opener for the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Calabogie Motorsports Park on Sunday.

Riding his Canadian Kawasaki Motors / Kawasaki ZX-10R the three-time defending national champion snatched the lead from McCormick on the final lap and held off the Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Motorsports / Suzuki GSX-R1000 by just 0.133 seconds for his second straight Calabogie Superbike win.

“What a great, fun race that was,” said Szoke, who became the career leader in national Superbike victories with 27. “We passed each other a whole bunch of times on that last lap. I had to ride hard but I guess all my conditioning paid off.”

McCormick had started from pole and the 17-year-old led 14 laps. But he was never more than a couple of seconds clear of Szoke, who started to close back up in the second half of the race.

“It’s disappointing to lead the whole race and then lose it on the last lap,” the runner-up finisher said. “I was managing the lead a little bit but the bike felt good.”

In an equally exciting duel Kevin Lacombe of Granby, QC took third on the Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF / Yamaha YZF-R1 with a last corner pass of the Suzuki Dealers Acceleration Racing / Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Cochrane, AB’s Clint McBain.

Lacombe snagged the lead off the start of the 16-lap race around Calabogie’s 5.05km (3.05-mile) road course but by lap two McCormick was in front and Szoke had moved into second place by lap three.

McCormick set the fastest lap of the race on his third tour, a time of two minutes, 1.399 seconds, as he opened up a slight lead but Szoke started closing back up as the laps wound down.

The two were nose-to-tail to start the final lap. Szoke tried a pass down the backstraight but McCormick was able to nip back by. Szoke regained the lead however and then stayed in front the rest of the way, despite McCormick being able to get alongside on a few occasions.

“He rode a strong race and I tried to keep him honest,” said Szoke, who leaves Calabogie with a five-point lead over McCormick in the Parts Canada Superbike point standings, 53-48. “I just tried to keep a consistent pace. I might have taken things a bit too easy at the start.”

McCormick was still pleased to get a runner-up finish in his debut with the Suzuki factory team.

"We're still developing the bike," he explained. "But I'm definitely happy with how it worked today. We found a bit of a sweet spot and we just took things from there. The last couple of laps my tires were going off a bit but I'm sure Jordan was experiencing the same."

Lacombe was in tire trouble from the early part of the race and slipped into the clutches of McBain by half distance. The Albertan got ahead on lap 12 but Lacombe was able to regain the final podium spot after the two traded positions on the final lap.

“I took a big guess on which rear tire to use and it was not the right guess,” Lacombe admitted. “I knew I was having problems and I backed off. But on the final lap I wanted to try everything to get him.”

Lacombe grabbed third in turn 14 only to have McBain pass him back. But the Yamaha nipped through on the inside in the last turn.

"I tried to close the door there but obviously not enough," McBain said. "But we're a lot further ahead than we were at this time last year. We haven't had any testing and this is my first riding since last September."

Frank Trombino of Kleinburg, ON was fifth on his GoLo Racing / Suzuki GSX-R750 after he passed both Alex Welsh and Steve Crevier on the final lap. Welsh took sixth aboard the Canadian Kawasaki Motors / Kawasaki ZX-10R and Crevier had to settle for seventh on the Deeley Racing Powered By Buell / Buell 1125R after running fifth for most of the race.

After started from the front row on his Nelson Racing / Yamaha YZF-R1 local hope Andrew Nelson of Kars, Ont. could only manage an eighth place finish.

Karl Daigle of Granby, QC placed ninth on the A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R, the top finisher on a 600cc machine, and Mississauga, ON’s Matt McBride (Riders Choice / Suzuki GSX-R1000) held off the Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF / Yamaha
YZF-R6 of top rookie Royce McLean of Coaldale, Alta. for the last spot in the top 10.

Race Results
1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 16 laps
2. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, Sask., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16
3. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, Que., Yamaha YZF-R1, 16
4. Clint McBain, Cochrane, Alta., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16
5. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R750, 16
6. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 16
7. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, B.C., Buell 1125R, 16
8. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 16
9. Karl Daigle, Roxton Pond, Que., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 16
10. Matthew McBride, Mississauga, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16
11. Royce McLean, Coaldale, Alta., Yamaha YZF-R6, 16
12. Erick Beausejour, Val D’Or, Que., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16
13. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR600RR, 16
14. Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, Que., Honda CBR1000RR, 16
15. Sean Huffman, Kemptville, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16
16. Elie Daccache, Ottawa, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 15
17. Chris Murray-Audain, Toronto, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 15
18. Terry Steeves, Dartmouth, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 15
19. Dean Plater, Ottawa, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 15
20. Dave Stokowski, Calgary, Alta., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 15
Did Not Finish
Jim Proulx, Ottawa, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1
Ross Millson, Hamilton, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000
Larry Orde, Peterborough, Ont. Yamaha YZF-R1
Franklyn Dominguez, Montreal, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R
Did Not Start
Martin Grande, Montreal, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600
Todd Scott, Bedford, N.S., Honda CBR600RR
Genevieve Lesieur, Quebec, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600
Jean Paquet, Chambly, Que., Honda CBR600RR
Margin of Victory: 0.133 secs.
Fastest Lap: 2:01.399 by Brett McCormick on lap 3

Point Standings
1. Jordan Szoke, 53
2. Brett McCormick, 48
3. Kevin Lacombe, 39
4. Clint McBain, 32
5. Frank Trombino, 29
6. Alex Welsh, 27
7. Steve Crevier, 25
8. Andrew Nelson, 24
9. Karl Daigle, 21
10. Matt McBride, 19
11. Royce McLean, 17
12. Erick Beausejour, 15
13. Jodi Christie, 13
14. Marie-Josee Boucher, 12
15. Sean Huffman, 10
16. Elie Daccache, 8
17. Chris Murray Audain, 6
18. Terry Steeves, 4
19. Dean Plater, 2
20. Dave Stokowski, 1