McCormick steals Mosport Sport Bike win

By John Hopkins

BOWMANVILLE, ON – Saskatoon's Brett McCormick snuck past Jordan Szoke in the final turn to win the first of this weekend’s two Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike races at Mosport International Raceway on Saturday.

Szoke led most of the way in the 14-lap race on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-6R but caught a gaggle of backmarkers near the finish, giving McCormick the opportunity to duck inside on his Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 and win by 0.117 secs.

"The whole race was a lot of fun and I knew the draft would come into play at the end," McCormick said. "I knew if I was going to draft past Jordan I would need a good line coming out of Moss [leading onto the back straight]. I didn't hit my line properly but I got enough of a draft to catch up to him by the end of the backstraight and things worked out for me."

Szoke now leads McCormick by just four points in the Pro Sport Bike standings, 203-199.

"It seems like every time I have a chance to win lapped traffic slows me up," said a frustrated Szoke. "I thought any time Brett would try to pass I would have him covered. I was very comfortable in the lead. To lose because of another lapper has us really p-ed off."

Szoke's teammate Alex Welsh led the opening lap and was in the lead battle all the way, crossing the line 0.826 secs. back in third on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-6R.

"I had a great start and I knew I'd have to stay with them [Szoke and McCormick]," the Uxbridge, ON rider said. "I was toying around with a double draft to see if I could get them then. But I had trouble seeing the last lap sign and lost track of the laps."

Steve Crevier was fourth on the Deeley Racing Powered By Buell / Buell 1125R, just ahead of Jodi Christie’s Ontario Powerhouse Honda Dealers / Roz-Gar Racing Honda CBR600RR and the Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF Yamaha YZF-R6 of Kevin Lacombe after a race-long battle.

Karl Daigle had been part of this scrap aboard his A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R but lost touch three laps from the end and finished seventh.

Royce McLean on the second OTSFF Yamaha came out on top of a race-long fight with the Nelson Racing R6 of Andrew Nelson for eighth, with the third OTSFF entry of Tony Kasper completing the top 10.

Sunday's race is set to go at 12:45 p.m. Eastern.

Race Results
1. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, SK, Suzuki       GSX-R600 14
2. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R +0.117
3. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R +0.826
4. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC, Buell 1125R +8.021
5. Jodi Christie, Keene, ON, Honda CBR600RR +8.095
6. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, QC, Yamaha YZF-R6 +8.681
7. Karl Daigle, Roxton Pond, QC, Kawasaki ZX-6R +14.954
8. Royce McLean, Coaldale, AB, Yamaha YZF-R6 +20.647
9. Andrew Nelson, Kars, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6 +21.044
10. Tony Kasper, Becker, MN, Yamaha     YZF-R6 +21.459
11. Dave Estok, New Smyrna Beach, FL, Buell 125R +24.067
12. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600 +36.999
13. Darren James, North Vancouver, BC, Buell 1125R +37.120
14. Matt McBride, Mississauga, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600 +37.266
15. Brian Blaauwendraat, Truro, NS, Honda       CBR600RR +37.494
16. Francis Martin, Sherbrooke, QC, BMW HP2 +38.499
17. Andrew Dunlap, Truro, NS, Kawasaki ZX-6R +38.529
18. Michael Ferreira, Mississauga, ON, BMW HP2 +48.534
19. Scott Rupert, Gads Hill, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600 +48.834
20. Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, QC, Honda CBR600RR +57.853
21. Elie Daccache, Ottawa, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R +58.663
22. Martin Grande, Montreal, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:03.496
23. James Collins, Kaladar, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:09.183*
24. Sean Heydorn, Stouffville, ON, Honda CBR600RR +1:10.680
25. Marco Alessandrini, Bradford, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:17.867
26. Louie Raffa, St. Marthe, QC, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:21.682
27. Alain Campagna, Mascouche, QC, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:21.847
28. Zenon Nelson, Bowmanville, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:27.323
29. Genevieve Lesieur, Quebec, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 13 laps
30. Dan Henri, Ottawa, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6 13
31. Jean Paquet, Chambly, QC, Honda CBR600RR 13
Did Not Finish
John Savoy, Ottawa, ON, Triumph 675 3 laps
Fastest Lap: 1:22.778 by Brett McCormick on lap 14
* -- Penalized five seconds for jump start

Point Standings (after 4 of 7 rounds)
1. Jordan Szoke 203
2. Brett McCormick 199
3. Alex Welsh 136
4. Kevin Lacombe 128
5. Andrew Nelson 116
6. Steve Crevier 116
7. Royce McLean 105
8. Jodi Christie 84
9. Dave Estok 63
10. Darren James 57
11. Tony Kasper 53
12. Francis Martin 52
13. Karl Daigle 49
14. Martin Grande 32
15. Michael Ferreira 32
16. Matt McBride 31
17. Marie-Josee Boucher 26
18. Jean-Francois Cyr 21
19. Brian Blaauwendraat 20
20. Frank Trombino 15
21. Rob Darlington 13
22. Matt Schmidt 12
23. Louie Raffa 8
24. Elie Daccache 7
25. Rob Busby 6
26. Matthew Elder 6
27. Andrew Dunlap 6
28. Dan Henri 4
29. Todd Scott 4
30. Chad Swain 4
31. James Collins 2
32. Alain Campagna 2
33. Jesse Sherstan 2
34. Scott Rupert 2
35. Zenon Nelson 1
36. Olivier Spilborghs 1