Szoke hangs on for Sport Bike win

By John Hopkins

BOWMANVILLE, ON – Jordan Szoke opened up a 27-point lead in the Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike Championship with his third win of the season on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-6R at Mosport International Raceway on Saturday.

The three-time defending class champion finished 0.232 secs. ahead of factory Kawasaki teammate Alex Welsh in the 14-lap race with Kevin Lacombe third on his Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF Yamaha YZF-R6 and Steve Crevier a close fourth aboard the Deeley Racing Powered By Buell / Buell 1125R. The top four were covered by less than half a second.

The Brantford, ON racer now leads Brett McCormick 255-228 in the Pro Sport Bike standings with two races to go. McCormick was part of the lead scrap on his Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 but dropped back to a fifth place finish when he accidentally hit his bike's kill switch while trying to remove a tear off on lap nine.

Szoke was starting to ease away from the lead battle as the 14-lap race entered its second half, but a miscue heading onto the backstraight on lap eight allowed Welsh, Lacombe and Crevier to close back up.

"I guess I got a little too comfortable and maybe a bit cocky there and I grabbed too much throttle," Szoke admitted. "It shot me out of my seat."

The four-way fight came down to the end of the backstraight on the final lap. Welsh made a slingshot move down the inside from fourth but then slipped wide, allowing Szoke to duck back in and retake the lead.

"I don't know if it was spitting rain, but I had some water on my visor heading into turn eight and I was a little tentative," Szoke explained. "Everybody came wailing by me but ran wide and I was able to get back on the inside."

Welsh had hoped to make a dive into the lead in turn eight in Saturday's Pro Sport Bike race but didn't get a strong enough drive onto the backstraight. On Sunday he got the drive but couldn’t finish the move.

"We had a good race yesterday and I learned from that," said last year's HJC Pro Rookie of the Year after his best career national finish. "I got a good draft and I was first into turn eight but I couldn't get the bike turned quick enough and Jordan snuck back by."

Lacombe's Yamaha factory team made some engine mapping changes to the Granby, QC rider's R6 and that helped him contend for the victory after finishing a disappointing sixth on Saturday.

"The bike was better today and we could have won," he said. "At the end of the backstraight on the last lap we were four-wide, it was pretty crazy. I just did my best to get an inside line."

Crevier made history by leading across start/finish at the end of lap five to give the Buell its first lap led in national competition and the fourth place finish equalled his best of the year.

After his miscue with the tear off McCormick found himself in a battle for fifth with his old Amateur Sport Bike sparring partner Karl Daigle on the A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R. The 17-year-old Suzuki rider managed to prevail despite being bothered by a fogging visor that was making it almost impossible for him to see.

Jodi Christie was next up in seventh on the Honda Powerhouse Dealers of Ontario / Roz-Gar Racing Honda CBR600RR, the Keene, ON rider nursing some bruises after a big crash in turn two in the morning warm-up. He topped a four-rider battle that included another wounded warrior, Andrew Nelson on the Nelson Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, Dave Estok's Deeley Racing Powered By Buell / Buell 1125R and the Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF Yamaha YZF-R6 of 14-year-old Royce McLean.

Race Results
1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, ON, Kawasaki        ZX-6R 14 laps
2. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R +0.232
3. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, QC, Yamaha YZF-R6 +0.402
4. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC, Buell 1125R +0.473
5. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, SK, Suzuki GSX-R600 +14.356
6. Karl Daigle, Roxton Pond, QC, Kawasaki ZX-6R +14.587
7. Jodi Christie, Keene, ON, Honda CBR600RR +18.046
8. Andrew Nelson, Kars, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6 +18.503
9. Dave Estok, New Smyrna Beach, FL, Buell 1125R +19.507
10. Royce McLean, Coaldale, AB, Yamaha YZF-R6 +19.610
11. Matt McBride, Mississauga, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600 +34.781
12. Darren James, North Vancouver, BC, Buell 1125R +34.829
13. Francis Martin, Sherbrooke, QC, BMW HP2 +35.088
14. Brian Blaauwendraat, Truro, NS, Honda CBR600RR +35.415
15. Scott Rupert, Gads Hill, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600 +35.583
16. Michael Ferreira, Mississauga, ON, BMW HP2 +37.639
17. Elie Daccache, Ottawa, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R +57.488
18. Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, QC, Honda CBR600RR +57.681
19. Andrew Dunlap, Truro, NS, Kawasaki ZX-6R +57.901
20. Martin Grande, Montreal, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:01.116
21. Sean Heydorn, Stouffville, ON, Honda CBR600RR +1:11.563
22. James Collins, Kaladar, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:16.376
23. Marco Alessandrini, Bradford, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:18.138
24. Zenon Nelson, Bowmanville, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:18.441
25. Louie Raffa, Ste-Marthe, QC, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:23.012
26. Alain Campagna, Mascouche, QC, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:23.240
27. Dan Henri, Ottawa, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:27.744
28. John Savoy, Ottawa, ON, Triumph 675 13 laps
Did Not Finish
Tony Kasper, Becker, MN, Yamaha YZF-R6 6 laps
Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600 4 laps
Jean Paquet, Chambly, QC, Honda CBR600RR 2 laps

Point Standings after five of seven rounds
1. Jordan Szoke 255
2. Brett McCormick 228
3. Alex Welsh 178
4. Kevin Lacombe 165
5. Steve Crevier 148
6. Andrew Nelson 139
7. Royce McLean 124
8. Jodi Christie 109
9. Dave Estok 84
10. Karl Daigle 76
11. Darren James 72
12. Francis Martin 65
13. Tony Kasper 53
14. Matt McBride 48
15. Michael Ferreira 40
16. Martin Grande 33
17. Brian Blaauwendraat 32
18. Marie-Josee Boucher 30
19. Jean-Francois Cyr 21
20. Frank Trombino 15
21. Rob Darlington 13
22. Elie Daccache 13
23. Matt Schmidt 12
24. Scott Rupert 12
25. Louie Raffa 8
26. Andrew Dunlap 8
27. Rob Busby 6
28. Matthew Elder 6
29. Dan Henri 4
30. Todd Scott 4
31. Chad Swain 4
32. James Collins 2
33. Alain Campagna 2
34. Jesse Sherstan 2
35. Zenon Nelson 1
36. Olivier Spilborghs 1