McCormick stays in Sport Bike hunt

By John Hopkins

SHUBENACADIE, NS – Brett McCormick closed to within 16 points of Jordan Szoke in the Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike standings with his third win of the year on his Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 at Atlantic Motorsport Park on Sunday.

Szoke was second aboard his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-6R, 7.347 secs. behind McCormick and heads to the season finale at Shannonville Motorsport Park Sept. 4-6 with 300 points to the 284 of McCormick.

Kevin Lacombe placed third on a Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF Yamaha YZF-R6 and moved up to third in points ahead of Canadian Kawasaki Motors rider Alex Welsh of Uxbridge, ON, who was unable to race after badly bruising his back and right hip in a Saturday practice fall.

McCormick started the 18-lap race from pole but Lacombe grabbed the holeshot while McCormick and Szoke scrapped over second place through the first few turns. The Suzuki rider from Saskatoon emerged ahead of Szoke's Kawasaki and then grabbed the lead from acombe with a bold move at the end of the backstraight to take a lead he would hod the rest of the way.

"I got a good initial launch but I didn’t let the clutch out the way I wanted," the 17-year-old McCormick explained. "I rubbed elbows with Jordan a bit, I hope he's not too mad. I thought if I could get by Kevin early I'd be able to break away a bit."

Szoke is aiming for a fourth straight championship in the Pro Sport Bike class.

"This was an awesome race for us and we protected our points lead," Szoke said. "I thought I had Brett through turn one and we bumped through turn two, then he was really hot into turn three."

McCormick was 1.5 secs. clear of the Kawasaki by the end of lap six and 3.0 seconds clear at half distance.

"I noticed the gap to third was getting bigger and I thought I should calm down and let Brett have it [the win]," Szoke continued. "I think I could have given him a run but I need to think about the championship."

Lacombe battled handling troubles with his Yamaha and knew he wouldn't be able to keep pace with McCormick and Szoke. He was 7.017 secs. behind the Kawasaki rider at the finish.

"I knew I needed a good start because I didn't have the pace to stay with Jordan and Brett," the Granby, QC rider explained. "We just didn't have the best set-up."

A poor start left Brian Blaauwendraat seventh after the opening lap but the Truro, NS racer fought through to take fourth on his Pro Cycle / Atlantic Honda Dealers Honda CBR600RR.

An injured Andrew Nelson was fifth on the Nelson Racing Yamaha YZF-R6. The Kars, ON rider struggled with a torn rotator cuff he had suffered in the previous event at Mosport International Raceway and admitted to being exhausted after only four or five laps of the race.

Next up was Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, BC on the Deeley Racing Powered By Buell / Buell 1125R.

Keene, ON’s Jodi Christie finished seventh aboard his Powerhouse Honda Dealers of Ontario / Roz-Gar Racing Honda CBR600RR and took over the lead of the HJC Pro Rookie of the Year standings from Coaldale, AB’s Royce McLean, who crashed his Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF Yamaha YZF-R6.

McLean was taken to IWK Health Centre in Halifax with an undetermined right leg injury.
       
Race Results
1. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, SK (Suzuki GSX-R600) 18 laps
2. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) +7.347
3. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, QC (Yamaha YZF-R6) +14.364
4. Brian Blaauwendraat, Truro, NS (Honda CBR600RR) +21.636
5. Andrew Nelson, Kars, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) +24.032
6. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC (Buell 1125R) +27.694
7. Jodi Christie, Keene, ON (Honda CBR600RR) +39.579
8. Martin Grande, Montreal, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) +46.932
9. Dave Estok, New Smyrna Beach, FL (Buell 1125R) +47.118
10. Darren James, North Vancouver, BC (Buell 1125R) +47.339
11. Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, QC (Honda CBR600RR) +1:11.087
12. Michael Ferreira, Mississauga, ON (BMW HP2) 17 laps
13. James Collins, Kaladar, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 17
14. Matthew Leahey, Halifax, NS (Honda CBR600RR) 17
15. Jeff O'Leary, Falmouth, NS (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 17
Did Not Finish
Royce McLean, Coaldale, AB (Yamaha YZF-R6) 2
Did Not Start
Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R)

Point Standings (after 6 of 7 rounds)
1. Jordan Szoke (Kawasaki) 300
2. Brett McCormick (Suzuki) 284
3. Kevin Lacombe (Yamaha) 204
4. Alex Welsh (Kawasaki) 178
5. Steve Crevier (Buell) 175
6. Andrew Nelson (Yamaha) 169
7. Jodi Christie (Honda) 134
8. Royce McLean (Yamaha) 124
9. Dave Estok (Buell) 105
10. Darren James (Buell) 91
11. Karl Daigle (Kawasaki) 76
12. Francis Martin (BMW) 65
13. Brian Blaauwendraat (Honda) 64
14. Martin Grande (Suzuki) 56
15. Michael Ferreira (BMW) 55
16. Tony Kasper (Yamaha) 53
17. Matt McBride (Suzuki) 48
18. Marie-Josee Boucher (Honda) 47
19. Jean-Francois Cyr (Honda) 21
20. Frank Trombino (Suzuki) 15
21. James Collins (Yamaha) 15
22. Rob Darlington (Yamaha) 13
23. Elie Daccache (Kawasaki) 13
24. Matt Schmidt (Suzuki) 12
25. Scott Rupert (Suzuki) 12
26. Matthew Leahey (Honda) 12
27. Jeff O'Leary (Kawasaki) 10
28. Louie Raffa (Yamaha) 8
29. Andrew Dunlap (Kawasaki) 8
30. Rob Busby (Kawasaki) 6
31. Matthew Elder (Suzuki) 6
32. Dan Henri (Yamaha) 4
33. Todd Scott (Honda) 4
34. Chad Swain (Kawasaki) 4
35. Alain Campagna (Yamaha) 2
36. Jesse Sherstan (Yamaha) 2
37. Zenon Nelson (Suzuki) 1
38. Olivier Spilborghs (Suzuki) 1