By John Hopkins
Photo courtesy cdnsuperbike.com
SHUBENACADIE, NS – Brett McCormick kept his hopes of claiming his first Parts Canada Superbike Championship alive with a convincing win in round six of the series, sponsored by Pro Cycle and the Atlantic Suzuki Dealers, at Atlantic Motorsport Park on Sunday.
The Saskatoon rider led 21 of 22 laps around the 2.56km (1.6-mile), 11-turn track to take his third victory of the season aboard the Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 and gain 10 points on series leader Jordan Szoke.
Szoke placed second riding the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX- 10R, 5.420 secs. behind McCormick and now has 296 points in the Parts Canada Superbike point standings to McCormick’s 282 heading into the final round at Shannonville Motorsport Park on the Labour Day weekend. A race win is worth 50 points.
“The first couple of laps were pretty exciting,” said McCormick, who took the lead from Szoke in turn two on the second lap. “I got a great start but Jordan’s was a little bit better. We used the softer compound tires and I wanted to check out early in the race and manage the gap from there.”
McCormick completed the race in 26 minutes, 13.8 seconds for an average speed of 134.818 km/h.
Clint McBain of Cochrane, AB finished third on the Suzuki Dealers / Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Truro, NS’s Brian Blaauwendraat placed a career high fourth riding the Pro Cycle / Atlantic Honda Dealers Honda CBR600RR.
McCormick had qualified on pole and broken the track record on Saturday but was beaten off the line by Szoke, who started alongside him on the front row. Once in the lead the 17-year-old Suzuki rider was able to open a gap to Szoke and set the race’s fastest lap, a 1:07.539 on his fourth tour.
Szoke maintained a safe second place to maintain his bid for a record fourth Parts Canada Superbike title and a record-tying sixth career national championship.
“I really think that Kawasaki gave me a great motorcycle but I had to ride a little smart and conservative today,” said the 30-year-old points leader. “I wish I could have gone a little harder for the win but this championship means so much to me. It’s all I think about.”
McBain suffered a poor start and was sixth at the end of the opening lap. He said he slipped his clutch a little too much off the line and then had his elbow clipped by Steve Crevier in turn two.
But by lap two he was up to fourth and he passed Blaauwendraat for third two laps later.
“I didn’t have it for Brett today but it seemed like I kept closing in on Jordan then making little mistakes,” said McBain, who maintained third place in the Parts Canada Superbike point standings. “It’s nice to be back on the podium, especially out here.”
The 24-year-old Blaauwendraat had delighted the partisan crowd by qualifying on the front row on Saturday.
He ran as high as third in the race before being passed by McBain and then Crevier, but he regained fourth when Crevier crashed his Deeley Racing Powered By Buell / Buell 1125R in turn nine on lap 15.
“Everything was great but I was getting a little tired,” he admitted. “On this track you’re working the whole time. Clint was a little far off and I knew I couldn’t catch him.”
Andrew Nelson of Kars, Ont. took fifth on the Nelson Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 and Maple Ridge, BC’s Crevier recovered from his fall to take sixth. The 24-year-old Nelson had suffered a torn rotator cuff in a crash at Mosport International Raceway three weeks ago and he struggled all weekend in Shubenacadie on the physically demanding track.
Crevier's accident came when he tucked the front end entering the Carousel as he tried to catch McBain. He rejoined in seventh but passed the Beausejour Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Val D'Or, QC's Erick Beausejour four laps from the end.
Beausejour, Martin Grande (Suzuki Sport Collette Suzuki GSX-R600), Ross Millson (RMP Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Franklyn Dominguez (Seamont Brokerage Kawasaki ZX-10R) completed the top 10.
Kevin Lacombe of Granby, QC started third on the Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF Yamaha YZF-R1 but crashed in turn four on lap two. He reportedly was caught out by a sticking throttle, a problem the team had been chasing all weekend.
Four laps later the same spot claimed Jodi Christie on the Honda Powerhouse Dealers of Ontario / Roz-Gar Racing Honda CBR600RRwhile he was running a strong sixth. Neither rider was injured.
Superbike Results
1. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, Sask., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 22 laps
2. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, +5.420
3. Clint McBain, Cochrane, Alta., Suzuki GSX-R1000, +12.067
4. Brian Blaauwendraat, Truro, N.S., Honda CBR600RR, +31.095
5. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, +44.707
6. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, B.C., Buell 1125R, +50.012
7. Erick Beausejour, Val D’Or, Que., Suzuki GSX-R1000, +56.342
8. Martin Grande, Montreal, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600, +1:03.786
9. Ross Millson, Hamilton, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, +1:06.562
10. Franklyn Dominguez, Montreal, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 21 laps
11. Sean Huffman, Kemptville, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 21
12. Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 21
Did Not Finish
Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR600RR, 5
Kevin Lacombe, Granby, Que., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1
Matthew Leahey, Halifax, N.S., Honda CBR600RR, 0
Did Not Start
Royce McLean, Coaldale, Alta., Yamaha YZF-R6
Dave Estok, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Buell 1125R
Darren James, North Vancouver, B.C., Buell 1125R
Point Standings (after 6 of 7 rounds)
1. Jordan Szoke 296
2. Brett McCormick 282
3. Clint McBain 204
4. Andrew Nelson 171
5. Steve Crevier 161
6. Alex Welsh 145
7. Kevin Lacombe 120
8. Erick Beausejour 82
9. Royce McLean 79
10. Karl Daigle 78
10. Matt McBride 78
12. Jodi Christie 72
13. Ross Millson 62
14. Frank Trombino 51
15. Scott Rupert 50
16. Marie-Josee Boucher 49
17. Michael Taylor 44
18. Martin Grande 40
19. Dave Stokowski 39
19. Sean Huffman 39
21. Brian Blaauwendraat 33
22. Chris Murray-Audain 32
23. Peter Holzinger 23
24. Jean-Francois Cyr 21
24. Franklyn Dominguez 21
26. Mike Zottmann 17
27. Martin Ricard 16
28. Mitch Rathje 13
29. Elie Daccache 8
29. Brad Gavey 8
31. Alain Campagna 6
32. Terry Steeves 5
33. Larry Orde 3
34. Dean Plater 2
0 comments:
Post a Comment