By John Hopkins
Photo courtesy cdnsuperbike.com
SHUBENACADIE, NS – Brett McCormick survived near-disaster to claim pole position for the sixth round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Atlantic Motorsport Park on Saturday.
The Saskatoon rider came within an inch of crashing his Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 during the Pirelli SuperPole qualifying session but not only stayed upright but was able to turn a lap at one minute, 6.928 seconds and capture his fourth Inside Motorcycles Pole Position Award of the season.
McCormick averaged 137.700 km/h (82.62 mph) around the 2.56km (1.6-mile) 11-turn AMP circuit.
“I had a little mishap but I was still able to make it work,” said the 17-year-old McCormick, who picked up $500 from Inside Motorcycles magazine and four points toward the Parts Canada Superbike Championship. “Maybe I’ll buy the team dinner tonight. The guys have been working really hard and the bike was great.”
McCormick gained a point on Superbike series leader Jordan Szoke. The Brantford, ON racer qualified second with a time of 1:06.975 on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Kevin Lacombe of Granby, QC will start third in Sunday’s race after turning a time of 1:08.056 on the Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF Yamaha YZF-R1.
Truro, NS racer Brian Blaauwendraat completes the front row of the Superbike grid after setting a time of 1:08.473 on the Pro Cycle / Atlantic Honda Dealers Honda CBR600RR.
McCormick had shattered the AMP track record in Pre-Qualifying with a time of 1:06.031, topping the previous mark of 1:07.425 set by Pascal Picotte in 2005.
But he nearly highsided coming out of turn three on his SuperPole lap and looked certain to crash before he managed to bring his motorcycle back under control.
“I guess I got on it a little too hard coming out of three,” McCormick said. “Luckily I strung the rest of the lap together. I thought I was going down; I just got back on the throttle and crossed my fingers.”
McCormick also claimed pole position for last year’s Superbike round at AMP. Since then he has only been beaten to the top spot once, when Szoke qualified fastest for round three of this year’s Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Calgary’s Race City Motorsport Park.
McCormick heads into Sunday’s 22-lap Superbike feature, the penultimate round of the 2009 season, trailing Szoke by 24 points in the Parts Canada Superbike standings, 254-230. A race win is worth 50 points with a two-point bonus available to the rider who leads the most laps.
Szoke earned three points for qualifying second and admitted he didn’t want to push too hard and hurt his championship chances with a fall.
“I didn’t want to risk everything for one more point,” said the 30- year-old Szoke, who is trying to clinch his fourth straight Parts Canada Superbike title. “The bike is a lot better than what I showed. I’m pretty happy. It’s a long race and we’ll see what happens. I want to keep the pressure on Brett.”
Lacombe’s team tried to cure a sticking throttle just before the SuperPole session with a new engine map. While the revised setting eased the problem it created a new set of challenges, in particular bringing the power on abruptly out of the corners.
"It was hard to ride and I lost about half a second easy,” said Lacombe, a three-time Superbike race winner at AMP. “But I’ve got a front row start and I know I can get off the line well.”
Blaauwendraat earned his best ever Parts Canada Superbike start despite a couple of mistakes on his SuperPole lap.
“I’m very surprised,” he admitted. “I missed a shift coming onto the front straight at the start and then I ran a little wide in turn seven. I was not pleased when I came off the track. But as the session went on and I saw the other guys weren't improving their times I got my hopes up.”
The 24-year-old local ace was one of only two riders to improve on his morning pre-qualifying time in the SuperPole session.
Cochrane, AB’s Clint McBain qualified fifth aboard his Suzuki Dealers / Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 with a time of 1:08.534.
Andrew Nelson of Kars, Ont. was next up on the 2009 edition Nelson Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 at 1:08.809. The colourful 24-year-old spiced up proceedings by presenting official starter Craig Johnston with a cooked lobster under the Pirelli Arch before setting off on his lap.
Six-time Canadian Superbike champion Steve Crevier completes the second row of the grid with a time of 1:09.267 on the Deeley Racing Powered By Buell / Buell 1125R. The Deeley team was struggling with a new slipper clutch on the Maple Ridge, BC rider's bike as well as handling issues.
The top 10 of the starting grid is completed by Jodi Christie of Keene, Ont. (Honda Powerhouse Dealers of Ontario / Roz-Gar Racing Honda CBR600RR), Coaldale, Alta.’s Royce McLean (Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF Yamaha YZF-R6) and Montreal racer Martin Grande (Suzuki Sport Collette Suzuki GSX- R600).
Christie and McLean are the top two challengers for the HJC Pro Rookie of the Year Award and McLean joined Blaauwendraat in improving on his pre-qualifying time.
Grande, another rookie Pro, was making his first ever Pirelli SuperPole appearance.
Qualifying Results (Top 10 established in Pirelli SuperPole)
1. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, Sask., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:06.928
2. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:06.975
3. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, Que., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:08.056
4. Brian Blaauwendraat, Truro, N.S., Honda CBR600RR, 1:08.473
5. Clint McBain, Cochrane, Alta., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:08.534
6. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:08.809
7. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, B.C., Buell 1125R, 1:09.267
8. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR600RR, 1:09.358
9. Royce McLean, Coaldale, Alta., Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:09.726
10. Martin Grande, Montreal, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:10.908
11. Erick Beausejour, Val D’Or, Que., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:10.198
12. Ross Millson, Hamilton, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:10.528
13. Dave Estok, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Buell 1125R, 1:10.559
14. Matthew Leahey, Halifax, N.S., Honda CBR600RR, 1:10.863
15. Darren James, North Vancouver, B.C., Buell 1125R, 1:10.966
16. Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, Que., Honda CBR1000RR, 1:11.444
17. Franklyn Dominguez, Montreal, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:11.970
18. Sean Huffman, Kemptville, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:12.551
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