Wild Sport Bike win for Szoke

By John Hopkins

BOWMANVILLE, ON – Jordan Szoke won his fifth straight Pro Sport Bike race in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship on his Waznie Racing / BMC Ciclo Werks / DeWildt Honda Powerhouse Honda CBR600RR on Sunday after a spectacular battle with Jodi Christie.

The two swapped the lead repeatedly until the final lap, when they made contact two turns from the finish and Christie crashed. The Jodi Christie Racing / Durham Honda Powerhouse CBR600RR rider managed to remount to cross the line fourth, which became third due to a jump start penalty to Frank Trombino.
       
Jean-Francois Cyr finished second on his CyRacing Suzuki GSX-R600.
       
Szoke takes a 53-point lead over Christie, 266-213, heading to the final doubleheader in Nova Scotia.

Szoke and Christie staged their fiercest battle of the season on Sunday, swapping the lead repeatedly over the 14-lap race. The smaller Christie was often able to draft past his more experienced rival on the backstraight, only to have Szoke retake the lead in turns one or two of the 3.957km track.

Szoke led to start the final lap but Christie got ahead of him again heading into turn eight at the end of the backstraight. As they entered the penultimate turn of the track, the turn nine left hander, Szoke got inside Christie but the two bikes touched and Christie stood up and was forced to ride off the track. He tried to save it but instead went down, plowing face first into the protective air fence.

Szoke was clearly distressed as he took the checkered flag, looking back and holding his hand to his head. Christie, however, managed to drag his bike back to its wheels and cross the finish line without losing too many places.

"I'm embarrassed," Szoke said at the podium. "I've been racing a long time and I've never been in an incident like that. It left me feeling sick.

"I felt he left the door open a little and I went for it. He closed the door and we locked handlebars. I can't apologize enough. I don't ride like that and I don't want to win any race like that."

Christie was somewhat winded, he suspected due to having his helmet pushed into his chest when he hit the air fence, but otherwise he appeared unhurt and participated in the podium ceremonies.

"I was just trying hard to stay in front," said the subdued Keene, ON 18-year-old. "I thought I had the line and Jordan went underneath me. I guess that's racing and I have to accept what happened and move on from here.

"I got a draft and passed him on the last lap and I went into turn eight as tight as I could. He had passed me there before and that kind of woke me up, gave me a bit of a scare.

"I'm really fortunate that air fence was there. If not, I would not be here right now."

While Szoke and Christie fought over the lead an equally dramatic battle for third took place between Cyr, the ProStar Motorsports / Sturgess Cycle Honda CBR600RR of Trombino and rookie Kenny Riedmann on the Compulsion Racing / Pro 6 Cycle Triumph 675.

Cyr led to start the final lap but the Ste-Adele, QC rider was at a weight disadvantage to Trombino on the back straight and couldn't prevent the Honda rider from getting ahead to take second on the road. Trombino's jump start, however, elevated Cyr to second in the results, although he crossed the line 27.084 secs. behind Szoke.

"I was not quite aware of the jump start so I tried to pass Frank," Cyr said. "I wanted to stick with him because if he got a couple of seconds on me it would be hard to catch up."

Poor Riedmann crashed in turn nine moments after Christie, apparently due to a blown rear shock. Unlike Christie though, he went into the haybales and was unable to compete in the Superbike race later in the day.

Trombino got fourth with his penalty, while the Ruthless Racing / Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada-entered Buell 1125Rs of Dave Estok and Darren James placed fifth and sixth, respectively. Both were part of a large group that lost time bottled up behind Cody Matechuk's Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 early in the race.

Matechuk finished eighth, just behind the very impressive Elie Daccache on his Good Times Powersports Kawasaki ZX-6R. As a result, Matechuk maintains third in the class standings by a single point over Estok, 151-150.

Race Results
1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, ON (Honda CBR600RR) 14 Laps
2. Jean-Francois Cyr, Ste. Adele, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) 14
3. Jodi Christie, Keene, ON (Honda CBR600RR) 14
4. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, ON (Honda CBR600RR) 14*
5. Dave Estok, New Smyrna Beach, FL (Buell 1125R) 14
6. Darren James, North Vancouver, BC (Buell 1125R) 14
7. Elie Daccache, Ottawa, ON (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 14
8. Cody Matechuk, Cochrane, AB (Suzuki GSX-R600) 14
9. Stephane Chabot, Oshawa, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 14
10. Scott Rupert, Gadshill, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 14
11. James Collins, Kaladar, ON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 14
12. Greg White, Raleigh, NC (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 14
13. Genevieve Lesieur, Quebec City, QC (Suzuki GSX-R600) 13
14. Matthew Leahey, Halifax, NS (Honda CBR600RR) 13
Did Not Finish
Kenny Riedmann, Belfountain, ON (Triumph 675 Daytona) 13
Andrew Dunlap, Truro, NS (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 12
Adam Roberts, Milford, NS (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 12
Brad Clarke, Mississauga, ON (Suzuki GSX-R600) 7
Did Not Start
Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, QC (Honda CBR600RR)
* -- Penalized five seconds for jump start

Time of Race: 19:35.450
Margin of Victory: 27.084 seconds
Fastest Lap: 1:23.174 by Jodi Christie on lap 4

Point Standings
1. Jordan Szoke 266
2. Jodi Christie 213
3. Cody Matechuk 151
4. Dave Estok 150
5. Jean-Francois Cyr 108
6. Frank Trombino 101
6. Scott Rupert 101
8. James Collins 95
9. Darren James 79
10. Greg White 57
11. Trevor Bernhardt 54
12. Kenny Riedmann 53
13. Sebastien Tremblay 44
13. Tom Bodrovics 44
13. Curtis Lindenbach 44
13. Elie Daccache 44
17. Stephane Chabot 42
18. Matthew Elder 36
19. John Crump 27
20. Chad Swain 25
21. Genevieve Lesieur 17
21. Marie-Josee Boucher 17
23. Matthew Leahey 16
24. Andrew Dunlap 13
24. Alain Campagna 13
26. Billy Shields 12
27. Rob Darlington 11
28. Adam Roberts 8
29. Brad Clarke 6