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Szoke
Wins at St-Eustache
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- FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE -
Port Perry, Ontario (June 27, 2019) - The third round of the 2019 Canadian
Superbike Series (CSBK) took place this past weekend, June 21-23,
at Autodrome St-Eustache in St-Eustache, Quebec. This was the
final-ever race at St-Eustache for CSBK, as the famed track is set to
close at the end of this year.
It was, again, a close one, as
practice, qualifying and race times between the top pros were so close
all weekend. Ben Young, on the Scot-Build/Hindle/BMW S1000RR, was at
the top of the leaderboard for most practice sessions. When it came
down to qualifying, Young just couldn't keep the top spot, as 2018
Champion, Jordan Szoke, on the Mopar Express/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-10R,
claimed the fastest lap, putting him in the first spot on the front row
of the grid.
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The
battle for the lead continues between Young (#86) and Szoke (#1)
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The
lead changes continued throughout the Mopar Pro Superbike Race with
Szoke and Young battling for 1st
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On Sunday for
race day, the stakes were high knowing that this would be the
final race at St-Eustache. Szoke had especially set his eye on the
prize, as typically this track was one of his top performing tracks.
At
the start, Szoke was able to get the holeshot going into turn 1,
followed be Young close on his tail. The entire race saw the two riders
switching back and forth for the lead. With heavy winds and a few
backmarkers in the back straight portion of the track, Young and Szoke
got held up a bit in the last lap. Szoke was able to maintain the lead
with Young right on his tail. Crossing the finish line, Szoke was able
to keep his top spot with Young only .150 seconds behind.
Trevor
Daley, on the Parts Canada/Suzuki GSX-R1000 crossed the line in 3rd,
followed by Samuel Trepanier, on the Blysk Racing/Hindle/BMW S1000RR in
4th and Tomas Casas, on the Peterborough Cycle/Hindle/Yamaha YZF-R1 in
5th place.
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Szoke
takes home the win in the Mopar Pro Superbike race!
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"It took longer than expected,
if I am going to be honest, but that's racing and it makes it feel even
better," explained Szoke. "Round one was tough for us, but
round two felt a lot better and this weekend it all started to go right
for us. I wanted to be up front in the last lap, so it all worked out
in my favor and I got a good run to hold on for the win and we're going
to keep fighting for this thing right to the very end."
Young said, "We are obviously
a little disappointed, after such a close race, but second place is a
fantastic finish that the team and I are proud of. It's about the
championship at the end of the day, and we are still up front so it's
all good."
Young heads into Round 4 taking
place at Atlantic Motorsports Park (Shubenacadie, N.S.) on July 18-21,
with an 18 point lead in the championship.
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Mopar
Pro Superbike podium: Szoke in 1st, Young in 2nd and Daley in 3rd
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In the Liqui Moly Pro Sportbike
Class race, champion Tomas Casas, on the Peterborough
Cycle/Hindle/Yamaha YZF-R6, took home a 4 second lead against race
rival Will Hornblower (Yamaha YZF-R6). Coming in 3rd was Sebastien
Tremblay, on the Turcotte Performance/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-6R. Tremblay
is battling an injury from Round 2 and just recently had surgery to
repair his collarbone. Next up was David Mackay, on the MacK
AttacK/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-6R in 4th place, followed by Louie Raffa
(Honda CBR6000RR) in 5th place.
"The plan was to get a good
start, and I was able to get out front on the first lap, so I was able
to pull ahead, but I couldn't shake these guys so I knew I had to put
my head down and ride really hard," said Casas. "The Parts
Canada Yamaha was just amazing and the Dunlop tires were working really
well too, so it was important to pick up the win and keep fighting for
the championship."
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Casas
(#1) leading Mackay (#82), followed by Tremblay (#24) and
Hornblower (#47)
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Casas
kept it smooth and consistent and lead for the entire Liqui Moly Pro
Sport Bike race
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Tomas
Casas takes home the win in the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike race!
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In the Express Lane
Amateur Superbike race, Dave Natale, on the Hindle-powered Aprilia
RSV4, was leading the race and unfortunately crashed which set him back
from the lead in the championship points. Thankfully, Natale was
alright and was able to finish the race, but in 16th place.
Local
racer, Guillaume Fortin (Kawasaki ZX-10R), was able to secure the top
spot on the podium after Natale's crash. Another local racer, Pascal
Bastien (Yamaha YZF-R1), came in 2nd, followed by Andrew Haick, on the
Hindle-powered BMW S1000RR in 3rd place.
In
the Parts Canada Amateur Sport Bike race, local racer Christian Allard,
on the Hindle-powered Kawasaki ZX-6R, came in 1st place, followed by
Jake Leclair (Yamaha YZF-R6) in 2nd and Donald Dufour (Suzuki GSX-R600)
in 3rd.
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Natale looked great all
weekend - but, unfortunately crashed after leading the Express Lane
Amateur Superbike Race and ended up finishing in 16th place
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Express
Lane Amateur Superbike Race Podium: Fortin in 1st, Bastien in 2nd and
Haick in 3rd
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In the TSN's
Motorcycle Experience Amateur Lightweight class, local racer Alex
Berthiaume (Yamaha YZF-R3) sweeped the podium with two back-to-back
first place finishes in Race 1 and Race 2.
Keegan
Gaudet, on the Hindle-powered Yamaha YZF-R3, came in 2nd, followed by
Ben Leclair (Yamaha YZF-R3) in 3rd in Race 1. In Race 2,
Leclair came in 2nd place, followed by Gaudet in 3rd.
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TSN's
Motorcycle Experience Amateur Lightweight Race 1 podium: Berthiaume
in 1st, Gaudet in 2nd and Leclair in 3rd
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The
next round takes place at Atlantic Motorsports Park in Shubenacadie,
Nova Scotia, July 19-21. For more information, including
rider bios and current championship standings, check out the Canadian Superbike Championship website. See you at the races!
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