Szoke fastest at St-Eustache

From Frontline CSBK

ST-EUSTACHE, QC – A late surge gave Jordan Szoke the fastest time in practice on Friday for this weekend’s fourth round of the Canadian Superbike Championship by Parts Canada at Autodrome St-Eustache.

Riding the Competition Systems Kawasaki Race Team Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R the Brantford, Ont. racer turned a lap of 45.344 seconds around the 1.77km (1.062-mile) track on his second last lap of the afternoon session to edge the radX / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR of Brett McCormick by 0.099 secs.

Alex Welsh of Uxbridge, Ont. was third quickest with a time of 45.574 secs. on the Z1 CycleTech / Kenwood Suzuki GSX-R1000.

“I’m feeling good about this weekend,” Szoke said. “It’s nice to be on top. You don’t get points or prize money for practice but I think this definitely sets the mood for the weekend.”

The five-time defending Superbike champion comes to St-Eustache trailing McCormick by 37 points in the Canadian Superbike Championship by Parts Canada standings. The 19-year-old from Saskatoon has won all three races so far this season, leading every lap from pole position in the process.

“Our biggest problem has been the bike has a lot of traction,” Szoke said, “and we missed a lot of the session this afternoon to make a big change which seemed to help. We’ll continue working on things; we can always make it better.”

Andrew Nelson of Kars, Ont. turned the fourth fastest time on Friday with a time of 45.845 secs. on his Nelson Racing / GymMax / Monette Sports BMW S1000RR and Keene, Ont.’s Jodi Christie placed fifth on the Jodi Christie Racing / Cameron Cycle / Blue Streak Racing Honda CBR600RR at 46.614 secs.

Saturday afternoon’s Pirelli SuperPole will set the starting line-up for Sunday’s feature race.

In other action at St-Eustache, Welsh was fastest in practice for the Pirelli Pro Sport Bike class with a time of 46.593 seconds on his Suzuki GSX-R600.

Woodbridge, Ont.’s Frank Trombino was second quickest with a time of 46.799 secs. riding the Suzuki Canada / Hindle / Sturgess Cycle Suzuki and points leader Christie was third fastest with a time of 47.010 aboard the Honda CBR600RR.

Harley-Davidson XR1200 Cup series leader Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, B.C. was fastest in practice on Friday with a time of 50.432 secs. on his MotoSport Plus-backed entry. The Ruthless Racing / Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada entry of Darren James of North Vancouver placed second and Magog, Que.’s Samuel Proulx was third on the Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson machine.

Kristopher Garvie of Caledon, Ont. set the quickest practice time in both the K&N Performance Filters Amateur Superbike and Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike classes on his Kawasaki ZX-6R. Garvie turned a best lap of 48.133 secs. in Superbike and a 48.482 secs. in Sport Bike.

Stephan Houle of Gatineau, Que. was second quickest in Superbike with a time of 48.767 secs. on a Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Thornton, Ont.’s Amzy Nawaz placed third at 48.835 secs. riding a Kawasaki ZX-6R.

In Sport Bike Garvie was followed by Nawaz at 48.613 secs. and the Suzuki GSX-R600 of Proulx with a time of 48.712 secs.

Friday track activity also included qualifying for this weekend’s pair of races for the Honda CBR125R Challenge. David MacKay of Stoney Creek, Ont. qualified on pole with a time of 1:03.711, followed by points leader Austin Shaw-O’Leary from Falmouth, N.S. with a 1:04.200 and St-Lazare, Que.’s Stacey Nesbitt at 1:04.339.

Racing at Autodrome St-Eustache resumes Saturday with Kawasaki S4-R Competition Lubricants Pole Qualifying in the Superbike and Sport Bike classes, along with qualifying for the Tactical Products Canada Pole Award in the XR1200 Cup.

Saturday will also see the first of two races for the Honda CBR125R Challenge.

Races in all six national classes will be run Sunday.