SZOKE WINS AT CALABOGIE
CALABOGIE, Ont. – Two-time defending Parts Canada Superbike Champion Jordan
Szoke won the opening race of the 2008 season at Calabogie Motorsports Park
on Sunday.
    The Brantford, Ont. racer rode his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki
ZX-10R to a 5.325-second victory over the Team Toyota Yamaha / Fast Company
Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 of Granby, Que.’s Kevin Lacombe.
    In a remarkable performance Maple Ridge, B.C.’s Steve Crevier
finished third in the debut of the Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada / Ruthless
Racing Buell 1125R.
    “I want to defend my number one plate as best I can,” said the 29-
year-old Szoke, who is gunning for his fifth national Superbike title. “This
is a new bike and it’s great to start off with a victory.”
    Szoke was third after the opening lap but he passed Lacombe for
second on lap 2 of the 20-lap race and took the lead from the Acceleration
Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Michael Barnes on lap 12. He stayed in front the
rest of the way.
    “I’ve got to work on my starts,” said Szoke, who started second on
the grid. “I really wanted to get off the line cleanly. But I thought as
long as I got off in the top three I could hang in there.”
    Barnes claimed the lead off the line but the Boca Raton, Fla. rider
was judged to have jumped the start and was due to be penalized five seconds
at the end of the race. However, he pulled into the pits with an engine
problem on lap 12. Barnes was subbing for Acceleration Racing’s regular
rider Clint McBain, who was sidelined with a separated shoulder.
    Lacombe stayed close to Szoke until lap 13, when he lost time after
he felt something hit his front fender.
    “I thought something had gone through my front fender,” explained
Lacombe, who won Saturday’s Pirelli Superpole competition to claim pole
position for the race. “I took a corner or two to make sure everything was
OK and I lost contact with Jordan.”
    Crevier qualified eighth on the Buell and spent most of the race
battling with the Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000
of Francis Martin. The pair initially ran seventh and eighth but moved up as
a number of the leaders ran into problems.
    In addition to Barnes’ retirement Brett McCormick crashed out of
fourth place and the Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Racing Suzukis of
Chris Peris and Matt McBride crashed while battling for third on lap 18.
None of the fallen riders was seriously hurt.
    That put Martin in third and Crevier fourth, but despite a big
horsepower disadvantage the twin-cylinder Buell passed the Suzuki on lap 19
and held on to the finish.
    “It’s quite amazing,” said Crevier, a six-time Canadian Superbike
champion. “We only got the bikes last Friday, and the crew has been slaving
for a week solid. We even had to use a DOT rear tire because our rim was too
narrow for the slick. It got a little mushy at the end but it felt OK.”
    Martin, from Rock Forest, Que. was fourth and Calgary’s Jeremy
Stepper took fifth aboard the Stepper Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000.
    Szoke’s win was his 24th career Canadian Superbike Championship
victory, pulling him to within two wins of Crevier for the all-time lead.
    Szoke takes a seven-point lead over Lacombe to the second round of
the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Calgary’s Race City Motorsport
Park June 27-29. He has 53 points to Lacombe’s 46, with Crevier third on 37.
    In other action at Calabogie, defending class champion Szoke won the
14-lap Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport Bike feature on his Kawasaki ZX-6R. The
Brantford, Ont. rider took the lead from Peris on lap 9 and held off his
teammate McCormick by less than a second at the line.
    “I had a terrible start, and this is a very tough track to pass on,”
said Szoke. “But my bike felt pretty good today. We’ve worked hard on it.
Chris went a little wide in turn 1 and I was able to get a run on him and
get past.”
    McCormick took over second when Peris crashed his Suzuki GSX-R600
just two laps from the finish. The Calgary rider was unhurt.
    Peris’s teammate McBride completed the top three finishers on
another Suzuki, just edging the Yamaha YZF-R6 of Lacombe.
    Valter Bartolini of Bologna, Italy led all the way from pole
position to win the Canadian Thunder feature at Calabogie Motorsports Park
on his NCR-Ducati 848. His teammate Andrew Nelson of Kars, Ont. finished
second, 4.435 secs. behind and Dave Estok of New Smyrna Beach, Fla. placed
third riding his Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada / Ruthless Racing Buell 1125R.
    In the Canadian Sport Twins class, Ottawa’s Jim Proulx took the win
on his Buell XB12R. His winning margin of just over seven seconds on the
Kawasaki 650R of Mississauga, Ont.’s Laurent Feuiltault earned Proulx the
Tirox Winning Big Award for having the largest margin of victory in any of
the national classes.
    Montreal’s Martin Grande edged Jodi Christie of Keene, Ont. for the
win in the Armour Bodies Amateur 600 Sport Bike race. The Suzuki GSX-R600
rider finished just 0.088 secs. ahead of Christie’s Yamaha YZF-R6 in the six-
lap event.
    Christie came back from a nasty fall in the first part of the race,
which was later restarted, earning him the Performance Under Gear Performer
of the Race Award.
    Patrick Marques of Calgary finished third riding a Suzuki GSX-R600.
    John Jarvie of Burlington, Ont. won the Suzuki SV650 National Cup
season opener. Jarvie led all 10 laps and finished 4.657 secs. ahead of
Laval, Que.’s Simon Blue. Rob Busby of Brantford, Ont. was third, just ahead
of Cocharne, Alta.’s Cody Matechuk.
    In Sunday’s opening race Raphael Archambault of St-Colonban, Que.
won the inaugural race for the Honda CBR125R Challenge, edging Parry Sound,
Ont.’s Aubrey Bailey to the line by just 0.120 secs. Jordan Cardozo of
Newmarket, Ont. was third and Jeremie Hade Precourt from Granby, Que. placed
fourth. The top four were all covered by less than a second.
    The MBP/Brembo Performance Awards went to Team Toyota Yamaha / Fast
Company Racing in the Parts Canada Superbike class, NCR Ducati in the
Canadian Thunder division and Ruthless Racing in Canadian Sport Twins.
    The weekend’s races were sponsored by Waste Management of Canada and
the Ottawa Citizen.
    This weekend’s event will be shown on TSN and TSN-HD on Tuesday,
Sept. 9 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. and again on Saturday, Sept. 13 from 4:00-5:00
a.m. All times are Eastern.