At least one feature class champion was crowned on Sunday, as Sebastien Tremblay officially clinched the Economy Lube Pro Sport Bike title despite a season-worst finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Starting from eleventh on a wet but drying track, Tremblay dove into the pits at the end of the warmup lap to seemingly switch onto slick tires, a gamble that ultimately didn’t pay off as he only worked his way back to eleventh when the race was red flagged for nearby lightning.
However, his Suzuki counterparts would save his championship bid, locking out the podium as Trevor Daley won his second race of the campaign. That would give Tremblay a 59-point lead with just 54 points remaining at Shannonville, handing him the second title of his career and first for Turcotte Performance Suzuki.
“It’s been an awesome year. It started with a good challenge from Ben [Young], and once he backed out I didn’t really know what to expect, but man these kids are great and made things tough on us,” Tremblay said. “I’m really happy to get out of here with the championship, even if it’s not on the podium.”
Tremblay becomes the first Sport Bike champion for Suzuki since Clint McBain in 2002, while the brand also clinched the inaugural Constructors Championship in the category – though primarily thanks to Daley, Christie, and Van Winkle.
Daley grabbed the holeshot from pole position aboard his OneSpeed Suzuki and led for the opening two laps, but Christie managed to seize the lead on lap three before Daley got him back on lap four.
Christie initially started to fade back somewhat before marching back towards Daley by lap ten, but the three-time champion’s comeback bid was cut short when thunderstorms returned at the end of the lap.
That gave Daley his second victory of the year and a crucial one for Suzuki, in what was an impressive ride amidst the changing conditions just a day after injuring his wrist in a race one crash.
It also kickstarted what was a historic day for Daley, who would later go on to score his second career GP Bikes Pro Superbike victory.
“Colin Fraser sent me the list of guys to do the double and it was quite the impressive group of names, so to do it a second time is awesome,” Daley said. “It’s been ten years since I’ve battled with Jodi, so when he got by me I actually smiled to be honest, but I was able to get him in the end – it was a lot of fun.”
As for Christie, the Scot-Build Suzuki rider had to settle for second in his Pro Sport Bike return, a stellar and emotional performance for the fan favourite in what was his first middleweight action in nearly a decade.
“This weekend has been really special. I tried my best, but Trev was just at full charge, and honestly I was content with the podium and really wanted to be up here,” Christie said. “I’m so thankful to Ben Young for the opportunity on this bike, and at such a beautiful venue. I’m just really glad to be back.”
Van Winkle would complete the podium, preserving his status as the second Suzuki rider in the standings as he helped them wrap up the Constructors trophy.
“Yesterday and Friday weren’t really what we wanted, but I had a pretty fun battle with Jodi yesterday and then was able to pick the right tires and come through the pack today, so it’s pretty awesome to be up here,” Van Winkle said.
John Laing’s championship hopes would be slammed shut in fourth, though the Vass Performance Kawasaki rider turned in a strong ride in fourth after battling with Van Winkle for the final podium position.
Elliot Vieira would round out the top five after a hot start for Economy Lube Ducati, fending off a charging group of Marco Sousa, Matt Simpson, and Mack Weil.
Mavrick Cyr would be classified in ninth, also seeing his title chances slip away despite a late charge of his own. Cyr unfortunately crashed following the red flag stoppage, though he was thankfully uninjured aboard the Economy Lube Ducati.
The Sport Bike championship will now race for pride at the season finale in Shannonville later this month, though with plenty of other battles further down the championship order.
<
Discussion about this post