Alex Dumas moved one step closer to capturing his first Pro Superbike title on Saturday, winning race one to take a 21-point lead into the final race of the Canadian Superbike Championship season at Calabogie Motorsports Park.
Starting from pole position, Dumas grabbed an early lead and never looked back, leading start-to-finish despite heavy pressure from rival Ben Young throughout the contest. Young would keep his title hopes alive with a crucial second place, as the two rivals comfortably separated themselves from the rest of the pack and eventual third-place finisher Trevor Daley.
The 19-year-old rookie sensation continues his unbeaten streak at Calabogie after sweeping round one, with a historic debut championship now firmly in sight.
“It was a perfect race, and to do it front of my team and all these fans means a lot,” the Liqui Moly MPG/FAST School Suzuki rider said. “We still have to get ready for race two and do it again, but to grab this one with a pair of Suzuki’s up here is amazing.”
It’s a disappointing result for Young, who needed to beat Dumas to give himself the best shot at a second Canada Cup as he entered with an eleven-point deficit. The Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider was well aware of the opportunity that slipped away from him, but remained positive on the podium with race two still to run.
“From my perspective it was a bit of a boring race, but we worked hard to overcome a bit of an issue on lap four that stuck with us throughout the race,” Young said. “It isn’t over yet. Alex has one hand on the trophy, but I just have to make sure that one hand isn’t on it too tight.”
Daley completed the podium for the second time this season, putting a late pass on reigning champion Jordan Szoke to crucially eliminate him from championship contention and hand another strong result to Suzuki.
“I got a really strong start, so after these two stretched out a gap it was a bit frustrating for me, but I hit all my marks and I was able to catch Jordan at the end there,” Daley said. “It’s awesome to have two Suzuki’s up here again. We’ve had a really strong year, and it couldn’t have come at a better time with the addition of the Constructors Championship.”
A frustrated Szoke could only muster fourth, as he will be officially out of championship contention when race two rolls around later on Saturday. The Canada General Warranty Kawasaki rider has struggled with a number of setbacks in 2021, as he missed the podium for the second time this year.
Completing the top-five for the first time this season was Samuel Guerin, who bounced back in a big way after a disastrous rookie season of his own aboard his EFC Group BMW.
Notably missing were frontrunners Tomas Casas and Sebastian Tremblay, who crashed out in a related incident on lap five. Tremblay initially crashed in turn five after battling with fellow Kawasaki man Szoke, causing Daley and Casas to check up entering the blind corner. Daley would continue, but Casas unfortunately crashed trying to avoid Tremblay and will be forced to sit out race two.
Despite the disappointment in the Superbike race, Tremblay capped off the first ever perfect season in the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike class, dominating once again to make it four-of-four in 2021 and extend an eight-race winning streak dating back to 2019.
After clinching the championship on Friday, Tremblay found himself in unfamiliar territory early on Saturday, trailing Turcotte Performance Kawasaki teammates Christian Allard and Phillippe Masse on the opening laps.
However, Allard drastically faded back and allowed a hard-charging David Mackay to carve up the pack to second, briefly putting pressure on Tremblay as he chased his first Pro national victory. Ultimately, Tremblay found extra pace when he needed it, holding off Mackay in an all-Kawasaki podium with Masse joining them in third.
Allard and former teammate Vincent Levillian notably collided and crashed out in turn 12 in the late stages, a devastating blow to both riders’ championship positions as Levillian slips to fourth in the final standings while Allard slides to seventh.
Louie Raffa benefitted most from the incident to score a season-best fourth, jumping to fifth in the final standings in what has been a strong bounce back season for the Honda veteran.
Notably rounding out the top-five on Saturday was rookie Brad Macrae, who completed a perfect season of his own in the Amateur Sport Bike category on Friday before making the early jump to the pro ranks on Saturday alongside fellow Yamaha rider Matt Simpson, who did the same en route to a stellar sixth-place finish.
Race two of the Superbike feature doubleheader – and the title-deciding final race of the season – is scheduled to run at roughly 3:20 pm ET, while the full schedule can be found on the series official website at csbk.ca.
- From Professional Motorsports Productions
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