SHUBENACADIE, N.S. – Jodi Christie scored his second consecutive win at Atlantic Motorsport Park in spectacular fashion in the third round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship on Sunday.
The Keene, Ont. rider made a last lap, last corner pass of Jordan Szoke to snatch a 0.109-sec. victory on his Jodi Christie Racing / Honda Canada / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR1000RR. The win was Christie’s first of the season and set up a dramatic finish to the season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in three weeks time, with Christie now within 13 points of Szoke in the standings.
“I’m so happy to be up here again,” said the 22-year-old Christie, who finished second to Szoke in the opening two races of the 2014 season. “It’s almost a relief. I feel I’ve had the best bike all year and just failed to execute for the team. So this is like redemption for me.”
Christie completed the 22-lap race around the 2.56km (1.6-mile) AMP circuit in 25 minutes, 33.871 seconds for an average speed of 132.183km/h (79.310 mph).
Franklyn Dominguez of St-Lazare, Que. completed the podium on the OCM Motor Sports / egopay.com Kawasaki ZX-10R, holding off the Honda Canada / Fast Company / Platinum Painting Honda CBR1000RR of Kristopher Garvie in another exciting battle.
Szoke had qualified his Waznie Racing / BMW Motorrad / Mopar Express Lane BMW S1000RR on pole during Saturday’s Magneti Marelli SuperPole session but Christie grabbed the holeshot with the Brantford, Ont. rider right behind.
Christie and Szoke circulated as one for the first 17 laps, but it wasn’t until lap 18 that Szoke made the first move of the chess match, passing Christie’s Honda in turn five. Christie stayed close, however, and replied with a pass into the turn nine carousel on lap 21 to lead at the start of the final lap.
Szoke again made his move in turn five on the last tour and then held a tight inside line through turns nine and 10. But entering the final turn Christie dove to the inside and squeezed ahead of the BMW and then held off Szoke’s charge to the line.
“Entering turn nine [on the final lap] he [Szoke] blocked the line, and I expected that,” Christie explained. “He hugged the inside super-tight through turn 10 and as we exited he left about five feet on the outside. I used that to get inside him for turn 11 and then made my move and got as good a drive as I could onto the front straight.”
With his win and the two-point bonus for leading the most laps Christie earned 52 points and improved his Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship total to 145, while Szoke picked up 42 points and now has 158 at the top of the standings.
“It’s a bit disappointing because we’ve had a strong bike all year and especially this weekend,” said Szoke, who was trying to claim a record-tying seventh Superbike win at AMP. “I just made a big mistake. I thought I had the win in the bag and I went a bit slower into the last corner to make sure I got a good drive onto the front straight. I’m just mad I left the door open for him.”
Szoke will try to lock up an unprecedented 10th Canadian Superbike title at CTMP’s doubleheader weekend, which will feature Superbike races on Saturday and Sunday.
Dominguez made a superb start from the second row of the grid to snatch third spot and then pulled clear from the rest of the pack. But as the laps wound down he was reeled in by Garvie, who turned his fastest lap of the race on the penultimate tour in his pursuit of the Kawasaki rider.
“We finally got it; I’m really, really happy,” said an emotional Dominguez after his best career national Superbike finish. “The game plan was to get a good start and put some fast lap times down.”
Trevor Daley of Mississauga, Ont. was fourth for most of the race on his ProStar Motorsports / One Speed Honda CBR1000RR but ran off track in turn one on lap 18 and rejoined in fifth, where he finished. He remains third in the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship standings with 102 points.
In another fierce fight, Sarnia, Ont.’s Will Hornblower finished sixth on his Hornblower Racing / Blue Streak Yamaha YZF-R6 after passing the MotoNation / Laval Moto / CrossfitLaval.com Kawasaki ZX-10R of Longueuil, Que.’s Sebastien Tremblay on the final lap.
Hornblower’s result earned him his second $500 Sunoco Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Race Award and allowed him to extend his lead in the season-long Rookie of the Year standings.
Caleb Noiles of Upper Coverdale, N.B. finished eighth on his C&C Racing / Capstan Haulage / Toys For Big Boys Honda CBR600RR and Schomburg, Ont.’s Marco Sousa was ninth with the Z1 Cycletech BMW S1000RR.
The official Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship website, www.csbk.ca, will have full race video coverage of Saturday’s round of the Honda CBR250R National Race Series, as well as Sunday’s Hindle Pro Sport Bike and Mopar Pro Superbike feature events.
The 2014 Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship concludes with a doubleheader at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont. August 15-17. For ticket information call 1-800-866-1072 or (905) 983-9141, email info@ctmpark.com or visit www.canadiantiremotorsportpark.com.
Race Results
1.Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 22
2. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 22
3. Franklyn Dominguez, St-Lazare, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 22
4. Kristopher Garvie, Caledon, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 22
5. Trevor Daley, Mississauga, Ont., Honda CBR1000RR, 22
6. Will Hornblower, Sarnia, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R6, 22
7. Sebastien Tremblay, Longueuil, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 22
8. Caleb Noiles, Upper Cloverdale, N.B., Honda CBR600RR, 21
9. Marco Sousa, Schomberg, Ont., BMW S1000RR, 21
Did Not Start
Kenny Riedmann, Belfountain, Ont., Triumph 675
Ron Munroe, Beaver Bank, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-10R
Crowdis Roberts, Dartmouth, N.S., Suzuki GSX-R600
Louie Raffa, Ste-Marthe, Que., Honda CBR600RR
Time of Race: 25:33.871
Average Speed: 132.183km/h
Margin of Victory: 0.109 secs.
Fastest Lap: 1:08.618 by Jodi Christie on lap 20
Lap Leaders: Jodi Christie, 1-17, Jordan Szoke, 18-20, Christie, 21-22
Point Standings
1.Jordan Szoke, 158
2. Jodi Christie, 145
3. Trevor Daley, 102
4. Sebastien Tremblay, 91
5. Kristopher Garvie, 88
6. Franklyn Dominguez, 62
7. Will Hornblower, 54
8. Marco Sousa, 44
9. Frank Trombino, 33
10. Stephane Houle, 25
11. Caleb Noiles, 23
12. Tim Robinson, 21
13. Matt McBride, 2
14. Raphael Archambault, 1
14. Kenny Riedmann, 1
–From Professional Motorsports Productions
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