Szoke takes second straight Superbike win

By John Hopkins

SHUBENACADIE, N.S. – Jordan Szoke claimed his second straight win in the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship in dramatic fashion at Atlantic Motorsport Park on Sunday.

The rider of the Waznie Racing / Parts Canada / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR passed Jodi Christie on the final lap to claim victory in the third round of the season and extend his lead in the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship point standings as the season reached its halfway point.

Christie settled for second aboard the Jodi Christie Racing / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR600RR and Frank Trombino was third riding the Acme Slate / Dua Bodywork / G Suspension Suzuki GSX-R600 after also spending time at the front.

Only 0.385 secs. separated the top three at the finish of one of the most exciting races in Canadian Superbike history. In addition to Szoke, Christie and Trombino, Andrew Nelson also spent time at the front on the Nelson Racing / Endras Motorrad / mcn.tv BMW S1000RR before fading to sixth at the finish with clutch trouble.

“I knew Jodi would be tough today,” said Szoke after his sixth Superbike national win at AMP. “I was lining up to try something on that final lap and I got a break.”

The race was settled in a 14-lap shootout after a red flag interrupted the originally scheduled 20-lap event following a crash by Marcel Irnie, who was unhurt.

Trombino got the holeshot and led Nelson, Szoke and Christie for the opening three laps as this quartet pulled clear of the rest of the field. Nelson took the lead from Trombino at the end of the back straight on lap four, and a lap later Szoke made the same move on the Suzuki rider, with Christie also getting past under braking for the turn nine Carousel.

Nelson spent three laps in the lead but in a single lap he went from first to fourth as Szoke got him between turns one and two, Christie got by in turn nine and Trombino slipped underneath in the final turn. Trombino said later he had seen Miguel Duhamel execute the same pass in the 1980s!

Szoke spent only one lap in the lead before Christie got inside him for turn nine to take the top spot. That maneuver earned the Honda rider the KICKER Kick Ass Pass of the Race Award.

For the next six laps the race settled into a cat-and-mouse game between Christie, Szoke and Trombino. It came down to the last lap. Christie had a slide getting onto the back straight and Szoke took advantage to power alongside and complete the move before turn seven. Christie thought he might be able to reply in turn nine again, but there had been a waved yellow in that corner the lap before and the Keene, Ont. teenager was unsure if the scene had been cleared and hesitated. However, Szoke appeared well prepared for any challenge this time and positioned his BMW in the centre of the track, just in case.

“I didn’t get a great start but you’ve got to be patient around here,” said Szoke, who now had 151 points in the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship standings to Nelson’s 116. “I tried to settle in and pick off guys where I could.”

Christie equaled his best career Superbike finish and scored a second straight AMP podium after placing third in 2011 behind Brett McCormick and Szoke.

“The bike was handling awesome and I just tried to put down consistent laps,” he explained. “Jordan kept me honest and I just had a little slide heading onto the back straight.”

Christie was on a back-up bike after suffering an engine problem that caused his main CBR600RR to cut out in corners during qualifying.

Trombino put in a brave ride to third place after aggravating an old shoulder injury during the Pro Sport Bike race earlier in the day.

“We numbed my shoulder, I took an Advil and I just screwed my head down and tried to be extra smooth,” the Kleinburg, Ont. rider said. “When I was behind Jordan I tried to pass on the outside because he was tight on the inside. I was waiting for an opening that just didn’t come.”

St-Cesaire, Que.’s Kevin Lacombe finished fourth on the Team Couturier Racing BMW S1000RR and moved up to third in the Superbike standings with 105 points, just one ahead of Christie.

Bodhi Edie of Warman, Sask. took a career high fifth on his Edie Racing / Blue Streak Racing / Fast Company BMW S1000RR after hounding Lacombe most of the way.

Sixth-place Nelson saw his title hopes take a dive but did have the consolation of setting the race’s fastest lap at 1:08.260 on the second tour.

Race Results

Point Standings