Dominant Szoke on Mopar CSBK pole at St-Eustache

ST-EUSTACHE, Que. – Jordan Szoke confirmed his status as favourite at this weekend’s second round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship with a dominant performance in Dalton Timmis Insurance SuperPole qualifying Saturday.

Riding the Express Lane / Motovan / BMW Motorrad BMW S1000RR the Lynden, Ont. rider turned a qualifying lap at 45.122 seconds around the 1.93km (1.2-mile) 10-turn road course, almost a second faster than his nearest rival.

The performance gave Szoke, a five-time Pro Superbike winner at St-Eustache, four more points in his bid for an unprecedented 11th Canadian Superbike title and $600 from Dalton Timmis Insurance.

“It was exciting for sure,” said Szoke, who has won the past four Pro Superbike races at St-Eustache. “I put in a really fast lap off the hop. We were so close to the lap record I was comfortable I could hold on to it, but you never know.

“The BMW is working so mint. Last year we had a great set-up here and the little mods we’ve made over the winter have made it that much better.”

Kevin Lacombe of St-Cesaire, Que. qualified second for this weekend’s pair of Pro Superbike races with a late lap at 46.006 on the Motosport St-Cesaire / Motovan / Zox Yamaha YZF-R1S and class rookie Ben Young of Collingwood, Ont. set the third fastest time of 46.043 aboard his Tim Horton’s / Scot-Build Developments / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR.

Belfountain, Ont.’s Kenny Riedmann completes the front row for this weekend’s pair of races after setting a lap time of 46.056 secs. on the Sturgess Cycle / Liqui Moly / Speed And Strength Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja.

The Mopar CSBK competitors will do battle over 22 laps of the St-Eustache circuit both Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Szoke goes into Saturday afternoon’s race with a 13-point lead over Riedmann, 58-45. A race win is worth 50 points.

Mirabel, Que.’s Sebastien Tremblay leads off the second row of the Pro Superbike grid after turning a lap at 46.245 on his MotoNation / Laval Moto Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja. He will be joined by Beaconsfield, Que.’s Michael Leon, who turned a 46.332 aboard the Royal Distributing Racing Team / BMW Motorrad Canada / Pro 6 Cycle BMW S1000RR.

Warman, Sask. rider Bodhi Edie set the seventh fastest time of 46.355 on his Trip-Dub Racing / Z-1 Cycle Tech / Birkett Freight Solutions Yamaha YZF-R1 before suffering a big crash in the Chicane halfway through the SuperPole session. Although Edie walked away from the fall his Yamaha appeared to suffer extensive damage with only a few hours of repair time available before the start of Saturday afternoon’s race.  

Saturday afternoon’s Mopar Pro CSBK race is scheduled to go green at 3:40 p.m. There is also a race for the Kawasaki 300 Ninja Spec National Series and qualifying sessions for the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike, Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike and Shoei Premium Helmets Amateur Sport Bike classes.

Feature races in all classes will be held Sunday.

Ticket information is available through the track website (www.autodrome.ca) or by calling (450) 472-6222 or (514) 591-4388.

Click here for complete Pro Superbike Qualifying results