Cyr extends title leads in Amateur races on Sunday at CTMP

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Category: CSBK News

Published on Sunday, August 20, 2023 18:27 EDT

Written by Cam Bickle

Mavrick Cyr inched closer to a pair of national amateur crowns on Sunday, headlining day two of Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship support races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. 

The Rzzin Racing Triumph rider extended a massive lead atop the Scorpion EXO Amateur Sport Bike class with his third win in four races, and later recaptured his title advantage in the AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike class after rival Andrew Cooney ran into mechanical problems.

Cyr couldn’t manage to run at the front of the Superbike contest, instead battling with Mack Weil for a second time on the day for fifth, but it didn’t matter as Cooney was unable to start after an engine failure during the Sport Bike race.

That, coupled with a conservative Cyr, allowed Matt Vanderhorst to escape with his first career national victory, outlasting a charging Tyler Brewer at the finish.

Vanderhorst had stretched out a two-second advantage with just four laps to go before Brewer mounted the comeback, falling just 0.241 seconds short at the line aboard his Yamaha. 

Jason Thoms completed the podium ahead of fellow BMW rider Goran Radisic, marking three Motorrad machines in the top-four, while Weil held off Cyr to round out the top-five as Cyr turned his four-point deficit into a six-point title lead over Cooney.

The 18-year-old opened up a much friendlier lead in the Sport Bike ranks, however, winning race two at CTMP as Cooney bowed out of the frontrunning battle with an engine failure. 

Cooney would win race one earlier in the day, snatching the championship lead after Cyr could only take third, finishing as the runner-up initially but getting demoted one place due to a five-second penalty for passing Weil in the battle for second under yellow flag conditions.

Cyr would get his revenge later in the day, inflating his lead from 15 points to a comfortable 42 as he puts one hand on the trophy with two races remaining at the final round in Shannonville. 

Weil would double up on his second-place finish from earlier in the day by doing so again in his first weekend since switching from a MotorcycleCourse Yamaha to Kawasaki machinery, climbing to third in the championship as Serge Boyer rounded out the podium behind him.

Vincent Wilson continued his mid-season turnaround on Sunday, winning a pair of races in the Lightweight ranks.

The Atlantic Mini Kawasaki rider just marginally held off Jack Beaudry in race two of the Super Sonic Race School Amateur Lightweight class, with championship leader Vincent Lalande settling for third as only 0.266 seconds separated the podium finishers.

Wilson has now reeled off four wins in a row since his disappointing opening round, cutting the deficit to just 13 points behind Lalande at the front, as the SpeedFactory67 Kawasaki star was unable to work past the TPL Squadra Corse Kawasaki of Beaudry.

New Brunswick native Wilson continued his winning ways in the EBC Brakes Lightweight Pro/Am, taking an amateur split victory while pro Cameron Walker won the overall race.

A group of five riders ran in unison for most of the contest, with Walker leading fellow pro’s Gary McKinnon and championship leader Stacey Nesbitt, while Wilson dealt with rival amateur Lalande in the lead pack.

Walker would get the last laugh for the second day in a row as he fended off Wilson at the line, each taking a victory in their respective divisions, while McKinnon and Lalande completed the group in a quartet separated by just over a half-second. 

Nesbitt would trail off on the final lap but still extend her title advantage over Ryan Vanderputten in eighth (and fourth amongst the pro’s) to 16 points, while Wilson opens up a 28-point lead over Lalande in second.

Despite the tough day, Cooney did take over the lead atop the chase for the Surron Electric Rider Award, securing the fastest lap in the Amateur Sport Bike race for the second consecutive day. 

That, combined with his fastest lap from round one, means Cooney will have taken the honour in at least 50% of the class races this season, a percentage unmatched heading into the final round.

Full results from the fourth round at CTMP can be found on the series’ official website at CSBK.ca.