BOWMANVILLE, Ont. – Bodhi Edie of Warman, Sask. scored his first career national Superbike win in a spectacular round four of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Saturday, the first race of a doubleheader weekend.
Riding the Edie Racing / Charles Antle/ Ffun Motorsports BMW S1000RR, Edie was in front of series points leader Jordan Szoke and Alex Welsh when the race was red-flagged after 18 of a scheduled 20 laps had been completed, due to a crash involving Montreal rider Martin Ricard.
Edie, Szoke, Welsh and Jodi Christie spent most of the race battling over the lead in a sensational four-rider scrap that saw positions changing every lap. Edie got to the front of the group on lap 12 and managed to stay there the rest of the way.
The 17-year-old is making his first appearance of the 2013 Mopar Canadian Superbike season.
“I was determined to hang with these guys [Szoke, Welsh and Christie] and I found early in the race I could do it,” said Edie, who scored a third place finish in the season finale at CTMP last summer. “We have a very skimpy team here this weekend, really just me and my dad, but I wanted to win.”
Edie’s margin of victory was officially 0.132 secs. over Szoke’s Waznie Racing / BMW Motorrad Canada / Parts Canada BMW S1000RR. Welsh was 0.311 secs. back in third aboard the AW7R / Kenwood Eelectronics Canada / Parts Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000.
Edie completed the 18 laps in 24 minutes, 46.816 seconds for an average speed of 172.458 km/h (103.475 mph) around the 3.957km (2.49-mile) CTMP track.
“I really like this place,” added the 2011 Pro Rookie of the Year in the national series. “It’s fast and I’m really good with corner speed. The other guys were better than me getting onto the back straight but I was able to carry better corner speed through turn eight and I tried to use that to my advantage.”
Despite his runner-up finish, Szoke moved a step closer to clinching a ninth national Superbike title in Sunday’s back end of the doubleheader weekend. His closest rival for the crown coming into the weekend, Christie fell unhurt in turn three on lap 16, and failed to add to his point total. Szoke picked up 44 points for finishing second and leading the most laps (nine of 18).
Szoke now has 207 points to the 158 of Welsh, who moved into second, while Christie is now third with 145 points. A lead of 56 points or more at the end of action Sunday would guarantee Szoke the title with a round still to go.
“I was trying to think about the championship and in that respect it was a good day,” said Szoke, who had qualified fastest in Magneti Marelli SuperPole qualifying on Friday. “Here it’s tough to get away because of the draft so I knew it was going to come down to the end. Around the fourth or fifth lap the quick-shifter stopped working so I had to shift manually, and that can wear you out. But the bike feels really good.”
Welsh used his back-up bike to claim his fourth consecutive third place finish of the season after his primary motorcycle suffered an engine failure in the morning warm-up. He led the first two laps of the race after qualifying second to Szoke.
“I was pretty confident we had that race the way it was going,” said the Uxbridge, Ont. rider, who was a winner at CTMP last year. “I’m happy with the position we’re in and the way the bike is working.”
Keene, Ont.’s Christie was going for his second straight win of the season on the Jodi Christie Racing / Honda Canada / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR1000RR and was part of the lead scrap before his fall. He was running fourth when he tucked the front end and went down on lap 17.
Mississauga, Ont.’s Matt McBride finished fourth on the Riders Choice BMW S1000RR after a race long battle with the MotoNation / ASM Motorsport BMW S1000RR of Longueuil, Que.’s Sebastien Tremblay.
Trevor Daley worked his way up from 12th on the opening lap to finish sixth aboard his One Speed Suzuki GSX-R1000. The Mississauga, Ont. rider picked up the $500 Sunoco / Brooklin Cycle Racing Rookie of the Race Award for his efforts.
Seventh spot went to Caledon, Ont.’s Kristopher Garvie on the Genics Inc. Kawasaki ZX-10R, and he continues to lead the season-long Rookie of the Year point standings.
Close behind Garvie was Frank Trombino of Kleinburg, Ont. on the Trombino Racing / Royal Plumbing / FDS Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory. The top 10 was rounded out by Guelph, Ont. rider Matt Cooper on the Bain Machine Racing / Hindle BMW S1000RR and Scarborough, Ont.’s Chris Murray-Audain riding the Onestop Dealer Services / Endras BMW S1000RR.
Ricard was transported to hospital with suspected back injuries.
In other action at CTMP, Christie took another step to clinching his third straight Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike title by claiming a start-to-finish victory on his Honda CBR600RR on Saturday.
Christie finished 3.620 secs. clear of a fantastic battle for second, which was decided at the wire in favour of Garvie on the Honda Canada-backed Honda CBR600RR. Calgary’s John Ross MacRae completed the podium aboard the Riedmann Racing / Castrol / Blackfoot Triumph 675 just ahead of the BYR / Tim Hortons (Sudbury) / Hindle Yamaha YZF-R6 ridden by Thornbury, Ont.’s Ben Young.
Christie now has 221 points to the 163 of MacRae heading into Sunday’s penultimate round of the season.
Steve Crevier regained the lead of the Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup with his third win of the season on Saturday aboard the MotoSport Plus entry. The Maple Ridge, B.C. rider came out on top of a ferocious five-rider battle for the lead in the 14-lap race to finish just 0.133 secs. clear of Toronto’s Michael Taylor and 0.485 secs. in front of Erin, Ont.’s Jon Cornwell.
Crevier takes a 21-point lead, 169-148 over Taylor into Sunday’s race. The Mackie Harley-Davidson-backed rider had claimed his third straight Tactical Products Canada LUMINOX Pole Award in qualifying.
Darren James of North Vancouver was leading the points coming into Saturday’s race but the Ruthless Racing rider suffered a fall while he was part of the lead battle, suffering a back injury in the process.
Mitchel Card of Ripley, Ont. closed to within three points of the lead of the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike class with his second win of the season. Riding the ProStar Motorsports / Blue Streak Racing Honda CBR1000RR, Card finished 1.919 secs. clear of the Endras BMW / Inside Motorcycles BMW S1000RR ridden by Orangeville, Ont.’s Steve Hoffarth, with Stephan Houle of Gatineau, Que. third aboard the 613 Motorsports / Wheelsport Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Toronto’s Riley Dawe finished fourth aboard the Riley Dawe Racing / Adrenaline X / Pete’s Superbike BMW S1000RR and now has 174 points to the 171 of Card heading into Sunday’s race.
Card also won the Bazzaz / Inside Motorcycles Amateur Sport Bike race on his Honda CBR600RR, beating the Suzuki GSX-R600 of Schomberg, Ont.’s Marco Sousa by just 0.246 secs., with Dawe a close third on his Yamaha YZF-R6.
Dawe now leads Card by just five points in the class standings, 165-160, with Sousa third on 158 points.
Peterborough, Ont.’s Tomas Casas all but clinched the Honda CBR250R National Race Series with his fifth win of the season on the Peterborough Cycle Salvage entry on Saturday. Casas finished 0.720 secs. ahead of Ottawa’s Samuel Dutrisac, riding for the 613 Motorsport team, with Dartmouth, N.S.’s Connor Warnell right behind in third after a race-long battle between the three riders.
Action at CTMP concludes Sunday with feature races for all six national classes. Practice begins at 9:00 a.m. with the first race, for the Honda CBR250R National Race Series, set to launch at 11:10 a.m. Tickets are available by calling 1-800-866-1072 or (905) 983-9141, or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Fans can also visit the website at www.canadiantiremotorsportpark.com.
Video coverage of both Mopar Pro Superbike races, Sunday’s Harley-Davidson Canada XR1200 Cup event and Saturday’s Honda CBR250R National will be available on www.csbk.ca, as well as highlights from the Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike races.