CSBK Untold: Extra Storylines from Round 5 at CTMP

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Category: CSBK News

Published on Wednesday, August 14, 2024 15:44 EDT

Written by Cam Bickle

It seems like not much more excitement can be packed into Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship weekends, but every round more and more stories are left on the cutting room floor by the time Sunday comes and goes.

From the major headlines that require a bit more detail, to the countless hidden gems that never crack the spotlight, here are some added notes from the fifth round of the 2024 season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Daley adds to legacy with Double-Double

For a long time, Trevor Daley was considered the best rider to never win a Superbike race. After his “Daley Double” in Grand Bend, he could have been considered one of the best riders of the decade. Now, there are no doubts about it – he is simply one of the all-time best.

Only ten other riders have ever “done the double” with Superbike and Sport Bike wins on the same day, and just seven of those did it more than once – a list that includes Jodi Christie, Jordan Szoke, Brett McCormick, Don Munroe, Steve Crevier, Pascal Picotte, Michel Mercier, and now Daley, who took his second Sunday sweep of the year at CTMP.

All of those riders were Canada Cup winners at some point in their careers, combining for 50 pro national championships and 252 pro victories between them as undisputed legends of CSBK.

Even if Daley never joins them in hoisting a pro #1 plate (and he clearly still has lots in the tank), it’s hard to argue he hasn’t earned his place amongst the best of the best to ever race in Canada.

Casas grits his way to Superbike trophy

Tomas Casas’ season debut was put in jeopardy right away on Friday, as a hard crash in Economy Lube Pro Sport Bike qualifying left him battered and bruised for the weekend and halted his return to the middleweight ranks.

However, he would find something special on Sunday.

The Yamaha Motors Canada rider mastered the wet conditions of race two to put himself in an early battle for the lead with Trevor Daley and Ben Young, stretching out a big lead on the chasing pack behind.

A combination of pain and a drying track put him under threat from slick-mounted Jordan Szoke in the later stages, but Casas would hold off the 14-time champion for the third GP Bikes Pro Superbike podium of his career.

It’s fair to say this one was the most impressive, hobbling his way onto the podium at less than full strength and after not racing in nearly a full calendar year. Casas revealed he is still trying to “put things together” for 2025, but his race two effort should go a long way in helping secure his CSBK future. 

Van Winkle, Laing, Simpson manage “old-gen” success

The venue formerly known as Mosport has always been reliant on straight-line speed, a product of the long Andretti Straightaway. That’s become even more true in the Sport Bike ranks since the inclusion of “next-gen” machinery in 2023, primarily the Ducati V2 Panigale and Suzuki GSX-R750.

A trio of former race winners didn’t get that memo, though, as Andrew Van Winkle, John Laing, and Matt Simpson each put together strong performances aboard “old-gen” machinery.

The 17-year-old Van Winkle would be the top runner of the group in both races aboard his FD Racing Suzuki GSX-R600, finishing fifth in race one and earning a podium in third in race two despite starting from 16th on the grid.

Laing would do an excellent job himself, keeping his Vass Performance Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja seventh in race one and an impressive fourth in race two, nearly keeping his title hopes alive despite the disadvantage.

Simpson would have unfortunate luck on Saturday as a mechanical issue on the final lap dropped him from sixth to tenth on the PMR Yamaha YZF-R6, but he made up for it in race two with a seventh-place result – the only Yamaha rider to even crack the top-ten at CTMP.

Radisic continues near-perfect run

It’s an incredibly difficult task to finish in the top-two in every race of a season, but very few have done so after facing as much adversity as newly-minted AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike champion Goran Radisic.

“We’ve gone through so much. Wins, podiums, crashes, injuries, repairs, rain, heat, from Alberta to Nova Scotia…to come out on top of all of that is unbelievable,” Radisic said, summarizing just how grueling the 2024 campaign has been at times.

No one has ever finished in the top-two in every race of an Amateur Superbike season, and just two riders have ever taken a perfect run of podiums (Trevor Daley in 2012 and Jean-Marc Bilger in 2016), though that was across six-race campaigns while Radisic has already completed ten races with two to go.

It’s possible Radisic could end the year in a historic category all by himself, but even if his perfect run comes to a close at the finale there will be nothing to take away from the dominance of the PMR BMW rider.

Beattie adds his own dazzling double

Doubling up wins in multiple classes is more common in the amateur ranks than it is amongst pros, but few have ever accomplished what Ryan Beattie did at CTMP.

The Super Sonic Road Race School Pro-AM Lightweight championship leader made the late decision to debut in the EBC Brakes Amateur Sport Bike class as well, riding an LDS Consultants Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja owned by Yves Dion (father of former Pro Sport Bike champion Trevor Dion).

The 15-year-old superstar didn’t look out of place one bit aboard it, winning in his “big bike” debut from 16th on the grid and adding another notch onto his resumé, but he wouldn’t be done collecting hardware just yet.

Beattie would navigate the tricky conditions on Sunday to take a massive win in the Lightweight ranks over reigning pro champion Stacey Nesbitt, his sixth victory of the year, opening up a crucial 20-point championship lead with one round to go.