Daley dominates Sport Bike race one at Shannonville

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Category: CSBK News
Published on Saturday, August 31, 2024 14:43 EDT
Written by Cam Bickle

Mixed conditions produced perhaps the most emphatic victory of Trevor Daley’s career on Saturday, as he destroyed the Economy Lube Pro Sport Bike grid in the penultimate day of the Bridgestone CSBK season at Shannonville Motorsport Park.

Starting from eighth and battling through a wrist injury, Daley defied expectations to carve his way into second in the opening few corners, putting himself right on the tail of Mavrick Cyr after the rookie grabbed the holeshot.

The OneSpeed Suzuki rider then made the race-winning move in the turn eight hairpin, going side-by-side with Cyr before getting a slightly better launch and powering his way into the lead.

That would be the last anyone would see of Daley, as he proceeded to run as much as two-seconds-per-lap faster than anyone else and continued to set his fastest laps with three to go before bringing things home by a 13-second margin.

Daley actually led by over 17 seconds onto the final lap, on course to be the second-largest margin of victory ever in the Sport Bike class, before he backed off slightly to celebrate his third win of the season and fourth of his middleweight career.

“It was tricky to figure out where was wet and where wasn’t, but the bike was amazing, these Bridgestone tires were amazing, and everything just felt really good,” Daley said. “It hasn’t been the easiest week [with the wrist injury]. I just tried not to lose focus and bring it home, and get out of here with another win.”

The dominant performance made Daley the slam-dunk winner of Saturday’s Bridgestone CSBK Hard Charger award, though Daley was graciously quick to donate his cash prize to the Revs 4 Rett foundation. 

As for Cyr, the 19-year-old saw his excellent start turn quickly into a lonely ride in second, though he had some work to do in the final few laps to fend off a late charge from fellow teenager Andrew Van Winkle.

Despite the pressure, Cyr would hold on for a fifth podium in the last six races as he continues to look like a 2025 title threat for Economy Lube Ducati, moving past John Laing for second in the championship during his pro debut season.

“I love the rain, so I was pretty happy at first, but then I had some problems with the rear and my visor began to fog a little bit,” Cyr said. “I’m okay with second, but I have to give a huge thanks to Economy Lube for all the help again this weekend.”

Van Winkle’s late charge would prove to be too little, too late in the fight for second, though he still found himself on the podium once again for FD Racing Suzuki.

“I didn’t want to lose Mavrick off the start, so I just tried to keep him in my sights and work my way up,” Van Winkle said. “I was gaining on him by quite a bit at the end, but it is what it is – I’m back on the podium, so I’m happy!”

The battle of the race proved to be further back in fourth, as title rivals Laing and Sebastien Tremblay got their elbows out in the final few laps in an aggressive but thrilling duel.

Championship leader Tremblay got beat up on the opening lap as he slid from pole position all the way down to seventh, admitting he just wanted to finish the race after bowing out of his previous wet contests in the last two years.

After gaining confidence in his tires in the final half, the Turcotte Performance Suzuki rider began to carve his way through the pack and found himself ahead of Laing on the final lap, but the Alberta native launched a daring move into the penultimate Allen’s corner as they went side-by-side in the final turn.

Laing would get the slightly better drive aboard his Vass Performance Kawasaki, beating Tremblay to the line by just 0.046 seconds as he crucially keeps himself within two points of Cyr in the fight for second overall heading into Sunday’s finale.

Alex Michel would wind up just behind the battle for fourth, taking a season-best sixth for SpeedFactory67 Kawasaki after briefly running in the podium mix. Michel got a terrific launch from the second row before fading back to seventh, though he seemed to settle in once again in the final laps to salvage a top-six finish.

Cyr’s podium will help lift Ducati three points clear of Kawasaki in the fight for second in the Pro Sport Bike Constructors Championship, as both he and Laing will have more to fight for than just their own spot in the standings entering race two.