Mosport I: Series race report

Szoke survives for Mosport win

TORONTO, Ont. (July 10) - Jordan Szoke overcame engine troubles and a race long fight for the lead to take his fourth straight win in the 2010 Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Mosport International Raceway on Saturday.

The Brantford, Ont. racer discovered a radiator leak on his Waznie Racing / BMC Ciclo Werks / DeWildt Honda Powerhouse Honda CBR1000RR just before the start of the 20-lap race. But after a cautious start the series points leader moved into the lead on lap five of the 20-lap race and then held off challenges from Frank Trombino and Francis Martin to maintain his perfect win record and extend his season points lead. Martin picked up his second straight runner-up finish on the rad X HD / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR, 3.371 secs. behind Szoke and Andrew Nelson placed third on the Orion Motorsports / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR.

Trombino actually crossed the line second on the ProStar Motorsports / Sturgess Cycle Honda CBR1000RR after he made a bold pass of Martin two turns from the finish. But the Kleinburg, Ont. racer was later disqualified when his bike ran out of fuel on the dyno and could not complete its mandatory post-race run.

Szoke completed the 20 laps in 27 minutes, 14.008 seconds for an average speed of 174.359 km/h (108.352 mph).

"We got up to the starting line and the rad was spraying water," said Szoke after his 33rd career national Superbike win and his eighth at Mosport. "I launched it really easy and tried to baby it. It cooled down to about 110 degrees, 80-85 is normal, and it stayed there the rest of the way."

Trombino grabbed the lead from third on the grid but on lap two he was passed by Martin, who led the next three laps before Szoke took over. Although the Honda was never headed again Martin and Trombino stayed on his tail.

"Francis kept me honest right to the end," added Szoke, who is bidding for a fifth straight Parts Canada Superbike title and seventh overall. "I kept pushing even though I wanted to be careful. I want to win and I know when things are OK. And there's nowhere I want to win in the world more than Mosport."

Martin dropped 64 points behind Szoke in the Superbike standings with three races left, including Sunday's back half of this weekend's Mosport doubleheader. Szoke now has 216 points to Martin's 152.

"I was not lucky with traffic," said the two-time Canadian Superbike champion. "I was with Jordan the whole race but Jordan had better drive onto the straight. We just need better drive out of turn five tomorrow and I know we'll be right there."

Kars, Ont.'s Nelson picked up his best finish of the season and moved up to this in the Parts Canada Superbike standings with 125 points.

"We went in the wrong direction with the set up; we're going to make big changes for tomorrow," Nelson said. "With five laps to go my fuel light came on so I was shifting early, keeping the revs down."

Mississauga, Ont.'s Matt McBride finished fourth in his season debut with the Budds' Motorrad / Riders Choice BMW S1000RR after an almost racelong fight with Scarborough, Ont.'s Chris Murray-Audain on a Kawasaki ZX- 10R and Jodi Christie.

Christie had moved to the front of this group with five laps to go on the Jodi Christie Racing / Durham Honda Powerhouse Honda CBR600RR but almost immediately the Keene, Ont. rider suffered a broken shifter and slipped back to sixth in the results.

Cody Matechuk of Cochrane, Alta. was the top rookie finisher in seventh on the Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 and the last unlapped runner.

Uxbridge, Ont.'s Alex Welsh held down fourth in the early laps on the Competition Systems Kawasaki Race Team Kawasaki ZX-10R but crashed spectacularly in turn three on lap eight. He walked away from the incident.

Martin's teammate Mike Ferreira had just taken Nelson for fourth on lap nine when his BMW developed shifting trouble and he pulled into the pits to retire.

In other action at Mosport, Szoke extended his lead in the Pro Sport Bike standings with his fourth win of the season on his Honda CBR600RR.

The four-time defending class champion led all 14 laps from pole position and finished 8.106 secs. ahead of his closest title rival, Christie. Szoke now leads his fellow Honda rider by 42 points, 216-174 heading into Sunday's back end of the doubleheader.

Trombino completed a Honda sweep of the podium.

Raphael Archambault of St-Colomban, Que. kept his perfect record in the Amateur Sport Bike class intact with his fourth win of the season. The rider of the Centre Hamel Honda-backed Honda CBR600RR swapped the lead with Hamilton, Ont.'s Steven Nickerson on the final lap but managed to hold off the STN Racing / DeWildt Honda Powerhouse CBR600RR rider by 0.105 secs. at the line.

Archambault now has a commanding 85-point lead over Jeremie Hade Precourt, who placed fifth on Saturday, in the series standings.

Rob Busby stretched his lead in the K&N Filters Sport Twins standings with his third win of the year on his Buell XB12. The Brantford, Ont. rider finished 0.776 secs. ahead of Olivier Spilborghs aboard a Buell XB9 and now leads the White Rock, B.C. rider by 57 points in the standings, 204-147.

Ryan Appenrodt of Quesnel, B.C. won his fourth CBR125R Challenge race of the year to extend his lead in the championship to 25 points over Laval, Que.'s Loic Viscasillas, who placed second.

Jordan Szoke's wife Amy added to the family domination of the weekend by scoring her first ever win in the Pro Honda Oils Women's Cup on her Waznie Racing / BMC Ciclo Werks / DeWildt Honda Powerhouse Honda CBR600RR.

Action at Mosport concludes Sunday with a second round of national class races, plus the first ever Canadian race for the TTXGP eGRAND PRIX electric motorcycle racing series. Practice starts at 9:00 a.m. with the TTXGP event scheduled to lead off the racing program at 12:00 Noon.

-source: cdnsuperbike.com