CSBK 2018 Digital Edition.Pdf
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18D_Q4_TKnapp_sngl_InsideMC_Layout 1 5/23/18 11:02 AM Page 1 62° LEAN ANGLE. STREET LEGAL. HOW DO YOU ROLL? 0 350 10 20 340 30 330 40 320 50 310 60 70 80 62° 90 100 110 120 130 230 140 220 150 210 160 200 170 190 180 @RideDunlop DunlopMotorcycleTires.com. ©2018 Dunlop Motorcycle Tires. SPORTMAX Q4 28693 INTRODUCTION TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 MOPAR PRO SUPERBIKE CLASS PREVIEW 10 LIQUI MOLY PRO SPORT BIKE CLASS PREVIEW 14 LIGHTWEIGHT SPORT BIKE CLASS PREVIEW 15 SPONSOR LISTING 18 LOOKING BACK AT CANADA’S FIRST SUPERBIKE RACE 22 TRACK BY TRACK/SCHEDULE ON THE COVER: Mopar CSBK Pro Superbike action at CTMP. ABOVE: John Long, winner of the first Superbike race in Canada, held at CTMP (Mosport) in 1978. LET’S GO RACING! elcome to the 2018 Mopar Canadian Superbike Cham- In 1978, when the track was then known as Mosport, it hosted its first pionship! Since 1979, CSBK has been Canada’s national ever Superbike race and special events are planned to celebrate the Wmotorcycle road racing series creating a rich sporting hist- 40th anniversary of Superbike competition in Canada. ory that will continue to grow in 2018. Over five rounds held at some This season also sees the introduction of the new Amateur Light- of Canada’s premier road racing facilities, CSBK is once again poised weight Sport Bike class, which is open to motorcycles from multiple to deliver the intense competition that racers crave and the thrills that OEMs. While this new class is a reflection of this rapidly growing seg- keep fans on the edge of their seats. ment, it also has the potential to act as a feeder system for the CBSK’s With the season underway, old battles will resume and new ones larger displacement classes and offers race fans a chance to watch will emerge, but the question on everyone’s mind will be if anyone can the future stars of the CSBK. derail Jordan Szoke’s pursuit of a 13th Pro Superbike title. Coming If you can’t make it to the track, be sure to stay up to date with the into 2018 the 39-year-old from Lynden, ON is undoubtedly the fa- CSBK website (www.csbk.ca) where you can find race results, points vourite, but a number of racers including Saskatchewan’s Bodhi Edie standings and the latest news. In addition, thanks to the continued and Quebec’s Samuel Trepanier are consistently getting closer to the sponsorship by Dalton Timmis Insurance, road racing fans through- target which has resided on Szoke’s back for several seasons. If 2017 out Canada will once again be able to watch each round of the CSBK was any indication this year could very well see new records written. season on TSN in 2018. See you at the track! A milestone of a different nature will be achieved when the series arrives at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the season’s final round Patrick Lambie, – a doubleheader weekend to wrap up 2018's seven-race schedule. Editor, Inside Motorcycles PUBLISHED BY: Inside Motorcycles Inside Track Communications, Inc. 95 Trinity St., Suite 101, Toronto, ON, M5A 3C7 TELEPHONE: 416-962-7223 Fax: 416-962-7208 E-MAIL: [email protected] PRESIDENT: John Hopkins, [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT: Greg MacPherson, [email protected] TREASURER: David Weber, [email protected] EDITOR: Patrick Lambie, [email protected] SECRETARY: Rob Morton, [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES: David Weber, [email protected] Rob Morton, [email protected], COPYRIGHT: All rights PROGRAM PRODUCED BY: Derek Rockel, [email protected] reserved. Reproduction in Lindsey Broad, [email protected] whole or in part without prior Brad Hulton, [email protected] written permission of Inside PRODUCTION: Grace Kang, James Neilson Track Communications Inc. WRITERS: Todd Vallee, Colin Fraser, Patrick Lambie is prohibited. PHOTOGRAPHERS: Rob O’Brien, Tim McGill, Bill Murphy, Colin Fraser WWW.INSIDEMOTORCYCLES.COM MOPAR CANADIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP • 3 PRO SUPERBIKE PREVIEW 4 • CSBK.CA MISSION IMPOSSIBLE WHO WILL STEP UP TO CHALLENGE THE KING OF CANADIAN SUPERBIKE? ith the beginning of a new CSBK season the question remains the same: Who will wrestle the Mopar Pro Superbike No. 1 plate away from reigning champion Jordan WSzoke? While Szoke was challenged on the track numerous times last season, when the final points were once again tallied, Szoke stood alone at the top for the 12th time in his amazing career. The numbers Szoke has put up over the years are staggering and at this point seem almost impossible to touch. Along with his 12 Superbike championships, Szoke has an astounding 65 career Superbike victories, which puts him almost 40 wins ahead of second place on the win list, which belongs to the long-retired Steve Crevier. As Szoke speeds along in his late 30s, he shows no signs of slowing down and has actually won 20 out of the last 21 Superbike races held on Canadian soil. The only blemish in the past three seasons being a second place at Grand Bend last season after the race was red-flagged with a couple of laps remaining. While Szoke had to settle for second that day, most observers at the track figure he still had an ace up his sleeve to play on the final lap had the race actually been run to completion. With 12 Mopar CSBK Superbike Championships on his resume, Jordan Szoke is looking to build on his record-breaking accomplishments in 2018. MOPAR CANADIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP • 5 PRO SUPERBIKE PREVIEW If Szoke continues to stay healthy and chooses to race for a few while saving the best for last. After a mediocre start for the second- more years he has the chance to put up a record that surely nobody year Pro, Trepanier really started to stretch the legs of his BMW will ever touch. Imagine if you will, Szoke winning the Superbike title S1000RR at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park rounds. After qualify- once again in 2020. If that happens there is a good likelihood that ing second for the Saturday race, Trepanier led the first 18 laps of the Szoke will be well into the 80s for career wins at that point. With final before coming up just 0.251 seconds short at the line to Szoke. his first title coming way back in 1998, what would be even more In race 2 at CTMP, Trepanier started from the pole and was involved astonishing is if he did grab a title in 2020, he would have Superbike in a crazy three-way shootout for second place at the end of the race championships in four different decades. Simply amazing! before finally settling for third. That race, at the fastest track on the cir- Before we award the 2018 championship to Szoke and his Mopar Ex- cuit, also saw the closest finish of the year as Szoke, Kenny Riedmann, press Lane BMW, let's talk about a few of the contenders for his throne. Trepanier and Young all finished within one second of each other. For Ben Young finished third in the points last season while managing to 2018, Trepanier will be riding the momentum of his first two career po- find the third step on the podium three times throughout the year. The diums when the CSBK season opens at Shannonville Motorsport Park. biggest blemish on Young’s 2017 season was being awarded a 15th The only rider to knock Szoke off the top step of the podium last place finish at the Grand Bend round after crashing, which resulted season was Warman, SK speedster Bodhi Edie onboard his Yamaha in a red flag. During that race, Young was involved in a great three- YZF-R1. Edie was in the right place at the right time in Grand Bend way battle for the lead before launching off his bike in a spectacular when the red flag was flown and as a result picked up his second high-side incident. Despite the scary-looking crash, Young escaped career Superbike victory after qualifying third for the race. Edie, who relatively unharmed and bounced back just two weeks later qualifying also grabbed a victory at CTMP in 2013, can take pride in knowing that second at the demanding Autodrome St-Eustache. Young, the 2016 he is the only Superbike rider other than Szoke to carry the checkered Pro Rookie of the Year, is looking to build on his podium finishes from flag in the past three seasons. With two other podiums in 2017, the last season and hopefully take a couple more steps to the top in 2018 key for Edie could be consistency as a DNF and a seventh place finish aboard the Scot Build/BMW Motorrad Canada S1000RR. in the final races of the year dropped him to fifth overall in the final Blysk Racing’s Samuel Trepanier had a breakout season in 2017 point standings. TOP LEFT:Samuel Trepanier looked ready to challenge for the top podium step in the TOP RIGHT: 2016 Pro Rookie of the Year, Ben Young, will look to add to his record of closing races of the 2017 season. podium finishes in 2018. BOTTOM LEFT: 2017 Amateur Superbike Champion Samuel Desmarais (No. 17) BOTTOM RIGHT: Mike Leon is hoping that his recent MotoAmerica experience will pay makes the move to the Pro class for 2018. CSBK dividends. 6 • CSBK.CA Yamaha XSR700 Yamaha XSR700 PRO SUPERBIKE PREVIEW Pro Sport Bike star Mitch Card plans to run in both Pro classes in 2018. Moving up from the Amateur ranks, two riders to keep an eye Recent Canadian Superbike Champions on are Samuel Desmarais and Jean-Francois Aubin.