Port Perry, Ontario - The first round of the revised 2020 Canadian Superbike Series (CSBK) took place on July 25, at Calabogie Motorsports Park in Calabogie, Ontario.

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of all 2020 Canadian Superbike National Events due to health restrictions and regulations. However, CSBK officials were able to join the previously scheduled Pro 6 Cycle track day for a special invitational at the famed track outside of the nation's capital, Ottawa, Ontario.

The one day double-header invitational included a packed schedule for all classes: Pro and Amateur Sportbike and Superbike, as well as the popular Lightweight class. Calabogie, known for it's different elevation changes and its smooth, 20-turn challenging course, had previously seen the CSBK National Series when it held its last event there in 2015.

The weather was hot which made it more difficult for riders, as the double-header would be condensed into a full day of racing. The Superbike grid consisted of 17 riders, with Szoke in the top spot after qualifying with the fastest lap.

A few top Pro racers were clearly missing from the grid, including 2019 Canadian Superbike Champion Ben Young, and Tomas Casas, who both made the difficult decision to withdraw from the one-day race a few days before it was set to go. Samuel Trepanier, top Pro Superbike racer aboard in Hindle-powered BMW S1000RR in 2019, was also not present.

In Race 1 of the Pro Superbike Race, Szoke, on the General Warranty/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-10R, led from start to finish. "I got a really good start - I was actually a little shocked at the start I got, to be honest - but that just allowed me to chip away at the pace and stay consistent," Szoke said. "I've always enjoyed the heat, but it's almost Suzuka hot out here. We're running with very little traction control, so that might be something we look at for race 2 later on."

The 2nd spot on the podium went to Trevor Daley, on the M4/Suzuki Canada GSX-R1000.

Rounding up the podium and celebrating his first-ever Pro Superbike podium, was Michael Leon, on the Royal Distributing/Hindle/BMW S1000RR, coming in a close 3rd place. After a three-way battle that lasted the entire race, Leon managed to make a last-lap pass on Jeff Williams, on the Hindle-powered BMW S1000RR, for the last spot on the podium. Williams finished in a close 4th place.

Sebastien Tremblay completed the top-5 on the Turcotte Performance/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-6R.

In Race 2 of the Pro Superbike class, Szoke again led every lap on the General Warranty/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-10R. Jeff Williams, on the Hindle-powered BMW S1000RR was close on his tail and attempted several passes, but just couldn't make it happen. Although Michael Leon nearly got the holeshot at the start of the race, he unfortunately had a mechanical issue and couldn't finish the race.

Szoke was able to bring home another win, followed by Williams in 2nd place and Daley in 3rd.

In the Liqui Moly Pro Sportbike Race it was an all-Hinde podium with Sebastien Tremblay, on the Turcotte Performance/Hindle/Kawasaki ZX-6R, taking home the win, followed by Vincent Levillain (Kawasaki ZX-6R) in 2nd and Christian Allard (Kawasaki ZX-6R) in 3rd place.

In the AIM Insurance Amateur Lightweight Sportbike class, Keene, Ontario native Mackenzie Weil took home his first-ever CSBK win aboard the Hindle-powered Kawasaki Ninja 300. Mike Maguire (Kawasaki Ninja 400) came in 2nd place followed by Paul Etienne Courtois (Honda CBR500RR) in 3rd place.

When asked about racing a revised schedule during a global pandemic, Szoke said "I'm glad to be back out. I think it's good for the world to have sports going in bad times. Also, it is really important for the series to happen so that we do not lose any more support."

The next round will be the recently announced invitational at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on August 15-16, 2020 in Bowmanville, Ontario. This round will be a double-header and will also happen in conjunction with Pro 6 Cycle track days. In these unprecedented times, it is nice to be able to get back to racing even with a modified schedule and no spectators.

"Our current situation is not in any way ideal, and everyone would prefer to have spectators, as well as last year's budgets, and all of the ingredients that have lead to steady growth of CSBK in the past few seasons. However, we know people want to race and fans want to follow the action as much as possible." explains CSBK Series Founder, Colin Fraser. "We are working together with Pro6 to find ways to make things work with our current restrictions, and looking forward to working directly with Canadian Tire Motorsports Park again in the future when we can once again engage with a big group of enthusiastic fans."

For more information, including rider bios and current point standings, check out the Canadian Superbike Championship website.