Jodi Christie (20) held off Jordan Szoke (1) in a dramatic Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship race at Atlantic Motorsport Park on Sunday to claim his second straight win at the venue. (Photo-Bob Szoke/CSBK)

Christie Edges Szoke In Amp Superbike Thriller

Shubenacadie, N.S. – Jodi Christie scored his second consecutive win at Atlantic Motorsport Park in spectacular fashion in the third round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship on Sunday.

The Keene, Ont. rider made a last lap, last corner pass of Jordan Szoke to snatch a 0.109-sec. victory on his Jodi Christie Racing / Honda Canada / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR1000RR. The win was Christie's first of the season and set up a dramatic finish to the season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in three weeks time, with Christie now within 13 points of Szoke in the standings.

"I'm so happy to be up here again," said the 22-year-old Christie, who finished second to Szoke in the opening two races of the 2014 season. "It's almost a relief. I feel I've had the best bike all year and just failed to execute for the team. So this is like redemption for me."

Christie completed the 22-lap race around the 2.56km (1.6-mile) AMP circuit in 25 minutes, 33.871 seconds for an average speed of 132.183km/h (79.310 mph).

Franklyn Dominguez of St-Lazare, Que. completed the podium on the OCM Motor Sports / egopay.com Kawasaki ZX-10R, holding off the Honda Canada / Fast Company / Platinum Painting Honda CBR1000RR of Kristopher Garvie in another exciting battle.

Szoke had qualified his Waznie Racing / BMW Motorrad / Mopar Express Lane BMW S1000RR on pole during Saturday's Magneti Marelli SuperPole session but Christie grabbed the holeshot with the Brantford, Ont. rider right behind.

Christie and Szoke circulated as one for the first 17 laps, but it wasn't until lap 18 that Szoke made the first move of the chess match, passing Christie's Honda in turn five. Christie stayed close, however, and replied with a pass into the turn nine carousel on lap 21 to lead at the start of the final lap.

Szoke again made his move in turn five on the last tour and then held a tight inside line through turns nine and 10. But entering the final turn Christie dove to the inside and squeezed ahead of the BMW and then held off Szoke's charge to the line.

"Entering turn nine [on the final lap] he [Szoke] blocked the line, and I expected that," Christie explained. "He hugged the inside super-tight through turn 10 and as we exited he left about five feet on the outside. I used that to get inside him for turn 11 and then made my move and got as good a drive as I could onto the front straight."

With his win and the two-point bonus for leading the most laps Christie earned 52 points and improved his Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship total to 145, while Szoke picked up 42 points and now has 158 at the top of the standings.

"It's a bit disappointing because we've had a strong bike all year and especially this weekend," said Szoke, who was trying to claim a record-tying seventh Superbike win at AMP. "I just made a big mistake. I thought I had the win in the bag and I went a bit slower into the last corner to make sure I got a good drive onto the front straight. I'm just mad I left the door open for him."

Szoke will try to lock up an unprecedented 10th Canadian Superbike title at CTMP's doubleheader weekend, which will feature Superbike races on Saturday and Sunday.

Dominguez made a superb start from the second row of the grid to snatch third spot and then pulled clear from the rest of the pack. But as the laps wound down he was reeled in by Garvie, who turned his fastest lap of the race on the penultimate tour in his pursuit of the Kawasaki rider.

"We finally got it; I'm really, really happy," said an emotional Dominguez after his best career national Superbike finish. "The game plan was to get a good start and put some fast lap times down."

Trevor Daley of Mississauga, Ont. was fourth for most of the race on his ProStar Motorsports / One Speed Honda CBR1000RR but ran off track in turn one on lap 18 and rejoined in fifth, where he finished. He remains third in the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship standings with 102 points.

In another fierce fight, Sarnia, Ont.'s Will Hornblower finished sixth on his Hornblower Racing / Blue Streak Yamaha YZF-R6 after passing the MotoNation / Laval Moto / CrossfitLaval.com Kawasaki ZX-10R of Longueuil, Que.'s Sebastien Tremblay on the final lap.

Hornblower's result earned him his second $500 Sunoco Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Race Award and allowed him to extend his lead in the season-long Rookie of the Year standings.

Caleb Noiles of Upper Coverdale, N.B. finished eighth on his C&C Racing / Capstan Haulage / Toys For Big Boys Honda CBR600RR and Schomburg, Ont.'s Marco Sousa was ninth with the Z1 Cycletech BMW S1000RR.

In other action at Atlantic Motorsport Park, Daley claimed his first career national Pro win in a wild Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike race. Riding his Honda CBR600RR, Daley took the lead on lap 13 of the 18-lap race when Hornblower crashed unhurt in turn four. Daley went on to finish 2.102 secs. clear of Garvie's Honda CBR600RR, while Garvie was less than a second clear of Noiles on his Honda CBR600RR.

Class points leader Kenny Riedmann of Belfountain, Ont. crashed his Riedmann Racing / Castrol Triumph 675 near the end of the opening lap, moments after his chief title rival Christie, riding another Honda CBR600RR, had also fallen. Neither rider was injured.

After Riedmann went down, Hornblower took over the lead on the Yamaha YZF-R6 and stayed in front until his incident.

Matt Covey of Pine Grove, N.S. finished fourth on another Honda CBR600RR.

Riedmann carries a four-point lead over Christie, 99-95 into the season-ending doubleheader at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Garvie is now third with 88 points while Daley has moved up to fourth with 83.

James Moore of Ariss, Ont. rode his Triumph 675 to victory in the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike race, leading home the OCM Motor Sports / Peterborough Cycle Salvage Yamaha YZF-R6 of Peterborough, Ont.'s Tomas Casas and the Honda CBR600RR ridden by Mississauga, Ont.'s Pedro Sousa.

Sousa leads the class point standings heading to the CTMP doubleheader with 116 to the 99 of Casas and the 76 of St-Lazare, Que. rider Stacey Nesbitt, who crashed out of Sunday's race on her OCM Motor Sports / FTR / Honda Canada Honda CBR600RR but was not seriously injured.

Nesbitt closed to within a point of Casas for first place in the Bell Helmets Amateur Sport Bike standings after taking her second win of the season. Nesbitt took the lead from Moore in turn three on the final lap and held on to beat Casas by 0.078 secs.

Casas now leads the Amateur Sport Bike standings with 138 points to Nesbitt's 137 heading to the CTMP finale.

Moore settled for third and is now third in the class standings with 109.

Carson Brook of East Lawrencetown, N.S. picked up the Dion Device Hard Luck Award at AMP after he crashed in the opening Amateur Sport Bike practice session and was unable to race for the remainder of the weekend.

The Ipone Prize Pack for Professionalism & Presentation in Amateur Sport Bike went to Moore.

Falmouth, N.S.'s Jacob Shaw-O'Leary won the Honda CBR250R National Race Series feature for the second day in a row and closed to within a point of class leader Eric Quintin, who placed second.

Notre Dame de L'Ile Perrot, Que. rider, who made a superb charge from eighth after he ran off track on the opening lap.

Quintin now has 270 points to the 269 of Shaw-O'Leary, with Oakville, Ont.'s Cameron Walker third in the standings on 217 points after finishing third on Sunday.

The official Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship website, www.csbk.ca, will have full race video coverage of Saturday's round of the Honda CBR250R National Race Series, as well as Sunday's Hindle Pro Sport Bike and Mopar Pro Superbike feature events.

The 2014 Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship concludes with a doubleheader at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont. August 15-17. For ticket information call 1-800-866-1072 or (905) 983-9141, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.canadiantiremotorsportpark.com.

Results of Sunday's third round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Atlantic Motorsport Park, showing finishing position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and laps completed:

Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship point standings after three of five rounds, showing position, rider name and point total: