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Calabogie, Ontario – Reigning Pro 6 GP Regional Champion Michael Leon of Beaconsfield, QC, took his Royal Distributing BMW S1000RR to a narrow, .146 of a second win over the DC Construction/Fast Company BMW of Maple, ON.’s Ivan Babic in the second round of the 2022 Championship at Calabogie Motorsport Park, ON. Fittingly, BMW Motorrad sponsored the race.

The Pro pair battled throughout the final at the 5.05 kilometer, 20 turn venue. Leon jumped into the lead from the start of the eight-lap main event, with Pole sitter Babic applying pressure throughout. Babic seemed to have the edge entering the final, Quary/Carousel section of the venue, and made his move on the final tour.

“I kind of knew that he would try me there,” confirmed Leon, who shut the door when Babic made his bold move. “If it was going to work, he was going to take us both down! It was close, there was good pressure, and I was happy with the pace, given the cool conditions. I think the last time I won a Superbike race was maybe 2018 at Shannonville, and this is my first victory in Superbike at Calabogie.”

“Last weekend didn’t go too well,” continued Leon, referring to his two crashes in the opening round of the National series at Grand Bend, ON. “So, I was a little bit careful in the slow corners, but the bike was working really well. We’ll download the data and see what we can learn in time for the National here next month.”

Babic’s runner up effort was a robust performance for a second year Pro climbing the Pro ladder, and he confirmed that “I gave it a good shot with Michael, but it didn’t work out. The conditions were not ideal, it was very windy, and maybe I could have tried something else- but I am happy overall.”

Third belonged to Ernest Bernhard of Ste-Brigide-d’Iberville, QC, on a Yamaha YZF-R1. Early in the race, Bernhard was battling with a pack of riders, but by mid-distance he had pulled clear to earn the final podium spot,11 seconds behind the winning BMW duo.

The BMW of Anthony Bergeron of Racine, QC, hung in to net fourth, after a lengthy battle with Bernhard and the Turcotte Performance Ducati Panigale of Christian Allard, from Chambly, QC. In his first outing with the Ducati, Allard earned an impressive third in Q to start on the front row of the grid, and might have been fourth in the race, but for an off-track trip on his final lap.

There was a good, race-long dispute for sixth, and at the finish Pierre Simard of Stoneham, QC, pulled clear to grab the spot on his Suzuki GSX-R1000. Yamaha YZF-R1 pilot Vivian Mathews of Clarence Creek, ON, got the better of the race long fight against the Yamaha YZF-R6 of Oshawa, ON.’s Jake LeClair.

Phillippe Masse (#28 Kawasaki) holds off Louie Raffa (#76 Honda), Jake LeClair (#811 Yamaha), and Pascal Bastien (#32 Yamaha) early in the Pro Sport Bike race. [Photo: Colin Fraser]

Earlier in the program, Philippe Masse of Saint-Hyacinthe, QC., dominated the Kawasaki-backed Pro Sport Bike round for middleweight machines, earning his second straight victory and establishing himself as a favorite for the upcoming Dunlop-backed Calabogie National, July 9-10.

Starting from pole on the grid, Masse pulled away steadily to win by just over 20 seconds.

Veteran Louie Raffa of Saint-Marthe-sur-le-Lac was on form with his Fast Company Honda CBR600RR, getting clear of a trio of riders to net second. Just behind, LeClair fought with rookie Pro Yamaha pilot Pascal Bastien of St-Eustache, LeClair getting the final podium spot with a late race charge.

The Motul Amateur Superbike race was a barn burner, with five riders disputing the lead. BMW racer Marc Labossiere of Longueil, QC, charged from third to first on the final tour, earning the victory by just .16 of a second over Suzuki racer Yan Julien of Calixa-Lavalee, QC. Also, in the thick of the dispute was Nova Scotia racer John Fraser’s Yamaha, making his first Calabogie start a good one with third place at the finish, in preparation for the upcoming National round.

Another thrilling Amateur contest involved Guillaume Lavallee of Sainte-Ann-de-Sorel, QC. fighting with Nolan Eadie of Gloucester, ON., and Bobby Desjardins of Ferme-Neuve, QC. At the finish of a tense battle, Lavallee’s Kawasaki won by .2 of a second from Yamaha mounted Eadie, while Suzuki’s Desjardins was a further second back for third.

In the Liqui Moly Pro-AM Lightweight final race, Istvan Hidvegi of Mississauga, ON, took the Pro victory on his Yamha, while the Amateur division belonged to another R3, this one piloted by Evan Moriarity of Milton, ON.

In other support race action, Marc Labossiere of Longueil, QC earned first in Heavyweight Sportsman on a BMW; Heavyweight Sportsman went to Erik Gosselin of Beaupre, QC aboard an Aprilia; the Middleweight Sportsman round was won by Serge Boyer from St Jerome, QC, riding a Kawasaki; and the Middleweight Sportsman counter fell to veteran fast guy Alan Burns of South Mountain, ON., piloting a Kawasaki.

For more information on the CSBK Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca

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Grand Bend, Ontario – Ben Young followed up his season opening performance with another victory in the Canadian Superbike Championship on Sunday, sweeping the Pro Superbike doubleheader to grab an early points lead exiting the Grand Bend Motorplex.

After a hard-fought victory on Saturday that featured a four-rider battle at the front, Young was left with only one challenger on Sunday as defending champion Alex Dumas grabbed the holeshot off a terrific launch.

Dumas would pace the opening five laps with Young close behind, but a move seemed inevitable as Young attempted a trio of passes into turn one. The Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider finally got a strong drive onto the front straight on lap six, and made the decisive move into turn one before opening up a comfortable gap at the front.

A second victory in as many days for the Collingwood, ON native will give him a 14-point lead atop the feature standings, a crucial result as they head to Calabogie for round two next month – a track Dumas has yet to lose at in his CSBK career.

“Alex was buzzing off the line, but I had a few good first laps behind him and knew I could check out a bit if I put my head down and hit the front,” Young said. “The headwind made it really tough, and I kept seeing the gap stay the same, but my Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW was great again all weekend.”

The result will have special meaning for Young, as not only does it propel him into a tie for tenth all-time on the Pro Superbike wins list (with Francis Martin), but it also gives BMW their 50th win as a manufacturer in the feature class and a nine-point lead in the Constructors Championship in the process.

As for Dumas, it’s a mixed bag weekend that will see the reigning title winner without a win after two races, though he will still leave Grand Bend with a pair of second-place finishes aboard his Liqui Moly Fast School Suzuki.

“I had a really good start – a lot better than yesterday – and I tried to pull away early, but Ben just had more pace in the end,” Dumas said. “From there I just tried to be smart and pick up as many points for the championship. It’s a long season, so we’re already looking forward to Calabogie.”

Trevor Daley returned to the podium for the first time this season after another strong late-season charge, overcoming a scary moment early on to place his OneSpeed Suzuki in third behind a brilliant late pass on Steven Nickerson.

“It was another grind at the end, I made a few more mistakes at the start and ran off the track in the carousel, but I was able to climb back up through the pack,” Daley said. “We had the pace to be here all weekend, so hopefully we can build on that in the future. It’s also great to have two Suzuki’s on the box again, three podiums this weekend between me and Alex will hopefully help build towards another Constructors title.”

Nickerson would battle through persistent pain to tie his career-best finish of fourth, capping off an admirable weekend for the Dewildt Powerhouse Honda rider as he fights lingering knee issues from 2021. The pair of top-five performances will lift Honda to third in the Constructors table behind BMW and Suzuki, their highest ranking since the introduction of the award last season.

Local hero Trevor Dion wrapped up his breakout weekend with a solid fifth-place finish for the LDS Consulting BMW team, following up his historic podium and pole position as he exits his home race third in the overall Superbike standings.

The weekend-long battle between Quebec natives Sebastian Tremblay and Sam Guerin was tied up on Sunday, as Guerin got the better of his budding rival in sixth aboard his EFC Group BMW, with Tremblay settling for seventh on his ST Motorsport Kawasaki.

David MacKay had a statement win of his own in the Pro ranks on Sunday, scoring his first career National victory in the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike class after leading start-to-finish aboard his Fast Company Kawasaki.

MacKay looked like the man to beat on Saturday before crashing out, but wouldn’t allow the same to happen on Sunday as he held off a race-long push from Will Hornblower, beating his regional rival and friend by just 0.17 seconds across the line.

“I’m so glad for that race to be over,” MacKay said after capturing his long-awaited first victory. “I’m really enjoying this moment. I knew I had to come back swinging after yesterday, but it’s a long season so hopefully this gives us some momentum back heading to round two.”

Hornblower also made up for a race one crash of his own with a strong second-place finish, keeping himself in the championship hunt aboard his Yamaha Financial Services machine, but the winner of the weekend will be Dion, who exits with a 12-point championship lead aboard his LDS Consulting Kawasaki.

Dion was “doing the double” in the Pro ranks as he contested all four races in round one, and a third-place finish on Sunday was enough to give him a slim title lead over Elliott Vieira, who managed a strong fourth on Sunday aboard his Snow City Yamaha.

Julien Lafortune stormed to an opening-round victory in the AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike class, leading the opening stint before a red-flag stoppage but following up on the restart with a dramatic flag-to-finish win.

Pole-sitter Marc Labossiere ran behind Lafortune in the early going before crashing out, handing second to weekend standout Nathan Playford with East-coast star John Fraser completing the podium.

Playford was the bridesmaid again in the Amateur Sport Bike race, leading for much of the late stages but conceding the victory to local rival Sebastian Hothaza, who made a daring move in the final carousel to narrowly win across the line.

Hothaza and Playford were joined by Paul Etienne Courtois on the podium, who had a terrific debut weekend in the Amateur ranks after stepping up from the Lightweight grid this season.

Evan Morarity completed the sweep in the Super Sonic Race School Lightweight class, winning again on Sunday after a brief challenge from local youngster Bryce DeBoer.

Moriarity’s championship bid will be helped by an unfortunate disqualification going the way of DeBoer, who was penalized for running the wrong fuel after failing post-race tech inspection. Promoted to second in his place was Justin Marshall, who also moves to the runner-up spot in the overall standings, while Grant Nesbitt was also promoted to the final podium place.

Jared Walker was the overall winner once again in the Pro/Am class, dominating across the line to extend his lead in the Pro division ahead of fourth-place finisher Istvan Hidvegi. Vincent Wilson was the top Amateur on track ahead of Nesbitt, with Wilson taking just a single-point lead over Nesbitt in the final tally.

The full weekend results can be found on the series' official website.

For more information on the CSBK Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca

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Shannonville, Ontario – Round two of the 2022 Super Series got underway this past weekend on the Pro track amid one of the most unstable forecasts. With the skies being unpredictable, the riders took to the track knowing potential rain showers could come at any second. When the dust all settled, nine different riders found themselves on the top step of the podium with the weekend also producing its fair share of first-time podiums sitters.

Due to a handful of riders being absent this round, major championship points were on the line as the 2.470 km long Pro Track layout played host to the most interesting race weekend of the season so far. The first race saw 23 riders take to the track in PRO-AM Sportbike classes, with the absence of points leader Louie Raffa, Drew Weber took it upon himself to snatch the checkered flag for his first official win in a Pro category. Weber claimed another win later in the day in the Heavyweight Sportsman class. Over in AM Sportbike, Jordan Decarie picked up his second win a row beating out Colin Duncan and Rick Edwards.

The Lightweight Sportsman class witnessed the return of 2021 Lightweight Production Champion Ryan Vanderputten, who in only his first outing as a PRO class rider, picked up his first win of the 2022 campaign doubling that up on Sunday with the same podium finish as Saturday. Ryan Dunwoodie continued his dominant streak in Novice by taking the win, with Jordan Ivory claiming his first Super Series podium finish in third place. Doug Newman grabbed a career best fourth place finish.

With only two machines representing the Sidecar division this weekend, Michael Vinten and interim partner Sue McFadden found themselves winning over Wayne & Krista Walsh.

Elie Daccache stormed to a dominant PRO Superbike win and repeated his effort for the Sprint Cup race at the end of day, while Matt Vanderhorst started building up his rise to a PRO status next year by prevailing over Jordan Decarie for the AM Superbike win.

In the Lightweight Production class, Eric Quintin claimed his first win of the season, followed by Jean-Pascal Schroeder and Andrea Purdy in third place, proudly taking her first podium this year.

As the wins were celebrated, the looming threat of weather spooked many riders who elected to go home. With many competitors who were top of their classes choosing to leave, it opened the door for some unlikely faces, who stayed for the second day of competitions, to climb the standings. Despite the absences, Mother Nature shined her light on Shannonville and the precipitation stopped well before on track action began.

Sunday saw some spectacular racing given the short fields, with a handful of first-time winners and podium sitters. While Weber and Decarie swept the PRO-AM Sportbike races, the AM race produced an incredible battle for third place. Eric Quintin, Wes Barnes and Adam Pearsall were locked in a fight for the final podium spot. Barnes was the first to budge as he went off track in corner two trying to make a move on Pearsall. Then, with only a few laps from the finish, Pearsall went off track in the same corner trying to pass Quintin. In the end, Jordan Decarie took home the first-place finish, followed by Colin Duncan in second and Eric Quintin in third.

Dunwoodie seized the Novice win on Sunday followed by Quebec rider Alexis Beaudoin in second place with Jim D.A Vo taking his first Novice podium over Dylan Leclair.

While Vinten swept the sidecar class, the WW Racing team nearly missed the race due to a mechanical failure. Believed originally to be terminal, Walsh made the necessary repairs to get his team back on track. The sidecars will be returning to Shannonville this August for Super Series round 4.

In Heavyweight Sportsman, Weber took the victory while Pearsall finally achieved his first podium with a third place finish after winning a spirited battle with Barnes. Duncan completed the podium in second. Daccache took his fourth Pro Superbike win of the weekend, while Dunwoodie was moved up to compete in the AM Superbike race due to his speed. In a first for the Super Series, Dunwoodie won the AM Superbike feature becoming the first rider to win in Novice and Amateur on the same day.

Quintin and Daccache rounded out their days with Lightweight Production and Sprint Cup wins.

After a successful Round Two, the Super Series will be back July 9-10 on the original Nelson track layout. Last used during the second race of 2021, Shannonville’s Nelson track offers a more compact track that can be fully viewed from the grandstand. The shorter layout still offers a mix of tight and fast corners.

For more information on the Super Series, please visit www.super-series.ca. Fans can follow us on Facebook @SuperSeriesMotorcycle.

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Grand Bend, Ontario – The opening race of the 2022 Canadian Superbike Championship season brought plenty of fireworks on Saturday, as Ben Young held off an early attack to win the Pro Superbike feature opener at the Grand Bend Motorplex.

Young started from the middle of the front row aboard his Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW after ceding pole position to local rookie Trevor Dion on Friday, but made up for that right away as he grabbed the holeshot into turn one for the 20-lap feature event.

His early lead was anything but safe, as Young outlasted an immediate pass attempt from Dion in second and was followed closely by a four-rider pack well into the halfway point of the race. However, Young’s experience around the Grand Bend circuit began to come into play in the second half, as he sliced his way through lapped traffic to clear the chasing pack behind and cruise towards a sixth career Superbike victory.

“I got the start of my life out there, but I knew Trevor would try and get me back right away, so I just tried to bank in consistent times and ride a smooth race start to finish,” Young said. “The BMW worked great, and fortunately we were able to bring home big points, but now we all got to work on some things and try do it again tomorrow.”

Dion was the biggest challenger to Young in the early going, but ultimately couldn’t maintain the pace at the front as he struggled with lapped traffic towards the end. The rookie would eventually give way to defending champion Alex Dumas, who came home second after choosing a soft front Dunlop tire compared to the supersofts of his rivals.

“It wasn’t the start we wanted, so I got stuck behind these guys a little bit at the start and I wasn’t able to get them back soon enough,” the Liqui Moly Fast School Suzuki rider said. “The tires started to come alive in the last few laps and I had a lot of pace at the end, but we’re going to have to get a better start in race two tomorrow.”

As for Dion, his eventual third-place finish would add to an already sensational weekend for the local rookie, as he overcame gearing troubles to earn a hard-fought podium for his wave of supporters aboard his LDS Consulting BMW.

“It’s really hard to run a Superbike here, but I’m happy to gain some experience and pick up a podium in the process,” Dion said. “I thought I had Ben for a moment there in the carousel, but he came right back at me and I just didn’t have the pace to stay up there. We have some work to do for tomorrow, but it’s still a really awesome feeling.”

Climbing his way to fourth was OneSpeed Suzuki rider Trevor Daley, who struggled through a difficult opening few laps but eventually carved through the grid and into the top-five, salvaging a strong result and showing podium pace in the process as he celebrated his 50th career start in the Superbike category.

Completing the top five was another local standout in Steven Nickerson, who ran with the lead pack early on and challenged Dumas for much of the race before fading to fifth as he recovers from lingering knee injuries aboard his Dewildt Powerhouse Honda.

Finishing just shy of Nickerson was the Quebecois duo of Sebastian Tremblay and Samuel Guerin, as both riders reeled in a top-five spot in the late going but were unable to capitalize as Tremblay secured sixth aboard his ST Motorsport Kawasaki and Guerin sealed seventh for the EFC Group BMW team.

While Dion was unable to climb to the top step in the feature Pro Superbike race, he did manage a victory on the day as he won an incident-filled affair in the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike category.

Dion ran in second for the entirety of the early portion behind pole-sitter David MacKay, but a red-flag and subsequent restart saw both MacKay and fellow title contender Will Hornblower crash out early, leaving Dion alone out front aboard his LDS Kawasaki.

“The first start was pretty good, but I knew David had the pace, so I just tried to stick with him and manage our Dunlop tires a bit,” Dion said. “Then on the restart I just tried to put my head down and pull a gap on them, but unfortunately they both went down behind me, so we were able to bring home the win.”

Benefitting from the crashes was the typical hard-luck Elliott Vieira, who tied his best career National result with a second-place finish aboard his Snow City Yamaha, while rookie Matt Simpson completed the podium in just his second career Pro race aboard his Evans Racing Yamaha machine.

Completing the top five in the middleweight division were Connor Campbell and Louie Raffa, the former scoring his best career Pro result aboard his Campbell Roofing Kawasaki, while Raffa managed a hard-earned fifth for the Fast Company Honda team.

The opening race of the Super Sonic Race School Lightweight championship was dominated by newcomer Evan Moriarity, who was no match for any of his rivals as he cruised to a debut National victory by over 12 seconds aboard his Yamaha machine.

The gap was much thinner after that, as local youngster Bryce Deboer held on to second ahead of veterans Pat Barnes in third and Jacob Black in fourth, with the three Kawasaki riders separated by just 0.306 seconds across the line.

Jared Walker won the inaugural race in the brand new Pro/Am series, taking the outright victory on track and in the Pro category ahead of Istvan Hidvegi and reigning National Lightweight champion Harvey Renaud, while DeBoer cruised to the top spot in the Amateur division.

Marc Labossiere will start from pole for Sunday’s lone AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike race, after the BMW rider topped qualifying with a time of 1:06.360 – just 0.162 seconds clear of fellow Quebec native Julien Lafortune (Kawasaki) in second.

The gap was even smaller at the top of the Amateur Sport Bike timesheets, as a pair of Kitchener, ON natives were separated by just 0.058 seconds with Sebastian Hothaza taking pole position for Yamaha while Nathan Playford claimed second for Honda.

For more information on the CSBK Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca