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July 4, 2022
Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Superbike Championship returns for more thrilling action in round two at Calabogie Motorsports Park, and with it comes more opportunities for the five wide-open support classes to steal the show this weekend, July 9-10.
The biggest spotlight amongst them is on the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike class, where emerging star Trevor Dion carries a slim 12-point advantage into the second-round doubleheader over Elliot Vieira and just another point clear of David MacKay.
Dion made plenty of headlines for his Pro Superbike efforts in Grand Bend as he produced a historic rookie debut while “doing the double” in the two Pro categories, but it was his performance in the Sport Bike class that he will likely be more pleased with as he won race one and followed it up with a third-place finish in race two.
His home track advantage gave him the early benchmark he needed, especially given Dion’s lack of experience at Calabogie. The LDS Consultants Kawasaki rider has yet to appear at the track as a Pro, and in fact has not raced at CMP since his Lightweight days back in 2019, a key story to watch as he hopes to exit the first four races with a championship lead intact.
The betting favourite on race days may instead be Vieira, something the former Guyanese champion has likely not heard in some time. The Snow City Yamaha rider has made steady progress since moving to Canada in 2017, but luck has rarely gone Vieira’s way – most notably last season in Calabogie when he suffered a mechanical failure whilst pushing Sebastian Tremblay for the win.
That performance was especially notable as it represented one of the only legitimate challenges to Tremblay, who bagged a perfect season en route to the title. With the reigning champion now out of the picture, good luck may be all that stands in Vieira’s way of a first career Pro national victory.
Benefitting most from that mechanical issue a year ago was MacKay, who went on to finish second in the race and the championship overall. The disappointment of a race one DNF at his home track will still sting, but a race two victory has kept the Fast Company Kawasaki rider firmly in the title mix with six races to go.
With consistency proving to be key in the support classes, this weekend could be especially crucial for MacKay, who has proven to be a sure-fire podium threat at every track on the calendar. The same could almost be said of Hornblower, but the fourth-place runner in the championship has yet to score national points at Calabogie, putting the pressure on the 2019 champion and Bickle Racing Yamaha rider this weekend.
Another name to watch out for in ‘Bogie will be the return of Phillippe Masse, who finished third in the overall standings a year ago thanks to podiums in both CMP rounds (and three of four races overall). Masse did not contest round one in Grand Bend, but has continued his local dominance in the Pro 6 GP regional series and will look to carry that momentum back onto the podium this weekend.
As for the Amateur ranks, a familiar name will look to overcome two differing rivals, as Julien Lafortune leads the AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike class and Sebastian Hothaza paces the Amateur Sport Bike category – both ahead of Nathan Playford.
Lafortune got the better of Playford in the opening round at Calabogie last season, qualifying on pole position and eventually finishing third for Kawasaki, while Playford could only muster seventh aboard his Honda, but both riders have shown increased pace to begin the 2022 campaign.
However, both may have to deal with the return of local BMW star Guillaume Lavalee, who finished second in both races at Calabogie last season and has continued his expertise in the Pro 6 GP series.
As for in the Sport Bike category, its Hothaza who will carry a slim lead over Playford, but the Grand Bend local is questionable for round two in Calabogie. Regardless, Playford may be the overwhelming favourite to take over the title chase, having finished third in round one at CMP last season and running at the front again in round three before crashing out.
The most wide-open class remains the Super Sonic Race School Lightweight category, even if the round one results would suggest otherwise. Championship leader Evan Moriarity dominated Grand Bend with pole position and a pair of victories, but a win at the recent Pro 6 GP event has been his only ever experience at Calabogie.
His biggest challenger may be Kawasaki veteran Jacob Black, who finished second in all four races he finished last season but had his championship challenge ruined by a pair of crashes. Black has continued his strong form regionally at Calabogie, and remains just six points off second in the national championship through round one.
As for the Pro/Am ranks, the inaugural series will head to CMP for the first time after a successful debut weekend in round one. Jared Walker will lead the Pro ranks after a pair of overall victories, though his two closest competitors, Istvan Hidvegi and Harvey Renaud, both have far more experience around the Calabogie circuit.
The Amateur division will carry the closest margin of any class into round two, as Vincent Wilson leads Grant Nesbitt by just a single point. Nesbitt would be the more experience of the pair at Calabogie, though both will have to contend with Black at the front in the combined series.
The full schedule of the support class action 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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June 30, 2022
Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Superbike Championship is pleased to share the air dates for the initial episode of the 2022 Pro Superbike season on TSN, The Sports Network, which is set to run 17 nation-wide episodes this season.
The opening episode, which showcases race one of nine in the feature Pro Superbike class from the Grand Bend Motorplex, will first air on TSN 1 and TSN 5 on Monday, July 4 at 1:30 pm ET. This exclusive time slot will not be the only opportunity to watch the thrilling race one footage, however, with all four air dates listed below:
Monday, July 4, 4:30pm ET (1:30pm PT) on TSN 1 and TSN 5
Tuesday July 5, 1:00pm ET (10:00am PT) on TSN 3
Wednesday July 6, 2:30pm ET (11:30am PT) on TSN 3
Thursday July 7, 12:30pm ET (9:30am PT) on TSN 3
The season opener featured a thrilling battle at the front featuring numerous exciting storylines, including the latest edition of the rivalry between defending champion Alex Dumas and 2019 champion Ben Young.
CSBK first partnered with TSN in 1995 as part of the national weekend in St-Eustache, QC, and has since grown its audience to feature national coverage on the country’s premier sports channel.
Announcer Colin Fraser has been in the booth since that inaugural broadcast in ’95 and has been joined by Frank Wood since the 2011 campaign, while 2022 will also welcome the return of second-year Dunlop pit lane reporter Hannah Streek, and third-year director of photography Cameron McFadyen behind the scenes.
This season’s opening broadcast will also feature expanded coverage with six manned trackside cameras, one manned drone, at least nine on-board cameras, and a pit-lane camera, as the series works to bring even more in-depth footage to its audience.
TSN will continue its partnership with CSBK by showing all nine feature Pro Superbike races in 2022, as well as eight additional broadcasts of the full Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike season, with the air date of the opening Pro Sport Bike episode to be announced soon.
The broadcast of the CSBK opener will coincide with the upcoming second round of action at Calabogie Motorsports Park, which will run July 9-10, just an hour west of the nation’s capital of Ottawa, ON.
For more information on the CSBK Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca
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June 17, 2022
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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June 20, 2022
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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June 12, 2022
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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