Cody Matechuk during Sunday’s action. Photo: Rob O’Brien/cdnsuperbike.com 
By John Hopkins and Josh Penner 

In what is proving to be a familiar script for the Parts Canada Superbike Championship this season, Jordan Szoke triumphed on both Saturday and Sunday, while Calgary representatives endured a tough weekend.

In a telephone interview from Mosport International Raceway Sunday evening, Clint McBain, owner of Acceleration racing, said son Cody Matechuk had a challenging rounds four and five of the Canadian Superbike.

“On Saturday, Cody finished in eighth place in Pro Sport Bike, and seventh in Superbike. Sunday he finished eighth again in Pro Sport Bike, and 12th in Superbike due to a jump start.” McBain said.

“I watched the start, and his finger came off of the brake lever, and the bike inched ahead just a little bit. When the engine is revving, the clutch components warm up and the friction point isn’t as far away as it usually is.”

McBain described the Mosport track as extremely fast, saying that some of the corners will see the bike in fourth or fifth gear, and is not comparable to Calgary.

“You’re flying in the corners at Mosport. It’s a big learning curve coming out here from Calgary. It was Cody’s first time out here on an actual Superbike, too, so he’ll be ready for next time.”

Not to be too disappointed, Matechuk went out for the Alberta Mini Roadracing event that was scheduled for after the Superbike race.

“We’re in good spirits, and not too shaken up about it – we still had a very fun weekend, said McBain.

Matechuk sits fifth in the Superbike championship standings with 130 points, trailing Szoke (268), Francis Martin (194), Andrew Nelson (157) and Jodi Christie (135).

Dave Stokowski, the other Calgary representative at Mosport, finished 11th Saturday on his Kawasaki ZX-10R, but dropped to 15th in Sunday’s round.  Stokowski was not available for an interview.

Calgary rider Dave Stokowski dropped to 15th on Sunday. Photo: Rob O'Brien/cdnsuperbike.com

Szoke edged closer to an unprecedented seventh Canadian Superbike title and a perfect season with victories in the fourth and fifth round.  In his most convincing performance of the year, the Brantford, Ont. racer led all the way from pole position Sunday on his Waznie Racing / BMC Ciclo Werks / DeWildt Honda CBR1000RR and crossed the line 6.357 secs. ahead of Francis Martin on the radX HD / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR.   Frank Trombino completed the podium riding the ProStar Motorsports / Sturgess Cycle Honda CBR1000RR.

Szoke completed the 20 laps around the 3.957 km (2.459-mile) Mosport circuit in 27 minutes, 18.682 seconds for an average speed of 173.862 km/h (108.043 mph).

“I think I got one of the best starts of my career,” said Szoke after his all-time leading 34th career national Superbike win and his ninth at Mosport International Raceway. “That’s what I wanted. I knew there would be some strong racing behind me and that allowed me to open a gap early.”

Szoke turned the fastest lap of the race, a 1:21.084 on lap three and was five seconds clear of Martin before the race was five laps old. He held that margin the rest of the way to pick up his fifth Parts Canada Superbike win in a row, tying a series record.

The triumph completed a sweep of Superbike wins for Szoke at Mosport after he also captured the victory on Saturday despite battling a leaking radiator.

“We made some big suspension changes for today and we nailed the set up,” he said. “I just tried to maintain my pace and played it cautious with traffic. I could have gone into the [one minute] 20s if I had to.”

Szoke heads into the season ending doubleheader at Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, N.S. with a 74-point lead over Martin, 268- 194. A win is worth 50 points.
 “I’ve won five in a row three times now in my career and I want to win those last two,” said Szoke, who also picked up five victories in 2002 and 2006. “I’m going to do my best to do that. I want a perfect season and put my name up there.”

Martin was third off the start and spent two laps trying to get around the Competition Systems Kawasaki Race Team Kawasaki ZX-10R of Alex Welsh. He picked up his second straight runner-up finish of the weekend and his third in a row.

“I tried very hard to pass Alex and we had a big fight, we passéd back and forth two or three times I think,” said the two-time Canadian Superbike champion from Sherbrooke, Que. “I tried very hard to catch Jordan but I couldn’t quite do it.”

Trombino got caught up in a battle for third with the BMW S1000RRs of Mike Ferreira and Andrew Nelson. The Kleinburg, ON racer got the spot for good on lap 11 and pulled clear for his best finish of the season.        Trombino had crossed the line second on Saturday after a spirited race but was disqualified when his bike was unable to complete post race technical inspection. Third place on Sunday represented his best Superbike finish of the year.

“I definitely had to work for it,” said Trombino, a two-time Superbike race winner at Mosport. “Once I finally got away from those guys I just put my head down and tried to catch Francis, but he was too far away.”

Ferreira crossed the line fourth on the second of the radX HD / BMW Motorrad Canada entries but the Mississauga, Ont. rider was penalized five seconds for a jump start and dropped to fifth in the results.   That moved Nelson up to fourth on the Orion Motorsports / BMW Motorrad Canada S1000RR, and the Kars, Ont. rider maintains third place in the Parts Canada Superbike standings with 157.

Jordan Szoke overcame engine troubles and a race long fight for the lead to take his fourth straight win in the 2010 Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Mosport International Raceway on Saturday.

The Brantford, Ont. racer discovered a radiator leak on his Waznie Racing / BMC Ciclo Werks / DeWildt Honda Powerhouse Honda CBR1000RR just before the start of the 20-lap race. But after a cautious start the series points leader moved into the lead on lap five of the 20-lap race and then held off challenges from Frank Trombino and Francis Martin to maintain his perfect win record and extend his season points lead.

Martin picked up his second straight runner-up finish on the rad X HD / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR, 3.371 secs. behind Szoke and Andrew Nelson placed third on the Orion Motorsports / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR.

Trombino actually crossed the line second on the ProStar Motorsports / Sturgess Cycle Honda CBR1000RR after he made a bold pass of Martin two turns from the finish. But the Kleinburg, Ont. racer was later disqualified when his bike ran out of fuel on the dyno and could not complete its mandatory post-race run. 

Szoke completed the 20 laps in 27 minutes, 14.008 seconds for an average speed of 174.359 km/h (108.352 mph).

“We got up to the starting line and the rad was spraying water,” said Szoke after his 33rd career national Superbike win and his eighth at Mosport. “I launched it really easy and tried to baby it. It cooled down to about 110 degrees, 80-85 is normal, and it stayed there the rest of the way.”

Trombino grabbed the lead from third on the grid but on lap two he was passed by Martin, who led the next three laps before Szoke took over.  Although the Honda was never headed again Martin and Trombino stayed on his tail.

“Francis kept me honest right to the end,” added Szoke, who is bidding for a fifth straight Parts Canada Superbike title and seventh overall. “I kept pushing even though I wanted to be careful. I want to win and I know when things are OK. And there’s nowhere I want to win in the world more than Mosport.”

Martin dropped 64 points behind Szoke in the Superbike standings with three races left, including Sunday’s back half of this weekend’s Mosport doubleheader. Szoke now has 216 points to Martin’s 152.

“I was not lucky with traffic,” said the two-time Canadian Superbike champion. “I was with Jordan the whole race but Jordan had better drive onto the straight. We just need better drive out of turn five tomorrow and I know we’ll be right there.”

In other action at Mosport, Szoke also won his fifth straight Pro Sport Bike race of the season on his Honda CBR600RR after a spectacular battle with the similar bike of Christie. The two swapped the lead repeatedly until the final lap, when they made contact two turns from the finish and Christie crashed. He managed to remount to cross the line fourth, which became third due to a jump start penalty to Trombino.  Jean-Francois Cyr finished second on his CyRacing Suzuki GSX-R600.

Szoke takes a 53-point lead over Christie, 266-213, heading to the final doubleheader in Nova Scotia. 

Raphael Archambault of St-Colomban, Que. came within three points of clinching the Amateur Sport Bike title after scoring his fifth straight win of the season at Mosport on Saturday. The rider of the Centre Hamel Honda- backed Honda CBR600RR finished 0.740 secs. ahead of the ProStar Motorsports- supported Suzuki GSX-R600 of Burlington, Ont.’s Jody Greening. St-Dominique, Que.’s Philippe Masse was third on the FC51 Custom.com / Pete’s Superbike.com Kawasaki ZX-6R.

Robert Busby of Brantford, Ont. completed a weekend sweep of the K&N Filters Sport Twins class on his Buell XB12 and the Brantford, Ont. rider takes a 67-point series lead to the final weekend.

Ryan Appenrodt of Quesnel, B.C. extended his lead in the Honda CBR125R Challenge to 35 points with his sixth win in seven races this year.  

Michael Barnes of Boca Raton, Fla. rode his Lightning entry to a dominant victory in the first ever TTXGP eGRAND PRIX electric motorcycle race held in Canada. Thad Wolff of Newbury Park, Calif. was second, 1:13.011 behind on a Norton Electra and San Francisco’s Jennifer Bromme placed third riding a Mavizen.

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