The final round of the 2026 Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship season is upon us, with three national champions already crowned and four more titles to be decided at this weekend’s marquee event in Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, August 6-9.
One rider who has already clinched the feature GP Bikes Pro Superbike class is Ben Young, the now six-time champion having secured his fifth Canada Cup in a row at the most recent round in Grand Bend.
Young has been near-perfect in 2026, winning seven of eight races and only settling for a narrow runner-up finish to Jordan Szoke in Calabogie to score 195 of a possible 200 points so far this season.
The Van Dolder’s Home Team Honda rider will have nothing left to prove at the CTMP finale - usually one of his strongest circuits - but that doesn’t mean he can’t add to his already incredible resumé, having cemented himself on CSBK’s all-time “Mount Rushmore” this season.
Young currently sits second all-time to Szoke in victories (30) and podiums (73) and can tie Steve Crevier for second on the pole positions list with his 23rd on Friday, having already tied Crevier for second on the championship order with six titles.
The 33-year-old has admitted it’s a borderline insurmountable gap to Szoke at the top, but that doesn’t mean Young has nothing left to race for at CTMP, especially with a large travelling fanbase usually behind him at “Old Mosport.”
After all, it may have been difficult to convince a 25-year-old Young that his first career victory (scored at CTMP) would kickstart this incredible run, eventually surpassing a once-untouchable mark of 26 career wins for Crevier.
Adding a pair of wins at the finale may prove to be substantial for Young’s legacy one day - though he maintains there are sometimes more important things than winning to preserve a “legacy” - especially with a hungry group of young stars now awaiting their first victory, ironically at the same venue where Young claimed his.
Leading the group is Andrew Van Winkle, who has smashed all expectations in 2026 to put himself third in the championship in his first Superbike campaign.
The Mountainview Motorsports Honda rider has taken four podiums as a 19-year-old, threatening Young on a few occasions and matching himself against the more experienced Szoke and David MacKay despite still learning his CBR-1000RR-R.
Van Winkle had a disastrous weekend at CTMP last season in the Supersport ranks but has shown it’s foolish to underestimate him, and a win to end the year would firmly swing the momentum in his favour as CSBK’s long-term “face of the series.”
That may be underestimating MacKay, however, as the more experienced Snow City Cycle Honda star has shown even more pace than Van Winkle this season, even if the standings don’t reflect it.
MacKay finds himself a more distant fourth overall thanks to two crashes in 2026, but both were while leading - and one rather comfortably at his home track in Grand Bend, a race many felt he would have won from a first career pole position.
They won’t be the only Honda’s vying for a breakthrough result, though, as Young will bring a bit of goodwill to the grid as well, partnering with Supersport star Cole Alexander to help him make his Superbike debut this weekend.
The 19-year-old hasn’t looked out of place at all as a Supersport rookie this year, securing three podiums and fighting for the lead on multiple occasions to sit fourth in the overall championship.
Young emphasized that there’s “no pressure” on Alexander and that he simply “wanted to help a young guy out,” but that doesn’t mean the reigning Amateur champion should be discounted as he hops aboard last year’s Van Dolder’s Home Team Honda machine.
Zoltan Frast - the only other rider to taste Superbike champagne in 2026 - will also be back in action at CTMP, as he tries to build on his sensational second-place breakthrough at Grand Bend aboard his Frast Racing BMW.
Joining him amongst the darkhorses is new Canadian Kawasaki Motors flag-bearer Alex Michel, who has put in a quietly solid first full Superbike campaign and will now be returning to the venue where he made his class debut with a strong finale in 2025.
Casas looks to complete epic Supersport comeback
While the #1 plate has already been secured in Superbike, the biggest title still up for grabs remains in the OPP Racing Pro Supersport division, where Tomas Casas has one hand on the title heading into his home circuit.
The two-time champion has turned a round one wildcard into a dominant championship charge in 2026, winning five of six races despite a loaded field behind him to stretch a 13-point lead over Sebastien Tremblay.
A crash in his lone defeat has left that margin closer than Casas would like, but the FAST Riding School Suzuki star has looked practically untouchable at times this season with an average margin-of-victory of nearly five seconds.
The 27-year-old will have even more confidence knowing that he’s entering one of his strongest tracks, having won twice at CTMP and finished on the podium in ten consecutive Supersport races there during his career.
However, Casas will also know that the circuit can deliver very unpredictable results, and there will be little margin for error with a group that includes Tremblay, Alexander, and Matt Simpson behind him.
Tremblay is his closest challenger to the middleweight crown, having finished on the podium in every race this season to keep his own quest for a third career crown alive.
The S.T. Motosport Suzuki rider is no slouch at CTMP either, winning eight times at the venue including the finale there last season, but that remains Tremblay’s only victory in the last 15 races.
The veteran will likely need to beat Casas one way or another on Saturday to give himself a realistic shot in race two on Sunday, perhaps forcing the two former rivals to get their elbows out once again.
While there is a much bigger gap back to the duo of Simpson and Alexander - currently tied at 34 points behind Casas - neither rider is truly out of the equation given their strong form in 2026 and history of success at CTMP.
Simpson’s only pro victory came at his home track in 2022, and a repeat success will be just what the Blackstock Motorsports Suzuki rider needs to claw his way back into the title fight, perhaps capitalizing on a preoccupied duo of Casas and Tremblay.
There’s no counting out Alexander, however, who scored a crucial victory at this circuit last season to help win the Amateur Supersport crown and has checked every box as a pro thus far in 2026.
The teenager may feel some effects of doing double-duty in the Superbike ranks, but that will also mean additional track time for the French Glass Co. Suzuki star as he tries to get on terms with his more experienced counterparts.
The weekend will officially get underway with a Bridgestone CSBK Test Day on Thursday, August 6 at the circuit just an hour east of Toronto, Ontario, before qualifying on Friday and a doubleheader finale of racing on Saturday and Sunday, August 8-9.
The full schedule can be found on the series’ official website.
