Another different name topped the GP Bikes Pro Superbike class on Saturday morning, as Alex Dumas took his turn atop the timesheets in FP2 in the third round of the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship at RAD Torque Raceway.
Dumas watched his rivals Ben Young lead the opening practice and Sam Guerin claim pole position on Friday, but day two kicked off in favour of the Economy Lube/Fast Company BMW star as he closed in on lap record pace in a nail-biting morning practice.
The 2021 champion sat atop the leaderboards for majority of the 30-minute period, leading in the first stint and for much of the middle portion despite a pair of strong time attacks from Young.
Dumas would set his best time of the weekend with ten minutes to go, posting an impressive 1:16.959 lap to wind up only 0.070 seconds shy of Guerin’s lap record from a day ago.
The rest of the field would have no answer in the final moments as the top five ran virtually unchanged in the last stint, with Young still firmly on the pace for the Van Dolder’s Home Team Honda squad as he exited FP2 only 0.131 seconds behind Dumas.
Pole-sitter Guerin found himself much further behind the duo for majority of the practice session but made a number of late improvements to trim the deficit, putting his EFC Group BMW only 0.048 seconds behind Young with just 0.179 seconds blanketing the top three.
Jordan Szoke would manage a solid fourth on Saturday morning but not with the same pace he showed on Friday, completing only five laps and settling for a one-second deficit to Dumas aboard his Canadian Kawasaki Motors machine.
The battle for fifth in this afternoon’s race continued to shape up as a good one, with Phil DeGama-Blanchet leading a razor-thin group with a time of 1:18.543.
The 17-year-old Mots Machining Honda rider wound up just 0.004 seconds ahead of fellow Honda man David MacKay, who will try to spoil the Calgary rider’s homecoming this afternoon for the ODH Snow City Cycle team.
Fellow Calgary teenager Torin Collins was a close seventh for Octagon Energy Services Suzuki, though intriguingly just 0.072 seconds clear of Pro Supersport rival Sebastien Tremblay.
Both riders were aboard their middleweight-spec Suzuki GSX-R750’s, with Tremblay the closest he’s been all weekend to Collins for the S.T. Motosport team.
Local rider Eric Russnak was a strong ninth in FP2 for Motorheads Kawasaki, still within a half-second of fifth as he aims to play a pivotal role for his manufacturer this weekend following the injuries to Connor Campbell.
Supersport frontrunner Alex Michel completed the top ten, leading off a group of middleweight contenders aboard his SpeedFactory67 Kawasaki.
Dumas will try to carry the momentum into this afternoon’s race one, scheduled for roughly 3 pm MT, where he starts third behind Young and Guerin on the front row.
Full results can be found on the series’ official website.
