The rivalry between Ben Young and Alex Dumas continued to be written on Friday at the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, as Young claimed his first BS Battery Pole Position of the season by just 0.018 seconds at Atlantic Motorsport Park.
The three-time reigning GP Bikes Pro Superbike champion had his work cut out for him in a nail-biting Q2 session, with provisional pole changing hands three times in the last eight minutes before Young squeezed out the final advantage of the afternoon.
Young paced the early minutes of the session aboard his Van Dolder’s Home Team Honda before Jordan Szoke cruised to the top of the leaderboard, going nearly a half-second faster than the rest of the field as he looked set for his first BS Battery Pole since 2020.
His two title foes would respond in stellar fashion, however, with Dumas putting in a pair of late flyers to go 0.284 seconds faster than Szoke before Young then slotted himself between the duo with a 0.184 second deficit.
It looked like that order may stand until Young delivered a sensational lap in the final three minutes, posting a time of 1:07.481 to go just 0.018 seconds clear of Dumas and secure Honda’s first pole since Jodi Christie in 2015.
The razor-thin margin is just the latest example of Young and Dumas’ incredible qualifying rivalry, as the difference – only the third-closest of all time – ensure that the five closest pole margins all now belong to Young and Dumas in some order.
“it’s pretty crazy, we always seem to find a way to be super close. You just can’t separate us,” Young said.
As for Dumas, the championship leader fell just short of a second consecutive BS Battery Pole to begin the year, but was content with his performance as he also adjusts to his new Economy Lube/Fast Company BMW.
Completing the front row was Szoke, who’s impressive mid-session lap couldn’t hold up against Young and Dumas but was enough to fend off Sam Guerin in fourth, keeping Szoke in the race winning fight as well for the weekend doubleheader.
The 14-time champion overcame a few obstacles in Q2 – including losing a knee slider in the early going – but managed to turn in a number of respectable laps, as he eyes his first Superbike win in roughly four years aboard the CKM Kawasaki.
As for Guerin, the EFC Group BMW star looked like a threat for pole on numerous occasions but instead had to settle for fourth and the front of row two, winding up only 0.409 seconds off the pace and firmly in contention amidst the lead group.
Centering the middle of row two in a familiar fifth will be David MacKay, who fought his way through Q1 to salvage a great grid position after a rough start to the weekend nearly put him on the back foot.
MacKay crashed just minutes into P1 and was unable to earn an automatic entry into Q2, but made light work of the Q1 session as he immediately jumped to the top aboard his ODH Snow City Cycle Honda and then carried that momentum into a strong fifth in Q2, just 0.524 seconds behind Guerin in fourth.
Torin Collins will complete the second row in sixth, a heroic effort aboard his Supersport-spec Novalda Suzuki as he prepares to possibly do double-duty this weekend, having already taken pole position in the middleweight class.
Phil DeGama-Blanchet would end the day just 0.363 seconds behind his close friend and fellow Calgary, Alberta native in seventh, putting in another strong effort for Mots Machining Honda to put three CBR1000RR’s in the top seven on the grid.
Home favourite John Fraser will centre the third row in his season debut for RLS Contracting Suzuki, but the day nearly went much differently for Fraser as he found himself sixth in Q1 with just five seconds remaining.
The 19-year-old crossed the line with moments to spare to start his last flying lap of Q1 and made it count, jumping into Q2 at the expense of Andrew Van Winkle before earning eighth in the second session.
Trevor Daley will join him on row three aboard his Supersport-spec OneSpeed Suzuki, having put in a blistering time of his own in Q1 to secure a spot in the top ten as both he and Collins battled the bigger Superbikes in Q2.
Connor Campbell rounded out the top ten on Friday for B&T MacFarlane Kawasaki, though his best time would wind up only a second shy of fifth place in what is expected to be a very tight midfield battle this weekend.
Young’s pole will also put him level with Dumas atop the season-long BS Battery Pole Award standings, having each qualified first and second through the opening two rounds of the campaign.
The GP Bikes Pro Superbike class will now prepare for the first part of their doubleheader on Saturday, with the third race of the campaign set to get underway at roughly 3 pm AT in Shubenacadie, just 45 minutes north of Halifax.
Full results can be found here.
