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Tremblay wins thrilling Sport Bike race two at Shannonville
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The early momentum atop the Economy Lube Pro Sport Bike class shifted dramatically on Sunday, as Sebastien Tremblay led start-to-finish to take the championship lead at the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike opener at Shannonville Motorsport Park, presented by the Fallen Rider Support Team sponsored by Pace Law.
Tremblay got a spectacular start from second on the grid to grab the holeshot with Elliot Vieira and race one winner Ben Young slotting in behind him, while rookie Mavrick Cyr joined the mix in an early lead group of four.
Vieira had started to reel in Tremblay on lap two but appeared to miss a shift heading onto the back straight, allowing Young through with relative ease as he began to hunt down Tremblay.
The 2021 champion responded incredibly to Young’s comeback attempt, though, matching laps with the Superbike champion as Tremblay led throughout the first half of the race and held a steady gap of 0.7 seconds through lap ten.
That advantage would close to within 0.4 seconds with just two laps to go, setting up a potential showdown for the win between the two title rivals, but instead it all went wrong for Young on the penultimate lap as he crashed out of second place in the turn ten hairpin due to a rad hose failure.
That allowed Tremblay to cruise home in the final lap and score a crucial round one victory for the Turcotte Performance Suzuki team, opening up a ten-point advantage in the Sport Bike championship after settling for second on Saturday.
“It was a good race for us yesterday, but Ben just had a bit more pace. Today the roles were reversed, as Ben put a lot of pressure on me but we were able to make some changes and hold the pace,” Tremblay said. “It was unfortunate for him and a bit lucky for us, but we’ve been unlucky too. To be able to challenge him on more equal machinery feels really good.”
As for Young, it was a disastrous start to the day for the Scot-Build Suzuki rider as his hopes of a historic double-sweep this season evaporated in the opening round, dropping him to a tie for a third in the championship and 19 points back of Tremblay heading to Grand Bend.
That promoted Vieira to second both in race two and in the championship, as the GP Bikes Ducati rider exited with a huge haul of points in round one after missing the season opener a year ago.
“The bike feels so planted, I just need to find a bit more,” Vieira admitted. “I tried really hard but they’re pace was just so strong, so I decided to just bring it home and fortunately we got a bit of a break on the last lap.”
Young’s misfortune meant John Laing’s charge through the field would hand him the final podium spot, as the Vass Performance Kawasaki rider nearly reeled in Vieira at the midway point before settling in for a crucial batch of points to exit round one tied with Young for third in the standings.
“We were working hard on the bike last night, and it was awesome today. Everything was really good,” Laing said. “Elliot rode so well, I just couldn’t quite catch him, but we’re really happy to take third.”
Just behind the lead trio was a fierce battle for the top rookie spot between teenagers Cyr and Philip Degama-Blanchet, with the latter making a bold move on the reigning amateur champion to take fourth on the final lap.
The 16-year-old Degama-Blanchet and 18-year-old Cyr exchanged words in the pit lane after the race, perhaps the first sign of a brewing rivalry as the Vass Performance Kawasaki rider chases down Cyr and the Rizzin Racing Team in their first pro season.
Tremblay’s victory will prove to be a crucial one for Suzuki atop the Constructors Championship, as they retain their early lead despite Young’s crash and the strong performances of Kawasaki and Ducati.
Vieira and Nathan Playford (sixth) did enough to move Ducati into second in that table, while Laing and Degama-Blanchet closed the gap in third in what is shaping up to be a dramatic award battle this year.
Young dominates Superbike race two at Shannonville
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The narrow gap atop the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship was blown wide open on Sunday, as Ben Young cruised to a comfortable victory in race two at Shannonville Motorsport Park, presented by the Fallen Rider Support Team sponsored by Pace Law.
The three-time GP Bikes Pro Superbike champion faced stiff competition from Sam Guerin and Jordan Szoke on Saturday, having to claw his way from fourth in the early going to win a dramatic opener at SMP, but things were vastly different in the second half of the doubleheader on Sunday.
Guerin grabbed the holeshot from Young and Szoke on the opening lap but could only hold the lead for parts of two laps, as Young was far less patient this time around and made the decisive move in turn eight on lap three.
Young would squeeze out a one-second advantage just two laps later and never looked back from there, ultimately securing a 17-second win at the finish – the third largest margin of victory in Pro Superbike history.
It was a statement win for the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider, who exits SMP with a perfect points haul and ten-point championship advantage.
“The BMW was unreal as always today, and really awesome all weekend,” Young said, a stark comparison to the 2023 opener when a fairing issue left him sixth in race two. “It’s a bit of redemption for a year ago, so it’s nice to reward the team for all their hard work and add another win here for the fans.”
As for Guerin, it was another runner-up finish but one far different from Saturday, when he looked like a legitimate title threat to Young. While that still may be true with five rounds remaining, the EFC Group BMW rider admitted they still have a lot of work to do to close the gap in Grand Bend.
“The second place is important. It’s another 1-2 for BMW and we’re still in the championship,” Guerin said. “I tried to stay with Ben, but we’re still learning the new bike, so it’s better to be here than in the back of an ambulance!”
Completing the podium in the exact same order from race one was Szoke, who couldn’t replicate his early race lead from Saturday as he fought through some mechanical issues aboard his CKM Kawasaki, though he did enough to escape with another impressive podium.
“We felt really great in practice, and I was really looking forward to the race, but we had some issues in turn three and four and at one point I almost thought I was going to have to pull off,” Szoke said. “It’s a bummer. I’m not saying we would have won, but I thought I could have stuck at the front a little longer today, but I have a great crew and we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
One of the most interesting stories of the day was Trevor Dion, who crashed in morning warm-up and needed to park his main Economy Lube Ducati on the sidelines, though he made the unusual choice to switch to BMW machinery for the afternoon.
That proved to be a successful decision, as Dion overcame a tough start and some early unfamiliarity to carve his way through the field and into fourth at the finish, matching his result from race one on Saturday. The reigning Rookie of the Year will jump back to Ducati at his home track in round two, and made sure to let his rivals know that his confidence remains sky-high despite the race two rollercoaster.
“It took a while to get comfortable on the new bike, but we put together some really good laps and were able to match our result from yesterday,” Dion said. “To anyone who thinks I can’t ride a Superbike, I can. Now we’re looking forward to being on top in a couple weeks at Grand Bend.
The 2022 Sport Bike champion took home the FAST Riding School Hard Charger award for his efforts, after Young claimed the honour on Saturday.
Dion’s performance was anything but straightforward, as he enjoyed a thrilling battle with David MacKay for most of the contest. MacKay’s strong debut weekend aboard the Snow City Cycle Honda continued in race two as he ran in fourth throughout the first half, but ultimately couldn’t fend off Dion as he settled for fifth once again at SMP, a solid points haul for the reigning Sport Bike champion.
The race within the race was the battle for sixth between Connor Campbell and Sport Bike race two winner Sebastien Tremblay, who ran nose-to-tail for most of the 20-lap feature.
Tremblay was aboard his smaller displacement Suzuki GSX-R750 but riding at full health, unlike Campbell who fought through a rib injury in his B&T MacFarlane/Kubota Kawasaki debut, creating an intense battle between the two unlikely foes.
Ultimately, Tremblay managed to move past Campbell in the late going and take a strong sixth-place finish for Turcotte Performance Suzuki, while Campbell was forced to settle for seventh amidst the pain – though still crucially one spot ahead of Rizzin Racing Triumph’s Mavrick Cyr in the fight for the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year award.
As for the Constructors Championship, the perfect start continued for two-time defending champs BMW, as they claimed another one-two behind Young and Guerin.
Perhaps most crucially for BMW, though, is that Dion’s switch left Ducati without any points on the day, meaning Kawasaki’s third and seventh-place finishes with Szoke and Campbell will put them second in the table and a whopping 42-points behind BMW.
The feature GP Bikes Pro Superbike class will now get a three-week breather before returning to action at the Grand Bend Motorplex in round two, June 7-9, which will set the tone for a return west to Edmonton later that month.
Tavares, Boyer take maiden wins in support classes at SMP
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The Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship season opener wrapped up with a trio of first-time national winners on Sunday, as the five support classes completed their doubleheaders at Shannonville Motorsport Park, presented by the Fallen Rider Support Team sponsored by Pace Law.
Tyrone Tavares evened up his rivalry with Goran Radisic in the AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike class, winning a thrilling duel with the race one victor after coming up just short on Saturday.
Radisic looked poised to exit SMP with a pair of victories early in the race before Tavares put the pressure on, fighting for the lead at the midway point before seizing the front in the esses with three laps to go.
One last attempt from Radisic into the penultimate corner put the two briefly side-by-side for the win, but it came up just short as Tavares held on for his first career national victory just a day after Radisic’s maiden triumph, with Tyler Brewer rounding out the podium for the second day in a row.
Tavares will thus exit round one with a slim two-point advantage thanks to his pole position effort, though clearly very little will separate the duo heading into round two at the Grand Bend Motorplex next month.
As for EBC Brakes Amateur Sport Bike, another sensational last-lap comeback fell just short for race one winner Laurent Laliberte-Girard, as Serge Boyer hung on to score his first career national victory.
Boyer led for nearly the entirety of the race after settling for third on Saturday, a race in which Laliberte-Girard overcame a slow start to carve his way through the field, and the debutant nearly did it again on Sunday before winding up 0.2 seconds shy of Boyer at the line.
Race one runner-up Scott Szollos would return to the podium in third, outlasting a hectic four-rider battle in the early stages before squeaking out a late advantage over Denis Giguere and Alexis Beaudoin.
Vincent Wilson capped off a perfect weekend in the Importations Thibault Pro-Am Twins class, dominating another contest for the Atlantic Mini Suzuki team as he scored both the amateur and outright victory.
Wilson was followed by pro riders Craig Atkinson and Justin Marshall, who matched their Saturday finishes with Atkinson taking the pro win aboard his Yamaha, this time putting a late charge on to leapfrog Marshall with Dallas Reynolds claiming third.
Sebastian Silva would wind up just behind Reynolds on-track and once again as the amateur runner-up, keeping himself within eleven points of Wilson heading to round two at Grand Bend.
Mack Weil completed his perfect weekend in the Niagara Race Crafters Ninja ZX-4RR Cup race, dominating once again to launch the new Kawasaki-spec class aboard his MotorcycleCourse machine.
Dave Walker would settle for second in the pro split while Adolfo Silva scored a debut national win in the amateur ranks.
Cameron Walker doubled up the Super Sonic Road Race School Pro-Am Lightweight class with another outright victory on Sunday, sweeping the weekend after another nail-biter with Ryan Beattie and Zaim Laflamme.
The pro Walker was well clear of division runner-up Johann Plancque, but had his work cut out for him in the fight for the overall race win as amateurs Beattie and Laflamme went to war at the front of their split, with Beattie claiming another victory while Baillie Ives took third in the amateur ranks.
Each of the seven national classes will now await the second round from Grand Bend Motorplex next month, June 7-9, before returning west to the much-anticipated third round in Edmonton, Alberta.
Bridgestone CSBK confirms first Superbike episodes on TSN
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The first two races of the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship season will premiere earlier than ever in 2024, with initial air dates beginning next week on TSN.
GP Bikes Pro Superbike action from Shannonville Motorsport Park will hit Canada’s premier sports network on May 27, with four broadcasts confirmed for race one and five air dates for race two.
The doubleheader kicks off a much-anticipated six round, 12 race schedule for the feature Superbike class, which will also debut on French-language network RDS beginning on June 8th.
The Bridgestone CSBK national championship has been broadcast on TSN (The Sports Network) since 1994, the Canadian affiliate of ESPN.
Marshall Ferguson will return alongside Colin Fraser to commentate all English-language TSN broadcasts in 2024, after Ferguson – a regular announcer for CFL on TSN – joined the series last season. Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame member Fraser will be entering his 30th season providing colour commentary, while long-time CSBK senior editor Cameron McFadyen is also back behind the scenes in 2024.
Full airdates for the opening two Superbike races can be found below:
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GP Bikes Pro Superbike Round 1, Race 1 |
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Date |
Time |
Channel |
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Monday, May 27 |
2:30 pm ET |
TSN3 and TSN4 |
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Monday, May 27 |
5:50 pm ET |
TSN2 |
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Tuesday, May 28 |
12:00 pm ET |
TSN4 |
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Wednesday, May 29 |
2:00 pm ET |
TSN3 and TSN4 |
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GP Bikes Pro Superbike Round 1, Race 2 |
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Date |
Time |
Channel |
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Monday, June 3 |
2:00 pm ET |
TSN3 and TSN4 |
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Tuesday, June 4 |
12:30 pm ET |
TSN5 |
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Tuesday, June 4 |
3:30 pm ET |
TSN2 |
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Wednesday, June 5 |
2:30 pm ET |
TSN3 |
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Friday, June 7 |
2:00 pm ET |
TSN3 |
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