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Superbike Preview: Young carries championship lead into round two at Grand Bend
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The second round of the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship will roll onto beautiful Lake Huron this weekend, as Ben Young looks to extend his early advantage in the feature Superbike class at the Grand Bend Motorplex, June 7-9, presented by Southwest Marine & Powersport.
The three-time Canada Cup champion and two-time defending title winner showed just why he owns the #1 plate at the Shannonville opener, conquering both races and turning in an especially dominant showing in race two to open up a ten-point gap atop the GP Bikes Pro Superbike standings.
Young was certainly tested in race one, dropping back as low as fourth before having to claw his way through on rivals Trevor Dion, Jordan Szoke, and finally Sam Guerin, but his race two victory was a much bigger statement as he cruised to a comfortable 17-second win.
Looking at Young’s history around Grand Bend, it’s hard not to expect more of the same this weekend.
The Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider nearly scored his first career CSBK victory at the circuit, finishing second to Szoke in a nail-biter in 2018 before taking his maiden win later that year, and he has been virtually unbeatable at the circuit ever since with three wins in the last four races at Grand Bend.
As if that isn’t an impressive enough streak in itself, Young’s only loss over that span came in a wet race two last season after he crashed on the warmup lap, allowing rival Alex Dumas to end his run of success at the venue.
Bad luck aside, Young won’t have to deal with Dumas this time around, putting a big ask on the likes of Szoke, Guerin, and Dion, amongst others.
Should any misfortune come back around for the reigning champ, however, Szoke could be the one most prepared to return to the top step of the box.
The 14-time champion admittedly hasn’t been as strong around Grand Bend as nearly every other track in his career, but he is still a former winner at the circuit and has looked rejuvenated in 2024, showing signs of his old self aboard the CKM Kawasaki as he continues to recover from his 2022 injuries.
Guerin, meanwhile, could be in for a crucial weekend as he enters as the closest challenger to Young behind a pair of runner-up finishes in the opener.
The EFC Group BMW star has been solid but unspectacular in his career at Grand Bend, finishing inside the top-five in all four appearances but taking only a single podium (third) in race two last season. However, Guerin did look like a stronger version of himself than ever before at round one, something that will be put to the test in round two as he tries to keep his title hopes in good shape.
As for Szoke’s former teammate Dion, the local rider left SMP with a warning shot to his competitors, saying he’s “looking forward to being on top” in Grand Bend, and it may not be far-fetched to think he can back it up this weekend.
The Economy Lube Ducati star has had his fair share of technical struggles aboard the V4R Panigale – to the point where he was forced to jump aboard a BMW in race two at Shannonville – but he is a former pole-sitter at Grand Bend and knows the track well from his days with the SOAR regional series.
Dion won’t be the only local star to contend with, however, as David MacKay will put his extensive track knowledge to good use in his second weekend aboard the ODH Snow City Cycle Honda.
The reigning Pro Sport Bike champion has more laps around Grand Bend than anyone else on the grid, and while only some of them have come aboard the new machine, his performances at Shannonville proved he won’t need much of a teething period.
There’s a strong chance MacKay won’t be the only frontrunning Honda either, as fellow SOAR regular Chris Pletsch is expected to make a return appearance after a spectacular one-off at his home track last season.
Pletsch made his national Superbike debut and was an instant contender, qualifying second to Young and finishing second in race two aboard his Stratford Cycle Centre Honda, and there’s little reason to doubt he can be back in the podium mix this weekend.
Like MacKay, another former Sport Bike champion will enter the Motorplex with bigger expectations, as Sebastien Tremblay will hope to replicate his strong opener for Turcotte Performance Suzuki.
Tremblay is at a slight disadvantage aboard his lesser-powered GSX-R750, the same machine he pilots in the Sport Bike ranks, but that should have less of an impact around the tight, narrow first half of the Grand Bend layout as he tries to pick up valuable points for Suzuki.
The two weeks of rest after round one will be a welcome boost for rookie Connor Campbell, after fighting through rib injuries to take a pair of top-ten finishes at Shannonville.
The B&T MacFarlane/Kubota Kawasaki rider dealt with injury and mechanical issues as a Sport Bike rider at Grand Bend last season, but will hope for a healthier return in 2024 as he tries to extend his lead in the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year award standings.
Campbell’s form could also be crucial for Kawasaki in the Constructors Standings, as he and “satellite teammate” Szoke look to trim their 42-point deficit to BMW in round two.
A perfect weekend for Young and Guerin (taking the maximum 45 points in each race) has already put the pressure on Kawasaki and the rest of the field, and a repeat performance for the pair could see them extend an insurmountable gap by round three.
Kawasaki will be equally as vulnerable to Ducati, Honda, and Yamaha behind them, however, especially with Honda receiving some vital reinforcements in the form of Pletsch.
The weekend schedule for the GP Bikes Pro Superbike class, as well as the other six national classes, can be found on the series’ official website.
Young paces FP1 despite crash in Grand Bend
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Ben Young kicked off the second round of the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship on the top of the timesheets, setting the early pace in Friday morning practice at the Grand Bend Motorplex, presented by Southwest Marine & Powersports.
The first stint of FP1 was led by Sam Guerin, who immediately dipped into the low 1:04’s despite cool and overcast conditions following early morning rain. The EFC Group BMW rider was nearly a half-second clear of the field by the 10-minute mark of the 40-minute session, looking determined to earn his first career BS Battery Pole Position this afternoon.
However, Young would return to his familiar position at the front just prior to the midway point, posting a time of 1:04.199 to go a quarter-second clear of Guerin with fellow rival Jordan Szoke third.
There wasn’t much to separate the field with 10 minutes to go, as just a quarter-second covered the top-four and roughly 0.75 seconds across the top seven riders in the GP Bikes Pro Superbike class.
Young would proceed to stretch that advantage in the final stint, improving his best time to an impressive 1:03.462, but that late flyer came just moments before the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider crashed in turn one to end his session.
He was thankfully uninjured and managed to guide the M1000RR back to pit lane, where he seemed to indicate to his team that a mechanical issue may have caused the crash.
Regardless, Young’s only concern will be sorting out any potential technical difficulties before afternoon qualifying, as he topped FP1 by 0.762 seconds and continues to look like the runaway favourite of the weekend.
The battle behind him continues to shape up to be a good one, however, as his friend and former Daytona teammate Trevor Daley returned to the CSBK paddock in excellent form to go second-fastest in FP1.
The OneSpeed Suzuki rider could not make round one but showed zero signs of rust in his return, moving to second in the final moments with a time of 1:04.224. The morning proved to be very productive overall for Daley, who also topped the timesheets in the Pro Sport Bike practice session in his return.
Completing the top-three in FP1 was Szoke, who put his CKM Kawasaki only 0.195 seconds behind Daley and just 0.033 seconds clear of Guerin. The latter could not improve upon his excellent early pace, but still managed a respectable start to the weekend aboard his EFC Group BMW.
The biggest news of the morning was the absence of Trevor Dion, who is expected to miss the weekend and perhaps longer as he recovers from arm pump, an ailment the Economy Lube Ducati rider has dealt with since round one at Shannonville.
The feature class will now hope for better conditions when they return to the track for BS Battery qualifying this afternoon, with Q1 scheduled for 2:10 pm ET before the top-ten advance to Q2 at roughly 2:45 pm ET.
Full results from the morning sessions can be found on the series’ official website at CSBK.ca.
Vieira earns first career Sport Bike pole at Grand Bend
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The Economy Lube Pro Sport Bike class produced another interesting twist on Friday, as Elliot Vieira secured his first career Bridgestone CSBK pole position for the second round at Grand Bend Motorplex, presented by Southwest Marine & Powersports.
The provisional pole time changed hands throughout the 20-minute qualifying session, but Vieira couldn’t quite manage to hit the front for majority of that period, watching as Trevor Daley, Zoltan Frast, and briefly Sebastien Tremblay all traded fast laps.
The GP Bikes/Economy Lube Ducati rider saved his best for when he needed it, however, climbing to the top spot with just under three minutes to go behind a time of 1:04.872.
That only narrowly pushed him past Daley, who was unable to retaliate after a late crash in turn five (he was thankfully uninjured), giving Vieira his first career pole position by just 0.055 seconds – the fourth-smallest margin in class history.
Vieira’s superb time attack will also represent the first ever pole position for Ducati in the Sport Bike class, following its homologation into the middleweight ranks a year ago.
It was a crucial one as well for the championship runner-up, as points leader Tremblay could only muster third on the grid. The Turcotte Performance Suzuki rider lifted himself onto the front row in the final minute and still wound up only 0.140 seconds shy of Vieira, but he will nevertheless lose two points to his rival entering race one on Saturday.
Splitting the pair on the front row will be Daley, who hasn’t missed a beat since returning from his round one absence. The OneSpeed Suzuki rider paced majority of the session and likely could have mounted one last charge at Vieira if not for his crash, though he will still leave himself in an excellent position to fight for a second career victory this weekend.
The breakout star of the weekend could prove to be Frast, as the local star looked poised to earn a shock first career pole himself before fading to fourth in the end. The Clare’s Cycle Kawasaki rider ended up just 0.159 seconds off Vieira and appeared to have consistent race pace as well, lapping consistently in the low 1:05’s as he aims for a debut podium this weekend.
Rounding out the top-five and centering the second row will be pro rookie Mavrick Cyr, who fought through traffic to salvage a solid grid spot aboard his Rizzin Racing/Economy Lube Triumph, although with a quarter-second gap to the front four.
Completing that row will be Nathan Playford and the Playford Company Ducati squad, who just managed to squeeze past the third-row trio of Dylan Bauer, Sebastian Hothaza, and title frontrunner John Laing, all of whom were covered by only 0.114 seconds.
Full results from Friday’s qualifying session can be found on the series’ official website at CSBK.ca.
Young squeaks out pole position for round two at Grand Bend
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Ben Young escaped with a predictable pole position for the second round of the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship on Friday, but by a much closer margin than expected at the Grand Bend Motorplex, presented by Southwest Marine & Powersports.
The GP Bikes Pro Superbike championship leader and overwhelming weekend favourite topped both the initial Q1 session and put in a late flyer to capture BS Battery Pole Position in Q2, but it was hardly a straightforward process as he fought through a number of different challengers.
Home favourite David MacKay led the opening stint of Q2 behind an excellent lap of 1:03.115, looking set for his first career Superbike pole in just his second weekend, but he was replaced by another Honda-mounted local in Steven Nickerson around the midway point of the top-ten shootout.
Things began to look very out of sorts for Young as he tumbled down the order to fifth, falling behind Nickerson, MacKay, and title rivals Jordan Szoke and Sam Guerin with roughly six minutes to go.
The three-time champion seemed to unlock something in the final moments, however, rocketing up the timesheets to post a lap of 1:02.634 – just a quarter-second off the lap record despite cooler conditions – as he overcame a bit of a scare to earn his 15th career BS Battery Pole Position and seventh in the last nine rounds.
“I didn’t think we’d need to put another tire on at the end, but these guys really pushed us. We’re going to have to give it all we got tomorrow, for sure,” Young said. “It’s great to see a close field, even though that makes it tougher for us. Thankfully the team and the BMW are working phenomenally as always, so I’ll put my head down and try and reward them this weekend.”
The Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider did admit they have encountered some front suspension issues – a possible reason for his morning practice crash – though it didn’t seem to prevent him from another BS Battery Pole Position award as he extends his lead in the season-long prize standings.
As for Nickerson, it will be a career-best grid position as he lines up alongside Young this weekend, falling just 0.248 seconds shy of a dream pole position in his season debut for DeWildt Honda.
The local rider has plenty of experience at Grand Bend despite his CSBK hiatus, and he will look to convert his front row qualifying spot into a maiden Superbike podium this weekend.
Completing the front row was championship runner-up Sam Guerin, who put in a much-needed late time attack of his own to move off the second row.
Guerin revealed the EFC Group BMW squad was sorting out various setup changes during the day, but he finally looked to be comfortable in the final moments as he leapfrogged MacKay for third, pace he will hope to continue building on this weekend.
As for MacKay, the ODH Snow City Cycle Honda rider saw his hopes of a first career BS Battery Superbike pole evaporate in the final five minutes as he tumbled to fourth, though it will still be an excellent starting position for the home favourite as he headlines the second row in just his second weekend on the CBR1000RR.
Starting alongside him will be Jordan Szoke and Trevor Daley, who both showed front row flashes during the qualifying process but ultimately had to settle for second row spots.
Szoke briefly led Q2 before giving way to MacKay, something the CKM Kawasaki rider will try to replicate in his race pace, while Daley continued his strong return weekend with a sixth-place qualifying finish aboard his OneSpeed Suzuki.
Missing from the weekend action will be local star Trevor Dion, who exited round two as he recovers from arm pump. The Economy Lube Ducati rider’s future remains uncertain, though his unfortunate absence will leave one less threat for Young to tackle.
In other action at Grand Bend, Elliot Vieira secured his first career national pole position in a thrilling Economy Lube Pro Sport Bike qualifying.
In the AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike class, it was a pivotal pole position for title frontrunner Tyler Brewer, as he looks to even the standings with championship leaders Goran Radisic and Tyrone Tavares, who qualified second and fourth, respectively.
Andrew Alcampado will start from pole position in the EBC Brakes Amateur Sport Bike category, snatching his first career honour from championship leader Serge Boyer in second. Fellow title protagonist Laurent Laliberte-Girard will start fourth.
Vincent Wilson escaped with another pole in the Importations Thibault Pro-Am Twins class, though the amateur star claimed the outright top spot by just 0.003 seconds from pro J.P. Tache, who returns to the series for the first time since 2007.
Fourth in the split-class session was Mack Weil, who headlines the Niagara Race Crafters Ninja ZX-4RR Cup for a second consecutive weekend as the top pro, while Rob Lepp took a first career pole as the top amateur ZX-4RR rider.
Teenage sensation Ryan Beattie continued his spectacular start to the Super Sonic Road Race School Pro-Am Lightweight season, taking outright pole position over fellow amateur and title rival Zaim Laflamme. Gary McKinnon will line up as the top pro in fourth, three spots clear of next-best pro Jacob Black.
Full results from Friday’s qualifying action can be found on the series’ official website at CSBK.ca.
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