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Boyer doubles up, Morrison ends Beattie’s run in support races on Saturday
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The support classes produced plenty of intrigue on Saturday at RAD Torque Raceway, as a number of new faces starred in the third round of the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship.
Serge Boyer was the feature name of the day, winning both the AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike and EBC Brakes Amateur Sport Bike races in Edmonton.
His Superbike victory – Boyer’s first of the season – was pivotal for his championship hopes, rocketing him from tenth to fifth in the standings behind a comfortable six-second victory over Goran Radisic.
It was an equally crucial result for Radisic, however, who extends his championship lead to 22 points approaching the halfway point of the season, earning another podium for the PMR BMW team.
Local rider Shawn Lee completed the podium for the first time in his national career, though it came at the expense of fellow Alberta native Ryan Sunderman who failed to finish after qualifying on pole position and running at the front early on.
It was a difficult day for championship contender Tyler Brewer, who started second but could only salvage sixth as his deficit to Radisic nearly doubled on Saturday.
Boyer’s other victory on the day was even more dominant, as he cruised to a Sport Bike win by over 15 seconds from pole-sitter Denis Giguère.
Both riders were penalized for jump start penalties, but it proved inconsequential for Giguère as he had just enough of an advantage to retain second over Laurent Laliberté-Girard.
Laliberté-Girard would keep his title hopes in decent shape with the podium, however, falling to 13 points behind Boyer after entering with only a single-point deficit.
Ryan Beattie’s perfect run in the Super Sonic Road Race School Pro-AM Lightweight class was ended on Saturday, as local 14-year-old Treston Morrison snatched his first career national victory in his CSBK debut.
Beattie led for majority of the contest before Morrison made a spectacular pass around the outside of turn six, holding off the 15-year-old Beattie the rest of the way in what was one of the youngest duels in series history between the two amateurs.
However, Beattie’s second-place finish would still do wonders for his championship bid, extending his lead to 58 points over Bailie Ives in the amateur split.
Third on-track but finishing as the pro winner was championship leader Gary McKinnon, who bested Toni Sharpless and local rider Ian Wall to complete the lead trio of pros. The victory extends McKinnon’s advantage to 39 points in the pro split over Sharpless ahead of race two on Sunday.
There was a significant change in the Importations Thibault Pro-AM Twins ranks as well, as Vincent Wilson crashed out of the amateur lead and was injured in turn one, seeing his perfect run in the class come to an end.
Wilson was battling with pro rider and overall leader Jodi Christie when he fell, bringing out the red flag. Thankfully, Wilson is expected to make a full recovery.
Christie would win the restarted battle by just 0.570 seconds over Dallas Reynolds, marking Christie’s first national victory in nine years as the 2014 Superbike champion makes a wildcard return at RAD Torque.
Wilson’s absence meant Sebastian Silva would earn his first career national victory in the amateur split, fending off local debutant Nima Nassirian for the win as Silva takes a one-point championship lead over Wilson.
Mack Weil added another victory in the Niagara Race Crafters Ninja ZX-4RR Cup, extending his championship advantage to 41 points for the MotorcycleCourse team.
The support classes will return to the track on Sunday for the second half of their doubleheaders, with the afternoon action getting underway at 1 pm local time (3 pm ET).
Szoke leads razor-thin FP3 in Edmonton
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Another name jumped to the top of the GP Bikes Pro Superbike leaderboard on Sunday morning, as Jordan Szoke took his turn at the top in FP3 at RAD Torque Raceway.
The third round of the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship already saw three different riders top the first three sessions of the feature class, with Alex Dumas leading FP1, Ben Young qualifying on pole position (and later winning race one), and Torin Collins topping FP2 earlier in the weekend, but Szoke would join the group on Sunday morning to make it four in five sessions.
Szoke put in a blazing time of 1:17.764 with ten minutes to go in the 30-minute practice, putting his CKM Kawasaki marginally ahead of Collins and staying at the top the rest of the way.
It will mark the first official session where Szoke was fastest since his race three victory at CTMP in 2021 (though he did top the 2023 winter test in Florida), a major step for the 14-time champion as he eyes a return to the top step of the podium in race two.
Collins would be displaced by Sam Guérin in the final moments, as the EFC Group BMW rider broke into the 1:17 mark for the first time all weekend and just 0.032 seconds off Szoke at the front, a significant step forward for the current championship runner-up.
Guérin’s late improvement was only marginally clear of Collins, as the Novalda Kawasaki rookie wound up just 0.053 seconds behind Szoke as he chases his maiden victory in his second CSBK race this afternoon.
Dumas would end the morning fourth-fastest for Economy Lube Ducati, gradually improving his times in the last third of the session to finish 0.195 seconds off the top and ahead of rival Young in fifth.
Young ended FP3 in an unusual fifth but the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW squad will not be too concerned with the result, as just 0.349 seconds blanketed the top five in what is shaping up to be a spectacular race two battle on Sunday.
The feature GP Bikes Pro Superbike class will return for their final race of the weekend at roughly 3 pm local time (5 pm ET) at RAD Torque Raceway.
Van Winkle takes historic Sport Bike victory in Edmonton
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The Economy Lube Pro Sport Bike class produced another wild result on Sunday, as Andrew Van Winkle secured a historic victory in round three of the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship at RAD Torque Raceway.
The reigning Pro Twins champion made his Sport Bike debut on Saturday and exited with a respectable fifth, but he had plenty more to show in race two as he immediately jumped past pole-sitter John Laing and into second behind Elliot Vieira.
Things would get worse for Laing as the race one winner and home favourite was promptly passed by Mavrick Cyr on lap one, shunting him down to fourth with championship leader Sebastien Tremblay fifth.
Laing would eventually move back through on Cyr and hunt down Van Winkle by lap four, but the FD Racing Suzuki rider defended beautifully and began to chase down Vieira for the lead, setting up a potential three-way battle for the win.
Instead, Vieira would crash out of the lead in turn two around the halfway point of the race, promoting Van Winkle to the front while Laing struggled to match the pace of the British Columbia teenager.
Van Winkle would cruise the rest of the way to a comfortable and historic victory, becoming the youngest winner in Pro Sport Bike history at just 17 years and 54 days old, surpassing Chris Peris’ record from Calgary in 2004 by 224 days.
“It was a bit disappointing yesterday, but today I got the start I needed and I just felt comfortable right away,” Van Winkle said. “It’s such a great feeling to win here and in front of these fans. I don’t even know what to say, I’m just super pumped to be here.”
Already the youngest pro champion in CSBK history from his Twins title in 2023, Van Winkle added another major notch on his resumé as he joins Trevor Dion as the only two Sport Bike riders to win within their first two races (no one has won on their debut).
As for Laing, the home favourite was displaced once again by Cyr with two laps to go, as Cyr made a beautiful pass for second in turn one and held on the rest of the way to take his first career pro podium, charging from eighth on the grid in just his second race since joining Economy Lube Ducati.
“I’m super happy. We had a crash in qualifying which left us in eighth, but I got a good start and once Elliot went down I knew that would put me third,” Cyr said. “I was able to put some pressure on John and take second, but Andrew as just too fast today, so maybe we’ll get him next time.”
Laing would have to settle for third after the late pass from Cyr, a frustrating result for the Vass Performance Kawasaki star after his dominant victory on Saturday but still a solid one for the championship as he trims his deficit to Tremblay to 32 points.
“I didn’t have a great start again which let a couple guys through, but I was able to get back past Mavrick and thought maybe I could reel in Andrew,” Laing said. “But once he checked out, I just thought that he’s not really in the championship mix, so it was better to bring the bike home.”
It was another tough day for championship leader Tremblay, who nursed an injured shoulder to fourth aboard his Turcotte Performance Suzuki. While he will exit Edmonton with a 32-point advantage instead of the 45-point gap he enjoyed on Friday, he will rest easier after Van Winkle and Cyr were able to take a batch of points off Laing in race two.
Philip DeGama-Blanchet nearly took another pair of points off Tremblay as he reeled in the 2021 champion in the last few laps, but his effort was just too little too late as the Vass Performance Kawasaki rounded out the top five.
Local favourite Justin Knapik would take sixth for Argyll Motorsports Yamaha, fending off another last-lap comeback attempt from Alex Michel, who exited with a season-best seventh aboard his SpeedFactory67 Kawasaki.
Van Winkle’s victory will prove to be a massive one for Suzuki’s hopes in the Constructors Championship, as they extend a 64-point advantage over Kawasaki with Ducati a further 28 points back in third.
Collins outduels Dumas for thrilling race two win at Edmonton
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The Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship produced another new GP Bikes Pro Superbike winner on Sunday, as wildcard Torin Collins came out on top of a thrilling battle with Alex Dumas in race two at RAD Torque Raceway.
The two young talents first had to fight through championship leader Ben Young, who got a terrific start from pole position and led for the opening four laps, but all the chaos kicked off on lap five as Young got a bad launch out of the final corner and was passed by both riders into turn one – including a brave move around the outside by Collins.
The pair would quickly break away from Young and begin their showdown, with Collins attempting a number of passes and Dumas slamming the door each time. It appeared as though Dumas may have secured the win after a brilliant move to put lapped traffic between himself and Collins late in the race, but Collins immediately reeled the 2021 champion back in with five laps to go.
The Calgary native would then make the decisive move one lap later, barging his way through on Dumas with an aggressive pass in turn 12 to take the lead and promptly stretching out a slight advantage, one he would hold the rest of the way en route to a spectacular maiden victory.
The win puts Collins firmly in the CSBK record books, becoming the third-youngest Pro Superbike winner in history at 18 years old and 347 days (ironically surpassing Dumas by eleven days), and becoming the second-fastest rider to win a feature class race after doing so in just his second start.
“I got a bad start again, but today I just didn’t want to waste any time so I put my head down right away and was able to get around Ben on the outside in turn one,” Collins said. “I didn’t know how I was going to get past Alex, he was just so strong everywhere, so I kind of just went for it. We did make a little bit of contact – I hope he’s not too upset about that – but rubbing is racing!”
The stunning victory also proved to be a historic one for Kawasaki, as the Novalda-sponsored rider handed the manufacturer their 75th all-time Superbike victory, despite piloting a privateer machine he normally only uses for testing.
As for his future in Canada, Collins wouldn’t rule out a return to the CSBK paddock, as he juggles his duties with Altus Suzuki in the MotoAmerica Supersport championship.
“Obviously my commitment is to the current MotoAmerica season, but if there’s no conflicts, I’m open to anything,” Collins admitted. “I knew this was a great series, but even still I’ve been pleasantly surprised. It’s a lot of fun and the grid is really strong, so I definitely won’t close any doors.”
As for Dumas, the newly-minted Economy Lube Ducati rider will be forced to leave Edmonton without a win, but his third and second-place finishes will still represent a fantastic return to the series after missing the opening two rounds.
“It was a fun race, I’m pretty happy with most of it. There was a bit of contact, for sure, but I knew Torin was faster than me in some spots so I had to defend hard,” Dumas said. “I really wanted the top step of the podium today, but I’m happy to be back in CSBK and I can’t thank Steve Moxey and Economy Lube enough for the opportunity.”
While it was an unusually quiet third-place finish for Young, the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider admitted that once he lost the lead he was content with avoiding any unnecessary drama between the two non-title contenders.
“Congrats to these two, they both rode unbelievably well and it’s nice to have another new winner in the series,” Young said. “We had some front-end issues yesterday that I thought were resolved, but then I lost a lot of drive and they both got by me. After that I knew they were really going to push the issue and race hard, so I just kept the championship in mind.”
Despite his worst result of the season, Young would manage his 12th consecutive podium (the fourth-longest streak of all-time) and exit Edmonton with a 34-point lead, a much higher total than the eleven-point gap he held coming into round three.
That advantage was aided by Jordan Szoke in fourth, who held off title challenger Sam Guerin in an exciting battle further back. The two both ran with Young for majority of the race, with Szoke even attempting a few daring passes on his old rival, but their late duel would prove to be insufficient for Guerin as he settled for fifth.
David MacKay put his race one crash behind him and finished a much-needed sixth on Sunday, retaining fourth overall in the championship as he continues to build momentum for ODH Snow City Cycle Honda.
Local star Brian Worsdall was seventh, battling with fellow Alberta native Philip DeGama-Blanchet before Worsdall separated himself late on for Mots Machining Honda.
DeGama-Blanchet would take eighth for Vass Performance Kawasaki and move into third in the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year fight, albeit 31 points behind his close friend Collins, who takes over the award lead from Connor Campbell.
Collins’ victory will also help boost Kawasaki’s hopes in the Constructors Championship, cutting their deficit to 71 points behind leaders BMW and giving them a larger cushion over third-place Honda, who are also coming under fire from Ducati with the addition of Dumas to the mix.
The series will now get two full weeks of recovery before venturing east to Atlantic Motorsport Park, with round four getting underway in Nova Scotia, July 12-14.
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