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Young paces Dumas in FP3 with title decider on the horizon at CTMP
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The final day of the 2025 Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship season kicked off with two familiar names at the top, as Ben Young narrowly bettered Alex Dumas to lead FP3 on Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The two former champions remain locked in one of the closest championship battles in series history alongside race one winner Sam Guerin, with just six points covering the trio entering the title decider this afternoon.
Young leads by just two points over Dumas with Guerin a further four points back, creating plenty of potential scenarios in race two as they fight for the GP Bikes Pro Superbike crown – though Young maintained it was “basically whoever wins on Sunday gets the championship.”
Should that be the case, it was Young who put himself in a good spot to do so on Sunday morning as he set a blistering time of 1:20.695 to lead the 20-minute warm up aboard his Van Dolder’s Home Team Honda, just a quarter-second shy of the lap record.
That pace wasn’t too much for Dumas to match, though, as he wound up only 0.173 seconds shy of the top of the leaderboard, having paced majority of Saturday’s race before a heartbreaking transmission issue relegated him to fourth.
The former championship leader seemed to have it sorted on Sunday, completing 12 laps (the most amongst the top four) aboard his Economy Lube/Fast Company BMW and practically matching Young’s pace throughout, hopefully a sign that there will be no more mechanical problems to come in race two.
A more distant third on Sunday morning was Jordan Szoke, who took over the final spot on the podium in race one after Dumas’ setback, though the Canadian Kawasaki Motors star will be more focused on his long-run pace after slipping back of the leaders in the late stages on Saturday.
Szoke still put in a respectable time at the end of the session to go 0.925 seconds slower than Young, enough pace to keep himself in the lead pack again as he looks for a record 79th career Superbike victory this afternoon.
That late time attack bumped race one winner Guerin to fourth, though he likely won’t be concerned too much after setting the fastest time on Saturday en route to a fourth victory of the season.
The EFC Group BMW rider will need to sweep the weekend and then have a bit of math to go his way behind him in race two, though that could certainly be the case after he won four of the last six races, including a dramatic showdown with Young yesterday.
David MacKay would continue his run in fifth, posting a strong time of his own with a best lap of 1:22.433 early in the session. The ODH Snow City Cycle Honda rider stuck with the leaders for two laps before fading into fifth on Saturday, something he’ll try to extend in race two as he looks for a debut Superbike podium.
Joining the session – and possibly the grid for race two – was newly-crowned Supersport champion Torin Collins, who was rewarded with some practice aboard the Economy Lube Ducati V4 Panigale.
Collins looked more than comfortable on the bigger machine, going sixth-quickest and just 0.475 seconds slower than MacKay, making him an interesting x-factor for this afternoon’s title deciding race – though he will need to start from the back of the field if he joins as a late entry.
Just marginally behind Collins was breakout Superbike rookie Alex Michel, who enjoyed a stellar debut in the feature class on Saturday in sixth. The B&T McFarlane Kawasaki rider was just 0.156 seconds behind Collins in FP3, as he continues to find more pace while filling in for the injured Connor Campbell.
The GP Bikes Pro Superbike class will now turn their focus to the last race of the year and one of the most anticipated finales in CSBK history, with Young, Dumas, Guerin, and even Szoke all entering with a chance at the title this afternoon.
Race two is currently scheduled for roughly 3 pm ET at historic Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, just an hour east of Toronto.
Full results can be found here.
Guerin’s last corner pass tightens Superbike title fight in epic race one battle at CTMP
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The greatest mid-season comeback in Bridgestone CSBK history reached another level on Saturday, as Sam Guerin claimed his fourth victory in the last six races to set up a dramatic final day in the GP Bikes Pro Superbike class at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
All eyes were on championship leader Alex Dumas and three-time reigning champion Ben Young entering the day, but it was the red-hot Guerin who once again stole the show with another masterful performance, out-dueling Young in a thrilling last-lap battle to turn the feature class standings on their head.
Dumas would grab the holeshot and set the pace early on with Young, Guerin, and Jordan Szoke in tow, the top four running practically in unison for the first seven laps before Dumas began to stretch his lead out front.
Young and Guerin would trade blows for a few laps before Guerin finally established himself in second, promptly putting in the fastest lap of the race as he dragged Young and Szoke back into a four-way fight for the lead once again.
Dumas still looked completely in control even with Guerin all over his rear wheel, but the Economy Lube/Fast Company BMW rider suddenly dropped out of the lead pack altogether with six laps to go, running off-track in turn eight and rejoining in fourth.
He would claw his way back ahead of Szoke only for the same issue to reoccur, knocking him back to fourth for good and setting up a straight fight for the win between Guerin and Young out front.
The two wouldn’t disappoint, as Young immediately put his Van Dolder’s Home Team Honda back in the lead as he tried to deal maximum damage to his title rival. They would run in that order onto the final lap, but Guerin still had plenty left in store for his former BMW-mate.
They would go side-by-side off the long Andretti Straightaway with Guerin briefly taking the lead, only for Young to get back underneath him in turn nine. They would then swap positions for the third time in three corners in turn ten, as Guerin launched a bold move into the final right-hander to stun Young and drag his way to the line by just 0.165 seconds.
The instant classic sets up a last race showdown for the Canada Cup that few could have predicted, with Young taking over the championship lead by just two points while Guerin sits six points back of a first career Pro Superbike title – an incredible feat after his round one disaster in Shannonville.
“This was an emotional one. I haven’t won here since 2019 as an amateur, and then I didn’t win for four years after that, so it’s been a long road,” Guerin said. “I honestly can’t believe it. Now we just need to be back up here tomorrow.”
Guerin’s sixth career victory also helped the EFC Group rider clinch a fourth consecutive Constructors Championship for BMW, celebrating the feat alongside Dumas on the podium.
While he would deny a crucial win for Young, the three-time reigning champion was still pleased with the outcome overall, taking over a slim championship lead – though one he admitted may not matter much with how close the three now are.
“It’s good to have the points lead back, but now it’s pretty much just down to whoever wins tomorrow,” Young said. “We’re getting everything we can out of the Honda, and I know the team is working so hard. I just knew Sam was going to pounce at the end. It was a nice pass and he parked it, so there was nothing I could really do.”
Joining them on the podium was Szoke, who inherited third after a pair of issues for Dumas knocked him out of the lead battle. The Canadian Kawasaki Motors star still has a mathematical chance at a record 15th title on Sunday, but his 21-point deficit will be difficult to overcome without a bit of help from his rivals.
“Hats off to the whole Kawasaki team, they’ve been dealing with my frustrations because I really want to win one of these, but I just ran out of steam,” Szoke said. “I ran the harder front, but I was lapping faster than I qualified, so I just had to hang on and got a bit lucky when Alex ran off.”
As for Dumas, it was a devastating day for the 2021 champion as he confirmed post-race that a transmission issue had limited him in the final laps, seeing what would have been a ten-point championship lead evaporate into a two-point deficit.
He did prove he has the pace to win a second career crown if they can solve the issue on Sunday, though the emergence of Guerin will further complicate things as he now has two clear title rivals to worry about in race two.
David MacKay would round out the top five with another solid result, hanging with the lead quarter for the first two laps before settling into a comfortable gap aboard his ODH Snow City Cycle Honda.
MacKay continues to find himself in a bittersweet range, unable to stay with the leaders over a race distance but comfortably clear of the rest of the field, something the former Supersport champion will try to keep improving on in the final race of the year.
A similar outcome would go the way of Alex Michel in sixth, who put in an excellent but lonely sixth in his Superbike debut. Michel is filling in for the injured Connor Campbell aboard the B&T McFarlane Kawasaki and looked very comfortable, matching MacKay’s times in the later stages.
Zoltan Frast would battle with Michel early on for sixth before slipping back to seventh, outlasting a late push from Phil DeGama-Blanchet to take a great result for the Clare’s Cycle BMW team.
DeGama-Blanchet was perhaps just a couple laps shy of leapfrogging him for seventh, a stellar salvage job after the 17-year-old started 15th on the grid aboard his Mots Machining Honda.
Ernest Bernhard would wind up the top Yamaha rider on the day after a great battle for eighth early on with fellow YZF-R1 rider Sebastian Hothaza, with Bernhard taking ninth on his Farnham Lager machine while Hothaza added more Constructors points for the brand on his Ride42 Yamaha.
The feature class will now prepare for their title-deciding last race of the season on Sunday, in what is expected to be one of the most dramatic battles for the Canada Cup in series history.
Collins wins thrilling battle to clinch Supersport crown in race one at CTMP
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Torin Collins’ dramatic quest for the Pro Supersport championship ended in the most fitting way possible on Saturday, as a daring last-corner move handed him his sixth victory of the season to officially clinch the title at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Collins entered the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship finale with a commanding 24-point lead over Andrew Van Winkle, but that didn’t stop the new Economy Lube Ducati rider from making a number of brave passes in what was a spectacular lead battle from start to finish.
The 20-year-old would find himself behind outgoing champion Sebastien Tremblay in the opening laps with Van Winkle, Tomas Casas, and Elliot Vieira right on his rear wheel, as the five-rider group ran nose-to-tail for the first half of the race.
Vieira would have his chances spoiled by lap traffic on lap 12, but the remaining four continued on with Collins and Tremblay trading blows at the front, each making multiple spectacular passes in the back half of the circuit.
They would go side-by-side in turn eight with two laps to go before Collins fully took the lead in turn five, only for Tremblay and briefly Casas to slipstream him past him right back into turn eight, putting Collins between the two Suzuki’s on the final lap with Van Winkle fourth.
It appeared as though Tremblay would hold on for his first win of the season until Collins made a late lunge into the final turn, standing up Tremblay and allowing Casas back into the drag race to the line.
Collins would have the drive to squeeze his V2 Panigale across the finish, securing his Supersport championship in the process, but there was more drama behind him as Casas benefitted from the hard move to leapfrog Tremblay by just 0.003 seconds.
While it was inconsequential in the end, Van Winkle would also crash out of fourth in the final corner, giving Collins a 49-point difference with just one race remaining and handing him the #1 plate for 2026.
“I’m lost for words. I actually teared up a bit on my in-lap. I’ve worked so hard, and my parents have worked so hard for so many years, it feels so nice to have it all pay off,” Collins said. “They had a bit of speed on me on the straight, but I got a good run into ten and I thought ‘let’s go for it’. It was late, but we made it stick!”
Despite racing the entire season up to this point for Suzuki – helping them clinch the Constructors Championship in the process – Collins actually becomes Ducati’s first ever pro champion, with the two brands sharing the title in the record books.
Meanwhile, it was a nail-biting return to the class for Casas, as the two-time former champion already found himself back on the podium and firmly in the lead battle as he makes his debut for the FAST Riding School Suzuki team.
“That was a blast! I had a scary moment with Van Winkle at the end – well, a few scary moments actually – but Torin made an amazing pass that helped me get by Seb, so I’m pretty thankful for second,” Casas said. “I can’t thank FAST enough for the opportunity to get back on track, and Sebastien as well. We’ve had our differences on-track, but he’s helped me a lot.”
Tremblay would wind up marginally in third despite leading more than half the race, though the S.T. Motosport Suzuki star proved he still has it in him to fight Collins for the 2026 title after their spirited clash on Saturday.
“I knew his strong spots, so I tried to take the lead and just pull away, but I made a few mistakes on the final lap that gave him a chance into turn ten,” Tremblay said. “It was fun to battle with Torin. It’s the first time all year really that I’ve been able to, so we’ll aim for better tomorrow. I owe a huge thanks to Suzuki Canada, and I’m glad we could put on a show for the fans.”
Van Winkle would see his faint title hopes slip away entirely on the last lap, watching his friend but title rival Collins win just as he crashed in the final corner, though it was still an incredible showing for the Mountainview Motorsport Suzuki rider as he kept his “old-gen” GSX-R600 alongside his next-gen counterparts around Canada’s fastest circuit.
Being promoted to fourth in the process was Vieira, who had the pace to run to the end with the leaders but was forced to settle into a lonely rider after lapped traffic held him up aboard the GP Bikes Ducati.
Alex Michel would inherit fifth for SpeedFactory67 Kawasaki, another strong result for the 21-year-old as he looks to salvage third in the overall championship on Sunday over Vieira and Tremblay.
Mavrick Cyr would charge to sixth on his privateer Suzuki, matching the pace of the leaders at one point but having too much work to do after a slow start, while Nathan Playford put in a strong effort on his Playford Company Inc. Ducati.
Rob Massicotte would wind up as the top Yamaha rider on his 88Moto machine in eighth, one spot clear of former Yamaha star Matt Simpson who made the late switch to a Blackstock Motorsport Suzuki with the help of fellow competitor Marco Sousa.
Frontrunning rookie Laurent Laliberte-Girard would complete the top ten for Nadon Sport Yamaha, while former race winner Brad Macrae debuted the Yamaha YZF-R9 in eleventh, inching past Ryan McGowan at the line aboard his Colron Excavating machine.
Collins and company will now return with just pride to race for on Sunday, in what is sure to be another thrilling and chaotic battle to end the year at CTMP.
Dumas hits the front in FP2 ahead of pivotal race one at CTMP
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One of the most important practice sessions of the year would go the way of the GP Bikes Pro Superbike championship leader on Friday, as Alex Dumas paced FP2 to restore a bit of momentum entering race one of the Bridgestone CSBK finale at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Dumas will carry a slim five-point lead into the weekend with rival Ben Young all over his heels, as the pair are set to line up alongside each other in both races after Young claimed pole position from Dumas on Friday.
The Economy Lube/Fast Company BMW star responded emphatically on Saturday, however, taking over the top of the leaderboard at the seven-minute mark and leading for the entire middle stint of the session before Young dislodged him by just 0.006 seconds.
That lead would prove to be short-lived, as Dumas fired in his two fastest laps of the weekend so far to put a two-tenths cushion between himself and the three-time reigning champion.
Young would chip that deficit down to 0.165 seconds in the end, but that’s as close as the Van Dolder’s Home Team Honda rider would get as Dumas’ benchmark of 1:20.823 stood as the time to beat in FP2.
What will interest the pair more is their race pace, where they remained relatively matched across the 20-minute session.
Young put in five laps all in the 1:21.0 range, while Dumas had slightly more fluctuation in his times but was the only rider to record multiple 1:20’s, doing so on back-to-back occasions near the end of the session.
Sam Guerin would end the session third-fastest and by a narrow margin, finishing just 0.345 seconds behind Dumas and 0.180 off Young in second, though Guerin lapped more consistently in the mid 1:21’s aboard his EFC Group BMW.
Jordan Szoke would put his Canadian Kawasaki Motors machine fourth in FP2 and a half-second back of Guerin, though he put in the most laps of the lead quartet as he continues to inch closer to the front on Saturday.
A familiar fifth place overshadowed a good amount of progress for David MacKay, who cut his deficit by a solid amount to the leaders by placing his ODH Snow City Cycle Honda roughly 1.3 seconds off Dumas at the front.
Alex Michel’s strong weekend continued in sixth, as he ended the morning sixth-fastest aboard the B&T McFarlane Kawasaki. Michel continues to adapt to the Superbike as he fills in for the injured Connor Campbell, but found himself already roughly one second behind MacKay ahead of his feature class debut.
A run of four Supersport machines would complete the top ten, previewing what could be the race of the weekend this afternoon as Sebastien Tremblay paced a razor-thin group including pole-sitter Torin Collins, Tomas Casas, and Andrew Van Winkle.
Collins can clinch the Pro Supersport championship in race one but will have his work cut out for him to do so, having trailed Tremblay in FP2 and going just 0.074 seconds quicker than Casas and his title rival Van Winkle in tenth.
Full results can be found here.
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