By John Hopkins / Photo by Bob Szoke
SHUBENACADIE, NS – Jordan Szoke will start from pole position in the fifth round of the Canadian Superbike Championship by Parts Canada at Atlantic Motorsport Park on Sunday.
The rider of the Competition Systems Kawasaki Race Team Kawasaki ZX-10R claimed his second straight Kawasaki S4-R Competition Lubricants Pole Award of the season by turning a lap at one minute, 7.359 seconds (136.819km/h) around the 2.56km (1.6-mile) AMP track in the Pirelli SuperPole qualifying session on Saturday afternoon.
The performance was worth $500 and four points toward the Canadian Superbike Championship.
Series points leader Brett McCormick of Saskatoon settled for second spot on the grid with a time of 1:07.736 on his radX / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR and Kars, Ont. racer Andrew Nelson set the third best time of 1:07.745 riding the Nelson Racing / GymMax / Monette Sports BMW S1000RR.
Woodbridge, Ont.’s Frank Trombino completes the front row for Sunday’s race after setting a time of 1:08.045 on the Suzuki Canada / Hindle / Sturgess Cycle Suzuki GSX-R600.
Szoke will be going for his third straight win at Atlantic Motorsport Park on Sunday after sweeping last year’s doubleheader here. The Brantford, Ont. native is also trying to keep his bid for a sixth straight Canadian Superbike Championship alive. He heads into the race trailing McCormick by 45 points and a race win is worth 50.
“I’m actually a little mad at myself because I think I left a lot on the table,” said the 31-year-old Szoke. “We’ve made a lot of changes so far this weekend and we made good progress this morning. It’s encouraging going into the race.”
Szoke acknowledged a good start would be key on the tight and twisty AMP circuit.
"This is such an awesome race track -- it's fun to ride and physically demanding -- but passing here is not nice," he explained. "If I can get the holeshot it's going to be extremely difficult for Brett to get around me."
McCormick had been fastest in the morning prequalifying session with a time of 1:07.438 but suffered a crash in the session and was forced to use his ‘B’ bike for SuperPole.
“The whole day has been kind of backwards for me,” said the 19-year-old McCormick, who hasn’t lost a race yet this season. “We made a mistake with the set-up, made a couple of changes that shouldn’t have been done. The bike was harder to ride everywhere.”
Nelson made a big jump in performance after curing a fuel system issue with his bike on Saturday morning.
“I’m pretty happy,” said Nelson, who finished second to Szoke in both Superbike races at AMP last year. “This is the fastest I’ve gone around here on a Superbike and I feel comfortable doing those times.”
Trombino enjoyed his best qualifying effort of the 2011 Superbike season.
"The bike is getting better," he said. "G Suspension has definitely helped a lot, but it's been a real team effort. If we can find about half a second we can keep up with the three main guys."
Alex Welsh of Uxbridge, Ont. just missed a spot on the front row after setting a time of 1:08.082 on the Z1 CycleTech / Kenwood Suzuki GSX-R1000 and said the team was still sorting out its gearing.
He will be joined on the second row for Sunday’s race by Jodi Christie on the Jodi Christie Racing / Cameron Cycle / Blue Streak Racing Honda CBR600RR, who survived a near highside in turn four to record a lap at 1:08.669, and rookie Pro Bodhi Edie of Warman, Sask. on the Edie Racing / Acceleration Racing / Honda Canada Honda CBR600RR, who turned a 1:08.834. Although this was his first appearance in Pirelli SuperPole Edie is familiar with the format from his Mini Roadracing club.
The top 10 is rounded out by Michael Ferreira of Mississauga, Ont. (radX / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR), Terrebonne, Que.’s Raphael Archambault (Archambault Suzuki / Parts Canada Racing Suzuki GSX-R600) and North Vancouver racer Darren James (Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada / Ruthless Racing Buell 1125R).
Ferreira recorded a time of 1:08.946 but said he had gone too deep into turn one and missed a downshift on his SuperPole lap. Like Welsh he said the team needed to work on some improvements to the BMW's gearing.
"I was slow out of turn two and had a hard time getting drive onto the backstraight," said Ferreira, who placed third in both AMP Superbike races last season. "But that was my fastest lap of the weekend and I've been getting faster with every session."
Like Edie, Archambault was also making his first national Superbike SuperPole appearance and admitted to making a number of mistakes on his lap due to nerves.
James was also in his first Pirelli SuperPole and survived a big moment in turn three on his lap.
Qualifying Results
1. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont. (Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:07.359 (136.819km/h)
2. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, Sask. (BMW S1000RR) 1:07.736
3. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont. (BMW S1000RR) 1:07.745
4. Frank Trombino, Woodbridge, Ont. (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:08.045
5. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont. (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 1:08.082
6. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont. (Honda CBR600RR) 1:08.669
7. Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask. (Honda CBR600RR) 1:08.834
8. Michael Ferreira, Mississauga, Ont. (BMW S1000RR) 1:08.946
9. Raphael Archambault, Terrebonne, Que. (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:09.460
10. Darren James, North Vancouver, BC (Buell 1125R) 1:10.812
11. Rob Busby, Brantford, Ont. (BMW S1000RR) 1:10.256
12. Sylvain Dery, St-Colomban, Que. (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:10.480
13. Ron Munroe, Beaver Bank, N.S. (Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:10.588
14. Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, Que. (Honda CBR600RR) 1:11.868
15. Franklyn Dominguez, Hudson, Que. (Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:12.058
16. Steve Walker, Carleton Place, Ont. (BMW S1000RR) 1:12.566
