Szoke leads Canadian testing

From csbk.ca

JENNINGS, FL -- Seven-time Canadian National Superbike Champion Jordan Szoke was the fastest competitor after two days of testing at the JenningsGP venue in North Florida, in preparation for the start of the 2011 Canadian Superbike Championship by Parts Canada.

Aboard the brand new 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R Superbike, Szoke turned a best unofficial lap time of 1:14.2 mid-morning last Thursday.

In the afternoon, Szoke suffered a minor tumble from one of his two works Ninjas, surviving uninjured to bring the bike back to the pits. Late in the day’s running, the current number one plate holder backed up his earlier effort with a lap at 1:14.4 aboard his other racer. Both of Thursday’s top times for Kawasaki were slightly faster than Szoke’s official lap record for Canadian class machinery, a 1:14.42 effort set two years ago when full series electronic scoring was on hand for the spring warm-up.

“It’s great that we could run such strong times with two different, all new bikes, working at two different engine and chassis set-ups,” smiled Szoke at the end of the test. “We know that when it gets really hot like it did today, the track is about a second and a half off what might be possible when it’s less greasy. So I thing we could have run down to the AMA series times with cooler weather.”

After very warm conditions Wednesday, Thursday’s sessions were hotter still, meaning optimum laps were most likely earlier in the day. American tour Pro competitors Ben Bostrom and Larry Pegram lapped in the 1:13 range earlier in the pre-season, enjoying cool conditions at the same two-mile long track.

“I’m really comfortable with our bike, that’s the big thing, and we got so much done in terms of preparation for our Canadian season,” continued Szoke. “We’ve worked on the chassis, the engine management, and then the traction control, and everything is coming along, there is already a good balance.”

The RadX BMW Motorrad Canada crew with riders Michael Ferreira and new signing Brett McCormick were also pleased with their JenningsGP progress. Early on, McCormick set a lap at 1:14.6 and the 19-year-old from Saskatoon figured he could have gone faster still if it was a priority.

“We were working through a whole range of changes to the bike,” started McCormick, following his first sessions aboard the BMW S1000RR. “I really feel like we have a good handle on it, and Michael and I have compared notes, and know what we can do at the ICAR opener at the end of May.

"I think it’s going to be a great season of racing up in Canada. We’ve seen over the past two days that both these teams have made some big strides, and the bikes are really working well – they’ll only get better as we continue preparations. I’ve really enjoyed getting back on track, and I’m having fun sliding the bike, and that’s always a good sign.”

In 2007 and 2008, McCormick partnered Szoke on the works Kawasaki squad. In 2009, McCormick rode for Suzuki Canada’s Blackfoot effort, before spending last season with basketball legend Michael Jordan’s Suzuki squad in the US. Last December, McCormick ended considerable career speculation and signed to return to Canada to lead BMW in 2011.

For Ferreira, the test allowed the opportunity to gain mileage on a full Superbike before he starts his second season in the premier class aboard the 190 horsepower equipped 1000cc machinery. Ferreira was busy testing a variety of the spec series Pirelli slick tires, and turned his best laps in the 1:16 range.