By John Hopkins / Photo by Bob Szoke
BOWMANVILLE, ON – Brett McCormick edged a step closer to his first Canadian Superbike Championship by Parts Canada title at Mosport International Raceway on Friday by claiming pole position for this weekend’s season-ending doubleheader.
The 19-year-old from Saskatoon shook off a morning crash to turn a lap at one minute, 20.882 seconds (176.123km/h) around the 3.957km track on the radX / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR in the afternoon’s Pirelli SuperPole session.
That effort earned McCormick his third $500 Kawasaki S4-R Competition Lubricants Pole Award of the season and four more points toward the Pro Superbike crown. He now has 278 points to the 222 of his nearest challenger Jordan Szoke with just this weekend’s two races left in the season. A race win is worth 50 points.
“It wasn’t a great lap but I’m not complaining,” said McCormick, who was forced to use his back-up bike after he crashed his primary mount in Friday morning’s pre-qualifying session. “I pushed a little too hard in a couple of places and messed up my drive onto the backstraight.”
McCormick’s SuperPole time was slightly slower than the 1:20.866 he had managed before his crash in the morning, which broke his own two-year-old Mosport Superbike track record. By reverting to his back-up machine McCormick was moved to 10th in the pre-qualifying results and was the first rider to hit the track for SuperPole.
"It's actually kind of nice going first," McCormick admitted. "Not to much pressure -- now I can sit back a bit and see how everyone else does."
McCormick is also aiming for a perfect season of seven wins in seven races.
Szoke qualified second for this weekend’s races with a time of 1:21.114 on the Competition Systems Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R, an improvement over the 1:21.370 he had set in the morning. The Brantford, Ont. racer is trying to win a sixth straight Canadian Superbike Championship and has won five of the last six Superbike races at Mosport.
“I wanted to be number one but I left a little bit on the table,” said the Brantford, Ont. rider, who had qualified on pole for the two previous Canadian Superbike Championship rounds. “Maybe we can turn the tables this weekend and let Brett get the pole while we win the races.”
Andrew Nelson of Kars, Ont. set the third fastest time of 1:22.691 on the Nelson Racing / GymMax / Monette Sports BMW S1000RR and Mississauga, Ont.’s Matt McBride completes the front row for this weekend’s races after turning a lap at 1:23.013 on the Riders Choice / BMW Toronto Motorrad BMW S1000RR.
Nelson’s two points for qualifying third moved him into sole possession of third place in the Superbike point standings ahead of Michael Ferreira.
“It was a pretty good lap but I messed up a bit at the top of turn two,” Nelson admitted. “I left a little bit there.”
McBride said he found the track conditions hotter than he had earlier in the day.
“It was greasy out there and I spun it up coming onto the front straight,” he said.
Another Mississauga rider, Ferreira qualified fifth with a time of 1:23.244 on the second radX / BMW Motorrad Canada BMW S1000RR.
"There was so much grip from the front tire it was really pushing the front," Ferreira said. "I didn't want to overdo it. It was a decent lap; not too many mistakes."
Ferreira will be joined on the second row of this weekend’s races by Keene, Ont.’s Jodi Christie, who qualified with a 1:24.018 on the Jodi Christie Racing / Cameron Cycle / Blue Streak Racing Honda CBR600RR and Marie-Josee Boucher of Montreal, who toured the Mosport circuit at 1:24.184 on the Excel Moto Honda CBR1000RR.
Christie had tried a CBR1000RR in pre-qualifying but reverted to his more familiar CBR600RR for SuperPole.
Boucher was the first woman to participate in a Pirelli SuperPole session in Canadian Superbike Championship history.
Sebastien Tremblay of Sherbrooke, Que. qualified eighth on his debut with the Pete's Superbike / Fourmark BMW S1000RR and fellow Sherbrooke rider Francis Martin was ninth fastest aboard the Couturier Racing / ProPulsion BMW.
Guelph, Ont.'s Matt Cooper completes the top 10 in his first appearance of the season on the Bain Machine Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
Qualifying Results
1. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, Sask. (BMW S1000RR) 1:20.882 (176.123km/h)
2. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont. (Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:21.114
3. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont. (BMW S1000RR) 1:22.691
4. Matt McBride, Mississauga, Ont. (BMW S1000RR) 1:23.013
5. Michael Ferreira, Mississauga, Ont. (BMW S1000RR) 1:23.244
6. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont. (Honda CBR600RR) 1:24.018
7. Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, Que. (Honda CBR1000RR) 1:24.414
8. Sebastien Tremblay, Sherbrooke, Que. (BMW S1000RR) 1:24.342
9. Francis Martin, Sherbrooke, Que. (BMW S1000RR) 1:24.349
10. Matt Cooper, Guelph, Ont. (Yamaha YZF-R1) 1:24.424
11. Rob Busby, Brantford, Ont. (BMW S1000RR) 1:24.554
12. Francois Dumas, St-Raymond, Que. (BMW S1000RR) 1:24.631
13. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont. (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 1:24.637
14. Bodhi Edie, Warman, Sask. (Honda CBR600RR) 1:24.664
15. Frank Trombino, Woodbridge, Ont. (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:25.053
16. Raphael Archambault, Terrebonne, Que. (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:25.287
17. Kenny Reidman, Belfountain, Ont. (Triumph 675) 1:25.350
18. Franklyn Dominguez, Hudson, Que. (Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:25.775
19. Martin Ricard, Montreal, Que. (Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:25.893
20. Steve Walker, Carleton Place, Ont. (BMW S1000RR) 1:25.997
21. Ross Millson, Hamilton, Ont. (Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:26.091
22. Darren James, North Vancouver, BC (Buell 1125R) 1:26.125
23. Billy Shields, Unionville, Ont. (Yamaha YZF-R1) 1:26.242
24. Dean Plater, Cumberland, Ont. (Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:30.042
