PHOTOS BY BOB SZOKE After finishing third in the season opener, Jordan Szoke came on strong to win the 2012 Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship.


superbikes: backing a winner C


anada’s national motorcycle road rac- ing series enjoyed something of a re- birth in 2012. In its second year


under the stewardship of Frontline CSBK Inc., the tour attracted title sponsorship from Chrysler Canada’s Mopar brand, and was renamed the Mopar Canadian Super- bike Championship.


Flush with the backing of one of the


most prestigious names in the automotive world and buoyed by a strong marketing and promotional campaign at each venue, the series delivered excitement at all of its summer stops. There were other signs of rejuvenation as well. The national series made a return to the highly popular and picturesque Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant, adding that venue to traditional stops at Shannonville Motor- sport Park, Autodrome St-Eustache, Atlantic Motorsport Park and the renamed Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport In- ternational Raceway).


And the season turned out to be one of the most competitive in the 34-year history of Superbike racing in Canada, with four different racers splitting the six wins, and several other riders proving to be very competitive. In the end, however, there was a familiar


name holding the number one plate on the podium at CTMP in late August. Brantford, Ontario’s Jordan Szoke, the most decorated Superbike racer in the sport’s history, notched his record-extending eighth na- tional title and sixth in the past seven years. But it was certainly no easy ride to the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship


6 www.mopar.ca


for the 33-year-old. During the 2011-2012 off season Szoke had set up his own team and acquired a pair of BMW S1000RRs. Backing for the outfit came primarily from Parts Canada and BMW Motorrad Canada. A lack of testing time with his new


bikes, due to poor weather and technical issues, meant that Szoke was a little be- hind the eight-ball when the season com- menced at SMP in late June, and he could only manage a third place finish in rain-af- fected conditions. But from then on the ace was on fire, taking consecutive wins at St-Eustache, AMP and Mont-Tremblant to open up a commanding lead in the standings. He clinched his eighth title with a runner-up finish in the opening race of the CTMP double-header. To top it off, his Waznie Racing squad was named Inside Motorcy- cles’ Team of the Year. “Obliviously we are very lucky to have Mopar on board with the series,” Szoke said. “Without them there would be no se- ries. It is great to see the passion from Mopar to keep the sport alive and the mar- keting gains and respect they will get for their product. I think the fans should thank them every chance they can.” Impressive as he was, Szoke could


count himself lucky that his chief title ri- vals weren’t able to put together consis- tent enough seasons to challenge him for the title. Andrew Nelson of Kars, Ontario, near Ot- tawa, won the opening race of the season at SMP on his Nelson Racing / Endras Mo- torrad / mcn.tv BMW S1000RR but couldn’t


Mopar sponsorship gives Canadian Superbike Championship a boost


get on the podium again, and had to settle for a distant second in the final standings. Kevin Lacombe of Granby, Quebec made


an impressive return to racing after a two- year layoff and placed third in the standings on the Couturier Racing BMW S1000RR. Riding the bike that Brett McCormick


had taken to the 2011 title and benefitting from the tuning experience of McCormick’s former crew chief, Patrice Goyette, La- combe steadily played himself back into form and scored an exciting win in the penultimate round of the season at CTMP. While the season was noteworthy for the


proliferation of BMW’s iconic Superbike on the national grids, Alex Welsh proved that there was still life in the Japanese-built bikes. Riding the AW7R / Kenwood Elec- tronics Canada Suzuki GSX-R1000, the pop- ular Uxbridge, Ontario rider scored the first win of his national Superbike career in the final round and claimed fourth in the Mopar standings. Other racers to excel in 2012 included


JCR / Accelerated Technologies Honda rider Jodi Christie. The teenager from Keene, Ontario had a season-high finish of second at AMP, where he led the most laps in the race, but really wowed fans with his charge to a third place finish at Mont-Tremblant, where he bravely gam- bled on a slick rear tire in a race that started on a wet track. Experienced Mississauga, Ontario racer


Matt McBride enjoyed his best season yet in the feature class. The Riders Choice BMW S1000RR rider finished second at both SMP and Mont-Tremblant, and may have placed


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