McCormick Takes Third CSB Pole Position

CALABOGIE, Ont. (May 23) – Saskatoon’s Brett McCormick continued his mastery of Pirelli SuperPole qualifying at the opening round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Calabogie Motorsports Park on Saturday.

The 17-year-old claimed pole position for Sunday’s feature race and $500 from Inside Motorcycles magazine with a lap time of two minutes, 0.251 seconds (151.184 km/h) around the 5.05km (3.05-mile) circuit aboard his Team Suzuki / Blackfoot / Picotte Motorsports / Suzuki GSX-R1000.

McCormick has finished on top of the single-bike top 10 shootout for three consecutive races dating back to last season, when he was top qualifier at the final two events at Atlantic Motorsport Park and Shannonville Motorsport Park.

“It’s a pretty neat feeling [to win three in a row],” McCormick said. “I made a couple of little mistakes but I had a few really good corners. I missed a downshift into the bowl turn and messed that up. But I’m happy and everybody on the team’s pretty happy.”

Three-time defending Parts Canada Superbike champion Jordan Szoke of Brantford, Ont. qualified second with a time of 2:00.798 on his Canadian Kawasaki Motors / Kawasaki ZX-10R and Granby, Que.’s Kevin Lacombe will start third in Sunday’s race after setting a 2:01.213 aboard the Team Toyota Yamaha / OTSFF / Yamaha YZF-R1.

The front row is completed by local hero Andrew Nelson of Kars, Ont., who recorded a lap at 2:01.964 on his Nelson Racing / Yamaha YZF-R1.

McCormick came close to topping the outright Calabogie circuit record of 1:59.600, which was set at a car racing event.

“Maybe if I’d had the perfect lap and the temperature was a little cooler I could have got there,” he said.

Szoke won last year’s Parts Canada Superbike Championship season opener at Calabogie but felt a poor tire choice spoiled his chances of claiming pole on Saturday.

“I think I took the wrong front tire,” said the five-time Canadian champion. “It’s such a long lap here I was trying to take it easy on the rear during my warm-up lap but I don’t think I got enough heat into the front.

“But I’m glad we’re on the front row and I know what we can do with this bike. I don’t know if the other guys can do those times consistently.”

Lacombe was fastest in the morning pre-qualifying session that selected the 10 riders for the Pirelli SuperPole shootout with a time of 2:00.920. But last year’s Calabogie pole qualifier struggled with the handling of his Yamaha in the afternoon.

“We tried the tire in the morning when it was cooler and it worked well but the set-up wasn’t so good in the heat this afternoon,” he explained. “I don’t know if I had something for Brett but I definitely could have gone faster.”

Lacombe also ran off the track on his warm-up lap when he accidentally downshifted one too many gears.

Conversely, Nelson managed to improve his time by a second from the morning.

“I’m very, very happy,” the 24-year-old said. “My dad made a few changes to the set-up after the warm-up and they helped. The bike was extremely planted and I think we have a good set-up for the race.”

Clint McBain (Suzuki Dealers Acceleration Racing / Suzuki GSX-R1000), Alex Welsh (Canadian Kawasaki Motors / Kawasaki ZX-10R) and Steve Crevier (Deeley Racing Powered By Buell / Buell 1125R) make up the second row of the grid for Sunday’s 20-lap race. Crevier finished third here last year.

Karl Daigle (A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R), Matt McBride (Riders Choice / Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Jodi Christie (Honda Powerhouse Dealers of Ontario / ProStar Motorsports / Honda CBR600RR) round out the top 10 qualifiers from SuperPole.

Christie reached the SuperPole shootout in his first Pro appearance.

In other action on Saturday Szoke qualified on pole for the Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike feature at Calabogie Motorsports Park with a time of 2:01.200 on his Kawasaki ZX-6R. Szoke had the quickest time for most of the session but improved it by close to a second on his final lap.

“We put on a fresh rear tire and I got a clear, clean lap,” said the three-time defending class champion and last year’s Calabogie winner. “I just managed to nail every corner perfectly.”

McCormick was second quickest with a time of 2:02.399 on his Suzuki GSX-R600 and Lacombe turned the third best time at 2:02.709 aboard the Yamaha YZF-R6.

Efram Ellenbogen of Belleville, Ont. qualified fastest for the Armour Bodies Amateur Sport Bike field with a time of 2:08.252 on his BnE Racing / Yamaha YZF-R6.

Cochrane, Alta.’s Cody Matechuk set the second best time of 2:08.533 on a Suzuki Dealers Acceleration Racing / Suzuki GSX-R600 and Longueuil, Que.’s Sebastien Tremblay placed third at 2:08.813 riding his A. Perusse Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX-6R.

Brantford, Ont.’s Rob Busby qualified on pole for the Suzuki SV650 National Cup, lapping the Calabogie circuit at 2:15.461. Philippe Masse of St-Dominique, Que. and Burlington, Ont.’s Jody Greening completed the top three.

Steven Nickerson of Hamilton, Ont. was fastest in qualifying for the Honda CBR125R Challenge with a time of 2:50.153. Next up were Bodhi Edie of Warman, Sask. and Ste-Julie, Que.’s Karl Robitaille.

Richmond, Ont. rider Vicki Schouten was fastest of the Pro Honda Oils Women’s Cup qualifiers with a time of 2:12.976 on her Kawasaki ZX-6R.

Races are set to go Sunday. Practice begins at 9:00 a.m. with the first race set to get the green light at 11:45 a.m.

This weekend’s races will be shown on TSN and TSN HD premiering Tuesday, June 16 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and repeated Saturday, June 20 at 4:00 a.m. Eastern. The event will also be televised on RDS. Check local listings for dates and times.


Calabogie, Ont. -- Starting line-up for Sunday’s opening round of the Parts
Canada Superbike Championship at Calabogie Motorsports Park showing starting
position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and qualifying time:

1. Brett McCormick, Saskatoon, Sask., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:00.251
2. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:00.798
3. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, Que., Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:01.213
4. Andrew Nelson, Kars, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:01.964
5. Clint McBain, Cochrane, Alta., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:02.247
6. Alex Welsh, Uxbridge, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:02.429
7. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, B.C., Buell 1125R, 2:02.969
8. Karl Daigle, Roxton Pond, Que., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 2:03.511
9. Matthew McBride, Mississauga, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:03.966
10. Jodi Christie, Keene, Ont., Honda CBR600RR, 2:06.602
11. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:04.760
12. Royce McLean, Coaldale, Alta., Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:05.551
13. Jim Proulx, Ottawa, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:06.137
14. Ross Millson, Hamilton, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:06.193
15. Marie-Josee Boucher, Montreal, Que., Honda CBR1000RR, 2:06.471
16. Martin Grande, Montreal, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:07.036
17. Erick Beausejour, Val D’Or, Que., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:07.343
18. Todd Scott, Bedford, N.S., Honda CBR600RR, 2:08.172
19. Larry Orde, Peterborough, Ont. Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:08.229
20. Franklyn Dominguez, Montreal, Que., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:08.370
21. Sean Huffman, Kemptville, Ont., Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:08.483
22. Chris Murray-Audain, Toronto, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:09.272
23. Elie Daccache, Ottawa, Ont., Kawasaki ZX-6R, 2:09.491
24. Terry Steeves, Dartmouth, N.S., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:09.636
25. Dean Plater, Ottawa, Ont., Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:14.999
26. Genevieve Lesieur, Quebec, Que., Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:15.386
27. Jean Paquet, Chambly, Que., Honda CBR600RR, 2:15.577
28. Dave Stokowski, Calgary, Alta., Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:18.264 (Provisional)