Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Toyota CanadaSuperbike C hampionship, Round 4 Events .. 1 By John Hopkins Photos by Colin Fraser MOSPORT, CANADA. JULY25 ordan Szoke is back. The d e fend ing T o y o ta C a na da Su perbike C ha mp ion got hi s 1999 tie bid back on tr ack with a perfect wee ken d a t th e fou rth ro u n d of t he seven-ra ce se ries a t Mosport Int ern ational Raceway. The 20-year-old took his Erion-built Ho nda CBR900RR to victory in both the qualifying heat and feature r,!ce, giv ing him the maximu m 60 points toward the ch a m p ion s h ip. H e b eat series points lead er Francis Martin by just 0.19 seconds in the final, recordi ng Honda's first victory in the national Superbike series since 1994 and end ing a 12-race Kawasaki winnin g streak dating back to July of 1997. "It's bee n a toug h yea r, so I'm happy I fina lly brough t this thing to the top of th e p od ium," said Szoke, whose bes t previou s finish this season was a fourth in round two at Race City Speedway. The result moved Szoke from eig hth to fourth in the s tandings, but Martin padd ed hi s lead in the cha m pions h ip w it h hi s sec ond-pla ce fi n is h . Martin hounded Szok e mer cilessly throughout the 15-lap race on his Kawasaki ZX-7RR a nd bri efly took the lea d at th e end of lap ei ght wh en Sz ok e mi ss ed a s hif t · coming onto the fro nt straigh t. Michael Tay lor, seco nd in poin ts, was third after a spectacu lar climb from the back of the grid on his Kawasaki ZX-9R. The Toronto rid er dro p pe d ou t of th e qualifying heat wit h a ki nke d fue l line and was forced to start from the last row of th e 22-bi ke fiel d . But he was u p to sixth b y the th ir d turn of th e openi ng lap and wa s into third by lap three. He was un able to make up the five-second gap to the tw o lead ers, however , and settled for the final step of the podium. Szo ke a nd Martin qu ic kl y bro ke away on their own in the Superbike feature, and the pai r set a scintillating pace. Both broke Taylor's lap record of 1:24.98 on the fifth tour, wi th Ma rtin tu rning a 1:24.50 and Szo ke managing a 1:24.89. Afte r five laps they had already built up a four-second advantage over Taylor. "1 was trying to keep a really strong pace from the start and try to lose him (Martin)," Szo ke said. "Bu t I we nt ....'ide on a couple of turns an d he was back on my tail." Martin almost got ahea d in the ea rly lap s w he n Szo ke hi t a fa lse n eu tral en teri ng th e turn-five ha irpin, but h e w a s unable to capitali ze . Szoke then mi ss ed a shift exiting the last turn to complete lap eigh t, and th e Kawasaki go t in sid e th e Honda as th ey head ed in to tum one to start lap nin e. But Szok e used his slight ho rsepower advantage to power ahead on the back straigh t before the lap was over. "The tranny is really tight on th e Honda," said Szoke of his miscues. "Y ou have to be very p recise on the gea rs." J ' . • Martin chose to wait un til the fina l lap to make a serious assault, but he was unabl e to find a way around the d efen d ing champio n. "I was focu sed on the last lap," Mar tin explained . "1 wa nted to stay beh ind him th e whole ra ce and tr y a last -la p pass. But ( thi nk he pus hed a little bi t more that last lap." Benoit Pilon gra bbed th ird off the start on his Yamaha YZF-Rl. But he was again battling fro nt -suspension problems , a n d w it hin two la p s he wa s passed b y the flying Ta y lor and Jeff Williams' Kawasaki ZX-7RR. Taylor pulled clea r of Willi ams but couldn't quite match the lap reco rd-setti ng pace of the two lead ers. He was nu rs ing a leg injury sustained in the AMA Formula Xtreme round in MidOhio a week earlier, an d tha t was affecting his cornering. As th e race wo u nd d ow n , his p ace im proved, however, a nd he kn ocked a cou ple of seconds off his deficit. But by . then it was too late to do any thing . (Above)Earty in the Open Sport Bike action , Kevin Lacombe (34) leads Michael Taylor (1), eventual winner Benoit Pilon (2), Clint McBain(9) and the rest of the field around a Mosport tum . (Left, left to right) Michael Taylor, Jordan Szoke and series points leader Francis Martin celebrate Szoke's return to the winner's podium after Superbike act ion at M port Raceway In Ontario, Canada . os "1 picked up the pace the last five or six laps, " he sai d, "maybe by abo ut half a second a lap. I sta rted ge tti ng really comfortable on the bike and I was abl e to ben d my leg mor e." Williams wound up in a ba ttle with Frank Tro m bi no , on another ZX-7 RR. Tro mbi n o, still nursing a b roken scap hoid injured a t th e season opener, go t a hea d o n la p 10, bu t Will iam s s ne a ked ba ck a hea d w it h an o u tsi de pass at the en d of th e backstraight on the fina l lap. Pi lo n se t tled fo r six th, w h ile Neil Jenkins too k seven th on his fue l-injected Suzuki GSX-R750. Like Tay lor, Jenkins was forced to start from the back of the grid af ter dropping a va lve in the heat race . California resid ent and AMA 250cc Grand Pri x regular Ed Sorbo com pleted th e top 10 on the in jured Martin Gau dreault's Honda CBR900RR. Pil on took ov e r th e Internati ona l Motorcycle Supershow Open Sport Bike points lea d wit h his seco nd vic tory o f the seas on , at Mosport. The Quebec rider took the lead of a wild four-bike dice wit h a thrill in g la st -lap p a ss of Szoke and 16-year-old Kevin Laco mbe as they went three abreast in to co rner eight at the end of the ba ck straight . He held off th e Su pe rb ike wi nne r by 0.25 seconds at the line, with Lacombe right behi nd in thi rd on hi s CBR900RR and defending class cha m pionTaylor fourth. "Jordan was really, really fast in a straigh t line," Pilon said . "1 waited un til th e last lap a nd did m y b est in Moss Comer (the hairpin that leads onto the back stra igh t). I had a perfect ent ra nce and the n I screw ed up the exit, so I went really tou gh on the brakes in to the corner at the end of the straight." Linnley Clarke padd ed an a lrea dy im pressi ve points lead in the Yoshimura 600cc Sport Bike class with his second s tra ig h t win aboard his Yama ha YZFR6 . C la r ke to ok the lea d from th e .rem arkable Lacombe when the you ng Honda star had a nasty slid e exiting the a final turn on the penultimate la p . v nd held on for a 0.94-second victory. La combe w as s eco n d o n h is CBR600F4, while Owen Weichel took h is Hyd-Mech Saws CBR600F4 under the R6 of Mark Orcha rd at the final tum to claim the last pod ium spot. Like th e Open Spo rt Bike race, this was a slips treaming th ri ll, with fi ve motorcycles m aking up the lea d tr ain for most of the 10 la ps . After Weichel led the openi ng two laps, Clarke was in fro n t fr om laps th ree throu gh eigh t. Laco mbe the n go t ahead only to make his miscue as th e lead ers started their fina l lap. eN Mosport International Raceway Mosport, Canada Results: July 25, 1999 (Round 4 of 7) S/ BK: 1. Jord an Szoke (Ho n), 2. Francis Ma rtin (Kaw ): 3. Mich ael Taylor (K.t w); 4. Jeff Williams IKaw ): 5. Fran k Trombino ( Ka w ), 6. Benoit Pilon (Yam); 7. Neil Jenkins (Suz); 8. Kevin Graha m (Yam); 9. Frank Wilson (Suz); to . Ed Sorbo (He n), 11. John She rra rd (Ya m); 12. Phili pp e Cantin (H e n): 13. Dave Ma rcella (Yam); 14. Da n Kruger (Su z ); 15. Fran cois Duma s (Knw ): I n . Marti n Hamel IKaw): 17. David Young (SU7.); lR. Dean Osborne (Yam ); 19. Clin t McB.lin (K.,l W). Toyota Canada Sup erbtke Cha m p ion sh ip Poi nt S ta n d in gs (after four of sev e n rounds): 1. Francis Ma rtin (187) ; 2. Michael Tay lor (164 ); 3. Jel f Will iams ( 58); 4. Jorda n Szoke (13 1); 5. Neil Je nk in s ( 27); 6. Benoit Pilon (124); 7. Fra nk Trombino (100); 8. Frank Wil son (9 4); 9. Martin Ga u drea u lt (74); 10. John Sherra rd (70 ); 11. Kevin Graham (63); 12. Iean -Franccis Cy r (47); 13. Philippe Cantin (45); 14. Dave Mar cella (42); 15. Csa ba weme- (39); 16. Francois Dumas (28) ; 17. Ma rtin Hamel (25); 18. Rya n Schwartz (21); 19. Mar k Kruger (20); 20. Ed Sorbo (19). 41

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