Canadian Superbike Championship Kicks Off
T
he opening round of the 2024
Bridgestone Canadian Super-
bike Championship (CSBK) took
place at Shannonville Motors-
port Park in Ontario from May 18
to 19, where defending cham-
pion Van Dolder's Home Team
BMW's Ben Young outdueled
rivals Sam Guerin and Jordan
Szoke for the win on Saturday.
Young began the day with a
stellar victory in the Economy
Lube Pro Sport Bike class,
returning to his familiar ranks in
the GP Bikes Pro Superbike cat
-
egory with a chance to become
the first double-winner in the
same season since Jodi Christie
in 2014.
Instead, Young's title defense
got off to a brutal start, as
Szoke grabbed the holeshot with
Guerin promptly moving into
second. Things would get even
worse for Young before they got
better, as Trevor Dion shunted
the three-time Canada Cup
champion into fourth on lap two
while Szoke and Guerin escaped
out front.
The lead duo would begin to
stretch out their advantage be
-
fore Guerin moved into the lead
on lap three, seizing the front in
turn eight as he continued his
quest for a maiden pro national
victory.
Young's comeback would then
begin on lap four, moving back
past Dion and on the hunt for
Szoke, who in return had contin
-
ued to battle with Guerin. That
would set up a hectic three-way
fight for the lead on lap six,
which waged on for two laps
before Young moved through on
his long-time rival Szoke on lap
eight.
That would set up the final,
decisive battle between Guerin
and Young for the middle por
-
tion of the race, but Guerin's
impressive defensive effort
ultimately caved on lap 13 as
Young snatched the lead for
the first time and squeezed
out a slight advantage, holding
firm the rest of the way for the
season-opening victory.
Young had it much easier Sun
-
day when he cruised to a com-
fortable victory over Guerin and
Szoke. Young secured a 17-sec-
ond-gap win over Guerin, the
third-largest margin of victory in
CSBK Pro Superbike history.
"The BMW was unreal as al
-
ways today, and really awesome
all weekend," Young said, a stark
comparison to the 2023 opener
when a fairing issue left him
sixth in race two. "It's a bit of
redemption for a year ago, so it's
nice to reward the team for all
their hard work and add another
win here for the fans."
CN
SUPERBIKE
Saturday
1. Ben Young (BMW)
2. Sam Guerin (BMW)
3. Jordan Szoke (Kaw)
4. Trevor Dion (Duc)
5. David MacKay (Hon)
Sunday
1. Ben Young (BMW)
2. Samuel Guerin (BMW)
3. Jordan Szoke (Kaw)
4. Trevor Dion (BMW)
5. David MacKay (Hon)
WIND
IN THE
P40
The CSBK Championship got
underway with Ben Young winning
both legs.
PHOTO: ROB O'BRIEN/CSBK
