Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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IN THE WIND P44 SZOKE TOPS CSBK OPENER R eigning Pro National Superbike Champion Jordan Szoke took the first step toward defending his title on Sunday, May 27, dominating the 2018 Mopar Canadian Superbike Cham- pionship season opener at Shannonville Motorsport Park's Pro Track. Szoke, aboard a Mopar Express Lane BMW Motor- rad S 1000 RR, started the race from pole position and held the lead for all but a brief few seconds, grabbing the holeshot and eventually defeating Ben Young (BMW) by 5.73 seconds. Third-place finisher Matt McBride was the only other Pro to lead the race, passing Szoke into corner eight after a near-crash from the pole sitter, though McBride would lose the position moments later on the back straightaway. He was bat- tling knee issues after a crash Friday, but was able to hold on to finish and complete the all-BMW podium. "I got lucky today, these guys kept me honest and I had a mo- ment coming into [turn eight], but I re-gathered myself and put in some hard laps," Szoke said. "It's not over until it's over. It's easy to make mistakes, so you just have to finish hard." Szoke, searching for his fourth consecutive Mopar Pro Super- bike Championship and 13th overall, said that he does not let those historic records affect him. "For me, it's a reset every year," he said. "In my mind I have no wins, no championships. Ev- ery year I hit the reset button." Young, meanwhile, was visibly frustrated as he continues to search for his first career victory, though he is keeping things posi- tive with a long season ahead. "Me and Jordan both got good starts, but Matt caught me, and I knew he had the pace. I just didn't give up and I ended up catching him, and from there the gap [to me and Jordan] kind of stayed equal," Young said. "I just wish I had a better start, it wasn't what we wanted but we'll take what we have and continue the momentum into the next round." As for the injured McBride, he was all smiles on the podium after finishing a spirited perfor- mance in third. "I had to take a shot at Jordan at least once," he laughed, refer- ring to his pass in corner eight. "It's too bad I wasn't in better shape. My knee was getting bad towards the end, but we're all just happy to be here having a good time. It was fun for all of us." CN Jordan Szoke is off to a good start in his defense of the number-one plate in the CSBK Series opener in Canada. PHOTOGRAPHY BY CSBK