The Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship added another twist to its 2024 season on Saturday, as Sam Guerin won a thrilling race one in changing conditions at Atlantic Motorsport Park, presented by Pro Cycle and Canadian Kawasaki.
The clear skies and scorching heat found throughout the day took a brief pause shortly before the feature GP Bikes Pro Superbike race, with nearby thunderstorms delaying the start and producing a mostly wet track for when the lights did go out, but that didn’t faze Guerin as he gambled on a slick rear Bridgestone tire.
With all other frontrunners on duel wet tires, Guerin ran into some early trouble as he bounced up and down the order, climbing as high as second before drifting back as low as fifth.
All the chopping and changing tightened up the field as a nine-rider group battled early on, with Jordan Szoke, Alex Dumas, and Ben Young all taking brief turns at the front with no one having enough clear pace to pull away on the damp track.
That played right into Guerin’s hands, as the sun began to shine and temperatures continued to ramp up on lap five, allowing Guerin to move from fourth to first in just two corners to begin the lap.
That would be the last anyone would see of the EFC Group BMW rider, as he outlasted a pair of comeback attempts before settling on the drying track and cruising to a near-nine second victory.
The risky strategy led to a much-needed second career victory for Guerin, who closes his title deficit to 28 points after a tough start to the weekend which included a pair of crashes in practice and qualifying.
“It wasn’t a safe bet, and the first few laps were really tricky, but I was getting such good drives out of the corner. It’s a bit of a surprise after the rough Friday and rough morning we had, but to get a win today is awesome,” Guerin said. “It was such a long race. Every lap I was hoping the white flag would come out, but thankfully I got it to the finish!”
The win would be even more pivotal for the Quebec City native after points leader Young was passed on the final lap, with Dumas making a beautiful move on the inside of turn nine to snatch second.
It was the first real on-track battle between rivals Dumas and Young since the former’s return to the series, and while Dumas is still waiting for his first win with his new Economy Lube Ducati team, the 2021 champion decided it was best not to push to boundaries with race two on the horizon.
“A part of me almost wanted to put the slick rear on, but I also wanted to race tomorrow,” Dumas joked to Guerin in parc fermé. “It was a lot of fun. I didn’t know how quick the track would dry up, but we kept everything in one piece for race two.”
The last lap pass shunted Young to third for the second race in a row, though the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider didn’t seem to be sweating the nine points he’ll concede to Guerin given the treacherous conditions at AMP.
“Honestly, you’re always happy to just finish a rain race. Sam’s a wild man on the slick, and clearly it was an awesome decision, but we made the safe one,” Young said. “We just didn’t have the tire at the end, but nobody really did except Sam. I would have loved to race in the dry with the pace we have, but hopefully we get a better shot tomorrow.”
The double-podium will extend BMW’s lead in the Constructors Championship to a commanding 88 points, but Guerin’s victory will more importantly move the brand past Suzuki and into second on the all-time Superbike win list with 64 – now just eleven behind Kawasaki for the most in the feature class.
A pair of Kawasaki’s would just miss out on the podium places, with veteran Szoke settling for fourth after grabbing the holeshot and briefly leading the race in the early, unpredictable stint.
The CKM Kawasaki rider had to deal with one of multiple youngsters under his tent, though this time an unfamiliar one as he battled with Philip DeGama-Blanchet in the middle stages.
The 16-year-old rookie stole the show at times aboard his lesser-powered, Sport Bike spec Vass Performance Kawasaki machine, challenging Szoke and Dumas for a podium spot before settling into a career-best fifth at AMP.
David MacKay would take sixth for ODH Snow City Cycle Honda, while Connor Campbell claimed seventh after an early podium bid aboard his B&T MacFarlane/Kubota Kawasaki.
Ernest Bernhard would put in a late charge to claim a strong eighth and valuable Constructors points for W.D. Jeans Yamaha, while Brian Worsdall was the last of the finishers in ninth for Mot’s Machining Honda.
The feature class will hope for better weather in race two on Sunday, scheduled for roughly 3 pm local time (2 pm ET) at AMP.
For more information on the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca.
Main picture: Saturday’s Pro Superbike race at Atlantic Motorsport Park started on a wet, but drying, track with Sam Guerin (2) taking his second win of the season after a gamble on tire choice paid off. Photo credit: Rob O’Brien / CSBK.
Source: Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship
