The grueling heat couldn’t slow down Ben Young on Sunday, as the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship leader cruised to a dominant victory in race two at Atlantic Motorsport Park, presented by Pro Cycle and Canadian Kawasaki.
The three-time champion turned in one of the most impressive rides of his career with temperatures approaching 35 degrees Celsius (95º F), taking the lead from Sam Guerin on lap two and never looking back en route to an over eleven-second win.
Young’s 20th career Superbike victory was a crucial one for the championship, as he entered the day with just one win in his last five races. While he had maintained his title lead with podiums on every occasion, it was a welcome return to the top of the box following Guerin’s victory on Saturday.
The Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider found himself behind Guerin for a second day in a row but this time waited only one lap to make his move in the dry conditions, where he looked much faster than the rest of the GP Bikes Pro Superbike field all weekend.
“I was happy to get a dry race so we could really show what we could do, but Sam got an unbelievable start, it kind of surprised me a little from the second row,” Young said. “But he made a bit of a mistake in turn six and once I got by him, I was just able to manage the gap and try not to push too much.”
Not only was the victory important for his title hopes, it was also a bit of a litmus test ahead of his World Endurance debut in next weekend’s Suzuka 8 Hours, where he will head to straight from Shubenacadie.
“We have a busy week ahead, so I just tried to put in some great laps early and hold the pace as much as I could. The Bridgestone tires held up really well, so hopefully we can carry this with us into Japan,” he said.
While Young was a clear step ahead of the field on Sunday, setting the fastest laps on-track right up until lap 20 of 22, the late pace of Alex Dumas was enough to trim the gap slightly and move the Economy Lube Ducati rider into second for a third race in a row.
He enjoyed a brilliant scrap with Jordan Szoke after both ran with Guerin early on, but the race one winner couldn’t manage his tires quite as effectively with track temperatures exceeding 50º Celsius, allowing Dumas and Szoke to sort out the final podium spots.
“I just didn’t have Ben’s pace early on unfortunately, so I tried to manage the tire and bring it home in second,” Dumas said. “I really want to win, obviously, so hopefully we’ll be a bit closer at CTMP. But we’re getting there, and I can’t thank Economy Lube enough for the opportunity.”
Completing the podium was Szoke, who at one point had carved his way to second and began to reel in Young slightly before Dumas shunted him back down to third just before they hit lapped traffic.
The CKM Kawasaki rider believed the outcome could have been different if not for Guerin’s incredible launch off the second row, but still turned in perhaps his best performance of the year as he trends towards a return to the top step of his own.
“Sam had a great start but after that mistake, he just didn’t have the pace and I feel like Alex and I could have given Ben a bit of a closer run if he didn’t get away,” Szoke said. “But it was a fun battle with Alex, and the Bridgestone tire got us to the end in third which was awesome. These fans on the east coast love racing, so it was nice to put on a bit of a show for them.”
After Guerin’s spectacular win in changing conditions on Saturday, the EFC Group BMW rider couldn’t repeat the feat on a dry track in race two, fading to fourth by the midway point.
While he will be frustrated with the fourth-place finish, conceding 12 points to Young with four races remaining, he did rebound nicely in the second half of the race to limit the damage and salvage a solid result.
Rounding out the top five was 17-year-old rookie Andrew Van Winkle, who turned in an incredible performance aboard his lesser-displacement FD Racing Suzuki.
It was the second day in a row that a Sport Bike teenager cracked the top five in Superbike, after 16-year-old Philip DeGama-Blanchet’s sensational efforts in race one, with Van Winkle fending off the Vass Performance Kawaski of DeGama-Blanchet in the middle stint of the race.
Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year leader Connor Campbell extended his advantage in the award race with a solid seventh-place finish, making a spectacular move on Paul Macdonell in the final corner to match his season-best finish and move into fifth in the overall championship for B&T MacFarlane/Kubota Kawasaki.
Macdonell would exit the east coast in eighth after a brake issue forced him to retire in race one, pushing the PMR/Vass Performance BMW rider up to seventh in the standings with two rounds remaining.
Local rider Cory Canfield was an excellent ninth aboard his Pro Cycle Suzuki, with Brian Worsdall completing the top ten for Mots Machining Honda ahead of Ernest Bernhard on the W.D. Jeans Yamaha.
Notably missing from the results was David MacKay, who was running in a strong fifth for ODH Snow City Cycle Honda when he crashed out in turn four around the midway point of the race.
Young’s victory will also help extend BMW’s lead atop the Constructors Championship to an even 100 points with four races remaining, as they try to clinch their third title in a row at round five in Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Full results from Sunday’s action can be found on the series’ official website.
For more information on the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca.
Main picture: Early in Sunday’s Pro Superbike race at Atlantic Motorsport Park, eventual winner Ben Young (1) leads Sam Guerin (2) who would fade to fourth in the end. The race two podium was completed by Alex Dumas (23) in second and Jordan Szoke (101) in third. Photo credit: Rob O’Brien / CSBK.
