He waited until the very last lap of the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship season, but Ben Young managed to celebrate from the top step of the podium once again in Shannonville Motorsport Park on Sunday.
The four-time champion found himself in a similar spot to race one on Saturday, dropping from pole position to third on lap one as Alex Dumas fended off an early attack from Sam Guerin.
The race began to play out very similarly, as Guerin desperately looked for a way through on Dumas while Young settled in to a somewhat comfortable third. Just like race one, Guerin’s efforts would inevitably be denied and he would gradually sink back towards Young in the second half.
This time, however, Young was far less patient. The Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW made a decisive move in turn two and immediately set off towards Dumas, hunting down his rival and taking as much as half a second per lap out of his deficit.
That would put him right on the tail of Dumas to begin the final lap, though his first pass attempt into turn two was quickly rejected. Young’s second attempt would get the job done, making a beautiful move on the turn five/six switchover to slice underneath Dumas and seize the lead with half a lap to go.
Dumas would try a retaliatory move off the long back straightaway, but Young completed his own defensive effort in the final few corners to hang on for a fifth victory of the season by only 0.314 seconds.
“These guys obviously got a better start than me, so I just tried to settle into a rhythm again and follow fairly close, but not too closely,” Young said. “Eventually I was able to pull the trigger on Sam, but Alex really had no weak points. I just saw a little opportunity on the last lap and was able to find a way through, so it’s nice to end the year on top.”
Young was a bit more emotional than usual on the podium, reflecting on what has been a whirlwind 2024 campaign for the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW crew.
“This team has been amazing every step of the way since 2016. We’ve had a great run for a while now, winning four championships, and I’m so happy to be a part of it,” Young said. “The BMW is such a great platform, I can’t say it enough. As always, we’ll see what the future holds, but I owe everyone a huge thanks.”
As for Dumas, the Economy Lube Ducati rider led every lap except the most important one at Shannonville, though he continued to make progress with his new program by reeling in a seventh podium of the season aboard the V4 Panigale – passing Pascal Picotte for the most by a Ducati rider in GP Bikes Pro Superbike history.
However, Dumas was also somewhat coy about his 2025 plans, having joined the Economy Lube team midway through the season.
“We tried a new setup today, it didn’t really work the way we wanted it but we’re still making lots of progress,” Dumas said. “I would have loved to do the full season, but I’m happy to finish the year with two wins. Hopefully I’m back next year, but things are pretty up in the air.”
Rounding out the podium for a second day in a row was Guerin, who once again found himself unable to claw his way into the lead but kept his rivals closer than in race one as he claimed his eighth podium this season.
Unlike his rivals, the championship runner-up was very adamant about his 2025 plans, eyeing a first career Canada Cup for the EFC Group BMW team.
“I had some more issues in the second half, but it was another big improvement from yesterday,” Guerin said. “I have to give a huge thanks to BMW Canada and the whole team for their help this season, and I can’t wait to be back fighting again next year.”
Jordan Szoke managed to hang with the leaders for the opening stint of the race, holding steady in the frontrunning group of four through the first five laps. The 14-time champion would eventually slump back to a lonelier fourth, though he represented a much bigger challenge than in race one as he ends the campaign with a top-four finish in every race for CKM Kawasaki.
Tomas Casas avoided any early mistakes to take an impressive fifth on Sunday, coming out on top of a spectacular five-rider battle in the early laps.
Casas eventually broke free of the pack and would settle into a third top-five finish in four races for Yamaha Motors Canada, a strong end to the season as he jumps to tenth in the final standings despite appearing in just four of 12 races.
David MacKay ended his debut Superbike season with another consistent finish in sixth, coming out on top of another back-and-forth battle with Trevor Daley. That will keep MacKay fifth in the final year-end standings for ODH Snow City Cycle Honda, an incredible effort for the reigning Pro Sport Bike champion.
Daley would fight through a wrist injury to claim seventh for OneSpeed Suzuki, while Eli Daccache charged back to eighth after he ran off the back straightaway during his battle with Casas aboard the Milwaukee Yamaha.
Connor Campbell exited the year with a solid ninth-place finish and thus secured the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year award, capping off an impressive debut campaign for B&T MacFarlane/Kubota Kawasaki.
AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike champion Goran Radisic completed the top ten for a second day in a row at Shannonville, a pair of excellent finishes in his pro debut for PMR BMW as he graduated early from the amateur ranks.
Young’s late comeback from third to win also earned him the last FAST Riding School Hard Charger award of the season, overcoming a near three-second deficit at the midway point to snatch an unlikely victory from Dumas.
Full results can be found on the series’ official website.
Main picture : Last lap action as Ben Young (1) leads Alex Dumas (23) through the last corner at Shannonville Motorsport Park to take the win in the final GP Bikes Pro Superbike race of the 2024 CSBK season. [Photo: Ron Scheffler].
Source : CSBK
