Trombino wins at CTMP as Christie takes points lead

BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (August 16, 2014) – Frank Trombino claimed his first national win since 2002 in a wet fourth round of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Saturday.

The Kleinburg, Ont. rider took the lead on lap four of the 16-lap race and after a challenge from Jodi Christie pulled clear to a 4.104-sec. victory on his Royal Plumbing Aprilia RSV4. He completed the 16 laps around CTMP’s 3.9km (2.459-mile) track in 28 minutes, 22.175 seconds for an average speed of 133.901km/h.

“I didn’t think it would go like that; I thought it would be a battle all the way,” said Trombino after taking his third national Superbike victory at CTMP and giving Aprilia its first Canadian Superbike national win. “There were a couple of times it got pretty bad out there but even though the crew was signalling that I had a good lead I didn’t want to ease my pace and break my rhythm, because that’s when you can get into trouble.”

Trombino joins elite company as only the third rider to win more than two Superbike nationals at CTMP, joining Jordan Szoke, who has 10, and Pascal Picotte with five.

Christie placed second on the Honda Canada / Accelerated Technologies Honda CBR1000RR after a late-race battle with the MobiBuff / Irnie Racing / World’s Best Motorcycles BMW S1000RR of Kelowna, B.C.’s Marcel Irnie, who completed the podium finishers.

The 42 points Christie earned for his runner-up finish put the Keene, Ont. racer in an almost unassailable lead in the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship standings. The only rider who can mathematically overtake him heading into the season finale on Sunday is defending champion Szoke, who has been on the sidelines so far this weekend after injuring his thumb in an Observed Trials event last Sunday.

Christie has 190 points to the 158 of Szoke, while Trevor Daley is third with 125 and cannot catch Christie. Daley finished eighth on Saturday aboard his ProStar Motorsports / One Speed Honda CBR1000RR. There is a maximum of 52 points available in Sunday’s final round.

Rain was falling from the start of Saturday’s race and Matt McBride exploded into the lead from pole position on his Riders Choice / Dainese BMW S1000RR. But the Etobicoke, Ont. rider highsided in turn two on the fourth lap, without injury, leaving Trombino at the front with Christie close behind.

“I thought I would follow Matt for a few laps just to feel things out,” Trombino said. “It was really tricky coming onto the backstraight out of turn five. I almost got highsided there a few times and the last time I was sure I wasn’t going to save it.”

Just past half distance the rain increased in intensity and Christie dropped off the pace, while Irnie started reeling in the Honda rider, setting the race’s fastest lap, a 1:40.563 on lap 13. Irnie got past Christie in turn three on lap 14, but on the final lap Christie regained the runner-up spot as Irnie had a close call heading onto the backstraight.

“I felt really comfortable on the bike,” said Christie, who has a win and three runner-up finishes in four races so far this season. “At one point it started to get too sketchy and I backed off the pace, and then I got into a good battle with Irnie.”

Irnie is making his first Canadian national appearance of the season and started from third on the grid.

“I really just wanted to finish the race but when I saw Jodi I decided to go for it,” Irnie explained. “I never saw the halfway flag or the last lap flag, so I was really just guessing on the distance.”

Longueuil, Que.’s Sebastien Tremblay finished fourth on the MotoNation / Laval Moto / CrossFitLaval.com Kawasaki ZX-10R after spending the first half of the race battling with the Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Ross Millson. The Hamilton racer dropped back just after half-distance and crossed the line in fifth, 10 seconds behind Tremblay, who is fourth in Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship points with 123.

Kristopher Garvie and Franklyn Dominguez traded sixth spot most of the way. Three laps from the end Garvie got ahead for good on his Honda Canada / Fast Company Honda CBR1000RR as the Caledon, Ont. racer turned his fastest laps of the race. St-Lazare, Que.’s Dominguez settled for seventh aboard the OCM Motor Sports / egopay,com Kawasaki ZX-10R.

Garvie is now fifth in the Superbike standings with 115 points and Dominguez lies sixth with 87, one more point than Trombino.

Bouncing back from a nasty fall on Friday, Daley held fourth early on before a fall in turn eight on lap four dropped the Etobicoke, Ont. racer down the order.

Ron Munroe of Beaver Bank, N.S. completed the finishers in ninth on the Canadian Kawasaki Motors / Freedom Cycle Kawasaki ZX-10R.

In other action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Kenny Riedmann increased his lead in the Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike Championship with his second win of the season on the Castrol Triumph 675. Riedmann went around the outside of the Mako Performance / Town & Country Suzuki GSX-R600 ridden by Raphael Archambault in the final turn and held off the Terrebonne, Que. racer by 0.253 secs. for the win.

Elie Daccache of Newcastle, Ont. finished a career-high third on his Yamaha YZF-R6, just 0.793 secs. behind Riedmann, and just ahead of the Blue Streak Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 of Will Hornblower.

Belfountain, Ont.’s Riedmann now has a 35-point lead over Garvie, 151-116, heading into Sunday’s final race. Daley is third on 106 points. Garvie finished sixth and Daley eighth on Saturday on their Honda CBR600RRs. Hornblower is fourth with 101 points.

Three-time defending class champion Christie crashed, unhurt, on his Honda CBR600RR and is now mathematically out of the points chase.

Martin Cote of Notre Dame de L’Ile Perrot, Que. rode his Honda CBR600RR to victory in a wet Bell Helmets Amateur Sport Bike race, while Tomas Casas of Peterborough, Ont. regained the series points lead thanks to a second place finish aboard the OCM Motor Sports / Peterborough Cycle Salvage Yamaha YZF-R6.

Casas takes a 180-point total into Sunday’s season finale while Stacey Nesbitt of St-Lazare, Que. sits on 177 after finishing third in Saturday’s race aboard the OCM Motor Sports / FTR / Honda Canada Honda CBR600RR.

The conditions Saturday afternoon led to the postponement of the Magneti Marelli Amateur Superbike and Honda CBR250R Race Series events, which will be rescheduled for Sunday morning.

Tony Lanni of Brampton, Ont. has pole position for the Amateur Superbike races on his ProStar Motorsports Honda CBR1000RR while points leader Pedro Sousa of Mississauga, Ont. starts third on his Honda.

Championship leader Eric Quintin of Notre Dame de L’Ile Perrot, Que. has qualified fastest for the Honda CBR250R races.

Action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park concludes on Sunday with feature races in all five national classes. For ticket information call 1-800-866-1072 or (905) 983-9141, email [email protected] or visit www.canadiantiremotorsportpark.com.

The official Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship website, www.csbk.ca, will have full race video coverage of both of this weekend’s Mopar Pro Superbike races, as well as Sunday’s Hindle Pro Sport Bike feature and the deciding round of the Honda CBR250R National Race Series.