Super pole for super Young, Collins hits the ground running as the action unfolds at the rollercoaster.
Shubenacadie, NS – The Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship returned to Atlantic Motorsport Park an hour north of Halifax on Friday for the highly anticipated second round of the 2026 CSBK season.
It was another dominant performance in the GP Bikes Pro Superbike class from none other than Ben Young. The Scottish-Canadian rider put in times unmatched by the entire grid, setting the fastest lap in both practice and qualifying, a 1:07:477 was enough to secure him the BS Battery Pole and finishing with a time that was one whole second faster than P2. That was the goal for the Van Dolder’s Home Team Honda, with Young stating that, “We achieved the goal that was set, which was to get pole and to put in a better lap than last year. With this package from Honda, it’s a bike that is constantly improving, but we still lack data from race start, which we will have to test for practice tomorrow and hope it gives us a great start.”
Jordan Szoke ended up P2, which he felt the result was tough to swallow, “There is quite a lot to work on as we could not get the upgraded motor running for today, the plan is to have it for tomorrow, fix up the chassis, and putting myself in a better headspace for tomorrow’s race.”
Close behind was Torin Collins, who had a moment in practice, going off at turn four and taking a hit to his shoulder. The Calgary, AB rider was able to tough it out and pull out a sterling time for P3 on his Supersport-spec machine. His Yamaha R9 still needs work, but Collins was ecstatic with the powerband that the R9 provided, stating that this track is perfect for the R9. Rounding out the top five was another Supersport rider in Tomas Casas and Honda rider David Mackay, the grid was very competitive, as aside from Ben Young, the field spread was only around three seconds, making this potentially a really competitive race on Saturday.
In the OPP Racing Pro Supersport class, Collins again stormed to the front from the very start and asserted his dominance, being the first to set a time in the 1:09s around the 2.57-KM circuit. Casas would follow closely, trading blows with Collins, but would have to settle for P2 as Collins claimed pole by a tight margin of less than five hundredths of a second from Casas (1:08:584 vs 1:08:614 respectively). The Octagon Energy Service Yamaha will have its running restricted based on the shoulder condition of Collins. Sebastian Tremblay was unable to match the pair, running a whole second behind with a 1:09:626. “I’m old now, I need time to get up to speed, we also need to make some setup adjustments, which hopefully will make a difference tomorrow. Get a good start and see what I can do.”
In the support classes, the AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike class saw the Maritimes show out, as Baillie Ives was able to clear the field, the home advantage was evident as he laid down the gauntlet at a 1:13:456, the Suzuki rider able to shoot to the top above PEI rider Andy Hutchinson, who netted a time of 1:14:296, The Ellerslie, PEI rider was able to claw back more and more time as the day rolled forward. Alexis Beaudoin would finish off the front row, as he had an incident at turn eight, the front of the R6 Yamaha washing out and ending his session early but still setting a good enough time for third with a 1:14:767.
The EBC Brakes Amateur Supersport class was competitive at the front, with the top three all netting a time in the 1:13s. But it was Alexis Beaudoin who was able to put the hammer down as the St. Maurice rider snatched pole with a 1:13:053. Local Nova Scotia riders Baillies Ives (1:13:175) and Antoine Slater (1:13:860) both able to get into the front row for tomorrow’s race, with the front row consisting of 3 different manufacturers, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda, in that order.
The Super Sonic Road Race School Lightweight Sportbike class saw a major surprise at the front, as Lachlan Alexander was able to beat the local and more experienced riders to snatch pole on his first outing at the Atlantic Motorsport Park with a 1:16:467, but his fortunes would run out as he would wash out at turn three, but the Kawasaki rider’s time was still competitive enough to hold on to pole. Local Cory Canfield was not able to match him, settling for second with his Ninja 400R with a 1:16:756 and Sebastian Silva rounding out third with a 1:18:185.
In the Importations Thibault Twins Cup, Aprilia riders showed up once again as it was another locked out front row. JP Tache was able to capitalize on the momentum from Shannonville, as the Corbeil, ON rider was able to set a lap time of 1:13:066, almost a full 1.8 seconds faster than second place Nicholas Krans, who was once again juggling triple duty with Amateur Superbike, Amateur Supersport and the Twins, achieving the Caledon East, ON rider’s best finish as he lines up at second for Tomorrow’s race.
A record was smashed in the Scorpion EXO Ninja ZX-4R Cup as Jared Walker went close to four tenths quicker than the previous time set by Jacob Black last year (1:16:034), the young Oakville, ON rider was able to snatch pole with a recordbreaking 1:15:659, a highlight for the day, and certainly, his career.
Full results can be found on the official CSBK website.
For more information on the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca or email info@csbk.ca.
