Young wins epic last-lap battle over Dumas to kick off tripleheader at RAD Torque

The latest chapter in the rivalry between Ben Young and Alex Dumas was written on Saturday, as Young claimed a memorable race one victory after a tense last-lap battle in the third round of the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship at RAD Torque Raceway.

The pair found themselves in a race long fight to begin a pivotal GP Bikes Pro Superbike tripleheader, though with pole-sitter Sam Guerin at the front for majority of the contest in what was a thrilling three-rider scrap virtually from start to finish.

Guerin would pace the first 17 laps of the 20-lap feature race, setting a new lap record early on and briefly threatening to run away with a third consecutive victory as Young defended masterfully from Dumas behind.

However, Guerin would begin to fade slightly back to the duo in the closing stages, with Young eventually taking the lead on the crossover between turns five and six while Dumas almost immediately followed him through into second.

Guerin would keep a watchful eye in third as the two former champions got their elbows out in front of him, with Dumas lining up a move out of the last corner as he carried a bit more speed down the finish straightaway.

Dumas would get the drive he needed on the final lap as he moved past Young into turn one, hitting the front for the first time in what was a crucial battle for the championship with just two points separating them.

However, their often friendly rivalry reached a more contentious point almost straight away, as Young instantly responded with a bold – but fair – pass into the tight turn two right hander, standing Dumas up and nearly allowing Guerin back into the lead.

Young would then produce a flawless final 2.7 kilometres, fending Dumas off in the last few corners to escape with his first win of the year by just 0.080 seconds.

The Van Dolder’s Home Team Honda rider would hand his new brand their first victory in nearly eleven years on Saturday, joining Jodi Christie in 2014 (who was in attendance on Saturday) as the most recent Superbike winners for Honda.

“That was such a great race with these guys. It’s tight racing these BMW’s, but I know a few things from having been in their shoes all those years,” Young said. “It’s been a challenging year. We were working on things even this morning, but the bike delivered today. I’m so happy for Honda, it feels like a long time coming.”

The race winning pass was perhaps the most memorable of Young’s career, extending his championship lead to seven points in the process.

“That was probably the most aggressive I’ve ever been, but when you’re that close on the last lap you have to go for it,” Young added.

While Dumas was frustrated by the nail-biting loss, the Economy Lube/Fast Company BMW rider is still well positioned in the championship entering a doubleheader on Sunday, having flashed more than enough race-winning pace on Saturday.

“I didn’t get the start we wanted, and at one point I thought Sam was gone, but we were able to close the gap and then I followed Ben through,” Dumas said. “I knew the goal was to beat him because of the championship. He raced hard, but hopefully we can be back on top tomorrow.”

While Guerin’s end result doesn’t tell the full story of his race, having led majority of the contest with incredible pace, the EFC Group BMW rider took most of the blame for his late-race slide into what was a still strong third place.

“I pushed too much early on. The tires were still okay, but I had less grip than them for sure,” Guerin said. “I made a few mistakes because of that, but it was good experience to lead so many laps.”

The double-podium for BMW also keeps their 18-point lead intact atop the Constructors Championship, though with Young and Honda mounting the pressure in the middle part of the season.

Settling for a distant fourth at the line was Jordan Szoke, who ran with the lead group early on but could never fully match the pace of the other trio, eventually putting his CKM Kawasaki into a safe but lonely result.

That will keep Szoke four points ahead of Guerin in the battle for third overall, and still only 23 points behind Young atop the standings.

Rounding out the top five was David MacKay, who fended off an early attack from local phenom and fellow Honda rider Phil DeGama-Blanchet.

MacKay had just started to put a bit of breathing room between himself and DeGama-Blanchet when the 17-year-old crashed in turn eight, handing a more comfortable finish to MacKay and the ODH Snow City Cycle Honda team.

A pair of Edmonton natives would earn career-best results at their home track, with Brian Worsdall claiming sixth ahead of Eric Russnak in seventh.

Worsdall put in a strong but lonely ride aboard his Hindle/DP Brakes BMW, while Russnak overcame an early battle behind him to settle into seventh for Motorheads Kawasaki, picking up valuable Constructors points in the absence of the injured Connor Campbell.

Laurent Laliberte-Girard extended his advantage in the fight for top Pro Rookie of the Year honours, earning an excellent eighth aboard his Supersport-spec Nadon Sport Yamaha.

Young will now try to build on his first win of the season with a challenging doubleheader on Sunday, with rain forecasted for race two of the weekend at roughly 11:30 am MT before conditions improve for race three at roughly 3:00 pm MT.

Full results can be found on the series’ official website.

For more information on the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca or email info@csbk.ca.