MIRABEL, Que. (May 28) Brantford, Ont.’s Jordan Szoke got his bid for a fifth straight Parts Canada Superbike Championship title off to an impressive start at Circuit ICAR on Friday. Szoke (Waznie Racing / BMC Ciclo Werks / DeWildt Honda) set the pace in both practice sessions for this weekend’s season opener, ending the day with a fastest lap of one minute, 25.262 seconds (118.224km/h) around the 2.8km (1.74-mile), 14-turn track located just north of Montreal. Kevin Lacombe of St-Cesaire, Que. (Lacombe Racing) was second quickest with a lap at 1:25.914, 0.652 secs. behind Szoke aboard a Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Keene, Ont.’s Jodi Christie (Jodi Christie Racing / Durham Honda) ended the day third fastest with a time of 1:25.963 on his Honda CBR600RR. “I thought we could get into the 24s but we hit a bit of a wall on set up,” said the 31-year-old Szoke. “It was a little bit hotter this afternoon and we lost a little bit of traction, it was a little squirmy.” Lacombe improved his time by over half a second from the morning session to end Friday second fastest ahead of Christie, who set his best lap in the morning before suffering a minor fall. Jean-Francois Cyr of Ste-Adele, Que. (CyRacing) was fourth fastest on Friday with a time of 1:26.595 on his Suzuki GSX-R600 and Sherbrooke, Que.’s Francis Martin (Rush HD / BMW Motorrad Canada) completed the top five with a 1:26.950 riding a BMW S1000RR. In other action at Circuit ICAR, Szoke led practice for the Pro Sport Bike class with a time of 1:25.102 on his Honda CBR600RR. Christie made it a Honda 1-2 with a lap at 1:25.966 and Cyr completed the top three at 1:27.719 aboard a Suzuki GSX-R600. Orangeville, Ont.’s Joey McRae was fastest in practice for the Amateur Sport Bike class with a time of 1:30.125 on his YZF-R6 and Quesnel, B.C.’s Ryan Appenrodt led the Honda CBR125R Challenge competitors with a 1:52.887. Brent Strong of Mississauga, Ont. led Port Twins practice with a 1:34.205 on his Suzuki SV650 and Natalie Catherine Provost of Laval, Que. led the Pro Honda Oils Women’s Cup class with a time of 1:32.771 on her Honda CBR600RR. Racing at Circuit ICAR resumes Saturday with qualifying for all categories along with Pirelli SuperPole for the Inside Motorcycles Pole Position Award in Superbike. Saturday will also feature the first of two races this weekend for the Honda CBR125R Challenge. Practice begins at 9:00am. Races in all national classes will run on Sunday. For ticket information call (514) 955-4227 or go to www.circuiticar.com.