Back to Assen: can Moor wrap up the Cup?

The Hungarian has a chance at the crown as the NTC heads back to the Netherlands, but Farkas is on form

Wednesday, 10 August 2022

Rossi Moor (FAIRIUM Next Generation Riders) had his first real blip of the season the last time the Northern Talent Cup raced at Assen, but with 31 points in hand as the Cup returns to the Netherlands for take two, he has a chance to right that – and take the crown. If he’s 50 points clear by the end of Race 2, he is the 2022 Champion… so can he do it?

His record so far is mighty, but Kevin Farkas (Agria Racing Team) has also been a serious threat all season. He’s the rider 31 points down – not yet mathematically the only challenger but the likely one – and he is no stranger to the podium at Assen, nor to the top step with three wins already in 2022. He will be absolutely elbows out to make sure that gap comes down at Assen, keeping the fight for the crown heading into the final round and right off the back of a dominant win in Race 2 at Most.

Dustin Schneider (Goblin Racing), meanwhile, was the rider who took the win with a late attack at Assen as Moor crashed out. It was his first in the NTC as the number 20 continues to impress in 2022, building on pre-season with some impressive finishes. He’ll want the good memories to give him that extra boost as the Cup returns to Assen, still in the hunt albeit 79 points down.

Home hero Loris Veneman (TeamNL OpenLine), meanwhile, will want a turnaround. The Dutchman had a tough first race weekend at the TT Circuit Assen – his worst of the 2022 campaign so far – but the Cup’s return to the classic track offers a second chance at some home turf glory. Can he take it? He and Martin Vincze (Chrobak Motorsport Egyesület) are the final two riders in the standings left in the running for the Cup, so there’s plenty on the line.

As ever, however, it will likely be a big group fight for at least some of the race, and another couple of classics heading down to the Geert Timmer chicane. So don’t miss Race 1 on Saturday at 16:50 (GMT +2), before Race 2 on Sunday at 15:20. Can Moor secure the crown or will Farkas fight back?

Dion, Fraser look to join exclusive lists in support class finales at CTMP

Toronto, ON –  While much of the attention will be on the season-ending Pro Superbike tripleheader, the conclusion to the Canadian Superbike Championship campaign will feature just as much excitement in the five support classes this weekend, with every national crown still up for grabs entering Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, August 12-14.

Every class will get a doubleheader of their own to decide each title battle, with many of those fights likely to run deep into Sunday’s action, most notably in the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike class.

The secondary Pro class has lived up to the hype in what was expected to be a wide-open season, with four different winners in six races providing perhaps the most thrilling storylines of the campaign.

Rookie star Trevor Dion is the favourite for the title, entering the weekend with a firm 21-point lead aboard his LDS Consultants Kawasaki and fresh off his second victory of the year in AMP, as he looks to make history in the middleweight class.

Should Dion hang on to capture the Sport Bike crown, he would be the first rookie champion ever in the category’s history – dating back to 1986 – and only the third Pro rookie champion ever behind Jordan Szoke (1998) and Alex Dumas (2021).

Dion will have some experience at CTMP as well, having finished second there in his Pro national debut a year ago, and finishing second again there as a member of the Lightweight class in 2019.

It won’t come easy for him, however, as rival David MacKay looks to stage a late comeback for his first national crown. The Fast Company Kawasaki rider has paid the price heavily for his race one crash in Grand Bend, as he’s mostly matched or beaten Dion since then, capturing a pair of wins in races two and five of the campaign.

MacKay has scored a pair of podiums at CTMP in his career, finishing fifth and second in his two races there last season, but will likely need to add a victory or two to his tally if he hopes to hunt down the championship lead.

Still not mathematically ruled out is the Snow City Yamaha of Elliot Vieira, though Vieira would need some help from the racing gods as he trails by 39 points. The Guyanese star could still play a significant role in the title fight regardless, as he figures to be in the lead battle with Dion and MacKay throughout the weekend.

Also presumably in the lead fight could be the youngest and oldest riders in the class, respectively, as Jake LeClair and Louie Raffa battle for fourth overall. Raffa has been as consistent as any in 2022, finishing sixth or higher in all but two races for Honda, while the bLU cRU Yamaha of LeClair has been the opposite, scoring most of his points with a shocking debut win and another third-place finish at AMP.

As Dion chases one exclusive list in the Pro division, teenage sensation John Fraser will look to join another in the Amateur ranks, as he heads into CTMP with a legitimate chance at both Amateur championships.

A pair of dominant victories at his home track out east have given Fraser a 12-point lead in the AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike class, and the 16-year-old will return to the site of his national debut from a year ago where he impressed aboard his Yamaha machine.

He will still have to hold off the frontrunning Kawasaki of Julien Lafortune – a tough task as it is – before he can turn his focus to the Sport Bike division, but should he do so, Fraser could become only the third double-champion in Amateur class history after Luc Labranche (2019) and Mitch Card (2012).

That will be no easy task for the Nova Scotia native either, though, as he looks to close a seven-point deficit to Paul Etienne Courtois atop the Amateur Sport Bike standings.

Courtois has adapted seamlessly in his first season aboard the bigger Kawasaki machine, and capitalized on Fraser’s early-season struggles as the only rider to podium in every race thus far, but he has seen his lead shrink dramatically after a pair of wins for his younger counterpart on the east coast.

The closest championship battle to watch will be in the Super Sonic Race School Lightweight class, where just eight points separate the top three riders entering the final two races of the year.

The title appeared to be Evan Moriarity’s to lose entering AMP, but the winner of the first two races elected to return home, gifting a seven-point championship lead to youngster Bryce DeBoer and slipping another point back of Vincent Wilson in second.

DeBoer has yet to capture his first national victory this season, but has remained in the title battle thanks to podiums in four of his six races, as the Kawasaki teenager looks to hold off his Yamaha counterparts behind.

Neither of the three will carry any significant advantage into the weekend, however, as they will all be making their national debuts at CTMP – perhaps opening the door for others to help decide the title for them.

One title sure to be awarded on Saturday will be one part of the inaugural Lightweight Pro-Am, as Jared Walker takes an almost insurmountable 58-point lead in the Pro championship with just 58 points remaining this weekend.

Various tiebreaker scenarios prevented Walker from officially capturing the crown in AMP, but he’ll only need to avoid a worst-case scenario to wrap up the trophy on Saturday – or perhaps as early as Friday’s qualifying.

There’s far more left to be decided in the Amateur classification, as DeBoer aims for a second national crown at CTMP – albeit with just a nine-point lead over Grant Nesbitt.

The split-class category may not be DeBoer’s priority as he looks for the more renowned Lightweight Sport Bike championship, but it will be hard to turn away from his battle with Nesbitt, which was deadlocked entering the last round at AMP.

The full slate of support class action for the final doubleheader weekend can be found online at the series’ official website.

Young aiming for second Superbike crown in CTMP tripleheader finale

Toronto, ON –  The thrilling 2022 Canadian Superbike Championship season will come to a close this weekend, as a pair of former champions in Ben Young and Alex Dumas battle for their second Canada Cup in the season-ending tripleheader at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, August 12-14.

Watch the official CTMP Video Preview here:

Young already has one hand on the trophy entering the fast, flowing layout of “Old Mosport,” taking a 31-point lead into the first of three races on Saturday after Dumas crashed out of their race one battle in Atlantic Motorsport Park.

However, the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider will know as well as anyone how unpredictable CTMP can be, frequently producing large battles for the lead that can include as many as six or seven riders. That presents an opportunity for Dumas to claw points back, but he’ll have to do something he hasn’t done yet – win at CTMP.

Young has won twice at the circuit in his career, including his first ever victory in 2018, while Dumas failed to take the top step in last year’s tripleheader, settling for a pair of second-place finishes and a third-place result. In fact, Dumas has still yet to win at any track other than Calabogie, where all six of his Superbike victories have come thus far.

The Liqui Moly/Fast School Suzuki rider will have the benefit of knowing he has nothing to lose in the final round, however, as Young can’t afford to be overcautious against the talented 20-year-old. Dumas has shown an ability to break away from the field in the past, something that could be disastrous for Young if he’s caught in a battle with others.

The duo will also wage war for a final time in the BS Battery Superpole session on Friday, not just to determine grid position but also to crown a winner in the season-long BS Battery Pole Award battle, where Young leads Dumas by two points.

Both will get a bit of a pace advantage as well, as the return to CTMP will also bring with it the return of the special Dunlop “Q” tires – the fastest outright tire Dunlop has to offer, though that also presents an opportunity for another member of the midfield to challenge the front row.

Amongst the challenging group will be a pair of familiar names, albeit two in very different circumstances, as Trevor Daley and Kenny Riedmann each look to steal valuable points for their respective manufacturers.

Daley has been a crucial part of Suzuki’s efforts once again aboard his OneSpeed machine this season, capturing four podiums in six races to place himself third in the overall standings and help the defending Constructors champions in their quest for a second title.

However, current points leaders BMW will get massive reinforcements in the form of Riedmann, who continues his on-again, off-again Superbike career with a return aboard one of Young’s older Van Dolder’s Home Team S1000RR machines.

The three-time championship runner-up and three-time Sport Bike champion has captured both of his Superbike victories at CTMP, and has racked up nine podiums in 12 career races there, including a pair during his last CSBK appearance as a fill-in for Daley aboard a Suzuki in 2020.

The former title contender will be in a tricky position as he aims to help his friend and BMW teammate Young, but will also need to maximize his points ahead of Dumas for the Constructors title battle.

BMW will lead that fight by 27 points over their rivals Suzuki, though that gap could be erased or expanded upon quickly across three feature races with multiple proven talents at each manufacturer.

The traditional midfield group will also get a pair of new additions, one being a complete wildcard to the CSBK field, as Tomas Casas returns to the grid alongside Australian debutant Rennie Scaysbrook.

Scaysbrook, considered the master of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and a current Isle of Man TT competitor, will be piloting a factory-backed Aprilia RSV4 as the Italian brand makes its return to the series for the first time since 2016.

The Sydney, Australia native has also found success road racing in the United States, while learning a number of exotic tracks as a journalist for Cycle News, something that could come in handy at a fast, challenging circuit like CTMP.

As for Casas, the Parts Canada Yamaha star has not appeared this season after an injury in pre-season training, but will make his 2022 debut at his home track as he looks to build momentum towards 2023.

Casas was one of the surprise stars of the CTMP weekend in 2019, briefly running at the front of the pack before taking fourth and sixth-place finishes, though he struggled through a number of issues last time out in 2021.

Alongside the new names will be a pair of regular faces in Sebastien Tremblay and Sam Guerin, who also enter a pivotal weekend of their own as they battle for fourth in the overall standings.

Tremblay will carry a six-point advantage into the final round aboard his Turcotte Performance Kawasaki, thanks in large part to his podium in race three at Calabogie, but he’ll have his hands full against Guerin at arguably his strongest track.

The EFC Group BMW rider stole the show with a second-place finish there in 2020, challenging 14-time champion Jordan Szoke in just his second Pro weekend ever, and added another podium in race two – the last time the Quebec star found the rostrum.

Another storyline to follow throughout the weekend will be the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year fight, where just a single point separates the top-two rookie talents entering the final tripleheader.

Round one star Trevor Dion currently leads the standings, but is not expected to compete as he focuses on capturing the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike crown, leaving a massive opportunity for Ryan Taylor to steal the honours.

Taylor has been consistent aboard his privateer Taylor Racing Ducati, finishing inside the points in all but one race (a crash in AMP) to put himself ninth overall and score 30 of Ducati’s 37 points this season.

However, fans should not be quick to rule out reigning Amateur Superbike champion Anthony Bergeron, who trails by just 13 points despite only appearing in round two at Calabogie. The privateer BMW rider showed well at CMP and is fresh off his first Pro win at the Pro 6 GP regional series, and he could close that gap quickly as he returns to the site of his race three victory in the Amateur championship a year ago.

The weekend will officially kick off on Friday with a battle for BS Battery Pole Position in the Pro Superbike class, with qualifying setting the grid for the first of three races on Saturday and the final doubleheader on Sunday.

The full schedule of events can be found on the series’ official website.