Shubenacadie, NS – The stunning mid-season comeback of Sam Guerin continued on Sunday, as he won another thrilling contest in the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship to sweep the second round at Atlantic Motorsport Park.
Guerin entered the day fresh off a sensational victory on Saturday over Ben Young, and it was a similar story on Sunday as a lead group of five escaped at the front of the GP Bikes Pro Superbike class.
Young would get another tough launch off pole position, with Jordan Szoke grabbing the lead from Alex Dumas into turn two while Guerin and David MacKay also moved ahead of Young.
The four-time champion would respond quickly, however, moving into fourth on lap three while Guerin capitalized on a mistake by Dumas into turn nine, just moments before MacKay unfortunately crashed out to separate the frontrunning group of four.
Much like in race one, Dumas would hold on for as long as he could before fading back of the leaders, continuing to suffer from shifting problems aboard his new Economy Lube/Fast Company BMW.
The trio of Szoke, Guerin, and Young would run together for a few laps before Young finally hit the front, slicing past Guerin on the crossover between turns eight and nine and then promptly passing Szoke into turn three on the very next lap.
The Van Dolder’s Home Team Honda rider led majority of the contest from there on out with Guerin all over his rear wheel, eyeing his first victory aboard the CBR1000RR-R and the first for any Honda Superbike since 2014.
Instead, Young made a rare mistake into turn nine on the penultimate lap, running in too deep and allowing Guerin through into the lead. Young would nearly make up for it as he launched a spectacular move into the final corner – much like he did to beat Sam Trepanier in 2019 – though this time it wasn’t enough as Guerin got the better drive and managed to fend off Young by just 0.090 seconds at the finish line.
Guerin’s second consecutive victory capped off a career best weekend for the EFC Group BMW rider, dragging him back into the championship mix as he pulls to within just 16 points of the lead despite a disastrous opening round.
“I didn’t think I’d be here to be honest. I’m starting to love this place!” Guerin said, with three of his four career wins now coming at AMP. “I thought Ben had me in the last corner, but I got a really good drive to the finish, so I’m happy!”
While Young again fell painfully short of his first win of the year, the reigning Canada Cup winner did enough to exit round two with a two-point championship lead over Dumas, with each rider trending in opposite directions after their offseason switch.
“We’re figuring things out. The win is definitely there, we’re so close every time,” Young said. “The bike is phenomenal. I just made a silly mistake, tried to make up for it in the last corner but it didn’t work out today.”
While Guerin and Young had better late pace, it was a three-rider battle for much of the day with Szoke staying right in the mix after his early lead. The Canadian Kawasaki Motors veteran encountered some physical problems in the closing laps, but again proved that a comeback win of his own may be right around the corner in 2025.
“The bike was so much better today, it was just on me. I had arm pump at the end and couldn’t hang on any longer, but the bike is definitely capable,” Szoke admitted. “I just tried to not make any dumb mistakes at the end. I kept it pretty close, but I wanted to be smart for the championship.”
After missing the podium at the flag for the first time in his CSBK career on Saturday, Dumas was again off the pace on Sunday as he sees his championship lead slip away after sweeping the opening round.
Dumas has yet to sort out the shifting problems that plagued him all weekend, giving the team some work to do ahead of a pivotal third round next month.
The early crash for MacKay spoiled what could have been another great result for the ODH Snow City Cycle Honda rider, though it didn’t hurt his brand much in the Constructors Standings as it promoted Phil DeGama-Blanchet to fifth.
DeGama-Blanchet held off an early push from Connor Campbell before settling into a comfortable spot aboard his Mots Machining Honda, putting the 17-year-old into the top five of the overall championship ahead of his home round in Edmonton.
The points haul for Honda also keeps them within striking distance of reigning champions BMW in the Constructors table, with the gap holding mostly steady at 18 points following a back-and-forth weekend between the two manufacturers.
Campbell would hang onto a career best sixth for B&T MacFarlane Kawasaki, scoring valuable points for his brand as well and finally getting some good luck to go his way after a difficult start to the year for last season’s top Pro Rookie.
Laurent Laliberte-Girard would boost his case for this year’s Pro Rookie of the Year honours with a strong seventh, completing an excellent weekend for the reigning Amateur Supersport champion as he puts his Nadon Sport Yamaha clear of Zoltan Frast for the lead rookie spot.
Local rider Blaise Fougere would finish eighth for RPH Cycle Honda, marking another CBR1000RR inside the top-ten even despite MacKay’s crash as the once struggling brand continues to exceed expectations in 2025.
Absent from the running order was race one podium finisher Torin Collins, who elected not to participate after overcoming a mechanical issue to win in the Supersport category earlier in the day.
The feature class championship will now get roughly a month off before returning to action on the other side of the country, travelling from Nova Scotia to Alberta as the series returns to RAD Torque Raceway, July 4-6.
Full results from the weekend can be found here.
For more information on the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, visit www.csbk.ca or email info@csbk.ca.
