Szoke keeps rolling

By Darryl G. Smart

It doesn’t matter what Jordan Szoke is riding, or where he’s racing. All you have to know that his eyes are always on the prize. And on the weekend, the Lynden resident remains undefeated after two Canadian Superbike Championship victories at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

The 13-time national champ was in his typical fine form on Saturday, especially in the first of two races, climbing all the way from a start in the pit to earn the checkered flag.

Despite earning the pole position, Szoke decided to change bikes, which was mounted with a soft rear tire and a front rain tire to counter the tricky conditions on a drying track. The decision forced him to start in the pit.

That didn’t seem to slow Szoke down, as he worked his way to the front to win the race.

“I’ve never started from pit lane before, but nothing ever really surprises me here,” Szoke said. “I had two bikes with completely different setups, and after the warmup lap I just decided to hop on the rain bike, and I knew almost right away that if I kept my head down I could catch whoever was in front of me.”

The decision gives Szoke a commanding 71-point lead through two weekends, with future racing still in question as rookie Samuel Guerin leads the fight for second in the championship ahead of Sebastian Tremblay and Ernest Bernhard.

In the second race Sunday, Szoke took the weekend sweep, edging out Kenny Riedmann .

The series remains optimistic of more racing to end the 2020 season, with an announcement expected in the coming weeks as CSBK officials continue to address their plans amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.