Motourage

Rain or shine, the first weekend of May always brings a gaggle of observed trials motorcycle riders together to compete in one of the first events of the season, presented by the Welland County Motorcycle Club hosted at the Port Colborne Quarry in Southern Ontario Canada.  The competitors dusted off their trials helmets, shook the cobwebs off their equipment and polished their rusty skills in the warm-up area as they patiently waited for the start of their first of four required loops. With rain-swelled clouds threatening overhead, the end of the event was guaranteed to be wet and slippery.

In trials competitions riders achieve the lowest scores by keeping their feet off the ground and themselves on their motorcycles, while negotiating a series of obstacles placed within a loop.  Waznie Racing’s Jordan Szoke, competing aboard his #1-plated Raga Gas 300 – having won the Canadian National Championship last season at the Arden event – collected a meager two points in his first loop while negotiating the eight carefully laid out sections. 

By the beginning of the third loop the rain clouds burst, making already challenging lines more difficult as the competitors tried to pick up a few extra points with the loss of traction in the slippery muck.  The checkers stationed at every section braved the weather as well as they scored the riders through the entire event. 

Jordan completed the trial within the required time earning 27 points to earn him the first victory of the season.

 “What a great way to start off the year,” said Szoke “With our Road Racing season coming up soon at the end of May this is a great way for me to relax and have some fun before it’s time to get to work. So far I feel I am riding really well. I always practice very hard on my trials skills throughout the season and strive to always get the best results.”

A winning collaboration of team and rider was reunited for the 2011 Canadian Superbike Championship.  Defending Superbike Champion Waznie Racing’s Jordan Szoke and famed tuner Mike Crompton of Competition Systems rolled out their all new Kawasaki ZX10 Superbike for the first time last week for a two day test at Jennings GP.

Their results from the first test at this popular motorcycle test track in North Florida proved they are the combination to beat for this year’s Canadian Superbike Championship.

The Canadians were met with warm weather, with track temperatures reaching as high as 54 degrees C.   “I love the heat, don’t get me wrong,” smiles Szoke “But it sure makes it difficult to get a fast lap in.  Your window of opportunity is so small in the mornings and late afternoons, you really have to be prepared.”

The Competition Systems crew consisting of Richard Winter and Harald Surian were more than primed for Szoke and his superbikes, and were rewarded with an unofficial fast lap of 1:14’2 in the morning session and a 1:14’4 in the afternoon session in the last day of the test.

“It was pretty incredible to be able to achieve those kind of lap times on both our K-Tech and Ohlins set up, to be so close on both bikes is awesome.  I was particularly impressed with the feel of the K-Tech; it allowed us to put in a lot of consistent fast laps.  We also got to try the new rear shock which works really well.” says Szoke, “We had a lot of things to try during this short testing period, and the crew worked amazingly hard to get tons of laps in.  Big thanks to John Cornwall for working tirelessly with us to get these Kawis dialed in, we got tons of things accomplished together.”

Jordan Szoke signed a one-year deal with Competition Systems and Canadian Kawasaki for the 2011 Parts Canada Superbike Championship season.  Szoke will aim for his sixth consecutive Superbike Championship aboard the all-new 2011 Kawasaki ZX10.
Szoke’s record book history with Team Green dates back to his first Superbike Championship in 1998 as the youngest racer to win a National Championship in Canadian History aboard a ZX-7.  Szoke returned to Kawasaki in ‘06 which lead to a record-breaking string of National Superbike and Sportbike Championships in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 aboard the 636, ZX6 and ZX10.  Worldly sources were calling as Szoke was also invited to Valencia Spain in 2008 to ride the Moto GP ZX-RR, and filled in for injured Monster Energy Kawasaki racer Roger Hayden at the Laguna Seca AMA Superbike round.

Most recently Szoke earned the Superbike and Pro Sportbike National Championships in 2010, stretching his back-to-back championships to five.  Owning and Managing his own team also earned him Team of the Year honors.

When asked about being back under the Kawasaki banner Szoke says, “It feels really good to be back on a Kawi again.  I have worked with the same crew in our championship seasons previous, so I am excited to be back.  Kawasaki also has a new ZX10 model out so I can’t wait to ride and develop that.”

When asked about the new model for ’11, Szoke replied, “I have spent a lot of my career developing motorcycles, and this one is no different.  Kawasaki has a brand new model this year and it looks really (really) awesome.  With the team that we have working with us, and my experience I don’t foresee any problems getting the new superbike up to speed.”

Competition Systems and Szoke plan on starting pre-season testing in March.

Brantford, Ontario’s Jordan Szoke added more hardware to an already impressive 2010 trophy haul on Saturday night.

Photo courtesy of Brian J Nelson

The winner of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship was presented with the Inside Track Readers’ Choice Award as Canadian Motorcycle Racer of the Year at the Canadian Motorsports Expo at Toronto’s International Centre.

“This is really special,” Szoke said after picking up his second straight Readers’ Choice Award. “To be chosen by the people just makes this all the more gratifying.”

The 31-year-old Szoke made history last year by winning a seventh Canadian Superbike Championship and his fifth straight Parts Canada crown. He enjoyed a historic perfect season, sweeping all seven races on his Waznie Racing/BMC Ciclo Werks/DeWildt Powerhouse Honda CBR1000RR.

Szoke also won a record-tying fifth straight national Pro Sport Bike title on a Honda CBR600RR.

“When we started the year we thought we had a good chance at the championships but we never expected things to go as well as they did,” Szoke added. “But Honda gave us great bikes and we had the perfect crew helping us out.”

Also honored with a Readers’ Choice Award was Tyler Seguin of Welland, Ont., who was voted as Canada’s Up and Coming Motorcycle Racer of the Year by the readers of Inside Track Motorsport News. The 14-year-old flat track racer claimed both the Intermediate Open and 450 titles in the CMA National Dirt Track Championship in 2010 riding a Honda CRF450R and Rotax 600.

“We had a great season,” said the MT Bellies, Darkside Tattoos-backed rider. “The plan was just to take it one race at a time. Next year I’d like to take another championship.”

Voting for the Inside Track Readers’ Choice Awards was conducted online from mid-November through to midnight, Dec. 31 with winners selected in 13 categories. Toronto’s James Hinchcliffe, 23, was chosen as Overall Canadian Racer of the Year after finishing second in the 2010 Indy Lights series. Twenty-seven-year-old oval track ace Steve Arpin of Fort Frances, Ont. was voted as the Canadian Racer Competing at the Highest Level of International Competition.

After writing history at Atlantic Motorsports Park with an unprecedented perfect season and seven Canadian National Superbike titles, Waznie Racing’s Jordan Szoke repacked his championship CBR1000RR’s and pointed the rig south to once again challenge North America’s best in the ranks of AMA Pro Racing’s American Superbike class at VIRginia International Raceway.

With Thursday practice canceled, Szoke had his work cut out for him with a small 50-minute practice window before the first qualifying session began.  The heat and humidity hanging over the 1,200-acre site near Alton, Virginia had Szoke and his Waznie Racing crew sweating – not only due to the high temperatures, but also the pressure on Szoke to get his bike set up just right since his equipment is built around the Canadian National Series rules.  “Getting your bike set up perfectly is so important for us,” said Szoke. “We don’t have the luxury of electronics to help during the race, so if I don’t get it just right, fatigue can play a major role when the tire starts to go off.”

With two chances to get it done, Szoke nailed down his best performance on his ninth lap in the second qualifying session, landing him on the third row of the grid for Saturday and Sunday’s grueling 23-lap race around the 2.25 mile, 17 turn road course.

During race 1, Szoke rocketing to the front with a killer start on his Honda CBR1000RR. Szoke cranked out fast, consistent lap times during the first quarter of the race; however, tire wear and fatigue set in midway to the checkered, and Jordan finished in 10th place.  “I can get the fast laps out there,” said Szoke. “What we’re struggling with is consist lap times.  After 23 laps without any electronics, it’s tough to wrestle a superbike around for that long.  Nailing the set up is crucial for us to be successful, luckily we have a ton of help from the guys at K-Tech Suspension to get it just right.”

Sunday’s Superbike warm up session brought another series of major setup changes and propelled Szoke to seventh fastest of the session.  Jordan strategized with Sebastian from Dunlop for his tire compound choice for race 2.  “We chose a soft tire to try to take off with the pack at the beginning.  I’m not sure what’s going to happen at the end of the race,” laughed Szoke before the race began. “But we’re going to put the Honda up there for a bit anyways.”

As Szoke settled into the starting grid for Sunday’s race 2 under sunny skies and raging temperatures, his mind was focused on the first few laps.  It was paramount that he garnered a good start in order to get the first few perfect laps required with his soft tire choice.  Unfortunately, as the lights went out, Jordan found himself bunched up at the start, while the competitors ahead of him pulled away.  Szoke battled past the competition, leading one of the many battles that are fought within the race.  Jordan concluded his second AMA weekend with another accomplished 10th place finish.

“I feel like we are so (so) close.” says Szoke “.I am really starting to get used to the Dunlop tires and finding out how they work.  I want to continue to compete in the remainder of the 2010 AMA season, but we will have to see if financially we can make it happen.”

With some more support, Szoke is hoping to continue competing in AMA American Superbike during Round 9, taking place at New Jersey Motorsports Park.