SHUBENACADIE, NS - (July 18, 2017) - Collingwood, ON based Pro Superbike rider Ben Young was determined to improve upon his results from Autodrome St-Eustache where he finished just off the podium in fourth. Young’s return visit to Atlantic Motorsport Park (AMP) saw him earn a pair of podium finishes at the ever-popular East Coast doubleheader round.
On Friday Young earned a spot in the Top 10 to Dalton Timmis SuperPole. After putting in some very sold laps, Young missed out on a final fast lap at the end of the session as the checkered flag flew on his out lap. Young would start from the middle of the second row in each of the two MOPAR Pro Superbike feature races.
Young got a solid start in Saturday’s feature however an incident involving two riders would bring out the Red Flag to allow medical staff to attend to one of the riders. After a thorough assessment of the downed riders that grid was reset and Canada’s top superbike racers were battling for position once again.
Young seemed to be struggling in the opening laps but it wasn’t long before he was mixing it up with Michael Leon, Samuel Trepanier and Andrew Nelson before eventually securing fourth place. Young seemed fired up posting lap times faster than the top three lap after lap. The question remained, was there enough time to challenge for third place?
Young missed a gear entering the front straight allowing Trepanier to take over fourth place however a few laps later Young would return the favour and began his quest to challenge for third with only three laps left. It began to appear that Young would once again have to settle for fourth place however the rider in second who was trying to defend his position may have pushed too hard and crashed on the last lap allowing Young to make a return visit to the podium with a third-place finish.
An unfortunate incident during Sunday’s morning warm up would find Young’s “A” bike unridable leaving the Scot-Build Developments BMW team scrambling to build a bike to take on the demanding AMP “Rollercoaster” in time for the feature.
Young launched off the line in the second race of the doubleheader weekend and began to battle with Bodhi Edie, Trepanier and Leon for third. Eventually the pack was collectively on the hunt for second place which was currently occupied by Kenny Riedmann. Within a few more laps Young would make the pass on Edie going into Turn #9 and secured third place.
Young was now on the tail of Riedmann with Leon in tow, but a two-rider crash a few positions back would bring out the Red Flag stopping the race and making the results official. Young would earn his second podium of the weekend with another hard fought third-place finish.
This past weekend's results launched Young back into third-place overall in the MOPAR Pro Superbike Point Standings.
"We tossed away the 'A' bike this morning during practice. Unfortunately, it hit the wall and it was just too damaged to repair for the feature race in the afternoon," said Young. "I caught Kenny and I didn't want to show him what I had. It was unfortunate that the red flag came out and it ended the way it did. I’m happy to hear the two riders that went down were okay. I was saving my last push for the end of the race because I know Kenny would come right back."
Young added, “Considering the weekend we had and the year we've had so far, we got back on the podium and salvaged some crucial points. We’ll continue to battle for the win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park next month."
Young’s partners for his 2017 CSBK Championship season include; Scot-build Developments, BMW Motorrad Canada, AXO Racing, Arai Helmets, ACF-50, Hindle Exhaust, Woodcraft, Bickle Racing, SBS Brakes, Motion Pro, Human 2.0, K-Tech Suspension & Epic Racewear.
The 24 year old pilot of the #86 BMW S1000RR is also a proud "Laps for Muscular Dystrophy" (Laps4MD) rider who’s pledged to donate $1 for every lap he lead this season. These donations go to Muscular Dystrophy Canada to help make a difference in the lives of over 50,000 Canadians affected by a neuromuscular disorder.
To keep up-to-date on Ben Young throughout the year visit; www.BenYoungRacing.com, www.facebook.com/BenYoungRacing and on Twitter and Instagram: @benyoung_86.