News

Shubenacadie, NS
July 19-21st, 2019

The double-header Mopar Canadian Superbike race at Atlantic Motorsports Park brought fans two exciting races. Saturday seen Ben Young comeback from 10thposition after an off-road excursion to win the race, while Sunday brought torrential rain and a 2ndplace finish for the Barrie Trim/Scot-Build BMW S1000RR pilot.

With a race on both Saturday and Sunday for the Pro Superbike class, Friday was packed with action. A practice session in the morning gave Young and the team time to test their set-up and make some adjustments to continue to improve. Qualifying took place under the blazing sun on Friday afternoon. Young put in a solid time after a few laps in the first session, topping the timesheets. This ensured his spot in the 15-minute Top 10 Superpole session where he took Pole Position with a quick time of 1:07.941, which put him 0.23 seconds ahead of P2.

The sun returned hot as ever for Saturday’s race. As the lights went out, Young wheelied off the line, causing him to lose speed as he entered turn 1 in 4th position. Within two laps however, he was up into 2nd. As he approached the last corner of the 2nd lap, current race leader, Trevor Daley had a moment and the top three racers concertinaed. This left Jordan Szoke nowhere to go – he hit Young, who managed to stay onboard the bike and ride it out on the grass as Szoke tumbled. Young rejoined the track in 10th position and had a lot of work to do. He continued to put in quick times and picked off the riders one by one. With 5 laps to go, he’d done the impossible and worked his way back to a podium position, and had 2nd place Daley in his sights. He caught Daley on the second to last lap, with Samuel Trepanier running up front about 2 seconds ahead. Young continued to push, and caught Trepanier. It all came down to the last lap. Young’s BMW S1000RR had fantastic drive along the back straight and Young took first going into the carousel, but would run a little wide, falling back into second. As the pair went around the final corner, Young made a fantastic pass to take the lead and a fairytale first place finish.

"It was definitely an exciting and eventful race. The racing incident was unfortunate, as we felt we had a strong pace to cross the line with a healthy margin. It was unbelievable to come through and take the win from so far back.”

Sunday brought even more drama but this time in the form of weather. Another hot day, though with a severe thunderstorm warning in effect. The team prepared one bike for a dry race, and one for a wet race. As the riders went out to grid up the sky turned black, the gales blew and torrential rain fell. This put the race on hold, as officials made a plan of action. Finally, the storm passed, the track was deemed safe and riders were given a 10-minute wet practice before a shortened 20 lap race. After getting a much better start, Young took the early lead, setting the pace for the wet race. By the 9th lap, CSBK veteran Szoke, had caught Young, bumping him to second position. With each lap the track got drier, and at first Young maintained a narrow gap, though ultimately chose to play the long game. With valuable championship points at stake, and increasingly inconsistent conditions, Young gladly crossed the line with a solid 2nd place finish.

“I wasn’t planning on getting the hole shot, as it’s never great to be play guinea pig in such inconsistent conditions. When Jordan got by me, I was content to let him pace the race for a bit. As lapped riders increased the gap, I did what was best for the me and the team and finished in a comfortable place. It’s been a whirlwind of a weekend, and I feel very fortunate to be walking away in one piece while taking valuable points for championship.”

The next and final round of the MOPAR Canadian Superbike Championship will take place August 9-11th 2019, at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, which Ben enters with a strong 59-point lead in the championship.

Young’s partners for his 2019 CSBK Championship season include; Scot-build Developments, BMW Motorrad Canada, Van Dolders Home Team, Barrie Trim & Mouldings, ACF-50, Joe Rocket, Arai Helmets, Hindle Exhaust, Woodcraft, Bickle Racing, DP Brakes, Motion Pro, K-Tech Suspension, Liqui-Moly, Weireverywhereracing, Willy Vass Performance Cycle.

The 26-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.