Ben Young won the 2022 Canadian Superbike Championship title last weekend after an exciting weekend of racing. Alongside his second national title, Young also broke the qualifying lap record and race lap record at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
The weekend’s success began on Friday, August 12, during part one of qualifying, where Young would top the time sheets aboard his Van Dolder Home Team BMW. During the second superpole qualifying session, the top ten riders have a better chance of a clear track and can utilize a special Dunlop ‘Q’ tire, specially built for one flying lap. Young took full advantage, setting a blistering new lap record of 1:20:369, beating the previous fastest lap by almost two-tenths of a second. This pole position secured Young the season-long battle for the BS Battery Pole Award.
During the first race of the triple-header weekend, Young took the lead early and would hold on to it for much of the race, with championship title defender Alex Dumas close behind in second. On the penultimate lap, Young and Dumas would cross the line with nothing between them (the timing showing a gap of 0.000). In dramatic fashion, Young regained the lead of the race on the last lap at the last corner, clinching the win and stretching his comfortable championship lead. To win the championship, Young merely needed to finish on the podium in the next race.
The first race on Sunday brought more close racing. Young was fighting hard for the win, despite only needing the podium to take the championship. Young and Dumas would each take the lead multiple times throughout the race, but Young would ultimately cross the line in second position, though doing more than enough to win his second national Superbike title aboard his BMW M1000RR. He took the race lap record on the final lap of the race – an impressive feat given the physical effort required paired with a well-worn tire. Young’s finish would also bring the 125th podium for BMW in their Canadian Superbike Championship history.
On his championship title, Young had this to say: “After race one being a last corner, last lap pass I knew Alex would be defending that line. I tried for the win but with the championship being the bigger picture, I knew it was safe to hold back and finish second. It feels great to secure my second championship. This year was the first full CSBK season since my last championship in 2019, and we enjoyed being able to get back other tracks to take off where we left them last.”
The second race of the day would come to an unfortunately short end due to a red flag incident during the second race after just three laps were complete. It was shaping up to be a great battle, with Young and Dumas swapping positions for the lead again, keeping fans entertained. The race result was called with only three laps complete and half championship points given. Young would podium in second position, completing the 2022 Canadian Superbike championship with a 29.5 point lead.
“I was really looking forward to letting loose and going bar-to-bar in race 3 but unfortunately we didn’t get the chance to. It’s been a pleasure to go toe-to-toe with Alex the past two seasons. We have been inseparable on many occasions and I never expected anything different this weekend. Hope the fans enjoyed it as much as we did. Big thanks to my team and sponsors for a great year.”
With a strong performance from all BMW riders including Young over the year, the Constructors Championship title went to BMW. The icing on the cake for the weekend was that the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW race team would win the coveted CSBK Team of the Year award.
Young’s partners for his 2022 CSBK Championship season include BMW Motorrad Canada, Van Dolder’s Home Team, Scot-Build Developments Inc., Parts Canada, HJC Helmets, Alpinestars, Hindle Exhaust, Barrie Trim and Mouldings, Clearlite, Primitive Patterns, DP Brakes, Alpha Racing, and Vass Performance Cycle.
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.
