Cycle News Staff | June 25, 2024
Ben Young (BMW) dominated the opening CSBK race in round two of the 2024 series at RAD Torque Raceway in Edmonton from start to finish, securing the holeshot and steadily building a comfortable lead as the rest of the field tussled behind him. However, in the final five laps, a determined Torin Collins (Kawasaki) closed the gap rapidly in the hopes of a historic victory in his CSBK debut.
In only his second CSBK Superbike race, Torin Collins (71) took the win over Alex Dumas (23) in race two for the feature class on Sunday at RAD Torque Raceway.
Collins had a poor start from second on the grid, slipping to fourth behind Alex Dumas (Suzuki) and Jordan Szoke (Kawasaki). This allowed Young to establish a five-second lead by the midway point. Collins fought his way past Szoke and Dumas, gaining clear air and setting his sights on Young.
The 18-year-old Collins was shaving nearly a second per lap off Young’s lead before the championship leader stabilized with three laps to go. However, lapped traffic hindered Young just enough for Collins to close in within striking distance on the final lap.
The two riders went side-by-side through the final corners, but Young shut the door, clinching the race-one victory by four-tenths of a second. Dumas held on for third. The Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider Young almost doubled his championship lead from 15 points to 29 in the process.
In race two, Collins came out on top of a thrilling battle with Dumas. The two youngsters first had to contend with Young, who had a near perfect start from pole position and led the first four laps. The race dynamics changed on lap five when Young faltered coming out of the final corner, allowing both riders to pass him into turn one—highlighted by an outside move from Collins.
Collins and Dumas quickly distanced themselves from Young, Collins making several attempts to pass, Dumas blocking each one. It seemed Dumas might secure the win after placing lapped traffic between himself and Collins late in the race, but Collins reeled the 2021 champion back in with five laps to go.
The decisive moment came a lap later when the Calgary native made an aggressive pass in turn 12 to overtake Dumas and take the lead. Collins then extended a slight advantage and maintained it to achieve a spectacular maiden victory.
This win places Collins firmly in the CSBK records books, becoming the third youngest Pro Superbike race winner at 18 years old and 347 days. He is also the second-fastest rider to win a feature class race, accomplishing this feat in just his second start.
Young extended his consecutive podium to 12 and exited Edmonton with a 34-point lead in the title chase.
