The 2023 Super Series wrapped up its season on Sunday, September 10, under a sun-soaked sky, as the finale produced some intense action.  With all the championships still up for grabs, fans were treated to two days of action-packed racing and plenty of on track battles.

Saturday saw the show hoisted during the Lightweight Sportsman event, where Zaïm Laflamme made his return to the Super Series and held off a hard charging Jean-François Cloutier to claim the top honours. PRO Sportbike saw an increased field of riders, and they didn’t disappoint. Jordan Decarie fought hard with Alex Coelho, John Laing, Matt Simpson and Sean Latta. With the points battle between Coelho and Decarie spanning by only 6 points, each position was more important than ever.  After Latta low-sided coming out of Allen’s corner, Decarie was able to hold off Coelho and Laing to chip away at points gap. 

In AM Sportbike, Wes Barnes just needed to keep it clean in order to bring home the title but to do that he would have to fend off Adam Pearsall and Rick Edwards. However, a new player came to play and that was the No.91 of Rob Massicotte.  Riding a brand-new Yamaha R6, Massicotte blew to a huge lead off the start leaving Barnes and polesitter Pearsall stunned behind. As the laps chipped away, Pearsall caught the back of Massicotte. Heartbreakingly, Pearsall would lose an edge and crashed in the double apex giving the No.91 the freedom out front to claim the win. 

The Novice class saw the points chase come down to Mark Stecho, Glenn Brown and Catherine McKenzie, with Stecho leading the points table. Brown won the pole and took off from the get-go, however, the race was red flagged after Vishal Persaud crashed spectacularly on the front stretch due to a significant mechanical failure on his Honda CBR 600rr.

Persaud was cleared by the Stat Medic team rapidly and, following a much-needed clean-up, the race was resumed and Brown picked up where he left off. Despite losing the lead to Stecho, the No.94 Kawasaki ZX-6R passed the point leader with two laps to go, finally claiming his first Shannonville checkered flag.

In Heavyweight Sportsman/ Lightweight Superbike combined session, Coelho and Istvan Hidvegi won their respective races with Elie Daccache taking the win in Sprint Cup. Lightweight Production was dominated once again by Laflamme, as the BRS rider claimed his second win of the day. 

Matt Vanderhorst took the win in AM Superbike, using his BMW Motorrad power to dominate ahead of Massicotte and Goran Radisic. To close off the day, Daccache took the win in PRO Superbike. 

At the end of the day, four championships were confirmed. Barnes took home AM Sportbike, while Cloutier claimed Lightweight Production. Hidvegi capped off his season by taking home two titles, Lightweight Sportsman and Lightweight Superbike. 

The final day of the 2023 season saw more intense action as the five remaining titles were still undetermined. As we could not have wished for a better weather scenario, the last races were even better and a blast to watch. 

To start the day, Zaïm Laflamme doubled down in Lightweight Sportsman. 

In PRO Sportbike the championship came down to the final lap.  A three-bike battle formed at the front of the grid, Laing lead Decarie and Coelho. All Coelho needed was a second-place finish to secure the title, but with one lap to go Decarie took the opportunity to pass Laing down the Fabi Stretch.  Laing turned down on Decarie, sending down the No.707 and allowed Coelho to sneak through, win the race and the 2023 PRO Sportbike title. Laing was cleared after the race. 

With Barnes having won the AM Sportbike title, it was smooth sailing for the No.84 as he finished second to Rob Massicotte to end the season on a high note. 

In Novice, a season that saw 6 different winners in 9 races finally crowned their champion. Stecho just needed to finish ahead of Brown and McKenzie to take home the title and, in dominating fashion, Stecho took the win and 2023 Novice crown. 

Coelho claimed Heavyweight Sportsman’s race win again, but it wasn’t enough to beat Decarie in the final standings. David Buckland beat Neil Stanavech to win Lightweight Superbike.

Daccache picked up the win and championship in Sprint Cup, while Laflamme dominated Lightweight Production again for two days in-a-row. 

Massicotte held off Vanderhorst to win AM Superbike, while Kevin St-Germain used his model of consistency to win the AM Superbike title. Finally, Daccache defended his No.1 plate by winning the PRO Superbike title to finish off the weekend. 

Special recognitions were awarded as follow at the 2023 Super Series end of season celebration. Full standings are available on the Super Series’ website at: www.super-series.ca/standings

MAXIME MERCIER SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Presented to the rider who displayed exemplary sportsmanship during the season
2023 Recipient: Wesley Barnes

SUPER SERIES DETERMINATION AND TRUE GRIT AWARD
Presented to the individual rider who displayed exemplary determination and true grit throughout the season
2023 Recipient: Alan Wong

SUPER SERIES ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD
Presented to the most outstanding Novice rider
2023 Recipient:  Catherine McKenzie

RACERS SPIRIT AWARD
Presented to the rider who showed the true spirit of competition on and off the track
2023 Recipient: Tyrone Tavares

“PRESIDENT’S CHOICE”
Presented to the most improved Amateur competitor
2023 Recipient: Andrea Hidvegi

SUPER SERIES SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
2023 Recipient: STAT MEDIC 

As the off season now begins, stay tuned as the 2024 Super Series schedule will be released this upcoming winter. 

Text: Alex Gallacher- Super Series Communications

Photo by: David McCulla @glory_days_motorsport_photos