David McKay Wins Shannonville's $10,000 RACEMoto Superbike Finale
David McKay completed a two-week run of Ontario regional success by winning the $10,000 Pro Superbike feature at Shannonville Motorsport Park, the centrepiece of RACEMoto's fifth and final 2026 round and the track's Nelson International 50th-anniversary celebration.
McKay led regional champion Eli Daccache home in the 14-lap Sunday feature, with Carter Matson taking third after a sustained fight with three-time Canadian Superbike champion Francis Martin. The result gave McKay the event's $2,500 winner's cheque and added a Shannonville victory to his win one week earlier at the SOAR finale in Grand Bend.
The race report was issued September 30 after the September 25-27 weekend, making the final classification the new milestone. Earlier coverage established the event, purse and anniversary program. The new information is who converted that opportunity into results.
A difficult weekend before the win
McKay arrived as the runner-up in the national Pro Superbike standings and a regular Bridgestone CSBK podium finisher on the AYVA/Snow City Cycle Honda CBR1000RR-R SP. His Shannonville weekend nearly changed direction during Friday testing when he fell in turn one and the Honda cleared a tire barrier. The motorcycle escaped with limited damage.
Daccache also crashed Friday. His Yamaha suffered a broken airbox that allowed debris into the engine, causing a late-night rebuild with help from other racers, including a Yamaha Canada representative. He returned to the grid as the already confirmed Eastern regional champion after an exceptional run of RACEMoto victories.
McKay won Saturday's heat by four seconds. In Sunday's cool and windy feature, he launched well and established an advantage while Daccache stayed closest. McKay eventually won by approximately seven seconds. His reported best pace was 1:05.4, with Daccache reaching a similar range earlier in the race.
Matson finished 26 seconds behind the winner but secured the final podium position ahead of Martin. Matt Van Der Horst placed fifth, and Matt Simpson was the leading Supersport entry in sixth.
History shared the grid
Martin's fourth place gave the anniversary weekend a direct link to Shannonville's past. He returned on a first-generation Suzuki GSX-R1000 prepared in the style of the machine he raced at the track in 2002. The motorcycle retained its earlier-era character, without modern electronic rider aids, although it used 17-inch wheels and current Bridgestone slicks.
The 50th-anniversary program also placed classic motorcycles and former champions on track. The facility opened as Nelson International Raceway in October 1976, and the reunion brought together competitors, builders and families connected to five decades of Canadian road racing.
The support results showed the depth of the current regional field. Daccache won the Sprint Cup ahead of Matson and Simpson. Drew Weber took Pro 600 Supersport, Matt Simpson won Heavyweight, and Justin Marshall captured Middleweight by three tenths of a second. J.S. Lefebvre won Amateur Superbike by a narrow margin, Sarah Wilken took Amateur 600 Supersport, and Kyle Fenn won the Novice race.
Why the result matters
Regional racing is where Canadian riders accumulate track time, develop teams and build the experience required for national competition. A feature purse attracts established national contenders, but its value is broader when those riders share a paddock with amateurs, lightweight racers and developing competitors.
For dealers and suppliers, the weekend connected sponsorship with a visible Canadian event. McKay raced a current Honda superbike, Daccache represented Yamaha, and the grid included Suzuki, BMW and Kawasaki machinery. The open-tire rules also created a different competitive environment from the national series.
The result should not be confused with the season title. Daccache had already secured the Eastern regional championship before the finale. McKay won the high-value anniversary feature. Both facts can stand together: one reflects season-long consistency, while the other records the outcome of Shannonville's largest closing race.
The timing also matters for the historical record. A post-event classification replaces speculation about who might handle the open-tire format, changing weather and added pressure of the purse. It records how the leading national and regional riders actually performed. That is the point at which an event preview becomes a result readers can use when following riders, teams and championships into the next season.
RACEMoto's final report turns the anniversary from a preview into a completed Canadian racing milestone. McKay earned the main victory, Daccache closed a championship season in second, and Matson took the final podium position after holding off one of the country's most accomplished Superbike veterans.
