Four to Score

Vienna HS

The fourth round of the CMA National Hare Scramble series was held in Vienna, Ontario, hosted by the Vienna Trail Riders. The event saw riders travel through thick forests, bike swallowing mud, deep ruts, soy fields and, in the afternoon, up a very steep, long, spectator lined hill. Vienna also saw the return of last year’s series winner, Chris van Hove, aboard his #1 KTM. Van Hove fought hard, but was unable to challenge the speedy Aussie, settling into second.
The morning class was more of the same. Jesse Grummett took another victory in the Youth class, followed by Mitchell Lawson. Making his season debut on the podium was Connor Brogan, of Palgrave, Ontario, aboard the #598 KTM.
Grummett’s 18 point lead over second place Mitchell Lawson means both riders will come back into the second half of the season with a fighting spirit.
Mid morning action saw the a tough battle for first in the Ladies class between series leader Ainsley Farr, and the new girl, Kate Knight aboard her RM125. The big tires and higher ground clearance gave Knight an advantage, but weren’t enough to over power Farr and her YZ 85, who took another victory. Rachel Comsky took a third in her first race of the season aboard her TTR 125.
An interesting side note: Stapleton and Farr are the only riders who have had a perfect season so far, with four victories in four races for each Yamaha rider. Ainsley Farr has all but guaranteed a series victory, collecting 60 points, and an astounding 32 point lead over Kate Knight!
Farr

Knight

Comsky
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Novice A saw new comer Jake Loube, of St. George, Ontario, take first place. Greg Filer managed a solid second place, increasing his points lead over Mark Koens, who finished outside the top three. Third place Alvin Olar, of Sault Ste. Marie. Filer’s lead over Koens has been expanded to a commanding 25 points! If Filer keeps up this consistency, he’s pretty much clinched the championship for himself.
Loube

Filer

Olar
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Elmo Rutnik took another first in Super Vet action, with Steven Hart taking second. Brian West, of Sarnia, took his first podium position, a third, in the mud and ruts of Vienna. 15 points separate Rutnik and Hart, a gap that can easily be closed if Rutnik misses a race. No doubt both men will come back after the break with more good natured competition.
Rutnik

Hart

West

Veteran Wayne Brogan increased his lead over second place by taking another win. Second place went to Steve Young, of Port Colborne, Ontario, aboard the #971 Husquavarna. Jim Clayton took third place to round out the podium. Brogan’s points lead has increased to 18 points. Billings, who has run some consistent finishes but succumbed to the mud, heat and/or ruts of Vienna, will have to come into the second half with more than consistency if he hopes to challenge Brogan for the #1 spot.
Brogan

Young

Clayton

The afternoon saw the big boys take the track and the opening of some creative lines off the start. Many spectators found their seemingly safe standing lines turn into lines through the tight turn in the front. The conventional wisdom is that Novice A is where all the crazy, out of control riders are, Vienna proved that every class, even the Pros, have wild men in their ranks!
There was a big shake up in the Vet Expert ranks as only one of the top three points leaders finished in a podium position. Jamie Jones, of Paris, Ontario, and Dwayne Soper, of London, Ontario, took first and second, respectively. Dave Nelson, #2 in points, took third place to round out the podium and close the gap between him and first in points Don Given. This means that going into the break only two points separate first and second.
Jones

Soper

D.Nelson

Michael Jonker took the win aboard his KTM, with Christian Birker taking the number two spot. Ron King took home third place. Birker and Jonker are still in first and second place, respectively, in the points standing, with less than six points separating the two. Desmond Magill remains in third in over all points, even after receiving no points for the Vienna round; he’s four points off Jonker.
Jonker

Birker

King

The Expert class saw Kevin Burley take his second victory over Chad Burford, who placed second. Leigh Boerkamp finished in third in his first appearance this year.
Burley

Burford

Boerkamp
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And then there were the Pros. Jake Stapleton walked through the course, putting down lap times that were nothing short of amazing. Throwing a wrench into Wojnarowski’s plans was Chris van Hove, who finished in fine form, taking second. Wojo pushed hard and raced to a solid third place, making it a Yamaha-KTM-Yamaha podium.
Stapleton

van Hove

Wojnarowski

Van Hove has shown that just because he missed the first three rounds does not mean he’s out of shape or that he’s gotten slow. If he chooses to race the rest of the season, he might just throw a wrench into Wojo’s plans to keep the #2 plate for next year.
Two weeks off and then it’s off to Moorefield and the Ant Hill Classic. Much like Barrie, the Moorefield round attracts many riders who tend to throw a wrench into the point plans of the top riders in each class.
As always, I’ll be in the woods, taking pictures and names. I do try to get out of the way, and I apologize if I have, or will in the future, screw someone up because I can’t get completely off the track (Vienna was particularly bad in some sections). I am trying to get to the side, though!
See you at the races, and remember, smile, you might be on camera!

And I know you took some heat for the last photo I posted of you, Ty, so here are some nice ones! Cheers!
Ty. Linton