Down in the Boondocks

Well, boys and girls, the season is over. The dust has settled, there is no more mud on the tires and the bikes are (mostly) back in one piece before a winter rebuild. It’s time to reflect and be thankful that most of us made it through the season without a serious injury, and that while there were a few minor and one or two more serious injuries, nothing proved too serious, and thankfully nothing was fatal. In the coming weeks, I will be doing a full series recap, but for now, I still need to offer the play by play on what ended up being one of the most shocking races of the season!
Starting with the Youth classes, not many were sure how many Youth riders would turn up; Wheatley is a very far way from home, and Monday was a school day after all, but all of the usual faces were there. Jesse Grummet took another win on his TM, though he wasn’t allowed to walk away with it, as Chris Cuthbert-Castelo didn’t make the big trip just to let someone else win. Chris ended up in second place for his trouble, while Mitchell Lawson took home a solid third. There were only four competitors, with Connor Brogan rounding out the pack aboard his KTM.
The Novice A field, as usual, was packed, with local boy Brandon Tiessen took home the victory with an amazing ride, gapping second place Jacob Farber by a good margin. Series points leader, Greg Filer, made the trip, knowing that second place Mark Koens was as hungry for a championship as he was. For his trouble, Filer finished third, and received 10 points, more than enough to keep him out of Koens’ reach. Both Filer and Koens will make the move next year to the afternoon classes, taking on a new batch of bikes in the Intermediate class, filling the void left by the top two finishing Intermediates.
The Ladies class was a shocker, with local girl Renee Freeman taking on not only her class, but working her way into the Novice A class, aboard her Suzuki rocket. Amanda Hutchinson finished second, riding a solid, but somewhat distracted race, while Rachael Comisky finished third. Ainsley Farr, who suffered mechanical failure at Wilberforce that hadn’t been repaired yet, had more bad luck, crashing and injuring herself. She rode what would be a safe race, knowing that she had the championship in her pocket already.
Super Elmo Rutnik took home another victory, securing his spot as Super Vet Champ, in front of Steven Hart, an equally talented rider. Rutnik finished first in seven out of nine races, finishing second at Barrie and receiving no points at Wilberforce. Brian West, over-all third place finisher, came in second in the race, gaining 12 points to put him in front of fourth place Brian Holloway. David Filer, father of Novice A Champion Greg Filer, took home third for a fifth place finish over all.
Vet action belonged to the strong at heart. First belonged to Leon Manning; he took his first win away from dominant forces Wayne Brogan and Keith Billings, who have dominated the top spots on the podium all year. Dennis Imeson came in second, aboard his #977 Husquavarna. The final spot on the podium went to Jeff Green, of Essex, on his #992 Honda.
The afternoon classes saw a few upsets. In Vet Expert class, Tim McIntosh had his best finish of the year, taking the top spot on the podium. Don Given, the 2008 Vet Expert Champion, took the number two spot and Paul LaChance made his podium premier in third place.
Payton Gagnier of Bell River took the Intermediate win on his #153 Yamaha, ahead of Jason Griffeth of Bowmanville. Local boy, Mike King, of Leamington, took home the final spot on the podium on his #140 Yamaha. With Filer and Koens entering the class next year, Michael Jonker and Christian Birker, the juggernauts who have been battling back and forth all year for the #1 spot (Jonker took the over all), will move up into the Expert class.
Expert class was more of the same. Chad Burdford took another win, adding to his streak, winning 5 out of 9 races, coming in second once. Brandon Lawson took the second place, and Frank Cantin took the last spot on the podium. Burford, the top finisher in Expert, will move up to the Pro class next year, along with Frank Cantin.
And now we’ve reached the Pros.
Everyone knew, going in, that Jake Stapleton and Brian Wojnarowski would be first and second, but the question was who would take the #3 plate. With Stapleton absent (due most likely to a hand injury sustained at the Corduroy Enduro), stakes were higher. If Mike Vandenhoek could get those 15 points from the win, he would put himself in front of Linton for the #3 plate. Unfortunately for Linton and Vandenhoek, Aaron Wilkins was back, and the holeshot machine that he is, he took a big lead right off the start. Following Wilkins were Wojo and Vandenhoek, with Chris van Hove, local boy Brad Dixon and Linton trailing behind.
Tragedy struck Vandenhoek again; the sand was thick and took its toll on his GasGas’ air filter. Vandenhoek was forced to pull off, much to the disappointment to his crew, but also to Linton, who had been trailing behind, but fighting to get back up to Vandenhoek.
Wojo took the win, van Hove took the second and local boy, Brad Dixon, took the last spot on the podium.
For next year, this is what your Pro line up looks like:
#1 – Jake Stapleton
#2 – Brian Wojnarowski
#3 – Tyler Linton
#4 – Mike Vandenhoek
#5 – Chris van Hove
#6 – Aaron wilkins
#7 – Kevin Cockayne
#8 – Jonathan Ryan
#9 – Bryan Marshall
#10 – Mike Bond
#11 – Derek Arnold
#12 – Brad Dixon
#13 – Dustin Heacock
#14 – Darryl Forsbrey
#15 – Jeff Pillon
#16 – Tom Farr
#17 – John Head
#18 – Wayne Carrol
Chad Burford and Frank Cantin will have their choice of numbers between #19 and #79.
It was a hell of a season, ladies and gentlemen, and it looks like, for next year, it just might be an even wilder ride. So enjoy the off season, sleep in on Sundays, and know that come next May, we’ll be back to do it all over again.
Congratulations to the Champs; Jesse Grummet, Greg Filer, Ainsley Farr, Elmo Rutnik, Wayne Brogan, Don Given, Michael Jonker, Chad Burford and Jake Stapleton.
Cheers to an awesome season.

I'm having technical issues with my photo host at this time, but pictures will be up shortly. I'd like to thank everyone who has given me support this season, and all the riders who have tolerated me as their paparazzi. Stay tuned for some easter egg content, prints, calendars, posters and other goodies.