Here we go again!

This past Sunday, May 24, the opening round of the CMA Hare Scramble series was held in Port Colborne, Ontario. Run backwards from the previous year, the course had many of the same difficult obstacles that made it fun and challenging last year, and one that made it a very dangerous event. The log hop from last year was still there, though a large divot had been worn into it by rear tires repeatedly spinning against it. The danger came from the dust; in spite of rain on Saturday and early Sunday morning, by the time the big boys in the afternoon took to the course, the open straightaways were treacherously dusty, as freshman Pro Chad Burford would unexpectedly find out. But we’ll get to that in a minute.
The Novice A class lost lots of top finishers from last year, including the series champion Greg Filer. Sunday showed a whole new crop of racers to compete in the fast young class of the morning. Jesse Grummet, #410 , who we all remember from last year as the strong finishing Youth rider, advanced to the Novice A class and took first place soundly, finishing in 2 hours, eight minutes and fifty-three seconds. Following Grummet in second place was Jeff Lee, #371, and Rob Westenberg, #420, in third.
There was upset in the Ladies’ class; with both Ainsley Farr, 2008 Champion, and Amanada Hutchinson, 2007 Champion, racing, but neither coming in at the top spot. New comer and OCMC member, Melissa Head rode her #501 KTM to a first place finish over Hutchinson, who took home second place on the #521 CRF. Head’s younger sister, Emily, #500, took home the third place, coming in less than 20 seconds after Hutchinson.
The Vet class saw promotion of last year’s champion, Wayne Brogan, to the afternoon to run with the Vet Experts, leaving the door open for a new champ. Jeff Hart, on the 939 bike, took the first win of the season, with Guido Knieling, on the 928 KTM, taking home the runner up spot. Third place belonged to Barry Billings, #905.
In Super Vet, there was an incredible sense of déjà vu, with the familiar #699 of Elmo Rutnik out front by almost five full minutes over second place, Rick Hon, #607. Brian Holloway, #617, had the final podium spot by just under a minute, coming in five minutes after Rutnik.
As already reported, the afternoon classes saw a huge swelling in their ranks, with many Novice A’s moving up to the Intermediate class. Greg Filer, last year’s Novice A champion, took home the first win of the season in his rookie race in the Intermediate class, aboard his #177 KTM. Welcome to the big leagues, Greg; you were the only Intermediate rider to complete six laps! Following Filer was Steven Shaw aboard the #200 bike, who finished just past the two hour mark, coming in at 2:00:01. Third place was right behind; coming in at 2:00:02 was #145, Peter Depagter for a tight third place. Other Novice riders who moved up to the afternoon class include Nick Barker, Patrick Plante and Mark Koens.
Vet Expert was won by Paris, Ontario native, #327, Roger Messier. #326, Paul Andratis, came in a minute later for a second place finish, with John Head, #358, taking the final podium spot, edging out #309 Randy Zuest by a matter of thirty-three seconds. Brogan, a fresh promotion from the morning class, had a less than ideal welcome to the afternoon, reportedly severing off a toe! We wish you good luck, and swift healing, Wayne!
The Expert class was down four notable names from 2008. Chad Burford and Frank Cantin were promoted to the Pro ranks, and it is expected that Torin Linton will join them when he recovers from an ankle injury. Lee Hill, a top finisher last year in spite of having many years of “experience” over the other riders, was also not present for the season opener; it is expected that he will return to Expert class.
In another surprise welcome, Michael Jonker, fresh promotion from the Intermediate class, took home an impressive second place in his first race of the year aboard his #88 KTM. Man, there’s gotta be something about those KTMs, because 2 out of 3 podium finishers rode the orange bikes. #103, Jason Griffeth, took home the third place trophy. First place went to #77, Adam Millson, of Ponty Pool, Ontario. Ponty Pool, as some of you might remember, is also home to Brian “Wojo” Wojnarowski. And yes, before you ask, the two came together and are good friends; no wonder Millson was able to keep over a full minute between himself and Jonker, even though he is an admitted moto-guy.
And, here we are, the main event. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you, the Pro class!
Jake Stapleton, the man from Oz who came to Canada after touring Europe and took home the #1 plate for his troubles, will be focussing his attentions on the World Enduro Canada CEC series, and as such, will not be defending his plate. With that in mind, Chris van Hove, the 2007 Champion, has redoubled his efforts, as has Wojo, and both are going to do their best to make sure it’s their bike that has that much sought after #1 on the front in 2010.
The race started, as most races do, with a hole shot from Aaron Wilkins, sporting the #6 on his Mission Cycle KTM. Wojo and Mike Vandenhoek were right on his rear fender. By the time the riders got out into the field section, Wojo and Vandenhoek had pulled in front of Wilkins. They spent the better part of the race battling it out, with Chris van Hove pushing his #5 Husquavarna past the #6 KTM eventually for third place.
Mike Vandenhoek must be Irish, because he certainly has the luck of the Irish. The bad luck that haunted him last year continued into 2009. After pulling in for an extended pit stop to try to fix a stuck clutch, Vandenhoek eventually had to pull out for the rest of the race. Hopefully he’ll have everything sorted out before Barrie on June 7.
But back to the racing...
Aaron Wilkins took third place when he was the first Pro to come in after the 2.5 hour mark, with only Wojo and Chris van Hove going for the eighth lap.
With Vandenhoek out, van Hove pushed that big, bad 450 into second place, closing in on Wojo’s hold on first. It came down to a matter of seconds; Wojo finished at a time of 2:49:24 and van Hove coming in at 2:49:29. It was an incredible last lap as the pair went over the log hop. Riders, spectators and family members cheered the only remaining riders on as they sped through to the finish.
At the finish, there were congratulations, hugs, handshakes and high fives, with everyone looking towards the future.
If Sunday was any indication of how the season is going to go, we’re in for a very exciting season of riding, with changes in all the classes.
The season will continue in two weeks at RJ’s Motorsports Park in Barrie, Ontario.

As usual, photos are available. Please don't steal my photos.