Due to rain, the Vienna round has been postponed until further notice. Sorry, ladies and gentlemen. Keep an eye on the Vienna Trail Rider's website for updates. I will also be updating here on my blog.
In another things, be sure to check out IMX for a preview of the WEC events happening in early July, as well as updates from my trip out west on the IMX Racer's Blog.
Also, I haven't received any nominations for 20 Questions, so perhaps I'll just have to pick someone.
Cheers,
- Suzie
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Return of the King
This past Sunday the third round of the CMA Hare Scramble series was held at Burnt River. A place known for lots of rocks, logs and water, Connie and RJ had their work cut out for them controlling the beavers that kept damning culverts, flooding large sections of the track. The weather was much better than last year, with a cold snap killing some of the bugs and the rain holding off for the weekend.
Youth Junior was won by local racer Tyler Greenlaw. Yes, that’s Greenlaw as in Connie. Momma was proud to hand her son the first place trophy, that’s for sure. Points leader Jordan Fischer took home the second place spot and Braden Butcher of Barrie, Ontario finished the top three with ten points.
Youth Senior was a much bigger class, with Cody Curran of Port Perry taking home the top spot. Connor Brogan, son of injured Vet Expert Wayne Brogan, took home second, breaking his two race win streak. Mister consistant, Tyler Maenz, of Thorton, Ontario, took home his third third place trophy of the year.
Kate Knight took her first podium at Burnt River, with the top spot, none the less. She beat out Melissa Head, who finished second, and Ainsley Farr, for the honour.
Novice A saw Jesse Grummett doing more of the same, taking home his third first place finish of the year, extending his lead over Chris Culbert-Castelo to 23 points. Culbert-Castelo took home second and Jed Franko, of Caledon, Ontario, took home third place.
Jim Clayton was the top finishing Veteran, followed by the #928 bike of Guido Knieling, second fastest man in the morning at the Barrie round. Waclaw Palider, of Mississauga finished in third aboard his #935 Yamaha.
Super Vet was another slaughter by John Nelson. Bruce Moffat, of Caledon and Lance Matthews, of North Caledon, fought hard, but couldn’t keep up with Nelson’s speed. After two wins, Nelson has two points of Matthews, and eight over Moffat. Elmo Rutnik, last year’s champion, won at Port Colborne, but hasn’t scored a point since, and as such is sitting back in 7th place.
Roger Messier, of Paris, put that big, black KTM back in front for a third time in the Vet Expert class, followed by Dwayne Soper of London in second and Dave Nelson of Drumbo in third.
Another three for three, Greg Filer took home his third win aboard his #177 KTM. He pushed his way into the Expert class for his victory against fellow Milgrove native Eric Langford aboard the #155. Dmitry Tsvetkov, of Concord, Ontario, made it an all orange podium in the Intermediate class.
Expert rider, Michael Jonker, had a great start to the day. Having celebrated his 19th birthday on the Friday, Jonker held off celebrations until he took home a win. He led most of the race, but suffered a harsh crash, which allowed the #77 of Adam Millson to get out in front. Payton Gagnier, of Windsor, made his debuted in second place, with Jason Griffeth taking home third. When the dust settled, the birthday boy was back in forth, finishing just outside the podium.
Now, I called this update return of the King, and there’s a reason for that. Just before noon, as the morning riders were wrapping up, Jake Stapleton, the #1 rider from last year, who won all but two rounds of the ten round series, his bikes wrapped up. Confusing many with his #17 WEC plate, Stapleton went for a ride while Chris van Hove and Wojo battled it out for second place. The race started with an almost hole shot by Aaron Wilkins, the #6 bike falling just short of Wojo’s big, blue #2. Wojo led for a while, but by the time we caught back up with the Pros, Jake had taken over and Wojo was fighting with Van Hove for second place. When the mud dried, and believe me, there was plenty of mud, Jake took the top spot on the podium, Van Hove took second (and the points lead) and Wojo took the last podium spot.
Mike Vandenhoek finished out of points, but gets big style points for keeping those fresh white boots, just that, white. Riding with his feet up over the rad shrouds made not only for pretty white boots, but was a stunt enjoyed by those watching the water “crossing.” It takes a lot of skill to turn a bike in water over the hubs, with your feet up on the shrouds.
The next round, should the weather hold off, will happen next Sunday at Vienna. It is the last chance to see big name riders such as Wojo, Chris Van Hove and Tyler Linton before they head off to the WEC for two weeks. It’s also a brand new course. This is the first time they’re running this course, so come on out and have some fun in the mud.
If the course is rained out, perhaps you’d be interested in heading out to Gopher Dunes to watch Jake Stapleton take on some of the best Ontario has to offer through the CMRC Provincials.
As usual, photos are available here. If you want photo CDs drop me a line at showie@mail.com.
See you in the woods!
- Suzie
Youth Junior was won by local racer Tyler Greenlaw. Yes, that’s Greenlaw as in Connie. Momma was proud to hand her son the first place trophy, that’s for sure. Points leader Jordan Fischer took home the second place spot and Braden Butcher of Barrie, Ontario finished the top three with ten points.
Youth Senior was a much bigger class, with Cody Curran of Port Perry taking home the top spot. Connor Brogan, son of injured Vet Expert Wayne Brogan, took home second, breaking his two race win streak. Mister consistant, Tyler Maenz, of Thorton, Ontario, took home his third third place trophy of the year.
Kate Knight took her first podium at Burnt River, with the top spot, none the less. She beat out Melissa Head, who finished second, and Ainsley Farr, for the honour.
Novice A saw Jesse Grummett doing more of the same, taking home his third first place finish of the year, extending his lead over Chris Culbert-Castelo to 23 points. Culbert-Castelo took home second and Jed Franko, of Caledon, Ontario, took home third place.
Jim Clayton was the top finishing Veteran, followed by the #928 bike of Guido Knieling, second fastest man in the morning at the Barrie round. Waclaw Palider, of Mississauga finished in third aboard his #935 Yamaha.
Super Vet was another slaughter by John Nelson. Bruce Moffat, of Caledon and Lance Matthews, of North Caledon, fought hard, but couldn’t keep up with Nelson’s speed. After two wins, Nelson has two points of Matthews, and eight over Moffat. Elmo Rutnik, last year’s champion, won at Port Colborne, but hasn’t scored a point since, and as such is sitting back in 7th place.
Roger Messier, of Paris, put that big, black KTM back in front for a third time in the Vet Expert class, followed by Dwayne Soper of London in second and Dave Nelson of Drumbo in third.
Another three for three, Greg Filer took home his third win aboard his #177 KTM. He pushed his way into the Expert class for his victory against fellow Milgrove native Eric Langford aboard the #155. Dmitry Tsvetkov, of Concord, Ontario, made it an all orange podium in the Intermediate class.
Expert rider, Michael Jonker, had a great start to the day. Having celebrated his 19th birthday on the Friday, Jonker held off celebrations until he took home a win. He led most of the race, but suffered a harsh crash, which allowed the #77 of Adam Millson to get out in front. Payton Gagnier, of Windsor, made his debuted in second place, with Jason Griffeth taking home third. When the dust settled, the birthday boy was back in forth, finishing just outside the podium.
Now, I called this update return of the King, and there’s a reason for that. Just before noon, as the morning riders were wrapping up, Jake Stapleton, the #1 rider from last year, who won all but two rounds of the ten round series, his bikes wrapped up. Confusing many with his #17 WEC plate, Stapleton went for a ride while Chris van Hove and Wojo battled it out for second place. The race started with an almost hole shot by Aaron Wilkins, the #6 bike falling just short of Wojo’s big, blue #2. Wojo led for a while, but by the time we caught back up with the Pros, Jake had taken over and Wojo was fighting with Van Hove for second place. When the mud dried, and believe me, there was plenty of mud, Jake took the top spot on the podium, Van Hove took second (and the points lead) and Wojo took the last podium spot.
Mike Vandenhoek finished out of points, but gets big style points for keeping those fresh white boots, just that, white. Riding with his feet up over the rad shrouds made not only for pretty white boots, but was a stunt enjoyed by those watching the water “crossing.” It takes a lot of skill to turn a bike in water over the hubs, with your feet up on the shrouds.
The next round, should the weather hold off, will happen next Sunday at Vienna. It is the last chance to see big name riders such as Wojo, Chris Van Hove and Tyler Linton before they head off to the WEC for two weeks. It’s also a brand new course. This is the first time they’re running this course, so come on out and have some fun in the mud.
If the course is rained out, perhaps you’d be interested in heading out to Gopher Dunes to watch Jake Stapleton take on some of the best Ontario has to offer through the CMRC Provincials.
As usual, photos are available here. If you want photo CDs drop me a line at showie@mail.com.
See you in the woods!
- Suzie
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Two to Tango
Well, ladies and gentlemen, after a weekend off, the CMA Hare Scramble series is back in full swing with three back to back races. The first in the triple header was the OCMC fronted Barrie Round held at RJ’s Motorsports Park. Traditionally the largest race of the year, RJ’s the talent field was as deep and varied as the many ruts that developed in the tight woods.
Things started off good with a light rain; given the high sand content of the soil, a light rain was a welcome sight for many riders, even if it meant a very cold start to the morning. Massive numbers turned out for the Novice A and B classes, with first time riders and local OCMC racers making up a huge part of the non-regulars. The large numbers, especially in the morning class, meant that by the time the big boys in the afternoon took over the track, the ruts were deep and breaking and acceleration bumps were big enough to swallow a rear tire whole! Even so, there were still plenty of fast lines and wide open spaces, so much so that bikes were going through more than the regular amount of gas and more than one rider, including Pro Aaron Wilkins, ran out of gas.
As always, Barrie can be a confusing track, with up to three different sets of trail cut into the woods; riders were instructed to stay on the correct path by following the arrows, and not necessarily just following the tracks. Marshalls and club volunteers were out in droves to make sure that everyone played it honest and kept to the correct path.
With so many riders, the Youth class was split into Mini Junior and Mini Senior. Zachary Morgan, #534, rode four gruelling laps for the top spot in the Mini Junior class, followed by Kaleb Gray and Jordan Fisher who each finished three laps, taking home second and third respectively. Mini Senior saw Connor Brogan, son of 2008’s Vet Champ Wayne Brogan, take home the first place spot. Cody Curran took home second and Tyler Meanz took home third.
Special notice goes out to the Brogan family. Wayne suffered an accident at the Port Colborne round, and lost part of his baby toe, in his first afternoon race, no less! Everyone’s wishing you a fast recovery, Wayne!
Birthday girl Melissa Head took home another victory and the 1st place trophy at her home track. The freshly turned 16 year old doesn’t even have a driver’s licence yet, but that doesn’t seem to stop her from burning her way into the Novice A class! Following in her older sister’s tire tracks was Emily Head, who took home second. Ainsley Farr, the reigning champion, rounded out the podium.
Jesse Grummett is looking to prove himself a one trick pony in the Novice A class, and that trick is winning. He’s two for two in his rookie year in the Novice A, and looking forward to Burnt River to add another notch to his bar pad. Following Grummett was Rob Westenberg in second and Chris Culbert-Castelo took home third.
Guido Kneilling was second fastest rider, period, in the morning program, soundly taking the win for the +40 class, and battling with Super Vet John Nelson. Chasing the #928 bike was Todd Topper, in second, and Brian Zuest in third.
The old guys saw a new challenge moving back into the morning from the afternoon program. Last year, John Nelson rode several rounds in the Vet Expert class. Being old enough, he chose to run the morning class as a Super Vet, taking home the top spot soundly, and becoming the overall fastest rider in the morning program. Lance Matthews finished second behind Nelson, and Bruce Moffat took home the final podium spot in third.
The afternoon program, as per usual, ran a slightly modified version of the course. Track Marshalls and volunteers were also crawling all over the place, making sure riders kept honest and stuck to the correct trails.
Greg Filer kept his #177 KTM up front for four laps, taking home the win in Intermediate for the second time. It looks like Filer plans a repeat of last year, blasting his way through the muck and mud to stay up front in almost every race. Chasing Filer’s roost were Steven Shaw and “Baby” Birker, who finished second and third respectively.
Vet Expert was down two tough competitors this round, with John Nelson opting to ride with the rest of the really old guys, and Wayne Brogan out with an injury, it was Roger Messier on that mean, black KTM who took home the top spot. Paul Andratis took home the runner up trophy and Randy Zuest claimed the last podium position.
The Double Digit boys, Adam Millson, #77, and Michael Jonker, #88, battled it out once again in the Expert class, with Millson taking the win, forcing Jonker to take second. The #104 of Frank Cantin battled hard, but couldn’t break past third place.
And then we have the Pros...
Professionalism and drama aside, these men are here to race, and race they did. Aaron Wilkins shocked the audience by not only not getting the hole shot, but by being one of the last riders off the line. Wojo took the hole shot, but a very hungry Chris van Hove, sick of eating roost, was on his heels. Memories of last year’s #2 finishes are clearly fresh in both riders’ minds, and neither plans to be second best this year. Both riders know what it’s like to win, and both are capable of being a champion. We’re in for a great summer of racing between these two, but back to Barrie.
I’m going to start further back than just the top three, because there are a few people who I think deserve recognition who wouldn’t get it if I only cherry picked the top three. Bryan “Swampy” Marshall, the #9 Honda, had a rough start, but it can be forgiven, after all, he was the only Pro who also raced in the Youth Junior class, on a fifty! Bryan’s oldest son, Curtis, rode his first race with his Daddy behind him the entire way. Way to go, MiniMarshall!
Another rider trying something new was CMRC transplant Trevor Hall. The Pro Motocrosser rode his first hare scramble at Barrie, and after two and a half hours he was banged up, bloodied, disoriented, but more than willing to come back and do it all over again! Hall battled hard with the #3 rider, Tyler Linton, but crashed and stalled just enough to let Linton get some room on him. Linton, no slouch when it comes to moto, was able to hold the MXer off even on the mototrack before pulling away in the tight stuff. The pair ran fourth and fifth for most of the race. Hall finished fifth overall for the day.
Once he past Hall, Linton kept on the gas, his eyes set on the last podium spot. All that stood in front of him and a third place finish was the #7 KTM of Kevin Cockayne. The pair ripped around, but Linton was just too focussed. He passed Kevin and finished just in front of the Mission Cycle KTM rider for the final podium position.
Now, as for those two behemoths, van Hove and Wojnwaoski. They fought hard, back and forth trading for first and second for much of the first lap, until Wojo made a mistake and crashed and van Hove capitalized on Wojo’s bad luck and extended a lead that Brian, no matter how hard he pushed himself, just couldn’t catch.
Just as van Hove came back harder than ever after coming second at Port Colborne, there is no doubt Wojo will come back like a bat out of Hell itself at Burnt River. A man with strict determination, who blames no one but himself, Brian Wojnarowski will come to Round 3 with a point to make.
Burnt River takes place at the Burnt River Off-Road Facility this Sunday, June 14th. Come out and show your support for your favourite riders, because anyone who has been to Burnt River knows the kind of Hellish terrain that can be found in the back woods.
See you there!
As always, photos are available. Please don’t steal them. I will be selling photo CDs, if you’re interested, email me at showie@mail.com or 5thgearphotography@mail.com. Also, 2008 Photobooks will be available soon, pricing to be determined, on a preorder, first come first serve basis. If you’re interested, contact me via email, or find me at the races.
Also, many of you might have noticed that in the afternoon I wasn’t alone. My friend, Angela Poon, took some great shots. Check her stuff out here!
Thanks for all of your support. Cheers!
Things started off good with a light rain; given the high sand content of the soil, a light rain was a welcome sight for many riders, even if it meant a very cold start to the morning. Massive numbers turned out for the Novice A and B classes, with first time riders and local OCMC racers making up a huge part of the non-regulars. The large numbers, especially in the morning class, meant that by the time the big boys in the afternoon took over the track, the ruts were deep and breaking and acceleration bumps were big enough to swallow a rear tire whole! Even so, there were still plenty of fast lines and wide open spaces, so much so that bikes were going through more than the regular amount of gas and more than one rider, including Pro Aaron Wilkins, ran out of gas.
As always, Barrie can be a confusing track, with up to three different sets of trail cut into the woods; riders were instructed to stay on the correct path by following the arrows, and not necessarily just following the tracks. Marshalls and club volunteers were out in droves to make sure that everyone played it honest and kept to the correct path.
With so many riders, the Youth class was split into Mini Junior and Mini Senior. Zachary Morgan, #534, rode four gruelling laps for the top spot in the Mini Junior class, followed by Kaleb Gray and Jordan Fisher who each finished three laps, taking home second and third respectively. Mini Senior saw Connor Brogan, son of 2008’s Vet Champ Wayne Brogan, take home the first place spot. Cody Curran took home second and Tyler Meanz took home third.
Special notice goes out to the Brogan family. Wayne suffered an accident at the Port Colborne round, and lost part of his baby toe, in his first afternoon race, no less! Everyone’s wishing you a fast recovery, Wayne!
Birthday girl Melissa Head took home another victory and the 1st place trophy at her home track. The freshly turned 16 year old doesn’t even have a driver’s licence yet, but that doesn’t seem to stop her from burning her way into the Novice A class! Following in her older sister’s tire tracks was Emily Head, who took home second. Ainsley Farr, the reigning champion, rounded out the podium.
Jesse Grummett is looking to prove himself a one trick pony in the Novice A class, and that trick is winning. He’s two for two in his rookie year in the Novice A, and looking forward to Burnt River to add another notch to his bar pad. Following Grummett was Rob Westenberg in second and Chris Culbert-Castelo took home third.
Guido Kneilling was second fastest rider, period, in the morning program, soundly taking the win for the +40 class, and battling with Super Vet John Nelson. Chasing the #928 bike was Todd Topper, in second, and Brian Zuest in third.
The old guys saw a new challenge moving back into the morning from the afternoon program. Last year, John Nelson rode several rounds in the Vet Expert class. Being old enough, he chose to run the morning class as a Super Vet, taking home the top spot soundly, and becoming the overall fastest rider in the morning program. Lance Matthews finished second behind Nelson, and Bruce Moffat took home the final podium spot in third.
The afternoon program, as per usual, ran a slightly modified version of the course. Track Marshalls and volunteers were also crawling all over the place, making sure riders kept honest and stuck to the correct trails.
Greg Filer kept his #177 KTM up front for four laps, taking home the win in Intermediate for the second time. It looks like Filer plans a repeat of last year, blasting his way through the muck and mud to stay up front in almost every race. Chasing Filer’s roost were Steven Shaw and “Baby” Birker, who finished second and third respectively.
Vet Expert was down two tough competitors this round, with John Nelson opting to ride with the rest of the really old guys, and Wayne Brogan out with an injury, it was Roger Messier on that mean, black KTM who took home the top spot. Paul Andratis took home the runner up trophy and Randy Zuest claimed the last podium position.
The Double Digit boys, Adam Millson, #77, and Michael Jonker, #88, battled it out once again in the Expert class, with Millson taking the win, forcing Jonker to take second. The #104 of Frank Cantin battled hard, but couldn’t break past third place.
And then we have the Pros...
Professionalism and drama aside, these men are here to race, and race they did. Aaron Wilkins shocked the audience by not only not getting the hole shot, but by being one of the last riders off the line. Wojo took the hole shot, but a very hungry Chris van Hove, sick of eating roost, was on his heels. Memories of last year’s #2 finishes are clearly fresh in both riders’ minds, and neither plans to be second best this year. Both riders know what it’s like to win, and both are capable of being a champion. We’re in for a great summer of racing between these two, but back to Barrie.
I’m going to start further back than just the top three, because there are a few people who I think deserve recognition who wouldn’t get it if I only cherry picked the top three. Bryan “Swampy” Marshall, the #9 Honda, had a rough start, but it can be forgiven, after all, he was the only Pro who also raced in the Youth Junior class, on a fifty! Bryan’s oldest son, Curtis, rode his first race with his Daddy behind him the entire way. Way to go, MiniMarshall!
Another rider trying something new was CMRC transplant Trevor Hall. The Pro Motocrosser rode his first hare scramble at Barrie, and after two and a half hours he was banged up, bloodied, disoriented, but more than willing to come back and do it all over again! Hall battled hard with the #3 rider, Tyler Linton, but crashed and stalled just enough to let Linton get some room on him. Linton, no slouch when it comes to moto, was able to hold the MXer off even on the mototrack before pulling away in the tight stuff. The pair ran fourth and fifth for most of the race. Hall finished fifth overall for the day.
Once he past Hall, Linton kept on the gas, his eyes set on the last podium spot. All that stood in front of him and a third place finish was the #7 KTM of Kevin Cockayne. The pair ripped around, but Linton was just too focussed. He passed Kevin and finished just in front of the Mission Cycle KTM rider for the final podium position.
Now, as for those two behemoths, van Hove and Wojnwaoski. They fought hard, back and forth trading for first and second for much of the first lap, until Wojo made a mistake and crashed and van Hove capitalized on Wojo’s bad luck and extended a lead that Brian, no matter how hard he pushed himself, just couldn’t catch.
Just as van Hove came back harder than ever after coming second at Port Colborne, there is no doubt Wojo will come back like a bat out of Hell itself at Burnt River. A man with strict determination, who blames no one but himself, Brian Wojnarowski will come to Round 3 with a point to make.
Burnt River takes place at the Burnt River Off-Road Facility this Sunday, June 14th. Come out and show your support for your favourite riders, because anyone who has been to Burnt River knows the kind of Hellish terrain that can be found in the back woods.
See you there!
As always, photos are available. Please don’t steal them. I will be selling photo CDs, if you’re interested, email me at showie@mail.com or 5thgearphotography@mail.com. Also, 2008 Photobooks will be available soon, pricing to be determined, on a preorder, first come first serve basis. If you’re interested, contact me via email, or find me at the races.
Also, many of you might have noticed that in the afternoon I wasn’t alone. My friend, Angela Poon, took some great shots. Check her stuff out here!
Thanks for all of your support. Cheers!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
News
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,
I get asked from time to time if I can make higher resolution version of my photos available. The pictures that I post online are not the same as the ones that I have on my hard drive(s); they're lower resolution, and smaller. Well, I'm going to make better quality images available.
I will be offering photo CDs now, with varying prices dependending on the number of races and the number of riders on the CDs.
Basic pricing is $5 per rider/per race, and if you were interested in more riders/races, email me and we can work something out. I am also available to do custom prints, thank you plaques and posters.
I can be reached at 5thgearphotography@mail.com or at the races.
Next race is June 7th at RJ's Motorsports Park in Barrie.
Also, look for an update on off road coverage by yours truly in the next issue of Inside Motocross and Off-Road and make sure to check out the racer's blog too!
See you in the woods!
- SuziQ
I get asked from time to time if I can make higher resolution version of my photos available. The pictures that I post online are not the same as the ones that I have on my hard drive(s); they're lower resolution, and smaller. Well, I'm going to make better quality images available.
I will be offering photo CDs now, with varying prices dependending on the number of races and the number of riders on the CDs.
Basic pricing is $5 per rider/per race, and if you were interested in more riders/races, email me and we can work something out. I am also available to do custom prints, thank you plaques and posters.
I can be reached at 5thgearphotography@mail.com or at the races.
Next race is June 7th at RJ's Motorsports Park in Barrie.
Also, look for an update on off road coverage by yours truly in the next issue of Inside Motocross and Off-Road and make sure to check out the racer's blog too!
See you in the woods!
- SuziQ
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