Klatt best in west again

From CMRC Racing

REGINA, SK -- With four out of four overall victories – two of which were clean sweeps – Dusty Klatt left no doubt that he was the supreme ruler of the '05 CMRC MX2 West Championship. Klatt, who carried a cushy 32-point lead heading into the final round of the title hunt in Regina on Sunday, clinched the championship with a victory in the first moto. In the second moto, the defending champ scooped the overall by finishing second behind Shane Bess.

Although a heavy downpour on Saturday night turned the super fast Moto Valley track into a muddy mess, by both second motos of the day the track had dried out under a hot prairie sun. Richmond Racing Kawasaki Canada's Colton Facciotti holeshotted the first MX2 moto, but a crash turned over the lead to KTM Canada’s Jimmy Nelson on the first lap. Nelson led for four laps, only to be passed by Facciotti's teammate Jeff Northrop.

Klatt, meanwhile, slid out in the first corner, adding some drama to the proceedings. He remounted in 12th place. Despite difficult passing conditions Klatt charged his way into sixth before the end of the first lap. Ahead of Klatt, Nelson hounded Northrop to reclaim the lead a few laps later. By lap 7 Klatt had relegated Northrop to third place and then started reeling in Nelson. Not to be denied, Klatt put a pass on the Las Vegas native shortly before the checkered. Much to Nelson's surprise he saw second place turn into third when Richmond Racing's Teddy Maier also put a pass on him in the final moments of the moto.

In the second moto, Klatt put on a demonstration that brilliantly mirrored his championship status. He parlayed a disastrous start that saw him flounder at the back of the pack into 11th place by the end of the first lap. On lap 2 he chewed his way into seventh; on lap 4 he was fourth. Up front, after he holeshotted the moto, Nelson was unable to keep first place for very long. Pacific Yamaha’s Bess took command of the lead. The American started creeping away while behind him raged a battle for top three positions.

Klatt systematically disposed of Maier, Morgan Racing Yamaha's Erik Vallejo and Team Suzuki OTSFF's Jake Weimer to settle into second. On the last lap, in a titanic duel with Bess, he stuck a pass on the Yamaha rider. In what was basically a drag race to the final corner before the finish line Bess managed to repass Klatt to take the checkered by a bike length for a well deserved win.

"There were a lot of fast riders in the series but that only motivated me to ride that much harder. My goal was to repeat as champion and everything worked out great," said Klatt. "I'm extremely happy to have come out with another championship for Team Honda Blackfoot Fox who provided me with excellent equipment and support. I'd like to thank them for their confidence in me, and my mechanic Jon Balducci for keeping my bike in the mix every weekend."

The premier MX1 title chase unfolded as another Jean Sebastien Roy show. In keeping with the success of his Blackfoot teammate Klatt, JSR made short work of the competition to claim his third clean sweep of the season.

In the first moto, Team Suzuki OTSFF Motorsport's Keith Johnson snared the holeshot while JSR rounded turn one within the top 10. Johnson had the honour of leading the pack for one lap until Roy took over. Johnson's teammate Gavin Gracyk worked his way into second, at Johnson's expense. Gracyk would finish there, 18 seconds behind an untouchable JSR.

The second moto holeshot again went to Johnson, but with JSR in his rear wheel his lead was as short lived as in moto one. Roy took control of the moto on the second lap and checked out. Gracyk, who carded 2-2 motos for second overall last week, knifed his way into second place from a fifth-place start while Johnson faded to fourth. With his 3-4 motos, however, Johnson grabbed third overall for the day. Morgan Racing Yamaha's Craig Decker, who finished seventh in the first moto, snared a third place in the second.

Multi time champion Blair Morgan, still struggling with the results of a snowcross leg injury, carded 5-8 motos in his home province national. The Prince Albert, SK native took his Morgan Racing Yamaha to sixth overall for the day.