Eastern swing ready to roll

From CMRC Racing

STOUFFVILLE, ON -- After barnstorming the western provinces, and a two week break in the schedule, the five-round eastern leg of the CMRC Canadian Motocross Championships kicks off this weekend at Gopher Dunes in Courtland, ON. The MX1 title hunt picks up with Round 5 of the series; the MX2 East Championship clicks into gear with Round 1 of the four-round points chase.

“After all the nasty weather we had out west we’re hoping for a little better racing conditions. I don’t think anybody wants to see any more rain and mud for a while,” said CMRC’s Mark Stallybrass. “But whatever the case, we’re ready to bring top flight motocross to Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.”

Canada’s best Pro motocross riders including Doug DeHaan (Factory Yamaha), Chuck Mesley (Machine Racing Honda), Pierce Chamberlain (KTM Canada), Simon Homans (Factory Yamaha), Ryan Lockhart (Richmond Racing Kawasaki) and Mitch Cooke (Blackfoot Racing Honda) from the east, will take on their western counterparts and a contingent of American stars in the quest for the MX1 and MX2 East Championship crowns.

“It’s always nice to come back to race in your own area of the country after being out west, especially doing the two Ontario rounds,” said Thorndale, ON’s DeHaan. “Launching the eastern tour of the series at Gopher and then finishing in Walton gives local riders two opportunities to race in front of family and friends. It gives you a little extra motivation.”

DeHaan, currently seventh in the MX1 Championship points, is one of four Canadians along with Homans, Blair Morgan (Morgan Racing Yamaha) and Jean Sebastien Roy (Blackfoot Racing Honda) ranked in the top 10 after the western rounds.

Although six of the top 10 positions are occupied by American riders, the man at the head of the pack is defending MX1 Champion Roy. The Acton Vale, QC native has totally dominated the premier 250cc class for the past four seasons and shows no signs of letting up this year. Roy won the first four rounds of the series, three of them with clean sweeps. In total he has claimed an incredible 45 moto victories and 26 overalls since 2001.

“The series went well for me out west but everybody is stepping it up and I don’t expect things to get any easier for the rest of the championship,” said Roy. “I’m confident in my abilities but I’m not complacent just because I’ve got a bit of a points lead. It’s never over until it’s over.”

In the MX2 East Championship, the rider to beat will be defending champion Donnie McGourty (Blackfoot Racing Honda). Although the Florida native is favoured to repeat as champ, he’ll have his hands full with a number of fellow Americans as well as 125cc Canadian hotshoes like Chamberlain, Lockhart, Cooke and DeHaan. Also in the mix will be local Ontario up-and-comers that include Kyle Keast (Lindsay); Kyle Thompson (Brigden); Trevor Hall (Queensville); Jay Burke (Hamilton) and Joel Saarits (St. Anns).

Racing action gets underway with qualifying heats on Saturday. The first moto of the MX2 East Championship starts at 11 a.m. Sunday.