Roy looks to continue roll

From Bullseye Media

STOUFFVILLE, ON -- As has been the case for a number of years, Jean Sebastien Roy is well on his way to chalking up yet another MX1 Championship as the CMRC Canadian Motocross Championships slowly wind their way down to the final round in Walton.

Honda Canada Blackfoot Fox Racing's Roy currently holds a cushy 73 points lead over his teammate Damon Huffman. Unless there is a worst case scenario in store for Roy it's safe to say at this stage of the game, with only three rounds left on the schedule, the championship title is a done deal.

The remaining positions, however, are anything but a shoe-in. Huffman is looking at a precarious hold on his second place in the rankings, a position he took possession of at Round 6 in Joliette. Before that the Californian sat as far back as eighth place and as close to the lead as third, an indication of the musical points chairs that have highlighted the top 10, and beyond, since Round 1.

Only two points separate "Huffy" from Morgan Racing Yamaha's Craig Decker, who in turn holds 13 points over Team Suzuki OTSFF's Gavin Gracyk. Gracyk, for his part, counts six points between himself and teammate Keith Johnson. Although there's a 37-point spread separating KJ's fifth place from sixth, currently being occupied by Decker's teammate Blair Morgan, the gap tightens again after that. Yamaha Canada's Simon Homans is just three points down from Morgan –they swapped positions last weekend. Blackfoot Racing's Dusty Klatt, who moved from 10th to eighth place in Joliette, is 22 points behind Homans.

Yamaha Canada's Doug DeHaan, who held down eighth place going into Joliette, is now out of the top-10 club, having been relegated to 11th spot. While DeHaan is only eight points outside of the top-10, he will not only have to ride hard to get back into it, but also to keep Swanson Racing Yamaha's Josh Demuth, who trails by 17 points, off his back.

This weekend, at Riverglade MX Park in Moncton, all of the above, except JSR – even if he scores no points – may very well see their current rankings rearranged again, especially between second and fifth place. Klatt could very well displace Homans from seventh and Richmond Racing Kawasaki's Evan Laughridge, holding down 10th, could take a bite out of the 10 points he trails Team Suzuki's Mike Treadwell by.

Atlantic Canada's Mitch Cooke, arguably one of the most underrated motocrossers in Canada, will be looking to win his first MX2 East Championship round this weekend at Riverglade MX Park in Moncton. Cooke, riding for the powerhouse Honda Canada Blackfoot Fox Racing team, is currently eight points behind series leader Kyle Chisholm of Team Richmond Racing Kawasaki Canada.

With Cooke's teammate and defending champion Donny McGourty out of the mix at Round 2 due to a wrist injury, Cooke has become Blackfoot Racing's sole hope to capture the MX2 East crown.

"I came into this with my goal being to win the title for myself and the team. The fact that Donnie is not really in contention doesn't put any more pressure on me to win the championship for Blackfoot," said Cooke. "I put all the pressure I need on myself."

At this stage of the championship Cooke stands the best chance to crack the American hold on the MX2 East title, which they've enjoyed for the past two years. In addition to Cooke, Yamaha Canada's DeHaan and Machine Racing Honda's Kyle Keast are the only other Canadians within striking distance of the title. DeHaan, fifth in the standings, trails Chisholm by 15 points - Keast, in sixth, is looking at a more sizeable 29-point deficit.