Stapleton clinches title

By Suzanne Howie

The CMA National Hare Scramble Series made its way to Wilberforce for the eighth and second-to-last round on a very well laid out track. The event was put on by the Halton Off-Road Riders.

The 13km loop consisted of rocks, trees, elevation changes and sand, but little of the muck and mud that riders have grown accustomed to, then tired of, this soggy season. Laid out by Bruce Moffitt, the course became increasingly rutted and chewed out as the morning classes wore on; the loamy dirt was pushed aside, exposing rocks and roots and creating ruts that could swallow a rear tire up to the rotor.

With Brian Wojnarowski away, preparing to represent Canada at the ISDE in Serres, Greece, everyone was wondering who would fill out the podium. Jake Stapleton was a shoe-in for first, and did not disappoint, putting down a dozen solid laps and cutting his time down to just under 13 minutes at one point!

Everyone had their eyes set on second place. Chris van Hove was looking to creep up on Tyler Linton in the points. Linton wanted to take Mike Vandenhoek’s third place standing, at the same time moving further from van Hove and Aaron Wilkins (who did not race this round).

Meanwhile, Vandenhoek was looking to pull further ahead from Linton and cut down on the gap between himself and second place "Wojo."

A good start for Stapleton, Vandenhoek and van Hove proved to be a bad start for Linton, who was dead off the line and had to contend with the massive dust cloud caused by the other seven riders. He had to battle his way through the pack to catch up with Stapleton, Vandenhoek and van Hove and challenge for a spot on the podium.

Stapleton checked out early in the race, riding almost flawlessly through the rough terrain in the woods and the sandy sections of the motocross track. He looked as much at home climbing up and down the steep rock faces as he did pounding through the big sand berms on the moto-track. Stapleton’s ride was so fast, however, he managed to lap right up to fourth place, coming within minutes of lapping third!

Vandenhoek was off to an excellent start, charging hard behind Stapleton and fending off the orange machine of van Hove until he suffered a damaged rad. Vandenhoek has put in some amazing rides this year, taking several thirds and a second in Port Colborne, but has been plagued by bad luck.

With Vandenhoek out, van Hove found himself riding alone in second place, too far behind Stapleton to catch up, but far enough ahead of third place to just put his head down and ride. At one point last year’s number one finisher was six minutes behind Stapleton as they both charged towards the two-and-a-half hour mark. He finished in second, stealing points away from Linton, who placed third.

Linton, however, pushed Vandenhoek out of the #3 spot in the standings and only three points now separate the two riders.

Kevin Cockayne rode his way to a solid fourth place, spending it mostly alone, until he was put a lap down by Stapleton. David Foresbey, debuting on his #21 Yamaha, rounded out the top five after an impressive start.

While Stapleton has clinched the #1 plate for next year and Wojo has basically guaranteed himself the #2 plate again, Vandenhoek, van Hove and Wilkins are all within range of challenging Linton for that #3 at the final round in Wheatly, ON. Taking place the first weekend in October, Wheatly may also be a test of who’s tougher in the cold.