Gerbrandt stars in Saskatchewan

From the CNMRA

The sixth and final round of the Midwest Motorsport Ltd Canadian National Mini Roadracing Series was held at the Martensville Speedway track in Saskatchewan last weekened.

Qualifying took place Saturday afternoon and Geoff Gerbrandt, with home track advantage, set the fastest time of the day on his KX85 with 48.67 seconds. Ian McWhirter of Calgary came in second with 49.27 seconds on his YZ27.

There were two participants in the Youth 7-10 race. Christy Conrad finished first and Reaghan Ross second.

In the Intermediate race Deb Strem of Regina took the first spot on the podium with Sharon Ham of White City second and Conrad third.

The Ladies Class put on a good show. Robyn Ham started both races from the back of the pack due to a mechanical problem during Super Pole, and with some exceptional manoeuvres placed second overall. Jana Ham took first place and Sam McManus placed third.

To make things interesting the Formula Over 21 field was placed in the same race as the Formula Under 21 racers, with the old guys gridded in front of the young guns. “Old guy” McWhirter got the holeshot off the start but “young gun” Gerbrandt was hot on his heels after the first lap. They had a good battle with Gerbrandt winning. He was followed in Under 21 by Cody Conrad and Chris Wilson. In Over 21 Formula McWhirter won from Rob Ross and Guy Hince.

In the Pocket Bike Open and Pocket Bike 40cc Chris Mah of Edmonton once again demonstrated his superiority and won every race. The podium finish was the same for both classes, with Mah first, Pierre Pelletier second, and twin brother Daniel Pelletier settling for third.

The Spec Super Sport races proved interesting. Gerbrandt was late to the grid due to equipment issues so started the first race in last position even though he had pole. With 12 bikes on the track, Gerbrandt was in second spot by the end of the first lap behind Dave Elmer. Saskatoon club president Emil Peev joined Elmer and Gerbrandt in the lead group.

Gerbrandt eventually obtained a comfortable lead and let Peev and Elmer battle it out. In the second last corner of the last lap Peev passed Elmer.

In the second race Gerbrandt comfortably led the convoy. Peev held onto second spot with Jana Ham securing third on the last lap and Elmer settling for fourth.

In Spec Thunder and Thumper McWhirter maintained a huge lead in both races. No one could touch McWhirter in Thunder, and he took first from Rob Ross and Sam McManus. In Thumper Jacob Snell placed first and Craig Poirier got second.

Both races in Formula Thumper and Formula Thunder were almost identical. No passing took place in these races with everyone immediately settling into finish positions. In Formula Thunder Cody Conrad was first and Rob Haynes second. Patrice Lambert was first in Formula Thumper.

Under 21 Spec was an entertaining race with Gerbrandt getting the holeshot and taking a huge lead. With two laps to go Gerbrandt’s bike was making weird noises and everyone wondered if he was going to be able to finish the race. Peev was having a huge battle with Sam McManus, but dropped from third position on the last lap to ninth when he went off the track temporarily. Robyn Ham started at the back of the race and battled her way up to fourth spot. Gerbrandt finished first, Mah second and McManus third.

In Spec Over 21 McWhirter got holeshot and secured a significant gap on the first lap. Snell crashed on the second lap. The podium was McWhirter first, Ross second and Elmer third.

Both races in Formula Super Sport were identical. Gerbrandt switched to a borrowed AMRA CBR125 but still claimed first spot. Chris Wilson was second and Cody Conrad third.

Formula GP and Motard classes were run together. McWhirter and Gerbrandt battled it out in the Motard Class. McWhirter crashed on the fifth lap but still finished the race in second spot. Gerbrandt took first in Motard, McWhirter second and Snell third. In the Formula GP class Ross took first, Haynes second and Guy Hince third.