The four-round MX2 East series also kicked off at Ste Julie. Defending champ Michael Willard and his second-place finisher Kyle Chisholm picked up right where they left off at Ste Julie last year. Here are some of the top pics from the MX2 East class.

By Allison Kennedy: Photos by Jason T. Griffiths and Allison Kennedy

Michael Willard went 1-2 for second overall. His first moto pursuit and last lap pass on Chisholm made for some awesome racing. It's going to be a tough battle between these two.

Chisholm remembered all too well how Ste-Julie ended last year. This time Chisholm came out on top, passing Willard in the second moto for the overall and the early points lead.

Blackfoot's Mitchell Cooke picked up third overall with 3-5 moto finishes. While Cooke was aiming higher than that, he's still miles ahead of where he was after round one last season. He needs to come out swinging this weekend at Gopher Dunes.

Willard's handling the pressure of a #1 plate well.

OTSFF Suzuki's Pierce Chamberlain got the holeshot in the second moto but had to settle for 17th overall with 20-14. Chamberlain is a Gopher Dunes regular, so he'll be looking to redeem himself this Sunday.

After holeshotting his qualifier at Hangtown last weekend, Willard got another patented KTM start in Saturday's Ste-Julie qualifiers.

Introducing Nick Evennou: the Maryland resident came north as part of the Simon Homans Racing team and picked up a podium in the second moto.

15-year-old Kory Snelgrove qualified for his first ever pro national. The qualifier was his first-ever pro race.

Willard had to battle his way through Chisholm's roost for most of the first moto.

The elder Snelgrove: Kyle Snelgrove also raced the MX2 class, finishing 19-DNF.

After battling with injuries for a few years, the speed and promise that made Tyler Medaglia a big name a few years back showed itself again at Ste Julie. Medaglia went 4-6 for 5th overall.

Jay Burke landed a spot on the Morgan Racing Yamaha team this season but a major knee injury prior to the Ste Julie opener is still slowing him down. Another Gopher regular, hopefully Burke can put in a strong ride this weekend.

KTM Canada's Matt Barnes definitely found more speed over the winter months. Barnes went 7-4 for 6th overall, and grabbed a qualifier holeshot on his KTM too.