By Danny Brault


What a weird weekend we had in Morden, Manitoba. Everyone was excited to ride one of the best tracks in Canada, Shadow Valley Raceway, but that came to an end when the rain started falling hard early Sunday morning. After running the first MX2 and MX1 moto, in the toughest conditions I’ve ever seen, there was some talks between riders, teams, and the CMRC over whether or not the second motos would be run. Long story short, the CMRC canceled the MX2 moto, used the time to repair the track further for the MX1 moto, but the MX1 guys still felt the track wasn’t passable. So the moto was basically boycotted. In response to the riders’ decision, CMRC President Mark Stallybass issued a press release today, stating that the manufacturer series purse for the MX1 class will be proportionately reduced by $5,000. The $5,000 will be donated to the Canadian Diabetes Association of Canada instead. Please read on, to find out from Stallybrass what exactly went on in Manitoba and how this decision has come about.


RXC: Mark, first off, what went wrong last weekend in Morden?
Mark Stallybrass: [Laughs] It rained!

RXC: [Laughs] It sure did. I was standing on the starting line when you were speaking with the team managers, when it was decided that the second MX2 moto would be canceled, but the MX1 moto would be run after further track maintenance. However, the riders felt the track still wasn’t passable and I was actually surprised because it had been cleaned up quite a bit …
As was apparent when the six racers went out and raced without a problem. They didn’t have any problem getting around the track or making a race out of it. I think if the odd rider had of gone out from under their tent and gone for a walk, they would have seen that it was half decent. As I said in the press release, the first moto was disgusting. However, if it had of kept on raining, it wouldn’t have been as bad but it was drying up, getting tackier, stickier and more rutted.

When I came down to the line for the second MX2 moto, I could understand not sending out 250F bikes, but with the time spent working on the track and wind helping to dry things up, it wasn’t the same as the first MX1 moto.
I appreciate the fact that it costs money, but as far as I’m concerned, when you make a commitment to ride a series, you make a commitment. You can’t base your judgement on how much it’s going to cost you. I took that into consideration, because I know it does cost a lot of money and privateers do face challenges trying to compete in the series. At the same time, we cut the motos down to 12 minutes plus a lap. I think these bikes can withstand 15 minutes of grueling conditions. As I said, the conditions weren’t grueling for the second moto—or the second MX2 moto for that matter. The rain had stopped, the wind was blowing and we were pushing mud off the track.

Was the second MX1 moto planned to be run for the full 30-minutes?
Nope. 15 plus one. What I think the problem was, the riders thought they were going out to what they just got off of. The only person I saw walking around the track was Blair Morgan; that’s the only rider I saw out there. The riders that went out there [for the Good Times moto], they are mid-pack riders let’s say, they made it around no problem.

While standing at the start, among the riders, it felt like it wasn’t just the Morden mud that led to the boycott, but rather, there were larger issues involved. Like there was a bit more to it than just the mud. Do you feel that same way?
No. That could be the case, and if that is the case and they say nothing—how are we supposed to know? We’re not mind readers. It’s like a relationship: if you don’t tell your spouse, or boyfriend or girlfriend, how are they supposed to know? Same thing—there has to be communication. If there is a problem, let us know about it. I think we are very approachable and we’re very reasonable and we always talk to riders and ask them their opinion of the track. Maybe on a one-on-one basis and not as a group, because if you asked a group, you would have twenty different opinions. If there was a little coo brewing, it was behind closed doors.

When I returned from Morden, I read in Ricky Carmichael’s interviews that he wasn’t happy with the Budds Creek track. One of his suggestions was that the promoters, team managers and riders have meetings before the events to share thoughts and ideas. Is that something that you would be interested in?
I’ve already said to some team managers that I would be more than happy to have a rider representative. We have meetings with team managers every week of the nationals; I have meetings with every manufacturer several times—in fact, I had four meetings this week. Maybe you could clarify, I did—and I would never—say the manufacturers support this without getting their support. I went to every one of them and every one of them agreed.

How did you come to the decision to deduct $5,000 from manufacturer series purse from the MX1 class and donate it to the Canadian Diabetes Association of Canada?
It’s not a matter of … it’s more of a message. And a stern message had to come. The manufacturers have the biggest investment of money into the series; I have the biggest investment of time. They are the ones that will suffer down the road if the sport goes under, not the riders as much. Not the team managers; they can go elsewhere and find another job. But the manufacturers have to promote and they have to collectively make the sport as attractive as possible to sell bikes. If they weren’t behind this decision, I couldn’t have done it because the teams and riders could have went back to the manufacturers and said, what’s up? We are partners in this. As far as the $5,000 goes, it’s not a lot of money, collectively. But it’s a message from the CMRC and the manufacturers that this is unacceptable. We’re not trying to make the riders suffer; we know if we don’t have the riders, we don’t have a race. And if we don’t have teams, we don’t have a race. At the same time, we have to take into consideration, the sponsors, the riders, the fans, the future of the sport, and we can’t take one opinion, we have to take a consensus. I’ve been around the sport for thirty years; it’s an outdoor sport and you have to do deal with the elements.

What are you hoping will be the response this weekend in Regina?
I’m sure there will be mixed feelings, but I think the riders will accept it.

Will there be any other penalties or fines handed out to riders?
Not at this time because I only have hearsay and no concrete evidence. There are two in particular that I could and should fine, but I don’t have concrete evidence backing up the accusations. It’s not a protest to generate money; it’s not about the money. Donating it to a charity is the best thing to do to prove it’s not going to CMRC or my pocket or … what do I drive now? It’s a statement to the riders and the teams that this is unacceptable.