Privateer Photo Report Presented By SixSixOne 

Drew Clegg put together his two best national rides to date in Calgary and Nanaimo. He went 18-13 for 16th overall in Calgary and 9-10 for eighth overall in Nanaimo. The big Albertan has benefited from consistent top 10 starts and then uses his strength to keep riders behind him.

Nova Scotia's Davey Fraser has come a long way since winning the Total Devotion award at Walton in `05. Fraser put on a few pounds this winter to help keep that Yamaha underneath him and it seems to be working. After a great ride in the MX2 class at Ste-Julie, where he finished seventh overall, Fraser has scored points in six out seven of the Western MX1 motos. His best ride came in Nanaimo, where he finished 11-20 for 15th overall. Fraser stayed at Julian Cerny's place in Calgary between the Regina and Calgary rounds, and the two privateers rode and trained together. After chatting with Cerny on Sunday afternoon, I think he was a little frustrated that Fraser beat him....

"The People's Champ" Johnny Montes is looking forward to returning to his hometown national in Moncton, NB. Montes traveled the western rounds with Chuck Mesley (and myself for a week) and the two stopped in at the Western Canadian Amateur National in Raymond, Alberta, where Montes took home the Vet Master title and Mesley won the Youth class.  Leading Edge Kawasaki was kind enough to give Montes a rig to park with and tech support at the Western rounds--and I even cleaned some filters for him in Calgary. The highlight of Montes' western trip came in Nanaimo when he ran sixth for a few laps before a flat tire dropped him back to 16th. Look for the G. Bourque Kawasaki rider to race both classes in Moncton and Sand Del Lee.

Nathanial Bosum has went through a steep learning curve in his first journey through Western Canada. After finishing 20th in Morden, Bosum has suffered a multitude of DNF's, crashes and injuries. With a seventh-place in the second MX2 moto at Gopher Dunes, I think Bosum will be looking forward to returning to the small bike in the East.

After setting some of the best lap times on the Wild Rose track in Calgary, Oregon's Kevin Rookstool had many asking (once again): "Who the heck is that?" Rookstool, who raced the AMA National in Colorado last weekend, finished 11th in the first moto at Wild Rose.

Team Faith's Josh Snider has had a busy summer; between his motos, Snider has been holding morning chapel and devotional services at the national rounds. Snider scored points in four of his last six motos, with his best ride coming in Nanaimo with a 19-18 for 21st overall.

By now, I'm sure most of you are aware that Chuck Mesley found his spot on the first page of the September issue of Racer X Canada. The Machine Racing Honda rider earned his first RXC cover for his second overall at Gopher Dunes. Unfortunately, just like his teammate Kyle Keast, who earned his first RXC cover last summer for his podium at The Dunes, Mesley was injured at The Wastelands. After going 8-10 for eighth overall in Calgary, Mesley was aiming for a top five in Nanaimo, but his hopes were shattered when he crashed in his qualifier and broke three ribs. Initially, Mesley was thinking he would return for SDL, but I spoke to him yesterday and now he's looking at flights to Moncton. Even though he missed Nanaimo, Mesley still sits 11th in points.

Honda's top MX1 rider, Kyle Keast, made it through the Western swing unscathed, which was his main objective. Don't think Keast didn't strive for results, however. He led a few laps in the Morden mud before falling down on the second last lap and scored a sixth overall in Calgary. Keast could be a podium contender for the SDL round, considering his results in the sand and his win over Mason Phillips at the SDL Provincial a few weeks back. Wouldn't it be cool if John Nelson had two top 10 numbers under his tent for `08!

With all of the press SoCal receives, we sometimes forget that Northern California produces some fast guys as well, such as Jeff "Norcal" Northrop. Typically, Northrop finds work for a Canadian team in the MX2 West series, but there were no job openings for the witty Norcal in Canada this summer. That might have been a good thing, however, because had Norcal rode a 250F again, we wouldn't have saw the speed he possesses on a 450. Regina was the first evidence of Norcal's 450 speed when he held off Paul Carpenter in the first moto for third. Unfortunately, Norcal and Carpenter jumped on a yellow flag and they were docked five positions each. In Calgary, Norcal again was holding off Carpenter for third, but a flat tire ruined that ride. Finally, in Nanaimo, the stars aligned and Norcal passed Jeff Gibson for his ever MX1 moto win. In the final moto, he finished third for second overall.

Altona, Manitoba's Josh Penner had originally planned to focus on the MX2 class, but after bike troubles with his CRF250 in Morden--and his 450 results at Ste-Julie and Gopher Dunes--his focus shifted to MX1. Penner had a solid run going, finishing 20-21 in Regina and 20-18 in Calgary. That run ended in The Wastelands when Penner went down hard in the first moto over the finish line jump. Just as they were about to wave the red flag, Penner stood up on his own and walked off the track. Josh is pretty tough, so I'm sure we'll see him racing the Manitoba Fall Series.

Southwestern Ontario's hero, Pierce Chamberlain, and his father, Bill, made their first venture out west this summer. Rather than add to his Ontario Provincial title count, Chamberlain wanted to prove himself in the MX1 class. The Lucas Oils Yamaha rider showed speed at every round, but he always found himself battling through the pack. In Nanaimo, "Pico" finally got a decent start and earned his first top 10 with an eighth in the first moto and finished ninth overall. Chamberlain always rides well at Moncton, SDL and Walton, and says his goal is a top five before the season ends.

Joseph Rose is a former Ontario Provincial contender, but now lives, works and races in Alberta. Joe finally painted his white lid and finished just outside the top 20 in Calgary.

It's been two years since Chunk Motorsports' Julian Cerny has ridden the full series, but it hasn't slowed him down. Cerny's results look like this: 17-13-10-19-18-14 and he sits 16th in the points.

Our Nanaimo RXC Factory Rider for a Day, Andrew Belin, suffered setbacks at the start of the year, like a broken shoulder blade in Ste-Julie and a rock in the eye at Morden, but he ended the season strong, with a ninth overall in Calgary, 11th in the first MX2 moto in Nanaimo and an 11th in the final MX1 moto. If you haven't done so already, check out Belin's Destroyer Films video here.

Broc Shury whips it out in Calgary.  The Saskatchewan kid will definitely lower his number for `08, with a 13th in MX2 at Morden, 18th in MX2 at Nanaimo and 20th in MX1 at Nanaimo.

I know a lot of privateers have racked up some serious mileage this summer, but I don't think anyone's been on the road as much as BC's Howie Spencer. After racing at the AMA National in Hangtown, Spencer loaded up and drove back home to BC, and then drove to the first Canadian round in Ste-Julie, Quebec. Spencer's efforts were rewarded when he scored a 12th in the mud at Morden.