JUNE 6, 2005
By: Danny Brault
Photos: Jolene Van Vugt
The 125 Pro class rockets off the Wheatley line.
It only took three rounds, but mother nature finally blessed the Ontario Provincial series with ideal motocross weather; sunshine, heat and humidity. Cooperating with the weather was the track preparation of the Wheatley track crew, which was lead by Todd Kuli [who wrenched for Randy Valade and most recently made a guest appearance wrenching for JSR at Mt. Morris]. Despite concerns regarding the watering of the track, the Wheatley team did an excellent job and dust was never a factor. Consistent with the previous rounds, rider entries topped 400 and although all classes were only run on Sunday, the event wrapped up around five o'clock—proving that a provincial can be run in a single day.
It feels like the opening round at Gopher Dunes just wrapped yesterday, but sadly we’re already past the halfway mark of the series and the Walton TransCan is looming in the shadows. Now it’s time for riders who have been keeping things slow and steady, to crank it up a notch if they hope to snare a provincial championship.
Pro classes
Lockhart's Odyssey's Pierce Chamberlain rocketed off the line in the first 250 moto, pulling out a good sized lead to take the win. Machine Racing/ LGS/ Label It backed Jason Burke earned the runner-up position, while his teammate Kyle Keast came through the pack in typical fashion to score third.
Pierce Chamberlain didn't have his best day in the 125 class, following poor starts and a crash in the first 125 moto.
In the second moto, Pico again led the field out of the hole, convincingly, and by the second turn had already pulled out a 100 foot lead. After he stretched out a five second lead, it seemed he would repeat his first moto performance but Machine Racing’s Ryan Gauld wouldn’t allow it. Gauldy put on an inspring charge, and by the halfway mark he passed the KTM rider and proceeded to place some serious real estate between the two. The CRF 450 mounted Gauld earned the win and fourth overall, while Pico took first overall. Macine Racing/ Yamaha’s Trever Hall rode a solid race to finish third in the moto and fifth overall. Keast finished second overall, followed by Burke in third.
Jason Burke is leading the 125 series points chase.
In the 125 class, Hully Gully/ Yamaha’s Kyle Snelgrove and Burke entertained fans while battling for the lead in the first moto. Burke passed Snelgrove and went on for the win. Pat Cyr of Kemptville Motorsports was looking for a rider and Racer X Canada's Brett Dailey suggested Ryan McLellan, who has been putting in some notable rides on borrowed bikes. McLellan was hired, given a YZ 250F and proved his worth by finished third in the first moto and fifth overall for the day.
Kyle Snelgrove and Jason Burke had a great battle in the first 125 Pro moto.
Chuck Mesley finally found his comfort zone after struggling at the Auburn and Sand del Lee rounds. In the second moto, Mez jumped out to an early lead and began jumping a double to tabletop section before the finish. Burke kept Mez honest, until Yamaha's Hall snuck into third behind the two.
Things could get scary for the rest of the field if Chuck Mesley continues to improve ... nice shroud graphics Chuck.
Hall then the made the move on Burke and found himself in second. Two laps later he passed Mesley for the lead. Hall was also jumping the same section as Mesley and with two laps to go, it appeared he was on the verge of winning his first pro moto. However, the young rider fell on the last lap, handing Mesley the win. Honda’s Keast again pushed through the pack and he too took advantage of Hall’s bobble to take second in the moto and second overall. Burke slipped back to fourth, but his 1-4 was good enough for first overall. Hall finished third overall with 5-3 moto scores.
Machine Racing's Kyle Keast laid down some impressive charges in all his motos.
Burke leads the 125 series with 167 points, followed by Chamberlain with 145 and Keast with 144. WCK’s Kyle Thompson has 112 points and is tied for fourth with Lightning Powersports’ Joel Saarits.
Chamberlain has a comfortable lead in the 250 class with 175 points, followed by Gauld in second with 148 and Keast in third with 139.
Intermediate
Yamaha’s Billy Mullen continues to dominate the 125 and GP intermediate classes. Mullen won both motos in the 125 class and the first moto in the GP at Wheatley. He has a commanding lead in the 125 series with 219 points and sits fourth in GP.
Billy Mullen was near perfect at Wheatley, until the last moto when he high sided in a slippery corner.
Edge Performance’s Trevor Middleton finished second in the 125 class at Wheatley with 2-3 moto scores and sits sixth in the 125 series and eighth in the GP.
Trevor Middleton has fixed his bike woes, and battled up front at Wheatley.
Rob Pelletier finished third in the 125 class with 4-2 moto scores and fifth in the GP class. He currently sits second in the 125 with 186 points and third in the GP class. Matt McGuiness finished second in the GP class, and leads the series with 207 points. In the 250 class, Kyle Ferguson picked up the overall on his KTM 250 with 2-1 moto scores, followed by Tyler Bezzo and Derek Hamm.
Junior
Timmy Burke earned the win in the 250 class at Wheatley and finished second in the 125 behind Kory Snelgrove. Burke leads both the 125 and 250 junior series. Snelgrove won the 125 class, sits second in points and is third behind Kyle Stephens in the GP class. Cory Brooks finished second in GP and third in the 125 class at Wheatley. He leads the GP series with one point over Snelgrove.
80cc 7-to-12, 12-to-16 and Supermini
Cole Thompson stole all the wins in the 7-to-11 and Supermini classes and leads the points chase in the 7-to-11 series over
Other notables
Kenny Clark stole the show in Vet Master, winning both motos over Rob McCullough. Hammer leads the series with a comfortable lead over McCullough. Bobby Thompson has been hauling on his CRF 450 and ran up front in the pro motos at times, but his best rides came in the Youth class where he added to his series points lead after winning both motos ahead of Scotty Maidman. Jolene Van Vugt returned to the series after missing two rounds to race the WMA races at Glen Helen and Hangtown. She swept both motos and has moved from ninth to fourth in the series. Kassi Boone finished second and leads the series. Dustin Burr earned two moto wins in the 50cc 4-to-6 and Steven Anderson won the 7-to-8 class.
Joel Saarits listens to his tunes, while Chuck Mesley and Travis Hesketh share some strawberries and race tales.
