--press release--

A muddy season opener greeted fans and riders alike for the start of the 2005 Canadian Motocross Nationals. Despite a late start to the season, Morgan Racing Yamaha arrived in Mission, BC prepared and ready for a run at the MX1 and MX2 West Championships. The strong team includes Americans Craig Decker (fourth overall in 2004 MX1 and third overall in 2003 MX1) and Erick Vallejo (third overall in 2004 MX2 and 21st overall in 2005 AMA 250 Supercross) and New Brunswick native Johnny Montes (multi-time Atlantic champion). 

Also joining the team is Winter X Games Champion and multi-time Canadian motocross Champion, Blair Morgan. A late addition to the team, Morgan Racing scrambled to get bikes and gear ready and make room for the prestigious champ. Recovering from a broken leg suffered during the snowcross season, Blair had only been on a bike for three weeks and was only officially on the Morgan Racing team for a week before the season opener.

Saturday’s qualifiers went well for the team. The highlight was Craig Decker’s qualifier effort in the first MX1 qualifier where he broke away from the pack and came away with the win, beating defending champion Jean-Sebastien Roy. “I felt good on the track,” said Decker, who hails from California. “It confirmed that my speed was good and my bike [YZ450F] was working well. I beat JSR and I felt confident going into motos but then the rain came… I haven’t seen mud since the last time I was up here [in Canada].”

The skies opened up on Sunday for the main events. The soft soil on the Mission track can absorb quite a bit of moisture but the rain came too quickly for the track and it quickly turned into a soupy mess.

The team soldiered on and went on a quest to secure valuable series points. In the MX2 class, Erick Vallejo, riding a YZ250F, struggled with poor starts and a few crashes but still earned 7-9 moto scores for seventh overall.

“I’m not a super good mud rider but I tried to make the best of it,” said Texan, Erick Vallejo. “I think I could have done well but I crashed three times each moto. I feel good for Nanaimo—it’s a hardpacked track and that’s what I’m used to. At least I know that I’m a contender and I want to win some races.”

In the premiere MX1 class, Craig Decker was the standout for the team. In the first moto, Decker jumped out to a top-five start and eventually moved into third place where he was gaining on Yamaha’s Doug DeHaan. The two Yamaha riders finished a close 2-3.

Blair Morgan, also riding a YZ450F, started at the back of the pack but showed impressive speed and resolve and finished 13th. Johnny Montes went from 15th to 10th on his YZ250 during the moto but a late-race mechanical DNF forced him to the sidelines.

Armed with a good gate pick, Decker was ready for a repeat performance of moto one. Unfortunately Decker stalled his bike when the gate dropped and had to fight his way to the front—in the mud and rain. Fortunately he was careful with his vision and came back to seventh place, which secured third overall for the day.

“I just tried to conserve my tearoffs and only pull them when I had to,” said Decker. “I don’t have much experience in the mud but I’ve pulled off my goggles before and when that happens, you’re done. I was doing everything I could to keep them on and it paid off.”

Blair Morgan showed what he is made of in the second moto. With only a few weeks on the bike, Morgan started around 10th and moved his way to the front of the pack. His eventual sixth place finish put him in 10th overall for the day—an impressive return to the racetrack.

“It was a good building point, considering where Blair’s at [recovering from injury],” said Team Manager, Rundberg. “Now I think he will have a lot more confidence after getting sixth in the second moto. I think that by Calgary he will be close to top five all of the time.”

Johnny Montes was running close to the top 10 again but suffered another heart-breaking DNF. Despite the disappointment, the team was very happy with Johnny’s performance. “We were pretty happy that Johnny was running so far up front,” said Rundberg. “We were hoping for a top 20 but to see him running in the top 10 was pretty good.”

The CMRC now awards points for qualifier results so Craig Decker picked up five points for his win in Saturday’s qualifier. The combination of his 34 points from Sunday and five points from Saturday puts him in second overall behind Jean-Sebastien Roy. Craig is confident of his ability to run with JSR during this series. “I think I can race with JSR if it stays dry, but he’s tough in the mud,” said Decker.

Morgan Racing Yamaha is looking forward to round two in Nanamo, BC and hopes to build on their success from round one of the series. “A lot of bikes blew up so lots of riders are already way down in the standings—it was a game of survival,” said Rundberg. “Considering the timeline we had to put things together, things were really good for us.

Morgan Racing would like to thank their generous sponsors:

Morgan Racing, Yamaha Canada, Fly Racing, Bransam Logistics, Maxima Oils, M2R Helmets, Works Connection, Bridgestone, Dubach Racing Development, Enzo Racing, Tag Metals, Pro Circuit, Ogio Bags, Wiseco, Uni Filters, EBC Brakes, RK Chain, V Force, Mechanix Wear, Gaerne Boots, TCI, Platinum 1, 661, Rice Lake Fuels, Creative Mx, Sunline