By Danny Brault 

Club racing is an integral part of motocross. Not everyone can afford to chase the bigger racing series' or events, and that's where local, club racing comes into play. The atmosphere at club events is often less intense, more family oriented, and provides a great segue for new comers to enjoy the sport. For me, club racing holds a special place in my MX soul. I first threw a leg over a four-wheeler (yes, I was couch racer for a year) at 4-years-old and my first race was a Lakeshore Dirt Riders Motorcycle Club (LDRMC) at the Cedar Springs Off-Road Park in Port Hope, ON.

I still make it out to club events whenever I can, and I took in my first club race of the year this past weekend at the Maguires Motocross Racing Series (MMRS) opener in Brighton, ON at the Cochranes' track.

To celebrate local racing, we've started a new feature here at racerxcanada.com called "Any Sunday." We'll focus on various grassroots events from across Canada, and try to help promote the smaller guys. Remember, we can't be everywhere, so if you're at a local race and have a story and some photos to share, send them to me at dannyb@racerxcanada.com and we'll get'em posted!

HB Cycle's Justin VanGennip (750) has the starts dialed on his new RM-Z450. VanGennip reminded me of Makita Suzuki's Mike Alessi, ripping holeshots on the big EFI machine. It was Derek Arnold (138) who was the victor, however. Arnold alos reminded me of another Makita Suzuki rider, Ricky Carmichael, winning all four Expert and Under 29 motos on his RM250 two-stroke.

Ignition Racing's Johnny Silegren worked through poor starts to catch Arnold each moto, but he was unable to secure a pass on the Suzuki rider. Silegren finally dropped the hammer in the final Under 29 moto, grabbing the holeshot, but lost the lead after riding over a berm on lap one.  Look for Silegren to be donning a new number (83) and a new bike brand this weekend at the Gopher Dunes Provincial.

This little fellow on a Cobra 50 wasn't afraid to "bust big." 

Belleville's Neil Farlow showed some speed in the Expert and Under 29 classes, but lack of seat time kept him from challenging for the win. Farlow is a successful intermediate racer, who won provincial championships, and has had modest results in the nationals since turning pro in 2004.  Look for him at a few of the East Coast rounds this summer.

And with this great riding weather comes the fun chore of cleaning air filters! If you're looking to save your hands and mother earth, try out Ignition Racing's air filters; you can wash them with No Toil's biodegradable solvent, dry'em out and you're good to go!

Cochranes' brought out a slew of hidden talent. 2005 250 Intermediate Walton TransCan champ, Cory Gerrits, returned to racing this weekend after a year off. Gerrits was fast and stylish, but he, too, looked like he could use a few more hours on the track. 

A few of these are expected at the first race of the year.

MMRS caters to the couch racers too! 

This kid was flying on his CRF150R. 

Ignition Racing's chief mechanic George Jones, and Yamaha Canada's JF Rioux had a good battle going in the first Plus 30 A moto, with Rioux taking the win.

The Novice and Junior classes were full of battles. 

The Sausage King kept everyone fed at Cochranes. I even snuck over there for a quick cheeseburger. Hey, it was after nine o'clock and I don't make a living racing a motorcycle. How did the burgers taste? I think Randy would have given them two ketchup bottles up. 

It's either "What kind of Yamaha are you?" or "I wanna ride, I wanna ride!" You can't have both!

Austin King is having a blast rockin' out the KTM144 SX two-stroke! He was the third fastest rider on this day, and even proved the middle-class tiddler has some power with great starts against 450's. 

Even Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Ryan Villopto takes in the odd club race when he can.

Gotta love Monster Energy! I'm already feeling vitalized.

MMRS is working hard to keep riding areas open, and they've begun sound testing to ensure noise isn't an issue. 

That's all there is to it!