Photos by Dan Stenning and Billy Rainford

 Every region has there shtick; BC produces AX/SX talent; Alberta produces off-road tough guys; Quebec puts on the best "show;" the Maritimers are the most faithful; and Ontario boasts the most competitive Regional Championship.

Ontario has the numbers, especially in the Southwestern Region, and you definitely see that when the CMRC Provincial Championships kicks off at Gopher Dunes in Courtland, Ontario every May. This year's opening round was no different than years' past; there were over 800 entries, the pro classes looked like a mini-national, and the track once again made men of boys.

Everything went perfect ... almost.  Saturday turned into a mudfest, as heavy rains turned the track into a swamp. That's motocross, however, and the races were run. Fortunately, the weather cleared up late Saturday night and Frank and Derek Schuster stayed up all night working the track. By Sunday morning, the conditions were perfect! Well, that is until 500-some bikes hit the track!

Josh Long (92) isn't showing any signs of slowing down. After a great year battling for the win with Dylan Kaelin int the junior classes, Long is the "guy" in the intermediate division. The KTM rider holeshot his way to three moto wins, a second and both overalls in MX2 and MX1 Intermediate.  

photo: Dan Stenning

Richard Grey is growing up fast - he even has a mustache! Yep, the little "lady killer" is now racing a KTM 144 SX in Schoolboy, along with the 85cc classes. Grey won the first muddy moto in Schoolboy on Saturday, and all four motos in 85 12-16 and Supermini on Sunday. 

photo: Dan Stenning

Cole Varty came all the way from Edmonton, Alberta to race Gopher Dunes ... sort of. Varty has actually been in the area and working on his skills with Doug DeHaan. Varty's normally a contender out West in the 85cc class, but the deep sand got the best of him this weekend.  

photo: Dan Stenning

Big D has reason to smile; he's married, he has a baby on the way with his wife, Claudia, and he has a KTM 450 SX-F to ride while he's home. DeHaan swept the Plus 25 and Vet Master motos on Saturday, and finished 0-8 in MX1 Pro on Sunday. DeHaan really hasn't spent much time on the bike outdoors yet, and it showed in the final laps. But he definitely has speed, and his always effortless riding style is never boring to watch.

photo: Dan Stenning

Marco Dubé! The Les Chutes Kawasaki rider stopped by the Dunes for a warm up race. Dubé struggled a bit in the first moto, but battled through a bad start to pass Pierce Chamberlain (also riding a Kawi for Sturgess Cycle) for fifth-place on the final lap in the second MX1 moto. Dubé spent six weeks riding down south before Gopher, and admitted he needs to step things up a little before Ste-Julie.  Thanks to support from Les Chutes and his faithful sponsors, Dubé is racing the entire MX1 national series.

photo: Dan Stenning

Brandyn Cowie must have impressed Label It team manager Brad Coles last summer. Cowie replaced an injured Adam Deakon for two races last year, and is back again donning the Label It goblin on his Honda. Coles was getting pretty excited watching his rider leading the first 125 Intermediate moto over Long, but Cowie's nerves got the best of him and he toppled over with a lap to go. He still manged to hold on for second overall on the day.  

photo: Dan Stenning

Bobby Byers finished third in the MX2 and GP Junior classes. 

photo: Billy Rainford

Tyler Medaglia proved he is a serious threat come the Gopher Dunes national - and the MX1 series. The Suzuki/OTSFF/Rockstar rider led the opening MX1 moto over Kyle Keast and Jay Burke, before falling down on the third lap. Medaglia recovered for third, and finished second to Keast in the final moto. While Medaglia didn't quite have the speed as Keast, he certainly proved he's strong, serious, and ready to battle on the big bikes. 

photo: Billy Rainford

South African Liam O'Farrell rode consistent and finished 5-4 in MX1. How about that for diversity? The Ontario Provincials not only attract riders from all over Canada, but also from other countries. O'Farrell joins Kerim Fitzgerald as the second South African to race the series in the last two years. 

photo: Dan Stenning

Jeremy Medaglia was ready to blow berms and blow out the competition in his first pro provincial race. Medaglia lost the chance in the first moto, after DNFing with clutch problems while running third. In the second moto, he and his bike held together for third behind Burke and Keast.

photo: Dan Stenning

The junior classes were once again packed full as the youngsters fought for gates at the Walton TransCan in August

photo: Dan Stenning

Snocross ace Iain Hayden rode quietly to sixth overall in MX1. Hayden's back with KTM, and represented Royal Distributing well, pitting of their big sled rig with his snocross buddies, Joey Sagan and Justin Parnell.

photo: Dan Stenning

The Beast from the East Kyle Keast (8) was the revelation this weekend. Well, maybe his dominant performance (1-1-1-1) wan'ts that shocking as the Machine Racing Honda rider always excels on the rough sandy track. Regardless, he destroyed the stacked field in three motos and engaged in an endless battle with Burke (20) in the first MX1 moto before passing him for the win the later stages. What was surprising, was how fast Keast rode the 250F - his leads were bigger in that class!

photo: Dan Stenning