JULY 15, 2008
photo: James Lissimore photo: Brault National Track Tour Presented by Sturgessonline.com
Shadow Valley Raceway in Morden, Manitoba
Choose your line: Morden is known for its high-speeds, big jumps and deep ruts.
By Danny Brault
I’m sure everyone has been waiting anxiously to take a lap around Shadow Valley Raceway in Morden, Manitoba, aboard the Sturgess Cycle/GoPro/Troy Lee Designs/2-5-9 Kawasaki. Well, the wait is over! I’ve finally had a break from the road, a steady internet connection and some time to work my iMovie HD magic for you fine folks in internet land.
Round 3 of the Monster Energy Motocross Nationals took place at the beautiful Shadow Valley track in the small, homely town of Morden. After watching Blackfoot’s Dusty Klatt and JSR battle back and forth on the U.S. style circuit in 2006, I had to not only see it live, but ride it as well. Unfortunately, my first experience at Shadow Valley didn’t quite go as planned.
Last summer, Ignition Racing’s Justin Moore and his rider, Johnny Silegren, and I loaded up and made the 20-hour haul from Toronto to Morden. Everything was going pretty well leading up to the race. Moore fell asleep right away (but not before filling up the gas tank) so we didn’t have to listen to him tell us how he could have played for the Leafs, we didn’t have any issues while traveling and spent two days riding on the former national track in Grunthal and at the Millar’s farm in Miami. Then the rains came, hard, late Saturday night and turned Shadow Valley into a muddy mess; they didn’t stop falling until the first MX1 moto had wrapped up on Sunday. Long story short, it sucked.
Fast forward to Morden `08: Mother Nature cooperated (although, she did scare us with some showers on Sunday morning), and the riders, the CMRC, and the fans left happy. And I was happy (and that’s all that matters, right?) because I got to ride Shadow Valley in near perfect conditions on Saturday afternoon.
Morden really is the closest track (IMO) on the Canadian national tour that could be considered an AMA national track. It has everything: elevation changes, long sweeping corners, off-cambers, deep ruts, big (but safe) jumps, and dark, rich soil. The track is so fast, I’m sure you could get away with a 15/25 sprocket combination. Um, maybe not, but it sure is fast! Blackfoot Yamaha's Colton Facciotti and Tucker Hibbert found the fastest line around Morden this year, sweeping their respective classes.
Click play on the video below and take a lap with Giver around Shadow Valley Raceway!
