--press release--

The rain came down with a vengeance as Round 3 of the CMRC Canadian Motocross Championships rolled into Canada’s “Stampede City”. After much deliberation among the factory teams and the CMRC officials, the unanimous decision was to postpone the Saturday qualifiers until Sunday morning. As the Father’s Day skies cleared and the sun came out, the vibe in the pits was one of anxiety to get the show on the road. If you listened closely enough a huge collective sigh of relief could be heard through Wild Rose MX Park. The races were on!

Despite the muddy and extremely rough track conditions, Team Suzuki OTSFF Motorsports did excellent business in Calgary with 2nd overall in the MX2 West title hunt and three top-10 finishes in the MX1 points chase.

Moto 1 of the MX2 West class got underway with a full gate of talented up-and-coming riders trying to make their mark, and take home their share of hard to get championship points. Rupert, Idaho’s Jake Weimer, one of a throng of Americans contesting the Canadian MX Series, launched off the concrete start pad clearly inside the top-10. Meanwhile, his Team Suzuki OTSFF Motorsports’ teammate Bruce Prochnavy was buried mid-pack through the first few turns.

The competition was fierce at the front of the pack with Weimer battling Blackfoot Honda’s Dusty Klatt and Richmond Kawasaki’s Teddy Maier for most of the 25 minute moto. When all was said and done Weimer crossed the finish line in a respectable 5th place. Unfortunately, Prochnavy fared less well. The Calgary native got tied up in traffic and went down hard on the rutty, three-minute lap time, track. He had to pull off with a mild concussion, signaling the end of his day.

Moto 2 played host to a variety of leaders as few racers were able to put together a perfect 25 minutes. One rider who did manage to clear the task was the new Suzuki recruit Weimer. The young gun started inside the top-5 and clocked some of the fastest laps of the day on his way to the lead. Weimer took control of the moto on lap eight and never looked back. He  finished the moto on top of the box in 1st, which coupled with his 5th place in Moto 1, gave him a well earned 2nd overall for the day behind defending MX2 West Champion Dusty Klatt.

Moto 1 of the premier MX1 class got off the gate with Team Suzuki’s Gavin Gracyk rounding turn one in a lucrative 3rd slot. Keith Johnson rallied for 6th position while “Iron Mike” Treadwell squeezed just inside the top 15. Gracyk quickly displaced the Yamahas of Simon Homans and Craig Decker and then set his sights on the checkered flag. With only five laps remaining, however, Gracyk was gunned down by Honda’s JSR, forcing the Suzuki ace to settle for a noteworthy 2nd place at the finish line. Behind the front runners, Gracyk’s teammates Treadwell and Johnson claimed 9th and 15th places respectively, after a hard fought moto.

The final moto of the day was full of thrillers as the yellow machines of Gracyk, Johnson and Treadwell completed lap one in 1st, 4th and 7th respectively. Gracyk diced with JSR until the halfway mark, when the Honda pilot passed Gracyk for the lead. The duo went on to finish 1-2 for the second time of the day. Johnson and Treadwell, meanwhile, were able to finish a solid 7th and 10th respectively. On the strength of his 9-10 moto results, “Iron Mike” carded a well deserved 8th overall for the day; Johnson put a 10th overall finish on the board, thanks to his 15-7 results.

Congratulations to Team Suzuki/OTSFF/Pro-Action Suspension riders Jake Weimer and Gavin Gracyk for their fabulous 2nd overall finishes. And a tip of the hat to Mike Treadwell and Keith Johnson for their top-10 finishes.

Special thanks go out to all the staff and sponsors at Team Suzuki/OTSFF for a job well done with western stampede class.