Every racetrack is a home of memories. Whether it’s your local practice track where you battle with your buddies each Wednesday or a national round, moto-memories last a lifetime. The River Glade track in Moncton, New Brunswick has many special stories to be told. I’ve only been there once, in 2006, but in that one weekend, two stories played out that remain with me.

That year, Mitch Cooke raced a 250F for the Blackfoot Honda team and decided to double-class it and race his practice 450 in MX1. The seat was ripped, the muffler was banged up and it was as far from a factory bike as you can get. It was a decision that didn’t bode well with his team, but with Cooke out of championship contention in either class due to a broken ankle and concussion suffered a month earlier at Gopher Dunes, there really was no harm trying.

The Brookfield, NS kid put together two of his best rides that day. After finishing third behind Kyle Chisholm and Michael Willard in the first MX2 moto, Cooke finished third behind his teammates, Dusty Klatt and JSR, in the first MX1 moto. 

Ryan Lockhart was another character involved in the story. Riding for the Suzuki OTSFF team, “Newf” was looking for a strong result to ensure a position with them in `07. Lockhart did just that mixing it up at the front with Jean-Sébastien Roy and Klatt and pulling a holeshot in one moto. His 4-5 tied him for third overall with Blair Morgan. It was an emotional moment as well for Lockhart, who didn’t know what to say when he was awarded the first ever Brian House Memorial award.

Actually, there were three big stories that happened that weekend at The Glade. It was also the day that Danny Brault qualified for his first pro national—and he didn’t even need to use the LCQ! Yep, a teary eyed moment for the thousands upon thousands of Moncton fans that cheered on the #224 Honda every lap.

Like I said, I’ve only been to River Glade once, so my knowledge is limited when it comes to memories from the long-standing national track. So we rang up a few of Atlantic Canada’s finest to find out what they remember the most from The Glade….

KTM Canada’s Ryan Lockhart

“The first time I rode it was actually my first national. It was in `98. I remember crashing in the first corner and dislocating my shoulder. I also remember watching the second set of motos and seeing Marco Dubé and Blair Morgan take themselves out. Both of them went to the hospital.”

“Pulling the holeshot in three of the last four MX1 motos was memorable. I pulled both holeshots last year and one the year before. The year before, I think I led it for almost a lap and jumping down into the big gully while leading I did a one hander [laughs]. It was a pretty big deal; it got the blood flowing.”

“I like the track and it’s comfortable for me. I can stay at my house the whole weekend and I don’t need hotels or to deal with catching rides or whatever. I like doing my own thing so that helps me out that weekend.”

“One time, I think it was `88 or `89, when I came back racing, Ryan was still in his diapers, and Ross Pederson needed a 125. I let him borrow my 125 because he had a deal with Suzuki, but only for the 250 class. He got my 125 Honda and it was stock; it was only three days old. Dave Gowland was his mechanic. The first moto he got second behind Al Dyck and the second moto he won. I was riding it in the Vet class, so Ross would come to the starting line and Dave was there with water and gas to get me ready for my moto after Ross’.”

The Voice of Atlantic MX and The Glade, Larry McCaw

“Two of them are flat tire memories. The first is JSR’s ever impressive twin flat tires That was one of those huge fate things that happened right in front of the crowd. They changed two tires, they had a stuck axle—you name it, everything was going wrong in front of the crowd. Yet, he still scored a point!”

“[Michael] Willard’s almost unassisted tire change last year was too cool. He wasn’t going to wait for anyone to mess up his tire change and he got in there with both hands!”

“Without question, the crowd response to Mitchell Cooke! If I was going to rate them, this would be the top one. Like a sea of humanity, flooding back and forth between the infield so they could continue to watch him and the grandstands would stand up. It was beyond four-stroke loud.  That was just primo for a hometown boy.”

Atlantic referee, Earl Doucette

“Over the years, just how it’s grown, the crowd, the show, the changes of the track. I used to take one day off during the week of the race to get ready, now I’m taking a week off to get ready, and now I’m staying up here [at the track] to get ready! If I put in as much effort into my job as I do this race, I’d be vice president of my company [laughs].”

“Seeing Ross here, [Mike] Treadwell, having a guy like Doug Dubach here was big. Marty Smith having a motocross school here, that was one of the most memorable moments. We had Damon Huffman, Mike Craig, and all of these other guys we used to read about in the magazines and now I can look in a magazine and say they rode here. Like Ryan Sipes who was sixth at Washougal on the weekend, he won here. When we were younger, bench racing, never in our wildest dreams would we have thought top-10 guys from the U.S. would be racing here. I find that cool!”

Toys for Big Boys, Larry Northrop

“The first national I went to as a kid and I saw Ross Pederson for the first time was a pretty big highlight for me. Just to see the speed of Ross and how fast he went. Another thing was seeing Glen Hoar go through the ranks and finish top three at the national in Moncton. About four years ago, in 2004, when Mitchell [Cooke] was leading for half of the [250] race and then his engine goes; the case broke and the engine oil dropped out of it. That was amazing. Last year with Ryan [Lockhart] and how well he was riding and to see him up there was amazing too.”

“What I like most about down here is that it’s not the River Glade national—this is the Atlantic Region’s national. We were the first ones to do this amateur day before hand to have something going on. It gives everybody ownership in it, right? Everybody feels good about it, ‘It’s national weekend, I’m going racing on a national track. I’m racing on the same track that JSR is!’ For kids, that means a lot.”

Former #5 national pro (and 2005 Plus 40 Walton champ), Glen Hoar

“It’s interesting to see how things have changed since the Ross Pederson days, when fans would go from one side of the infield to the other as Pederson, Al Dyck and I went around. Now if you leave your point, you can’t get back to the see races. It’s incredible.”

“One of my best days was when I seized my 125 up on the Wednesday before, so I borrowed Al Dyck’s spare bike. I led Ross for probably 18 minutes of the 25 minutes and he got me at the end but I stayed ahead of Al and everyone else. Everyone was screaming and hollering that I led Ross for that long.”