JUNE 29, 2005
By Danny Brault
Photos: Tim Dailey and Jolene Van Vugt
Well, another Ontario provincial series has come and gone. While a few won championships, many more are left scratching their heads wondering what went wrong (albeit it had something do with lack of action from the right wrist). From the deep sand at Gopher Dunes to the hills of Auburn to the mud at Sand del Lee to the minefield at RJ, great racing took place at each of the seven venues.
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Machine Racing's Ryan Gauld made a wise decision racing the provincial series, instead of doing the trackside commentary out west. Gauldy quickly proved he was a title contender with a 250 moto win at Gopher Dunes and a second overall. He closed out his summer with the Plus 25 championship and finished third in the 250 pro standings. |
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Machine Racing/ Honda's Jason Burke and KTM's Pierce Chamberlain battled for third spot in the second 125 pro moto at RJ. Burke held on for the podium finish and took home the 125 championship. Chamberlain finished second overall in 125 class at RJ, won both motos in the 250 class and clinched his second-consecutive 250 provincial championship. Both riders will be gunning for top spots in the MX2 East and Chamberlain should look much more competitive when he steps on to his KTM 250F. |
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Burke's teammate Kyle Keast passed Chuck Mesley early in the second 125 moto at RJ and went on to win by over a dozen seconds. The hard-charging Keast finished runner-up in the 125 and 250 series. He is very anxious for the nationals to start at Gopher Dunes and will most likely ride both the MX1 and MX2 classes. |
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Georgia's Clint Shealy returned to the provincial series at RJ. He won both Youth motos over Mesley and finished fifth in the 250 pro class. |
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Iain Hayden made his return to the provcincials, as well. This time, however, the Two Wheel rider traded in his Suzuki for Honda CRF 250. He went 4-7 for sixth overall in 125 pro. |
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Yamaha's Billy Mullen swept the GP Intermediate class at RJ. The Peterborough native continues to add to his list of provincial titles, as he won the 125 Intermediate championship. At the first two rounds, Mullen raced a YZ 125 but switched to a 250F and instantly fell in love with the four-stroker. After the switch, he pulled nearly every holeshot in the 125 class and in the GP class against 450s! |
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Asselstine's Cory Gerrits was a regular front-runner in the Intermediate class ... when he showed up. At RJ's he took the overall in the 125 class, thanks to 2-2 moto finishes and was second in the GP. |
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Jason Burke's older brother, Timmy, returned to racing after a few years of retirement. He won the 125 Junior championship and won every moto in the 250 class on his way to the title. |
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Kyle Stephens (center) won the GP Junior and Supermini championships. |
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Richard Grey brought home the bacon in the 60cc class and was second behind Cole Thompson in the 80cc 7-11 division. |
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Jolene Van Vugt has been walking away with the Ladies class championships over the last few years, but after she missed two rounds to compete in the WMA series, the door was left open for a new champion. Honda rider Kassie Boone took advantage of Van Vugt's absence and won the Ladies title, Casondra Greene finished second, while Van Vugt managed to climb back up to third in the final standings. |
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Have you ever sat down and watched a Plus 50 race? Well, if you haven't, then you should start. These guys use riding tactics that go well beyond aggressiveness and take a provincial title very seriously. Bill Van Vugt once again snared the title, while friend [off the track] Embert Berkers finished second and George Petro was third.
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Final Provincial standings: 250 PRO
125 PRO J. Burke, K. Keast, P. Chamberlain
125 INTERMEDIATE B. Mullen, M. McGuiness, R. Pelletier
250 INTERMEDIATE K. Ferguson, D. Hamm, T. Bezzo
GP INTERMEDIATE M. McGuiness, B. Mullen, R. Pelletier
125 JUNIOR T. Burke, K. Snelgrove, K. Stephens
250 JUNIOR T. Burke, S. Jansen, S. Donkersgoed
GP JUNIOR K. Stephens, C. Brooks, K. Snelgrove
125 BEGINNER S. Godkin, R. Lillie, D. Van Zutphen
250 BEGINNER D. Waller, C. Ireland, C. Kinsey
GP BEGINNER C. Ireland, S. Beech, S. Godkin
80cc 7-11 C. Thompson. R. Grey, D. Kaelin
80cc 12-16 B. Phinney, K. Ward, K. Ritchie
SUPERMINI K. Stephens, B. Phinney, K. Ritchie
60cc PEE WEE R. Grey, C. Thompson, S. Azarkiewicz
50cc 4-6 M. Machan, D. Burr, L. Godkin
50cc 7-8 M. Godkin, S. Anderson, K. Whalen
LADIES K. Boone, C. Greene, J. Van Vugt
YOUTH B. Thompson, P. Raymer. J. Burke
PLUS 25 R. Gauld, K. Clark, M. Burr
VET MASTER K. Clark, R. McCullough, J. Allen
VET JUNIOR R. Button, N. Martelock, L. Johnston
PLUS 40 R. McCullough, J. Coles, B. Coles
PLUS 50 B. Van Vugt, E. Berkers, G. Petro
ATV PRO J. Petker, J. Bank, G. Gee
ATV INTERMEDIATE S. Lagro, J. Klein, R. Leitch
ATV JUNIOR S. Ball, M. King, B. Way
ATV SPORTSMAN T. Summers, J. Ellenberger, T. Carpenter
ATV TYKES W. Dunn, M. Garmatz, D. Solecki
MINI ATV PEE WEE D. Fornasier, A. Oxley, C. Driver
MINI ATV OPEN C. Vermeersch, D. Fornasier, J. McCabe
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