--press release--

After barnstorming the western provinces, and a two week break in the schedule, the five-round eastern leg of the CMRC Canadian Motocross Championships kicks off this weekend at Gopher Dunes in Courtland, ON. The MX1 title hunt picks up with Round 5 of the series; the MX2 East Championship clicks into gear with Round 1 of the four-round points chase.

“After all the nasty weather we had out west we’re hoping for a little better racing conditions. I don’t think anybody wants to see any more rain and mud for a while,” said CMRC’s Mark Stallybrass. “But whatever the case, we’re ready to bring top flight motocross to Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.”

Canada’s best pro motocross riders including Doug DeHaan (Factory Yamaha), Chuck Mesley (Machine Racing Yamaha, Pierce Chamberlain (KTM Canada), Simon Homans (Factory Yamaha), Ryan Lockhart (Richmond Racing Kawasaki) and Mitch Cooke (Blackfoot Racing Honda) from the east, will take on their western counterparts and a contingent of American stars in the quest for the MX1 and MX2 East Championship crowns.

“It’s always nice to come back to race in your own area of the country after being out west, especially doing the two Ontario rounds,” said Thorndale, ON’s DeHaan. “Launching the eastern tour of the series at Gopher and then finishing in Walton gives local riders two opportunities to race in front of family and friends. It gives you a little extra motivation.”

DeHaan, currently seventh in the MX1 Championship points, is one of four Canadians along with Homans, Blair Morgan (Morgan Racing Yamaha) and Jean Sebastien Roy (Blackfoot Racing Honda) ranked in the top-10 after the western rounds. Although six of the top-10 positions are occupied by American riders, the man at the head of the pack is defending MX1 Champion, Jean-Sebastien Roy. The Acton Vale, QC native has totally dominated the premier 250cc class for the past four seasons and shows no signs of letting up this year. Roy won the first four rounds of the series, three of them with clean sweeps. In total he has claimed an incredible 45 moto victories and 26 overalls since 2001.

“The series went well for me out west but everybody is stepping it up and I don’t expect things to get any easier for the rest of the championship,” said Roy. “I’m confident in my abilities but I’m not complacent just because I’ve got a bit of a points lead. It’s never over until it’s over.”   

In the MX2 East Championship, the rider to beat will be defending champion Donnie McGourty (Blackfoot Racing Honda). Although the Florida native is favoured to repeat as champ, he’ll have his hands full with a number of fellow Americans as well as 125cc Canadian hotshoes like Chamberlain, Lockhart, Cooke and DeHaan. DeHaan rides both classes. He finished third in last year’s MX2 East title hunt. Also in the mix will be local Ontario up-and-comers that include Kyle Keast (Lindsay); Kyle Thompson (Brigden); Trever Hall (Queensville); Jay Burke (Hamilton) and Joel Saarits (St. Anns).

Courtland’s own Brad Lockhart will be making a special guest appearance in the MX1 class. Lockhart, who scored a national No.8 ranking in 1991, his rookie year, retired from motocross the following year due to a severe shoulder injury. In 1993, however, he won a watercraft racing World Championship in the Pro Runabout Open Mod class. Last year, he raced a provincial motocross event in the Pro class and carded second overall for the day. It had been his first race since 1992.  

“It’s not every day that you have a national motocross in your backyard so I couldn’t resist racing the event,” said Lockhart. “I’ve been training quite a bit for this and I really look forward to being on the track with Roy and DeHaan, the only two guys still racing from my own era.”

Racing action gets underway with qualifying heats on Saturday, July 16th. The first moto of the MX2 East Championship starts at 11:00AM, Sunday, July 17th.

http://www.gopherdunes.com/directions.htm

WEEKEND FORMAT (Schedule may alter to accommodate event requirements).
Saturday:
9:30am – 9:45am MX2 Pro/Am practice – group 1
9:45am – 10:00am MX2 Pro/Am practice – group 2
10:00am – 10:15am MX1 Pro practice – group 1
10:15am – 10:30am MX1 Pro practice - group 2
10:35am – 11:00am Track Maintenance
11:15am - 11:30am MX2 Pro/Am practice – group 1
11:30am – 11:45pm MX2 Pro/Am practice – group 2
11:45am – 12:00pm MX1 Pro practice – group 1
12:00pm – 12:15pm MX1 Pro practice – group 2
12:15am – 1:00pm Lunch Break/Track Maintenance
1:00 pm – 1:15 pm MX2 Pro/Am – Qualifier #1
1:20 pm – 1:35 pm MX2 Pro/Am – Qualifier #2
1:40pm - 1:55pm MX2 Pro/Am – Qualifier #3 (if necessary)
2:00pm – 2:15pm MX1 Pro – Qualifier #1
2:20pm – 2:35pm MX1 Pro – Qualifier #2
2:40pm – 2:55pm MX1 Pro – Qualifier #3 (if necessary)
3:00 pm – 3:25pm Track Maintenance
3:30pm - 3:40pm MX2 Pro/Am – Last Chance Qualifier
3:50pm – 4:00pm MX1 Pro – Last Chance Qualifier

Sunday:
8:00 am – 8:15 am Rider’s Meeting
8:30 am – 8:45 am MX2 Pro/Am Practice
8:50 am – 9:05 pm MX1 Pro Practice
9:10 am – 9:30 am Support Class (es) - Practice
9:30 am – 10:10 am Track Maintenance
10:10 am – 10:25 am Support Class
10:40 am - 10:50 am Opening Ceremonies
10:50 am – 10:55 am MX2 Pro/Am Hot Lap
11:00 am – 11:30 am MX2 Pro/Am - Moto # 1
11:35 am – 11:55 am Support Class(es)
12:05 pm – 12:10 pm MX1 Pro Hot Lap
12:15 pm – 12:50 pm MX1 Pro - Moto # 1 
12:50 pm – 1:30 pm Track Maintenance/Lunch
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Freestyle
2:15 pm – 2:20 pm MX2 Pro/Am Hot Lap
2:25 pm – 2:55 pm MX2 Pro/Am - Moto # 2
3:00 pm – 3:20 pm Support Class(es)
3:40 pm – 3:45 pm MX1 Pro Hot Lap
3:50 pm – 4:25 pm MX1 Pro - Moto # 2