--press release--

Round 5 of the CMRC Canadian Nationals was characterized by yet another weekend of unpredictable weather. Racers and fans endured a range of hot and humid temperatures, to light rain to torrential winds and rain. The Gopher Dunes track also had a few surprises for the riders as it was extremely rough and was described as the roughest and most demanding circuit of the year.

Nonetheless, Morgan Racing Yamaha came fully prepared for Round 5. Craig Decker was sitting in second overall in the MX1 standings while Blair Morgan was quickly moving up the leader board with top five moto finishes. Erick Vallejo, who wrapped a respectable fifth overall in the MX2 West series at Regina, was ready to switch to the YZ250 and contest the remaining rounds in the MX1 class. Johnny Montes, who raced the Western rounds on a YZ250, was ready to pursue the MX2 East series aboard his new Yamaha YZ250F.

“The bikes have been really strong,” stated team manager Rick Rundberg when asked about the Yamaha YZ/YZF models. “We holeshot four of eight MX1 motos out West and we’re looking forward to the same results in the East. The guys at Yamaha have been awesome to work with. Anything we need, the guys are right there to help out. They had the 2006 YZ250F on display at Gopher Dunes so that was impeccable timing for consumers to have a look at the new models.”

Blair Morgan was the standout for the team aboard his potent YZ450F. The track conditions were the most physically demanding of the year and Blair put in his best ride so that is evidence that his pre-season injury woes are behind him and his fitness is now on par with the elite riders in the MX1 class. Blair’s 6-4 moto scores put him in fifth overall for the day and moved him into seventh overall in the MX1 standings. “The second moto was good,” said Morgan. “I got a good start but I made a couple of mistakes in the first few laps and some guys got by me. I had to put my head down and charge a little bit. I passed a bunch of guys back and started catching up to [Dusty] Klatt. He bobbled in front of me and I got by. I put on a charge at the end and got [Keith] Johnson too. I wanted to get on the podium but it wasn’t too bad considering the conditions. There are a lot of guys riding well right now but I feel stronger every time I go out there so hopefully next weekend I will improve again.”  

Morgan is eagerly awaiting Round 6 in Joliette, Quebec, the site of his epic battle with Jean-Sébastien Roy in 2002. The two champions diced back and forth all moto with Morgan eventually taking the win.

Californian Craig Decker struggled a bit with the deep sand of Gopher Dunes. His 9-7 moto finishes dropped him to fourth overall in the standings but he is still only six points from second overall. There is a good battle for second place in the MX1 standings between Decker, Gavin Gracyk, Keith Johnson and Damon Huffman with only nine points separating the four riders. Decker is looking forward to the next round in Joliette as the track will be a good fit for his skills and he will be looking to move back up the leader board.

Erick Vallejo used Gopher Dunes as a learning round to get adapted to his YZ250. “That’s the gnarliest workout I have ever had,” admitted Vallejo. “There were braking bumps and holes everywhere. I really wanted to finish inside the top 10 and I was up there in the second moto until I crashed.” Vallejo had some excellent results on the YZ250 during the U.S. Supercross series so we fully expect him up-front as we move to Quebec and New Brunswick.

In the MX2 class, Johnny Montes struggled with poor starts and crashes, which resulted in heart breaking DNQ for the New Brunswick resident. The short four round championship is probably out of reach for Montes so he will be giving it his all in the remaining three rounds (and the 125 East West shootout at Walton) to get on the podium. “He was just trying too hard,” said Rundberg. “I know he can rider better … he was trying too hard and ended up crashing. There’s no pressure now so you will see him ride a lot better this weekend.”

Morgan Racing would like to thank their generous sponsors:

Morgan Racing, Yamaha Canada, Nestea, Nesquick, Fly Racing, Bransam Logistics, Maxima Oils, M2R Helmets, Works Connection, Bridgestone, Dubach Racing Development, Enzo Racing, Tag Metals, Pro Circuit, Ogio Bags, Wiseco, Uni Filters, EBC Brakes, RK Chain, V Force, Mechanix Wear, Gaerne Boots, TCI, Platinum 1, SixSixOne, Rice Lake Fuels, Creative MX, Sunline.