--press release--

Although the weather wasn't perfect for the opening round of the eastern leg of the CMRC Canadian Motocross Championships at Gopher Dunes in Courtland, Ontario on Sunday, July 17th there was rain, there was sunshine and the heat and humidity was stifling Team Suzuki OTSFF Motorsports continued to collect valuable points in the MX1 title hunt with the express train of Keith Johnson, Gavin Gracyk and Mike Treadwell.

The Suzuki trio ate up the heavy, rain soaked sand which separated the men from the boys in what everybody called the toughest race of the season to date. All three riders moved up a notch in the points rankings. Gracyk, who had a wild day at Round 5 of the nine-round MX1 Championship, now commands second place in the points chase behind series leader Jean Sebastien Roy. KJ, third man on the MX1 podium at Gopher, is currently holding down third while Iron Mike sits in ninth place.

In the first moto, a few laps into the race, KJ followed JSR past Roy's Blackfoot Honda teammate Damon Huffman, who had hammered down the holeshot. Once he settled into second, Johnson was never threatened or challenged, holding his position all the way to the checkered.

Gracyk and Treadwell, meanwhile, saw a top-five start go down the drain when they crashed hard in turn two after Gracyk clipped Huffmans rear wheel. Making matters worse was the fact that the teammates then got run over by another rider. Although Iron Mike managed to recover fairly quickly, but still rejoining the fray in second last position, Gracyk had problems restarting his bike. Once back in action, he had to stop again to straighten out his handlebars, losing more precious time. Undaunted by what seemed like a hopeless situation, both Treadwell and Gracyk charged through the pack to collect 8th and 10th respectively at the finish line. Gracyk, who was actually lapped by JSR, showed his mettle by unlapping himself towards the end of the moto.

In Moto 2, holeshot master KJ ran up front for a number of laps after beating Roy, Huffman, Dusty Klatt, Gracyk and the rest of the pack to turn one. Unfortunately the Carver, MA native encountered a problem with his shift lever around the midway mark, which saw him eventually finish in 6th place. Coupled with his 2nd place in Moto 1, however, KJ carded a well-deserved second overall for the day.

"My RMZ 450 ran great all day but I feel like I kind of let everybody down in the second moto," said Johnson. "I caught my shifter on a hay bale and bent it, so it was stuck in second gear for a little while. But no excuses, it is what it is, thats racing. I'm happy that I still managed to get third overall for the team."

Everybody did a great job. Gracyk turned up the heat in the second moto to grab 3rd at the checkered behind Roy and Huffman. Treadwell, who started around 9th place, crossed the finish line in 8th after enduring the brutal second moto in which everyone battled fiercely for position. He snared 9th overall for the day on the strength 8-8 motos. The Gopher Dunes track is definitely a true test of every rider out there and the machinery as well. "My Suzuki OTSFF RMZ 450 really proved itself again today in both motos," said Gracyk. "I'm digging deeper and deeper as the series moves along to finish in the top. I cant thank everybody enough for their support from the team to the fans."

In the opening round of the MX2 East Championship, Team Suzuki OTSFFs Jean Yves Allard and Charles Ellis fared less well than their MX1 teammates. In Moto 1, Allard received a stop and go penalty for accidentally jumping the gate, which nullified his top-five start. He then knifed his way from the back of the pack to 15th at the finish line. Ellis got bogged down in a midpack start to finish 17th.

The second moto saw both riders round turn one around mid-pack. Ellis got on the gas and had worked his way into 10th when he went down, clogging his rad with sand. Rather than burn out the motor he retired to the paddock. Allard quickly turned his tepid start into a top-10 position, only to experience overheating problems as well. Like Ellis he opted for a DNF in order to spare the motor.

Team Suzuki OTSFF Motorsports would like to thank all their sponsors, the fans who braved the finicky weather, and Gopher Dunes Shuster family for their hard work on the track to keep the event
on schedule.