--press release--

As has been the case for a number of years, Jean Sebastien Roy is well on his way to chalking up yet another MX1 Championship as the CMRC Canadian Motocross Championships slowly wind their way down to the final round in Walton. Honda Canada Blackfoot Fox Racing's Roy currently holds a cushy 73 points lead over his teammate Damon Huffman. Unless there is a worst case scenario in store for Roy it's safe to say at this stage of the game, with only three rounds left on the schedule, the championship title is a done deal.

The remaining positions, however, are anything but a shoo-in. Huffman is looking at a precarious hold on his second place in the rankings, a position he took possession of at Round 6 in Joliette. Before that the Californian sat as far back as eighth place and as close to the lead as third, an indication of the musical points chairs that have highlighted the top-10, and beyond, since Round 1.

Only two points separate Huffy from Morgan Racing Yamaha's Craig Decker, who in turn holds 13 points over Team Suzuki OTSFF's Gavin Gracyk. Gracyk, for his part, counts six points between himself and teammate Keith Johnson. Although there's a 37 points spread separating KJ's fifth place from sixth, currently being occupied by Decker's teammate Blair Morgan, the gap tightens again after that. Yamaha Canada's Simon Homans is just three points down from Morgan -they swapped positions last weekend. Blackfoot Racing's Dusty Klatt, who moved from 10th to eighth place in Joliette, is 22 points behind Homans.

Yamaha Canada's Doug DeHaan, who held down eighth place going into Joliette, is now out of the top-10 club, having been relegated to 11th spot. While DeHaan is only eight points outside of the top-10, he will not only have to ride hard to get back into it, but also to keep Swanson Racing Yamaha's Josh Demuth, who trails by 17 points, off his back.

This weekend, at Riverglade MX Park in Moncton, all of the above, except JSR - even if he scores no points - may very well see their current rankings rearranged again, especially between second and fifth place. Klatt could very well displace Homans from seventh and Richmond Racing Kawasaki's Evan Laughridge, holding down 10th, could take a bite out of the ten points he trails Team Suzuki's Mike Treadwell by.

Whatever the case, look for the remaining rounds in the MX1 Championship to become more intense as all competitors jockey for their final rankings, ever so critical in determining their fate for team rides next year.

MX2 East Championship neck in neck going into Round 3

Atlantic Canada's Mitch Cooke, arguably one of the most underrated motocrossers in Canada, will be looking to win his first MX2 East Championship round this weekend at Riverglade MX Park in Moncton, NB. Cooke, riding for the powerhouse Honda Canada Blackfoot Fox Racing team, is currently eight points behind series leader Kyle Chisholm of Team Richmond Racing Kawasaki Canada.

With Cooke's teammate and defending champion Donny McGourty out of the mix at Round 2 due to a wrist injury, Cooke has become Blackfoot Racing's sole hope to capture the MX2 East crown.

"I came into this with my goal being to win the title for myself and the team. The fact that Donnie is not really in contention doesn't put any more pressure on me to win the championship for Blackfoot," said Cooke. "I put all the pressure I need on myself."

Cooke, who started off rather tentatively at the first round of the points chase in Courtland, ON, finishing 7th overall on the strength of 8-7 motos, dramatically picked up the pace in Joliette, QC last weekend. He put in two impressive motos carding 3rd and 2nd, which delivered him 2nd overall on the podium. With those results he jumped from sixth in the rankings to second.

With just two rounds left on the schedule, the pressure is not only on Cooke, but on all the riders mathematically in a position to walk away with the title. This includes everybody from Chisholm to No.7 in the current points standings Matt Barnes, riding for the Factory KTM team.

At this stage of the championship Cooke stands the best chance to crack the American hold on the MX2 East title, which they've enjoyed for the past two years. In addition to Cooke, Yamaha Canada's Doug DeHaan and Machine Racing Honda's Kyle Keast are the only other Canadians within striking distance of the title. DeHaan, fifth in the standings, trails Chisholm by 15 points - Keast, in sixth, is looking at a more sizeable 29 points deficit.

Cooke's fellow Nova Scotian, Ryan Lockhart, will also be gunning for maximum points in the only Atlantic Canada round on the CMRC Canadian Motocross Championships calendar.

After suffering two mechanical DNFs at Gopher Dunes, Richmond Racing Kawasaki's Lockhart rebounded in Joliette with 6-4 motos, carding 3rd overall for the day. He leapfrogged from 27th in the points all the way to 9th, a position he'll want to improve on at the final two rounds. Lockhart needs to stay consistently in the top five and score as many points as possible if he is going to make it into a top five final ranking.