--press release--

A weekend filled with sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted fans and racers for Round 7 of the CMRC Canadian Nationals in Moncton, New Brunswick. The track was prepped well and a record turnout of spectators lined the track for some intense racing.

At the prior round in Joliette, Quebec, Morgan Racing Yamaha solidified its top three position in the premiere MX1 title chase with Craig Decker’s strong 3-3 finishes. Both Blair Morgan and Erick Vallejo finished inside the top ten at Joliette as well so strong results were expected in Moncton. In the MX2 class, Morgan Racing Yamaha’s Johnny Montes was returning to Atlantic Canada to race in front of his hometown fans. It was his chance to shine and show his fans the result of his hard work over the past few months.

For Decker, things started off well on Saturday with a good start and a second place finish in his qualifier behind Keith Johnson. On Sunday, Craig’s string of good starts came to an end as he found himself outside of the top ten coming out of the first corner. Craig worked hard in the moto but was only able to make it back to sixth place. Fortunately it was only one place behind Damon Huffman who is currently in second overall so he only lost one point to Huffman in the points chase. In moto two, Craig gated better and came out with a top three start but crashed early in the race and once again found himself battling through the pack. An eventual seventh put him in seventh overall by virtue of his 6-7 moto scores.

“I have to get good starts in the next two rounds,” said Decker, who has his sights set on second overall. “Everyone is riding well right now so I need to get good starts and stay ahead of those guys that are close to me in points. It can go any way in the next two rounds—second through fifth are pretty tight still.”

Blair Morgan’s weekend started with disappointment as he crashed and DNFd his Saturday qualifier and had to take a bad gate pick for the first moto on Sunday. Blair showed his resolve and despite crashing again on Sunday, finished a respectable 13-9 in Moncton and is currently in a tie for sixth overall in the MX1 class with fellow Yamaha rider, Simon Homans. Erick Vallejo, finished just one spot behind Blair with a 12-10 for 10th overall. This marks the second weekend in a row where all three of Morgan Racing Yamaha’s MX1 riders have finished in the top ten overall.

IN MX2 action, Johnny Montes was gunning to improve his top ten performance at Joliette and turn it into a top five finish in Moncton. He did just that in the first moto with a top five start and finishing in 5th. “I felt really good,” said Montes after the moto. “I have been struggling with bad luck all year and I just wanted to come to Moncton and put my team in the top five.”

Montes started strong in the second moto as well and everything was looking good in the early stages. Johnny’s bad luck reared its ugly head once again, however, as he veered off his line to avoid a downed rider and his front end slid out in the mud. He was unable to refire his bike for two laps and suffered a disappointing DNF. Despite his erratic results in the MX2 East class, Johnny is just outside the top ten in points and hopes to finally put two strong motos together at the next round and finish inside the top ten for the first time in his career.

With only two rounds left in the CMRC nationals, Morgan Racing Yamaha is poised to make an impression on the field and a statement for next season. “After our late switch to Yamaha, we didn’t have much time to prepare for the 2005 season,” stated Team Manager, Rick Rundberg. “We pulled our team together quickly and Morgan Racing has been a major factor at each round. We are beating teams that had a lot more time to test and prepare during the off-season and that shows how much effort we put into this team, how well we work together, and how competitive our Yamaha motorcycles are. Blair Morgan joined the team a week before the season opener and came into the series with a serious injury but is now in sixth overall. Craig Decker has basically been in the top three of the MX1 class all season. We hope to close out the series strong and come back next year for the win.”

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.