--press release--

Team Honda Canada Blackfoot Fox Racing’s Jean Sebastien Roy nailed down his 5th Consecutive MX1 National Championship at Round 8 of the nine-round CMRC Canadian Motocross Championships in Ste-Julie, QC on Sunday, August 14, 2005.

Despite riding with severely bruised ribs – sustained during Saturday’s practice sessions – JSR carded his seventh overall win of the ’05 season on the strength of 2-1 motos. The victory, in front of a boisterous home province crowd, provided the Quebec native with enough points to clinch the championship. It also kept Blackfoot Racing’s MX1 winning streak firmly in tact. The team now has a record 17 consecutive overall wins on the books, posted since Round 8 at Walton in 2003.

In the first MX1 moto, Roy got a tepid start which meant he had his work cut out for him if he wanted to finish on the podium. Team Suzuki’s Keith Johnson, who grabbed the holeshot, led the race to the finish line. Behind Johnson, JSR and Gracyk swapped positions several times in a battle for second that eventually saw JSR put a definitive pass on the American. JSR’s teammates Damon Huffman and Dusty Klatt both got mid pack starts that saw them greet the checkered flag in sixth and ninth respectively.
In the second moto, Klatt followed holeshot winner Gracyk into turn one to quickly put a pass on him and take command of the lead. This time, JSR got off the gate in fifth, which he systematically worked into second place by lap seven. At the halfway mark he passed Klatt and from there ran his own race to the checkered flag; and ultimately his 5th Consecutive MX1 National Motocross Championship.

“It feels great to have made it five in a row. Without a great team like Blackfoot behind me, and great bikes to ride like Honda, I'm not sure if that would have been possible. I would like to thank everybody for their support from my family and sponsors to the fans. It’s been a great season,” said Roy. 
 
Klatt, for his part, kept a persistent Gracyk behind him in Moto 2 to follow JSR across the finish line in second place. On the strength of 9-2 motos, Klatt carded fourth overall for the day while Huffman, who got caught in a first turn pile-up, sliced his way to a 16th place finish after remounting at the back of the pack. On the strength of 6-16 motos he finished the day in 10th overall.

In the final round of the four-round MX2 East Championship, an unfortunate crash on the first lap between Mitch Cooke and another rider caused Mitch’s championship hopes come to an end. Teammate Chad Charbonneau, behind the crash, was unable to avoid the two downed riders. Both Cooke and Charbonneau collected their bikes and faced the competition dead last. With Cooke’s radiator severely leaking and Charbonneau’s front brakes gone, the Blackfoot duo had an extreme challenge ahead of them. This challenge would not hold them back as they charged through the pack; amazingly for Cooke, the motor survived nearly thirty gruelling minutes and the Nova Scotian was able to make his way to an 11th place finish. Charbonneau worked his way to 16th place by the time the checkered flag was waved. In the second moto, Cooke captured a fifth place start and rode to a third place finish behind Kyle Chisholm and Michael Willard. The American duo finished second and first overall on the strength of 2-2 and 1-1 motos respectively. Cooke carded fifth overall for the day and concluded the series with an impressive third place ranking, 10 points behind KTM’s Willard. Charbonneau, meanwhile, crossed the second moto finish line in 12th, chalking up 14th overall for the day. Despite the low points score in the ultimate round of the series, he still registered a noteworthy fourth place final ranking.

Team Honda Canada Blackfoot Fox Racing would like to congratulate JSR for his phenomenal 5th Consecutive MX1 National Motocross Championship; and Mitch Cooke and Chad Charbonneau for their third and fourth place finishes in the MX2 East Championship.