Michael Willard looks on as Dusty Klatt heads to the podium after the first MX2 moto.

Amidst contraversy and chaos, Gavin Gracyk rode two perfect motos to win the MX1 overall for the day and boost him to second in the season standings. KTM's Michael Willard was named the MX2 East/West Shootout champ in another contraversy-filled class. Sunday at Walton was possibly one of the strangest days of the entire CMRC National series. It was a day filled with caution flags, jumped gates, docked riders, and finger-pointing.

In the much-anticipated MX2 East/West Shootout, the true battle between MX2 West champ Dusty Klatt and MX2 East champ Michael Willard never materialized. While the pair got out front early in the first MX2 moto, Klatt made a pass on Willard while the course was under caution. According to Klatt, he immediately realized his mistake and slowed to let Willard pass. He waited, and waited, but Willard wouldn't go by. Eventually Klatt resumed racing."I couldn't wait for him forever," said Klatt. "What was I supposed to do if he wouldn't make the pass?" According to Willard, Klatt knew he had made a mistake and so did Willard. Willard decided it was smarter to stay behind Klatt and launch the protest, then try to make the pass and hurt his case with the CMRC. Klatt went on to take the win, with Willard in second and Richmond Kawasaki's Colton Facciotti in third. The KTM crew immediately launched a protest against Klatt. The CMRC's decision saw Klatt docked 5 positions, giving Willard the edge heading into the second MX2 moto.

In the second moto, the Walton crowd got to see what Dusty Klatt is capable of when he's angry. Klatt got out front early in the moto and finished 47 seconds ahead of second place Kyle Chisholm. Klatt rode an error-free race and crossed the finish line with an uncharacteristically angry middle-fingered salute. "It pretty much ruined my weekend," said Klatt of the protest in the first moto. "I came out in the second moto to prove a point, and I think I made my point pretty clear." Willard went on to finish third, which gave him the overall and the title of MX2 East/West Shootout champ. "I would have liked to have gone 1-1 in both motos but I'm happy with the overall," said Willard after the podium presentations. KTM's Pierce Chamberlain finished third in the shootout, putting in his best ride of the season with 3-6 motos. "I knew this was my last chance to show what I could do in this class," said Chamberlain, who admitted his MX2 season has been a frustrating one.

KTM Canada's Pierce Chamberlain was third in the MX2 East/West Shootout


Kawasaki's Kyle Chisholm finished second in the final MX2 moto.

One of the happiest faces in Sunday's MX1 lineup. Gavin Gracyk went 1-1.

The face of the MX1 class changed immediately after opening ceremonies. Already crowned the five-time Canadian champ, JSR decided to sit out the day, still suffering from a rib injury he suffered at Ste-Julie last weekend. With no JSR to contend with and the points race for the second and third spots on the series podium, things got pretty intense, pretty quickly. Gavin Gracyk worked his way into the lead in the first moto and pulled away from the pack. Behind Gracyk, a freight train of Damon Huffman, Craig Decker, Keith Johnson and Evan Laughridge battled for for valuable points. Huffman, Decker and Johnson joined Gracyk in the top five series standings. Their finish in this moto would play a key role in their overall series finish.

Machine Racing's Trever Hall crashed at the top of the pro step-up, sending up both the caution flag and the red cross flag. The moto finished with Gracyk out front ahead of Huffman and Decker. Shortly after the podium presentation, it was announced that Huffman, Decker, Johnson and Laughridge had all jumped the step-up on the red cross flag and all four would be docked 5 positions. The docked riders pled their case to the CMRC, arguing that the flags weren't out before the takeoff of the jump but the CMRC stuck with their original decision.

Craig Decker, #4, was black flagged for jumping the gate in the second MX1 moto.

Things got even worse for Yamaha's Craig Decker in the second moto. Decker got off the gate first and rounded the first corner in the lead. A few laps later, Decker saw the black flag waving his way and was issued a stop and go penalty for jumping the gate off the start, the infraction took him out of the battle for the lead. Gracyk again got out front and rode a flawless moto to take the win. Huffman held on to second place while hometown hero Doug DeHaan took over third place after Richmond Racing's Evan Laughridge ran out of gas on the last lap. Gracyk took the overall and was crowned the new King of Walton while DeHaan was second overall for the day and Huffman was third. It was a great day for Gracyk. His overall sent him to second in the series standings, leaving Huffman in third and costing Decker his spot on the podium.

Blackfoot's Damon Huffman finished third overall and third in the series.

Doug DeHaan took second overall with 4-3 motos.

See you at the races...

MX1 Overall Standings

1. Gavin Gracyk 1-1
2. Doug DeHaan 4-3
3. Damon Huffman 5-2
4. Simon Homans 3-10
5. Keith Johnson 9-4
6. Erick Vallejo 5-8
7. Craig Decker 8-9
8. Mike Treadwell 13-5
9. Brad Hagseth 11-7
10. Shane Bess 2-DNF

MX1 Final Series Standings

1. Jean-Sebastien Roy 397
2. Gavin Gracyk 336
3. Damon Huffman 322
4. Keith Johnson 320
5. Craig Decker 310
6. Simon Homans 236
7. Blair Morgan 211
8. Evan Laughridge 197
9. Dusty Klatt 191
10. Mike Treadwell 188

MX2 East/West Shootout

1. Michael Willard 1-3
2. Dusty Klatt 6-1
3. Pierce Chamberlain 3-6
4. Matt Barnes 7-5
5. Jeff Northrop 10-4
6. Mitch Cooke 4-10
7. Kyle Chisholm 24-2
8. Aaron Dieter 8-12
9. Colton Facciotti 2-DNF
10. Jake Wiemer 5-DNF