--press release--

Following Canadian Kawasaki’s Kyle Chisholm second place finish in the MX2 East Championship and Richmond Kawasaki's Jeff Northrop’s second in the West, Kawasaki was eager to take the victory at the East/ West shootout held at Walton on August. 21.

Heavy rain soaked the Walton track Friday and Saturday, leaving the track in unrideable conditions and forcing the amateur championship to be cut down to a two moto format.

Richmond Kawasaki’s Brady Sheren was the only green rider having to qualify on Saturday for the MX2 shootout because he injured himself at the second west round and didn’t finish inside the top ten in the final points standings. Riding through the rain, mud and one-lined track, Sheren grabbed third in the second MX2 qualifier. 

In MX1 qualifiers, Evan Laughridge finished third in the first qualifier and Ryan Lockhart earned sixth in the second qualifier, both on their KX 250s. 

Riders and fans were greeted to much more pleasant race conditions on Sunday, as the rain stopped, the sun came out and thanks to the efforts of the Walton crew, the track eventually kicked up dust by the end of the program.

In the first MX2 moto, Chisholm rounded the first corner just outside the top five, but within a few laps he worked his way into the lead. Unfortunately, his time up front didn’t last long as bike complications dropped him back to 24th at the finish. Richmond’s Colton Facciotti proved the strength of the new 2006 KX 250F as he passed a handful riders on the bone stock bike to finish third, but was later moved up to second because of Dusty Klatt’s pass for the lead on a yellow flag. Teammate Jeff Northrop was fast, but he too suffered bike woes and finished tenth. 17-year-old Sheren struggled with a bad start and crashes and finished outside the top 20.

In the second moto, Chisholm battled with Michael Willard before moving into second place. His bike again began acting up, but the Floridian nursed it to a second place finish and seventh overall. Facciotti was running up front again in the second moto, but a problem with his shifter forced him to DNF. Northrop rode a consistent moto to finish fourth and was the top overall finisher for the Richmond team with fifth overall. Sheren again struggled with a bad start and mistakes and finished 21st.

In MX1 action, Richmond Kawasaki’s Evan Laughridge ran fifth for the entire moto, but was penalized five positions—along with four riders—for jumping on a yellow flag and as a result fell back to tenth. His luck didn’t get any better in the second moto, either. After running a solid third without much pressure from Doug DeHaan in fourth, Laughridge’s KX 250 ran out of fuel because the two lap board was signaled ten seconds too late. He finished 16th overall.

Ryan Lockhart fell victim to bike complications both motos and didn’t score any points.

Kawasaki had some bright moments at the Canadian nationals this season. They secured second overall in the East and West MX2 classes, victories in MX2 East motos and a top ten finish in the MX1 class. Jeff Northrop was second in the MX2 West, followed by Teddy Maier in third. Kyle Chisholm finished second in the MX2 East—just one point behind the leader and Evan Laughridge finished eighth in the competitive MX1 class.