Gauld opens eyes at first provincial

May 3 , 2005

By Danny Brault

Ryan Gauld earned a moto win and finished second overall in the 250 class.

Photo: Allison Kennedy

The 2005 CMRC Ontario provincial series kicked off at Gopher Dunes last weekend and despite concerns regarding the new two-day format, the event was a success.

Weather forecasts leading up to race were predicting rain and nightmares of weather from last year’s opening round began floating through riders’ heads. Fortunately, the weather cleared and other than a few drizzles and the 10 minutes of hail that fell on Sunday, it was clear skies. Even though just the age and mini bike classes were scheduled for Saturday, the pits filled up quickly. Fans were treated to intense race action and witnessed a prelude to the pro classes in the Youth motos. Over 700 riders turned out for the two-day event, and Brett Lee said that he received positive feedback on the two-day schedule so the majority of the riders thought it was the way to go and the event was a success. 

125 PRO MOTO ONE

Machine Racing/ Label It/ Honda’s Jason Burke lead the field into the first corner, but it only lasted moments until Ryan Gauld went flying by! Riding a Honda CRF 250 for Machine Racing, Gauld proceeded to pull away from the pack. Critics expected Gauld to fade as the long moto wore on but he silenced those critics early as he used his smooth riding style to conserve energy and stay at the front. However, in the last few laps, Gauld made a couple of mistakes, which gave Burke the lead and the win. “I wasn’t surprised that Gauld was going fast and leading, but [I was surprised] that he held that pace for so long,” said Burke.

Jason Burke stole the show with two 125 pro moto wins.

Photo: Allison Kennedy

Defending champ, Pierce Chamberlain, proved that his 125 wasn’t a disadvantage as he came off the gate inside the top five. The Lockhart’s Odyssey KTM rider finished third at the end of the moto. Lightning Powersports’, Joel Saarits rode a consistent moto to take fourth, while WCK Toy’s Kyle Thompson rounded out the top five. Machine Racing’s Kyle Keast pulled a decent start, but after stalling his bike twice, he crossed the line in eighth. “It was worse than crashing, it took forever to get the bike going,” said the disappointed Keast.

125 PRO MOTO TWO

Burke again pulled the holeshot, and again another surprise rider passed him—Marty Burr! The 34-year-old Burr couldn’t keep pace with Burke, however, and lost the lead just two corners later. “I got tired and faded pretty quickly,” said Burr after the moto. “But it’s not that I’m out of shape, I just need to ride more and get rid of the arm pump. I think if I ride some more I can stay in the top five.” The B-tech Yamaha rider managed to finish ninth in the final moto.

After receiving advice from mentor Rob McCullough, Burke ran away with his second win and his first 1-1 provincial victory. “I said, ‘Listen Jay, look past those guys, get out front and charge,” said McCullough on his words given to 18-year-old Burke after his first moto. “Try to not focus on the race being over, but each lap try making your lead even bigger.”

Kyle Keast managed a third in the second 125 moto and finished fourth overall.

Photo: Allison Kennedy

As the track conditions began to worsen, the faster, more in shape riders split from the pack. Suzuki’s Saarits earned the runner-up position, while Keast battled his way through the pack to finish on the podium. The two-strokers, Chamberlain and Ohio’s Michael Willard, completed the top five. Chamberlain felt that the 125 struggled in the deep sand, but he was satisfied with his third overall. After crashing into the face of the double in the front section, Gauld was unable to repeat his performance in moto one. He pulled off after suffering from vision problems and regrouped for the next 250 moto.

Michael Willard made the trip from Ohio to race Gopher Dunes.

Photo: Allison Kennedy

250 PRO MOTO ONE

Chamberlain grabbed the holeshot, but gave it away when his front end washed out in the first corner. Filled with confidence from his ride in the first 125 moto, Gauld took over the lead, gapped the field by at least four seconds in the early laps and held on for the win. “I don’t know why everyone was so surprised,” replied Gauld on the general response from spectators. “Did they think I had gotten slower or something?” However, he admitted that he was surprised he lasted the entire 25-minute moto, beating riders who had been training hard in the preseason.

Chamberlain pulls the holeshot in the first 250 pro moto.

Photo: Allison Kennedy

Chamberlain remounted in last place and began charging through the pack. At the midway point, it looked like the “I told you so’s” were about to fly when his 450 started smoking. Fortunately, Chamberlain had just scooped dirt into the radiator from his first turn fall. The deep sand was packed into the radiator and it was overheating. His KTM lasted and he charged through the pack from dead last to second place. Following Chamberlain was Willard, Saarits and Keast. Hully Gully Yamaha’s Kyle Snelgrove put in a solid ride on his YZ 450F to finish sixth.

250 PRO MOTO TWO

With the track looking like Frank Shuster had placed landmines under the surface, the riders who didn’t put in the time during the off-season quickly faded backwards. Gauld shot into the lead and quickly gapped the field. However, after switching lines to pass a lapper, he went down allowing Keast and Chamberlain to go by. The latter would go on for the win (and the overall), while Keast finished a close second. Gauld remounted to take third and second overall. Burke had troubles in the second moto, but still managed fourth. Georgia’s Clint Shealy had his best moto of the day finishing fifth on his RMZ 450, while Willard rounded out the top five.

INTERMEDIATE

Kyle Ferguson took home the honours in GP Intermadiate class and finished third in the 250 class. Yamaha’s Billy Mullen earned the win in the 125 class with 3-1 moto scores, while Jason Michael was second overall with a 2-3. Tyler Bezzo scored the win in the 250 class with two moto wins and Matt McGuinness used his smooth riding style to earn second in GP and third in the 125 class. Rob Pelletier returned to racing after a suffering a broken collarbone in March, grabbing moto wins in the 125 and GP classes on his RMZ 250.

Billy Mullen leads Jason Michael in an intermediate moto .

Photo: Allison Kennedy

JUNIOR

Timmy Burke must have been paying attention to his brother Jay’s skills in the pro classes, as he walked away with a sweep of the 125 and 250 junior classes. KTM’s Cory Brooks grabbed the win in the GP and finished second in the 125 class. Kyle Stephens earned two thirds in the 125 and GP classes.

80cc 7-11 and 80cc 12-16

Cole Thompson dominated the 7-11 division with two moto wins, followed by Dylan Kaelin and Richard Grey. Kawasaki’s Kurtis Ritchie traded top positions in the 12-16 division with Joshua Long, while Bradley Denniston finished third overall.

Cole Thompson won the 80cc 7-11 class with two moto wins.

Photo: Brett Dailey

Other notables

Jolene Van Vugt swept the ladies class, Marty Burr edged out Ken Clark for the win in Vet Master and finished second behind Gauld in the +25 class. Gary Zuest put it to the Coles brothers in +40 and Jason Burke won the Youth class over Keast and Willard. Greg Gee secured first in ATV pro with 3-1 moto scores, followed by Justin Petker and Mike Browers.

Marty Burr won the Vet Master class and ran up front in the early stages of the 125 and 250 pro motos.

Photo: Allison Kennedy

The two men responsible for the success of the new two-day format were Brett Lee and promoter Frank Schuster. In terms of it being a championship race, we delivered the type of race we want to deliver each weekend,” said Lee. Frank told me he saw people who bought tickets just to watch and were cheering from the fence lines. He’d never seen that level of excitement before at a provincial. The really good racing was compressed … it was just a good product to sell to the spectators.”

The next provincial round will be held at Auburn Hills May 14 to 15. Log on to www.cmrcracing.com for directions and additional information. Also, be on the look out for the provincial program, which will be available at round two.