Round three of Ontario Provincials: SDL

May 24, 2005

By Brett Dailey

Round three of the Ontario provincial championships kicked off with the typical mix of rain and cold temperatures. All three rounds have been plagued by cold weather but that has not stifled the competition on the track. Sand Del Lee hosts the only double header of the series with both classes running on Saturday and Sunday (points for Pros on Sunday only). Rider entries were in the 400-500 range each day so that’s impressive considering that the weather felt more like March than late May.

OTSFF Suzuki’s Gavin Gracyk surprised the competition when he arrived at the track for Sunday's pro motos. He swept both classes at round two in Auburn Hills but had only planned to race the one round. He liked the track, had fun and made good money so he called Ron Ashley and asked if he could use the bikes for another weekend. The 10+ hour drive from Columbus Ohio to Ottawa was worthwhile as he went 1-1 in the 250 class and 2-5 in the 125 class.

Photos: Brett Dailey

In only his second pro season, Machine Racing / Label It’s Jason Burke continues to lead the field for the 125 title.

Kemptville Motorsports’ Pat Cyr brought his top rider, Pennsylvania's Casey Clark, to his home provincial in hopes of taking home a win for Yamaha. He was so happy when Casey jumped into the lead of the first pro moto and started pulling away that he was laughing in pit row and could not stop. (literally)

Lockhart’s Odyssey’s Pierce Chamberlain finally won a 125 moto. The relatively flat circuit at Sand Del Lee seemed to suit the KTM tiddler. His 3-1 was good enough for second overall behind Casey Clark and moved him to within six points of series leader Jason Burke. Chamberlain continues to lead the 250 series.

Kyle Keast started up front in the second 125 moto and finished third. He is in third overall in both 125 and 250 pro but look for his results to improve as the series continues.

Jason Burke and Pierce Chamberlain discuss lines between motos.

Trever Hall had a tough weekend and dropped to eighth overall in 125 pro. A nasty crash snapped the end of his bars right off.

Despite this fall in the second 125 moto, Burke still finished fourth and salvaged valuable championship points.

Mike Island continues to improve each weekend. A fifth in the first 250 moto should help his confidence.

Holeshots like this one helped Gavin Gracyk sweep the 250 class for the second weekend in a row.

This is the second year that Peter Raymer finished well at Sand Del Lee. He must like the mix of jumps, ruts and sand. A couple of severe crashes resulted in a bent bike but it didn’t slow him down.

Machine Racing’s Chuck Mesley continues to ride himself into shape after his recent back surgery. The surgery went well and it’s nice to have Chuck back on the circuit.

Jay Burke holeshot the final pro moto of the day. He finished 3-3 in the 250 class and is currently in fifth overall.

Lightining Powersports’ Joel Saarits had a great battle with fellow Suzuki rider Gavin Gracyk.

#40 Justin Thompson was injured in the whoop section early on Sunday.

Nova Scotia’s Boo Green says that he will keep racing the series until he gets a top five finish. The personable rider is a great addition to the series so we are selfishly hoping that he doesn’t break the top five until the final round.

No that’s not Gaerne Bronze Boot winner Adam Deakon—it’s Ryan McLellan who has been doing the beg/borrow/steal routine to find a bike to race each weekend. Ryan has a top 10 finish in the 125 pro class and won a Youth moto at Auburn. Deakon was nice enough to lend his bike for the SDL round. Speaking of Deakon, he passed Billy Mullen and won a GP Intermediate moto at Sand Del Lee.

Matt McGuiness trails Billy Mullen in the 125 Intermediate class but is leading the GP Intermediate class. He won the last 125 Intermediate moto on Sunday.

Kyle Ferguson is in sixth overall in the 125 Intermediate class and second overall in GP Intermediate and 250 Intermediate. He finished 3-2 for second overall behind Billy Mullen in GP Intermediate. Derek Hamm leads the 250 Intermediate class.

In only his first year out of the 80 class, Billy Mullen is ripping up the 125 Intermediate class. He has a 20-point lead and four moto wins.

Last year’s 125 Junior champion, Austin King, is currently in eighth overall in the 125 Intermediate class. His 5-8 finishes on Sunday were the best of the season.

Racer X Canada’s Assistant editor Danny Brault (#224) raced a YZ450F last season and became accustomed to starting at the front of the pack. His switch to a YZ250F for the 2005 season has cured his arm pump woes, however, he doesn’t start at the front of the pack any longer. Trevor Middleton (#700) had a frustrating weekend and battled with consistency on Sunday. His best finishes came on Saturday where he finished fourth overall in both 125 and GP Intermediate.

Ryan Gauld is perfect in the +25 class with 200 points.

Rob McCullough continues to impress on his Sturgess Cycle RM250. He missed the first +40 round at Gopher Dunes because he had not turned 40 yet but has won every moto since and is already in third overall and only 15 points away from series leader Jeff Coles. He’s also in third overall in Vet Master behind Ken Clark and Marty Burr. He missed out on a top 100 number last season but he's back for revenge—and hopefully a Loretta's +40 title.

Mike Harnden, the 1984 500cc Canadian Champion, is still going strong in his mid 40s. Unfortunately for Mike, Rob McCullough just turned 40 so Mike will have to step up his racing program to compete with McCullough.

Kurtis Jack (#15) and Tim Burke battle it out in the 125 Junior class. Burke continues to lead the 125 and 250 Junior championships by a wide margin. In fact, he has a perfect 200 points in the 250 class.

Corey Brooks now sits fourth overall in the 125 Junior standings and second overall in GP Junior.

Kyle Stephens is splitting duties between Supermini and 125 Junior. He’s leading both the Supermini class and the GP Junior class. #92 Josh Long is leading the 85cc 12-16 class.

Tyler Medaglia’s younger brother, Jeremy, joined the series at Sand Del Lee and won the 85cc 12-16 class and the Supermini class on Saturday.

Cole Thompson had an epic battle with Jeremy Medaglia in the first Supermini moto on Sunday. Cole took the win—his first win ever in Supermini. He leads the 85cc 7-11 class with a perfect 200 points and is also leading the 60cc class.

Thompson’s main competition in the 60cc and 85cc class is Richard Grey. He will skip Loretta Lynn’s this year and focus on the 2006 season when he will try for the 85cc 7-11 championship.

G-Force’s Bruce Godkin offers advice to his son Mitchell who is running a close second overall in the 50cc 7-8 class.

Brett Cormier didn’t let a little rain and mud spoil his spirit.

Brett Lee’s son Caden was in tears when his dad kicked him off his bike so he could watch the final pro moto on Sunday. In his wisdom, Brett suggested that Caden remind each pro rider to keep their elbows up as they pass by. It worked like a charm and Caden now has a bright future in the riding school business.

What it’s all about…

Didn’t you hear me? I said, “ELBOWS UP!”