We were back in action in Ontario on Sunday for Round 2 of the AMO Ontario Provincial Championships (OPC) at Walton Raceway. If the Round 1 numbers from Gopher Dunes were any indication, people are ready to get back to the track.
Well, there were more that 650 entries at Round 2! People are still ready.
It was a warm and sunny day and the track crew had their work cut out for them, trying to keep the track in good shape for how many riders were on it. Yes, there was a bit of dust late in the day, but it didn’t get unsafe at any point and that’s what’s important.
I hadn’t been to a race since the Daytona Supercross, so I was looking forward to getting back at it, myself. Who had done their homework and was ready to go for championships in this shortened series? We were about to get some answers.
Here’s a look at some of the racing action at OPC Round 2. I shot photos during practice and first motos because I switched over to doing some race video for the 2nd motos. We’ll get to those as soon as we get done here with the photos. We’ll go in order they appear on the AMO Results Page.
Face masks in the staging area was a small price to pay in order to get back to racing. That’s #75 Lindsey Bradley.#887 Hannah Dubois took the win in Ladies 12+B. She split wins with #610 Savannah Lance.I was impressed with the speed and style of #813 Dusty Wise in 40+A. He won moto 1 and was the one to beat, for sure, but had trouble in moto 2 and finished 2nd (1-4). #258 Ken Clark took the overall with 2-1 motos.#67 Nic Wallace took the 50+A win (1-1) ahead of Dan Tricco who is back in action. Dan didn’t have any numbers on, so he’s not getting in here. You heard me, Dan!#16 Cole Thompson took the Cash Class handily (1-1). We’ll post a separate column to cover the Pro class, but nobody was touching Cole.Remember the name Merrick McGuire. Not only is he a fast young 50cc (7-8) rider but his attitude is something a lot of older riders could learn from. Keep it up, Merrick. He won 50 (7-8) and 50 GP (4-8).The younger brother, #601 Jack Miles, took the 1-1 win in the youngest class on the big track, 50cc (4-6).Jumping the big step-up on a 65 is pretty big. #521 AJ Beth took the 65 ((10-11) win (2-1).His name and #76 Ben Kongmany’s are two we should be saying well into the future. Ben won the first moto but then had troubles in the 2nd.#22x Jonathan Bergeron took the younger 65cc class (1-1).Ben made up for it in the 65 GP class, going 1-2 for the win. #25 Riley Clapp was forced to borrow a bike and finished 2nd in the class (3-1). There are a few fast kids to watch in the little bike classes.#164 Wyatt Kerr had everyone’s number in the Open Intermediate motos. He took the win with 1-1 scores.He gave it a good try in the 250 Intermediate, leading for quite a while, but the other #164 Ryder McNabb picked away and took both wins.#2 Sebastien Racine was unbeatable in the Open Junior class. He only just turned 14, but won’t be in the Junior class for long! He’ll point out pretty quickly.He took 250 Junior (1-1), too.Cole Thompson also took the Youth (14-29) Int/Pro class, mostly by doing what Steve Beattie told him to.Racine took the Youth (14-29) Beg/Int win (1-1), but let’s give #80 Travis Knoop some love for finishing 2nd (3-2).#738 Steve Simms took the win (1-1) in the #0+B class.#63 Liam O’Farrell took the win in 30+A (1-1).#711 Trevor Hall finished 2 (2-3). (I just liked this shot)#71 Scott Tokley took the 40+B class win (2-2) after a couple other riders had strange motos.#138 Dylan Rempel put his stamp on the 85 (12-16) class, going 1-1 for the win.#92 Isabella Morgan took 4th overall in the 85 (7-11) class. #111 Gavin Forsbrey finished 1-1 for the win, but I don’t seem to have a shot of him. Sorry about that.#27 Maya Legare took an exciting win in the Ladies 12+A class, after #156 Erica Solmes caught and passed her on the last lap in moto 1, losing it by a wheel at the flag. Maya looks much more comfortable on the big bike this year. #753 Lilly Turner took both moto wins in the Girls (4-8) class.#971 Mia Barrett won the Girls (9-16) class with 3-1 motos.#138 Dylan Rempel also won the always-competitive Supermini (9-16) class with a pair of wins. Like I said yesterday, he’s going to be tough to beat at the TransCan this year.#17 Josh Bryan split wins with #810 Travis Roberts in the Two-Stroke 12+ class.#441 Colby Older won the Schoolboy (12-17) class with 1-2 motos.Robbie Quantrill was the man in charge of the start line.She’s going to hate me for this, but emotions like this are what makes our sport as great as it is.Lining the fence beside the Natural Double.Pre-race grooving.There’s nothing like that feeling right there!Steve Beattie complying with the COVID-19 rules.it was Quinn Amyotte’s 20th birthday on Sunday. What it’s all about.Don’t worry, Jim Roberts, the first photo is safe with me…Beast.If you’re still awake, we’ll “See you at the races…“
