Photo Report | Canadian National AX Tour | Sarnia Round 1
Photos and Captions By Billy Rainford
Round 1 of the Canadian National AX Tour went off this past Saturday night at the Hiawatha Horse Park in Sarnia, Ontario. This is the second year of the AX Tour north of the border and if the racing at the front is anything like it was last season between series winner Jacob Hayes and Cole Thompson, we’re in for 5 rounds of entertaining racing.
Who will step up to replace the 2015 battle between Cole Thompson (left) and Jacob Hayes? | Bigwave photo
With 1 round now in the books, it appears the battle (in the first couple rounds, at least) will be between 3 riders: Colton Facciotti, Chris Blose, and Steven Mages.
I was up in the booth above the track working with Chris Pomeroy and guest co-host, Chris Morgan, on the Valvoline AX Tour LIVE broadcast, so my photos are from amateur racing during the day and Pro practice at 2pm.
Here’s a look at some of the racing action.
In the youngest class of the day, it was #48 Carter Ward who got out front early. Yes, that’s Tanner’s little bro. He won the 51 (4-8) class.
#90 Landrey Hazen was the Girls (9-13) rider to beat all day. She also gave Chloe Metcalfe (on her 250 2-stroke) fits in the Women 12+ class.
Chloe won the Women’s 12+ class, but it was down to the wire!
They crossed the finish line this close in the second moto. Hazen raced the Women All Stars in the night show and won it.
#425 Amelia Matchett took 3rd.
#527 Jake Tricco in the Schoolboy class on the big bike.
He was the top rider in the Supermini class.
But #79 Cameron Wrozyna is another rider to keep an eye on. He finished 2nd in Supermini and then won the 85cc All Stars race later that night.
#76 Ben Kongmany took the 50cc class right from the drop of the gate. He won the 50cc All Stars class in the night show.
It was #52 Luke Tricco’s first Arenacross on the new 150 4-stroke. It will take a bit longer for him to get used to the difference and he came up short on the finish line double, but was OK. He finished 2nd in the All Stars race.
Young #22 Hunter Scott has also made the switch. Unfortunately, he stalled the bike while leading and let the other riders get past on the last lap.
#28 Sam Gaynor is looking great as a full-time big bike rider. He won AX Lites Junior and finished 2nd in AX Junior in the afternoon program. He came back to win the Junior Lites All Stars class in the night show.
#114 Quinn Amyotte powers down the start straight. He took 3rd in Junior All Stars and won the Schoolboy class.
An Intermediate moto blasts off the line.
#411 Duncan MacLeod. He finished 8th in AX Intermediate (2-9).
Some top Intermediate riders hit turn 1. That’s #115 Riley Heinrichs, #424 Austin Watling, #46 Marco Cannella, and #184 Tanner Ward.
Ward got out to the early lead in this moto but went down.
We keep talking about the ‘Fab 3’ but #14 Kyle Brown is hoping to make it a foursome this year in the competitive Intermediate classes. He won the Youth class and the Intermediate All Stars main event.
#615 Belanger made the trip from Quebec with Karl Normand and found himself out front early in a Youth moto. He won the AX Junior class.
He was handling the pressure well until he messed up and dropped back.
Riley Heinrichs is still nursing a very sore ankle and wasn’t really expecting to be on the track this week. He finished 3-DNS in AX Intermediate and 3-9 in AX Lites Intermediate.
#295 Josh Mann looking in full control over the big finish line double. He finished 6th (4-5) in AX Intermediate.
Tanner Ward was focused mostly on the night show but had some great motos in the afternoon.
Same thing went for #424 Austin Watling.
He had a scary moment when he bounced off Cannella…
And high-sided off #413 Brett Husak…
And went to the ground.
He was OK but the bike needed some attention, so he just rode off the track.
Full AMATEUR RESULTS can be found HERE.
Now, let’s move on the the PRO ACTION:
#33 Timothy Patterson rounded out the field in both AX Pro and AX Pro Lites main events.
#396 Stephen Anderson lined up for his first Pro Arenacross on his Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha 450 he won at RJ’s. He finished 7th in his heat and missed the main.
#77 Justin Roney has made the move over to Alpinestars gear. He finished 13th in the AX Lites Pro main event.
American rider #955 Michael Smith finished 10th in AX Pro and 12th in AX Pro Lites. He wasn’t happy with the track or the dirt and tweeted, “I hate Canada.’ Seems a little harsh.
#184 Tanner Ward took 11th in the AX Pro Lites main.
#17 Seth Green (you heard me) finished 12th in AX Pro and 10th in Lites.
#46 Marco Cannella finished 7th in both the Lites main and the Clash for Cash.
#614 Bennet Amyotte finished 9th in the Open main and 12th in the Clash.
#864 Austin Haught took 8th in Open and 11th in the Clash.
#313 Kyle Swanson looked aggressive all day. He finished 6-8-10 (Open, Lites, Clash).
#34 Westen Wrozyna was 5-4-9.
Which is extremely impressive after this earlier crash.
#424 Austin Watling finished the night show 5th in Lites and 8th in the Clash.
#5 Brock Leitner finished 11-9-6.
#471 Logan Karnow is preparing for East Supercross. He finished the night with 7-6-5 mains.
#701 Karl Normand sat 3rd in the Clash for most of the race. He finished the day 4th in both the AX Pro and Clash.
#101 Chris Blose was dominant in the first 2 mains, winning them both. He ran 2nd for most of the Clash until getting passed for 3rd on the final lap. 1-1-3 for Blose.
#12 Steven Mages was also on the box for all 3 mains. He took a long time to get around Normand in the Clash and had to chase Blose down late. 3-3-2 for Mages.
#2 Colton Facciotti led the Clash from the drop of the gate. He kept grabbing great starts from the outside gate and ran his 450 in the final race. 2-2-1 for a very successful night.
Colton looked great after not lining up for an Arenacross in quite some time.
So now we head east on the 401 and north on the 400 to the Molson Centre in Barrie, Ontario, for round 2. I think the biggest question remains: Who is going to race all 5 rounds? So far, none of the top 3 riders has committed publicly to all of them. The winner of this series may be the rider who is consistently near the front, but races all 5 rounds. Who will that be?
There is also the Parts Canada ‘Triple Crown’ to consider. Will anyone step up and win the final 3 (Moose Jaw, Penticton, Calgary) rounds to go after the $25,000 prize up for grabs? Jacob Hayes did it last season.
All 3 of these top finishers will be in Barrie, so who is your money on to lead the points after we leave the shores of Lake Simcoe? National #8 Kyle Keast has let it be known that he will be at round 2 to make things interesting.
We’ll be there to cover all the action again so be sure to check in with us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for all the action. Also, don’t miss a second of the action LIVE on the Valvoline AX Tour Live Broadcast, starting at 7pm again this Saturday. Andy White will be back in the booth beside me and Chris Pomeroy for all the colour commentary and knowledge, with Ryan Gauld down on the floor. Be sure do download the FREE Conx2Share App and come along for the ride!
Canadian AX Tour | Round 1 | RESULTS
Hiawatha Horse Park
Sarnia, Ontario
Saturday, October 8, 2016
AX Pro (10 Laps)
1. 101 Chris Blose YAM
2. 2 Colton Facciotti HON
3. 12 Steven Mages KAW
4. 701 Karl Normand KTM
5. 34 Westen Wrozyna KAW
6. 313 Kyle Swanson KAW
7. 471 Logan Karnow HON
8. 864 Austin Haught YAM
9. 614 Bennet Amyotte YAM
10. 955 Michael Smith KAW
11. 5 Brock Leitner KAW
12. 17 Seth Green YAM
13. 33 Timothy Patterson YAM
AX Lites (10 Laps)
1. 101 Chris Blose YAM
2. 2 Colton Facciotti HON
3. 12 Steven Mages KAW
4. 34 Westen Wrozyna KAW
5. 424 Austin Watling HON
6. 471 Logan Karnow HON
7. 46 Marco Cannella YAM
8. 313 Kyle Swanson KAW
9. 5 Brock Leitner KAW
10. 17 Seth Green YAM
11. 184 Tanner Ward KTM
12. 955 Michael Smith KAW
13. 77 Justin Roney HON
14. 559 Jake Jones YAM
15. 33 Timothy Patterson YAM
Clash for Cash (20 Laps)
1. 2 Colton Facciotti HON
2. 12 Steven Mages KAW
3. 101 Chris Blose YAM
4. 707 Karl Normand KTM
5. 471 Logan Karnow HON
6. 5 Brock Leitner KAW
7. 46 Marco Cannella YAM
8. 424 Austin Watling HON
9. 34 Westen Wrozyna KAW
10. 313 Kyle Swanson KAW
11. 864 Austin Haught YAM
12. 614 Bennet Amyotte YAM