By Danny Brault
Photos by James Lissimore


Day One of the Western Canadian Amateur MX National kicked off yesterday at Temple Hill Motorcycle Park in Raymond, Alberta. Everything has been going pretty well; rider entries seem higher than ever, the track is rougher than ever, and the racing has been pretty good. The only complaint would be the infamous Temple Hill winds which are drying out the track quickly. But there's not much you can do about Mother Nature! Let's take a look at the major happenings from Thursday....

Temple Hill is definitely one of the most physically (and mentally) demanding tracks in Canada.

Trae Franklin (74) holeshot the 85cc 12-16 class on his way to the win. KTM definitely has a strong following in the West, just check out the talent behind Franklin: Dylan Stelter (421), Nathan Trombley (173), and Nolan Da Silva (104). Stelter finished second with Darion Poisson in third.

Andrew Davenport took the win in Vet Master over Todd Heggie and Mark Boot. 

Suzuki OTSFF/ Battleford Supercycle's Missy Hackett is back on two wheels after breaking her collarbone at the first Women's National in Ste-Julie a month ago. Hackett won the opening Ladies A moto over Rachel Springman and Shelby Turner.

Ryan Millar (501) and James Moran (997) have traded the top two positions in all three intermediate motos so far. Moran passed Millar early in the MX2 moto to take the win and he also won the GP class. Moran's a pretty talented rider, super smooth, and it's funny how he's riding a Suzuki in MX2 and a Honda 450 in GP and MX1. Millar's proving his abilities on the big KTM 450 by winning the MX1 class and finishing second in GP.

Alberta's Todd Sewell is racing a YZ125 and 250 two-stroke in the intermediate classes. Watching and listening to Sewell's 250 reminds me of my favourite bike, an `02 YZ250 that I picked up from Machine Racing. Nothing can match the bark from a 250 two-stroke! Sewell really hasn't been held back from racing a two-stroke either, finishing fourth in MX2 and third in GP.  

I don't even want to think how tough the Raymond track must be on a small bike! 

Shelby Turner has to be considered the next big thing in Canadian women's motocross! Turner finished third behind Springman and Hackett on her KTM 85 - and she really wasn't that far behind them. 

Chuck Mesley (19) and Luke Firth (98) had a good battle going in GP Pro/Am, with Mesley eventually going by for the win. 

Jay Burke (20) and Brady Breemerch (145) lead the first Youth moto. Burke won the moto but I was surprised how close Breemerch stayed to the Label It rider. Burke's week came to an end in GP Pro/Am, unfortunately, when he hit a barrel on the first lap and was tossed onto the ground. He was left with a chipped bone in one wrist and a sprain in the other.

Check back later for a report from Day Two!