As the Flat Track Canada road show hit the half mile in Woodstock, Doug Lawrence found himself at the top of the Open Expert standings looking down at some fast riders who were hoping to take over his view from the top. With a slight points lead over Tyler Seguin, Lawrence was hoping to make it two races in a row with a checkered flag and hopefully getting him one step closer to that illusive Canadian number one plate.
Don Taylor was looking to make a statement in Woodstock and history appeared to be on his side. Taylor had missed the first few rounds of the FTC season but had won the recent half mile race in Leamington and had also guided his Harley to the win in the previous two seasons in Woodstock. As the Open Expert race entertained the crowd, it was indeed Taylor who found himself at the front of the pack while in another case of history repeating itself, Lawrence was caught playing catch up after a less than stellar start. With a couple of laps to go it looked like Taylor had things well in hand and even the announcer counted Lawrence out at this point (sorry Doug). Then, much like previous races in Paris and Leamington, Lawrence put on a superhuman charge over the last couple of laps to take the win over Taylor. With the win, Lawrence extended his points lead over Seguin who worked hard to minimize the points damage by grabbing third.
Nick Wenzler took his second victory of the year in DTX Expert with a great ride but the riders finishing second and third impressed as well. After grabbing the win in Wheatley, rookie Expert Dave Pouliot rode that momentum to a fine second place in Woodstock while another rookie Expert, Kyle VanConant, surprised some veterans with a strong ride to finish third.
Intermediate DTX action saw a great battle for the win between Brodie Buchan and Braden Vallee. In the last couple of laps these two swapped the lead numerous times with Buchan finally grabbing the victory by the slightest margin over Vallee. In the Open final it was all Buchan however as he opened a commanding lead and left the rest of the pack to fight over second. Late in the race, Vallee made a miscue however which hurt him dearly in the points chase. While safely in second, Vallee came upon a lapped rider in turn three and ended up laying the bike down to avoid a collision. With Vallee going down, this promoted Cody Marentette to second and William Bellerose to third after they both took evasive action to avoid Vallee and his bike.
Novice action saw the familiar script of Dustin Brown and Trent Pickle looking fast all day. DTX action saw Brown grab the win over Pickle while rookie flat tracker Bentley Thistlethwaite had a great ride to finish third in front of his hometown crowd. In the Open final, Brown once again had the lead until something soured on his bike causing him to pull off on the back straight. This handed the lead and eventual victory to Pickle with Thistlethwaite crossing the line in second ahead of Jerrett Bellamy who had his best ride of the year to finish third.
In Youth action a few of our American friends grabbed the checkers as Brandon Newman, Nathan Peacock and brother Jacob Peacock all figured out the fast way around the Woodstock half mile. 50cc chain action saw Spencer Whittam grab the win ahead of Easton Ventoso and Makenna Nicholson. With the victory in Woodstock, Whittam has now climbed into a tie for the points lead with Ventoso.
Loudest cheers of the day may have been for fan favourite Hunter Bauer. While leading his heat race in the 85 class, it became very apparent that Bauer was having bike problems as he started losing positions. As he came out of turn four for the last time, Bauer’s bike expired as the rest of the field rode past. In a true testament to his never give up attitude, Bauer then proceeded to push his bike down the front straight nearly all the way from turn four. The appreciative crowd cheered loudly for him as the exhausted Bauer finally hit the finish line and slumped over his bike. Great stuff !!!
With Woodstock over the next race will take place in London this weekend on the fast 5/8 mile at the Western Fairgrounds.
Woodstock Top Three
Vintage: Louie Dinicourt, Don Payne, Brad Kitto
VET: John Parker, Rick Gunby, Rob Churchill
ATV Open: Peter Grison, Darcy Ryksen, Shawn Waite
ATV Youth: Max Johannsen, Tanner VanMourik, Spencer Whittam
50 Shaft: Brayden Hutchison, Alyssa Armstrong, Holden Fairbairn
250 Novice: Brandon Newman, Hunter Bauer, Kyle Lonnen
85: Nathan Peacock, Brandon Newman, Kyle Lonnen
65: Jacob Peacock, Brandon Keys, Easton Ventoso
Flat Track Canada would like to thank Parts Canada, Deeley Harley Davidson, Honda Canada, Suzuki Canada, Kawasaki Canada, Diesel Equipment Limited, Dunlop Tires, Klotz Canada, Inside Motorcycles, Grand River Powersports, Sturgess Cycle, Town Moto, and JD Graphics.
For Results and Standings please visit
http://www.flattrackcanada.com/2015-standings/
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