World Enduro Canada has announced the 2013 Royal Distributing Canadian Cross Country Championship will kick off in June. In an effort to allow more riders, from all classes, to contend for an industry recognized National off road racing championship there will be Champions crowned in both eastern and western Canada.
The CXCC West takes place over four weekends in June and July. The championship will consist of two rounds in BC, part of the Pacific Northwest Motorcycle Association Championship, and two rounds in Alberta, part of the Alberta Motorsports Association Championship. World Enduro Canada is very proud to partner with these racing organizations and their associated clubs.
The CXCC East will feature two exciting doubleheaders in August and September at two of the most historic racing facilities in Canada, Gopher Dunes and Walton. These events will also pay points to the Wiesner Insurance Ontario Cross County Championship.
The Greater Vancouver Motorcycle Club will host round one of the CXCC West in Chilliwack, B.C. on June 9. The event is less than an hour drive from Vancouver in the scenic Fraser Valley. Named “The Piston Run,” it is the longest running off road race in British Columbia and this year marks its 65th anniversary.
The terrain at the Piston Run has “West Coast” all over it. The Chipmunk Creek riding area offers a great combination of tight and technical trails mixed with fast, wide open, flowing deactivated logging roads to get racers into a groove. To keep it interesting there will be some challenging shale rock hill climbs and the occasional “maybe I should walk my bike down” descents. Organizers recommend that you don’t forget to pack a rain coat.
The Porcupine Hills Hare Scramble” in Pincher Creek, Alta. on June 16 has been organized by the Lethbridge Motorcycle Club for the past 10 years. They have been doing a cross country in this area for 25 years. Riders can expect to run loops between 20 and 25 kilometers long.
The loop is a 50/50 mix of flowing single track and fast quad type trails with lots of elevation changes, log crossings, rooty sections with little to no rocks. The soil is rich black dirt that is great to ride on when moist but turns extremely slippery when it gets really wet. This event is a favourite with Alberta racers – considered one of the most fun races of the season.
The West Coast Dirt Riders Club will host racers at the third round of the championship at a BC favourite, “The Monkey Wrench Cross Country” on June 30. The Wrench has been around for 28 years. The riding area is in, more or less, the middle of nowhere about a 25-minute drive north of the small town of Lytton, B.C. and considered the gateway to trail riding paradise.
The Laluwissen riding area is known to be one of British Columbia’s best riding spots — breathtaking scenery mixed with trails that will blow your mind. The Wrench will toss riders into tight, gnarly single track, fast flowing open areas and hill climbs that will have them bouncing off the rev limiter. It’s definitely a “can’t miss” event.
The Crowsnest National Enduro Club will host the finale of the CXCC West at the “Shale Shaker Cross Country” in the scenic mountains north of Coleman, Alta. on July 7. The event will be about 40km north of Coleman in an area known as Old Man River. Any riders familiar with the area know to expect lots of steep elevation changes, rocky trails, tight trees and “I wish I had my camera” type scenery. The loops will average 50km to guarantee a long, fun day of racing. There has not been a cross country event hosted here for over 10 years so all riders, either local or travelling, can expect some fresh trail to enjoy.
This event will also be the Canadian qualifier for the Big Sky AMA Off Road Championship event on in August at the Big Sky resort in Montana. This Championship is going to be off road version of the AMA Loretta Lynn Amateur MX National Championship that the AMA will use to crown amateur Off Road Champions in all classes. Racers from all classes who do well at this event will be invited to compete at the Big Sky XC Championship.
On Sunday afternoon once all the racing is completed WEC will be handing out #1 plates in all classes along with prizes from various sponsors like Royal Distributing and Parts Canada.
The opening rounds of the CXCC East will be held at the famous Gopher Dunes Raceway in Courtland, Ont. on August 24-25. The famous deep sand track, mixed with the fast wide open trails will make this one of the highest speed events of the season. Taking place the weekend after the CMRC Walton Trans Can MX the Shuster family is planning to bring some of Canada’s best MX racers to mix it up with the top cross country racers for an epic event.
To keep things interesting there will be two racing formats utilized on the weekend. On Saturday riders will race the Moto XC format and on Sunday the traditional XC format. Two years ago WEC began utilizing the Moto XC format and it was a hit with both traditional XC racers and MX racers who were giving XC racing a try. In the Moto XC format each class runs two one-hour motos instead of the traditional two-hour long (or two and a half for Pros) event. Saturday will cater to the sprinters and Sunday to the endurance racers.
The finale for the CXCC East will take place at the historic Walton Raceway on Sept. 7-8. The entire MX course, famous for its elevation changes and natural jumps, combined with tight flowing trails and a special extreme section has been a favourite on the Ontario cross county circuit for the past few seasons.
Similar to the Gopher Dunes doubleheader the Walton weekend will utilize both XC formats to keep things interesting. Saturday will feature the Moto XC format and Sunday the traditional XC format. After the podium presentations on Sunday WEC will award the #1 Championship plates to the CXCC East Champions along with prizes from our many sponsors.
Some of the top riders that will be competing this year include Brian Wojnarowski on Yamaha; Jason Schrage on Honda; Shane Cuthbertson, Ben Rego, Victoria Hett, and Ryan Linderman with the CGRT Husaberg Team; Bobby Prochnau, Chantelle Bykerk, Ryan Graffunder, Josh Long, Félicia Robichaud, Philippe Chainé, Loic Léonard and Francis Ouimette with the KTM National Race Team; KTM supported riders Jack Sawatzky, Ty Mckenna, Ben Riviere, Kevin Cockayne, Denis Libersan, Jason Griffeth, Shelby Turner, Malcom Hett, Geoff Nelson, Allan Lachapelle, and Jarrett May; and Steve Bond and David Taplay with Lang’s Off Road Gas Gas.
WEC would like to thank the National sponsors that make this series possible. Title Sponsor Royal Distributing, Premier sponsors Honda Canada, Yamaha Canada, KTM Canada and Husaberg as well as supporting sponsors Parts Canada, Mongoose Racing (distributors of Rekluse), Goldentyre, Emperor Racing, West Coast Transportation and Wiesner Insurance.
CXCC WEST
June 9 – Piston Run – Chilliwack, BC – Greater Vancouver Motorcycle Club
June 16 – Porcupine Hill – Pincher Creek, AB – Lethbridge Motorcycle Club
June 30 -Monkey Wrench – Lytton, BC – Westcoast Dirt Riders
July 7 – Shale Shaker – Coleman, AB – Crowsnest National Enduro Club
CXCC EAST
Aug 24-25 – Gopher Dunes – Cortland, ON
Sept 7-8 – Walton Raceway – Walton, ON
For more information on all these events please visit www.worldendurocanada.com.
–From World Enduro Canada
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