National Pride2010

Suzanne Howie

Well, another one is in the books; the 2010 edition of World Enduro Canada/Royal Distribut-ing’s Canadian Enduro Champion-ship, presented by Parts Canada is over. Boy was it an amazing ride! Bigger and better than last year, once again, I was lucky enough to be along for the ride again. It started at Machine Racing, in Sharon, Ontario, where the Cap-tain, aka Yamaha/Machine Racing’s Brian “Wojo” Wojnarowski, and I set out on our 50 hour journey from Ontario to Blairmore, Alberta. Between Blairmore and Pen-ticton, BC, I accompanied another group of Ontarians, Lockhart’s Su-zuki rider Chris Van Hove and Ma-chine Honda rider Bryan “Swampy” Marshall. Parry Sound is the “local” round, a mere two and a half hours from home, it was an easy solo ride up Thursday evening. For Labelle, Quebec, I was reunited with travel buddy Swampy. We must be cursed. Last year, while travelling to Labelle, we got lost and almost ended up on the Oka Ferry (except it was midnight, and the ferry was closed). This time, on the way home, we were stuck in an extra three hours worth of traffic! These photos were gained from the eight rounds of the series, and there are pictures that span the Pro and Amateur classes. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do.

Blairmore

Lovely Ladies: Left to Right: Victoria Hett, Jillian Bolso, Karla Brandt, Almeda Rive and Suzanne Pelletier, with seven month old baby Jacob.

Roun

ds 1

& 2

Where: Blairmore/Coleman, Alberta

When: July 3 and 4

Elevation: 4,400 feet above sea level

Terrain: Rocky Mountains; rough, jagged rocks. Lots of pine trees. It snowed Sunday.

Memorable Racing Moment: Watching Shane Watts ride; he’s a man of incredible talent and skill.

Memorable Non Racing Moment: Getting lost on a mountain for six hours with Wojo. Sorry, no, getting rescued from the mountain after be-ing lost for six hours with Wojo.

Marty -The Party- Halmazna: Marty “the Party” Halmazna rode the big Husqvarna E3 bike in Alberta and BC. And whether he was busting a move in the pits (left) or busting out some smooth moves on the track (right) he looked pretty sweet in his TLD gear.

Adam “-Cheeseburger- M

illson:

The 2009 CE

C E

astern Am

ateur A C

lass Cham

pion, Millson m

oved up to the big time,

joining Yamaha/M

achine Racing’s B

rian Wojnarow

ski in the big rig. Blue 22 had a pretty good

rookie season, finishing 11th overall.

SeeingRyan -Thunder- Graffunder The name “Graf-funder” has been get-ting a lot of press lately, and while cousin Cory might be partially to credit, brothers Ryan and Nick are doing their bit on the home front. While Cory is out ex-ploring the Carpathian Mountains and battling in the bar to bar action of the AMA Enduro-cross series, these two brothers have been rip-ping it up at home.

DoubleNick Graffunder -the Lumberjack Older brother Nick puts the power to the ground in the E1 class, while Ryan represents the family name in the E2 class, taking home the In-side Motorcycles Top Ju-nior award in 2009. Com-ing into 2010 he had his eyes set on the prize for the second year in a row. After a phenomenal run in Alber-ta, he was well positioned to claim that prize.

Shane Watts - the Man from Oz: Last year, fast Aussie Jake Stapleton tore up the E2 class aboard a Yamaha/Machine Racing ride, this year Shane Watts ripped it up in Alberta aboard his kangaroo KTM.

Factory Phil - Philippe Chaine Philippe Chaine came all the way from Quebec to compete in the E1 class, with his eyes set on the Championship. He wasn’t alone. Chris Van Hove, Ryan Durkee, Jared Thomas and Nick Graffunder were also chasing that dream.

Eric Demoulin

Chris Van Hove

Adam Millson

Jack Sawatzky

Ryan Graffunder

Brian Wojnarowski

Legends in the Making... Ryan Durkee (left) and Ryan Graffunder (right) both came into the series with the intention of putting their names on the podium, as well as earning the title of Top Pro Junior, and the $500 prize put up by Inside Motorcycle magazine.

Jack Sawatzky - Little Bike; Big Fight

A

lberta is known for being hom

e to big bikes. The E3 riders are the big boys on cam

pus, w

ith the E1 class populated m

ostly by eastern riders who m

ade the trek. Jack Sawatzky is one

of few E

1 riders to ride out of the Prairie Rose province.

Geof

f Nel

son

- Kin

g of

E3

G

eoff

Nel

son,

form

er I

SDE

com

peti

tor,

is n

o st

rang

er to

the

big

bike

s. I

n 20

09 th

e B

riti

sh C

olum

bia

nati

ve r

aced

E3

and

cam

e se

cond

to th

en te

amm

ate

Jaso

n Sc

hrag

e. I

n 20

10, S

chra

ge s

igne

d w

ith

Hon

da a

nd m

oved

to th

e E

2 cl

ass.

N

elso

n sw

ept t

he w

este

rn E

3 po

dium

s, b

ut w

as u

nabl

e to

pus

h Sc

hrag

e of

f the

to

p sp

ot a

t hom

e.

Mark Cahill - Vet Pro Cham

p

Mark C

ahill was the only defending Pro C

lass champion racing in the w

est-ern rounds. Jason Schrage, w

ho won E

3 in 2009, had moved to E

2, Patrick B

eaule, the E1 cham

pion, could not make the trip out, and B

obby Prochnau, reigning #

1 plate holder and E2 cham

pion was out w

ith an injury. Cahill, a form

er trials cham

pion, rode to his first truly national championship last year. H

e was

also known for saying “W

e’re Pros too!” when the often over looked V

et Pro class

Ben Rego

Cody Bykerk

Bryan Marshall

Jason Schrage

Shane Watts

Kevin Pelletier

Stephen Foord

Adam Millson

Brian Wojnarowski

Nick Graffunder

Ryan Graffunder

Mark Cahill

Guy

-G-R

ox- G

irou

x

The

firey

Fre

nchm

an fr

om Q

uebe

c di

dn’t

have

the

best

of fi

nish

es in

th

e w

est.

His

sho

rt le

gs d

idn’

t see

m to

be

cond

uciv

e to

the

rock

y te

rrai

n of

th

e ru

gged

Roc

ky M

ount

ains

. Tha

t sai

d, h

e st

ill h

ad fu

n.

Top Finishers Rnd #11 - Jason Schrage, HON

2 - Ryan Graffunder, HSQ3 - Ryan Durkee, KTM4 - Shane Watts, KTM5 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

Top Finishers Rnd #21 - Jason Schrage, HON2 - Shane Watts, KTM

3 - Ryan Graffunder, HSQ4 - Geoff Nelson, KTM5 - Ryan Durkee, KTM

Penticton

Roun

ds 3

&4

Where: Penticton, British Columbia

When: July 10 and 11

Elevation: 1,263 feet above sea level in town; 7,187 feet above sea level on mountain

Terrain: Again, very mountainous, but this time no snow. The moto test had lots of natural elevation changes, but the enduro test was a bit extreme for some.

Memorable Racing Moment: Adam Millson throwing a heel clicker in the moto test in round 4, but no one catching it on film be-cause we were all looking in the wrong direction.

Memorable Non Racing Moment: The Sasquatch; nothing says BC like Big Foot!

Whip It Out! The whip is the oldest trick in the book, and here we see three different variations on it from an enduro rider’s perspective.

Chris Van Hove

For 2010 Van H

ove traded in his 450f for a 250 and took on the E1 class

aboard his Lockhart’s Suzuki.. The young rider from D

elhi, Ontario, enjoyed

much m

ore success in the E1 class than he did the previous year, earning

himself a spot on the podium

in six of the eight rounds.

A Tale of Ask riders what they think of when they hear the word “Pentic-ton,” and you’ll get one of two answers: Moto Test or Extreme Test. The moto test was mostly unchanged from the previous year. There were a few re-routed parts, but the ski jumps and double were the same. “I don’t know, peo-ple say these Hondas like to fly, I’m inclined to disagree,” said series leader Jason Schrage. Apparently Ya-mahas have no issue jumping; Yamaha/Ma-chine Racing’s Adam Millson even did a heel clicker off the ski jump!

Two Tests For 2010 the crew changed the location of the Extreme Test, put-ting it in the old dump-ing grounds. Riders came down through the trees, over the infamous teeter totters and jersey barri-ers, through some more trees, over the concrete culverts that were such a hit last year, through a debris pile, into a mud filled tire pit, into a wa-ter section, before finally reaching the rock “gar-den.” After the rocks it was a quick shot to the finish of the test through some tight trees and sticky mud.

Tire Trouble Enduro riders are up for any challenge you put in front of them. A tire pit? No prob-lem. Mud hole? Sure! Child’s play. Put them together? To make things interest-ing, and to keep their reputa-tion as having the toughest Extreme Test in the series, the men behind the Penticton round dreamed up a special kind of horror for the riders. The mud filled tire pit was only one part of a very tough test.

Bria

n “-W

ojo-

” Woj

naro

wsk

i:

Als

o kn

own

as: C

apta

in S

tres

s, th

e C

apta

in, W

rink

s an

d an

y ot

her

num

ber

of a

liase

s. W

ojo

is th

e fr

ont m

an fo

r Te

am Y

amah

a/M

achi

ne

Rac

ing

Off

Roa

d. A

n ex

peri

ence

d ri

der,

Woj

o ha

s ra

ced

mot

o, e

ndur

o,

hare

scr

ambl

es,

the

ISD

E, e

ndur

o cr

oss,

tria

ls a

nd X

tinc

tion

. .

Brent Kroeker

Shane Cuthbertson

Eric Demoulin

ClintRiviere

RyanGraffunder

MarkCahill

MartyHalmazna

Bryan Marshall

Ryan

- W

onde

r Bo

y- D

urke

e

In 2

009

Rya

n D

urke

e to

ok th

e E

2 cl

ass

by s

torm

abo

ard

his

Suzu

ki R

M25

0.

For

2010

, the

fast

17

year

old

rid

er m

ount

ed a

n R

TR K

TM a

nd c

harg

ed th

e E

1 cl

ass.

Men

tor

and

good

frie

nd, B

obby

Pro

chna

u, e

xpec

ted

big

thin

gs fr

om th

e yo

ung

BC

nat

ive,

and

he

didn

`t d

isap

poin

t. D

urke

e co

mpe

ted

in a

ll fo

ur w

este

rn

roun

ds, s

wee

ping

the

E1

podi

um, a

nd w

as th

e on

ly E

1 ri

der

to b

reak

into

the

top

ten

over

all i

n th

e m

ount

ains

.

Shan

e -M

oose

- Cut

hber

tson

O

ne o

f the

ori

gina

l off

roa

d ri

ders

who

put

Can

ada

on th

e m

ap, S

hane

Cut

h-be

rtso

n ha

s ha

d a

long

and

dis

ting

uish

ed c

aree

r, h

avin

g ra

ced

Rom

ania

cs, E

rz-

berg

, the

ISD

E o

n se

vera

l occ

asio

ns, R

ed B

ull’s

Las

t Man

Sta

ndin

g an

d, o

f cou

rse,

th

e pr

esti

giou

s C

anad

ian

hare

scr

ambl

e, C

orne

r G

rass

and

the

first

run

ning

of t

he

Can

adia

n E

xtre

me

End

uro,

Xti

ncti

on.

Top Finishers Rnd #31 - Jason Schrage, HON2 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

3 - Shane Cuthbertson, HBG4 - Ryan Durkee, KTM

5 - Ryan Graffunder, HSQ

Top Finishers Rnd #41 - Jason Schrage, HON

2 - Shane Cuthbertson, HBG3 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

4 - Brian Wojnarowski, YAM5 - Julian Cerny, KTM

From Left to Right: Jared Thomas, Paul Andratis, Bruce Moffatt, Chris Donald, Rob Hewitt, Ben Rego, Paul Lachance, Dave Nelson, Kevin Cockayne, Geoff Nelson, Clark Peters, Jean Pellerin, Phillipe Chaine, Adam Millson, Chris Van Hove, Alexander Lagault, Ryan Gauld, Jason Schrage, Bryan Marshall, Guy Giroux, Clint Riviere, Ryan Graffunder, Nick Graffunder, Paul Petrin, Shane Cuthbertson, Lee Fryberger, Brian Wojnarowski and Julian Cerny.

Parry Sound

Roun

ds 5

& 6

When: September 11 and 12

Elevation: 832 feet above sea level

Terrain: Much of the course was carved out of quarry, so there was lots of sand and rocks, and lots of mud due to a pretty wet year. The mud was a mix of sand in some areas and thick clay in others, and could be sticky or slippery depending on where you were.

Memorable Racing Moment: Watching the guys jump the log double in front of the fans. Even Jason Schrage, who had said that his Honda didn’t fly, eventually did it. It was amazing to watch those machines fly!

Memorable Non Racing Moment: When the WEC, in a sign of respect and posterity, held a moment of silence before rider’s meeting Sat-urday morning, in memory of 09/11/2001.

Trevor Wideman:the Voice

Sean Wiesner:the Face

Stephen Abel:the Brains

Lawrence Hacking:

The Name

World Enduro Canada: Behind the Scenes There is a lot of work involved in putting on a national enduro series. Not only do the clubs and organizers on a local level put in countless hours on their individual rounds, there is also an incredible amount of work at a national level required to put together the event. The WEC crew, Lawrence Hacking, Stephen Abel, Sean Wiesner and Trevor Wideman, work tirelessly with national sponsors, working on logistics and timing equipment.

Fighting Fire with Fire Jason Schrage is a man of two personalities. By day he’s the hero of many, a fire fighter for the city of Lethbridge, in Al-berta. On the weekends he’s Honda’s top ranked off road rider, looking to trade that #8 in for a #1.

Take

Julian Cerny comes off the log jump a little low in the nose. As al-ways, though, Cerny scores points for style. Elbows out, head up, looking where he wants to go.

Two

Ben Rego lands heavy on his front wheel too, but Rego is able to power his way out of a crash.

Swelling in the Ranks Team Yamaha/Machine Racing might have lost Vet Pro rider Craig Kennedy for the eastern rounds, but it gained an E1 rider (for Parry Sound), an A rider and a B rider. Left to Right: Brain Wojnarowski (E2), Adam Millson (E2), Ryan Gauld (E1), Mark Koens (B) and Patrick Gesualdi (A).

Mechanical Wings The Honda motorcycle’s logo might be a wing, but Jason Schrage stood by the fact that his red rocket did not like to fly. “Peo-ple say these Hondas, they like to fly,” the points leader said after the Western rounds. “But not mine!” In Parry Sound, it looks like his little red tractor found its wings and finally took flight, easily clearing the log double in the Extreme Test, to the shock and awe of the audience, including Schrage’s wife, Rochelle. “I can’t believe he did it!” We all knew you could, Jason!

Hail to the King! Clint Riviere was dubbed “King of the Rednecks” in BC, when he led the “Redneck Minute.” In Alberta the term “redneck” is used as a compliment. A redneck is a hard working man/woman, who works hard for their money, plays harder and would give you their very last dollar if you needed it. Clint certainly embodies these traits. The King finished first on Saturday and second on Sunday in Parry Sound.

Fueling Dreams: Feeding Performance Marc Coffin and his FP Husqvarna team, comprised of Ryan and Nick Graffunder, Guy Giroux and Marty Halmazna upped the ante at the nationals this year. FP/Husqvarna, along with the Yama-ha/Machine operation, had a professional set up and a large pres-ence at all four venues. Coffin hopes to set an example for the rest of the manufacturers.

Kevin Cockayne

Last year there were three #

7 bikes racing at Parry Sound, and they were all K

TMs. B

obby Prochnau, Scott B

owes and K

evin Cockayne all w

ore the white #

7 on their red plates. This year, C

ockayne was the only one w

ho of the three who m

ade it back to Parry Sound, and he was no

longer wearing the #

7. Instead he wore his provincial num

ber: #11.

Lee

Fryb

erge

r

Lee

Fryb

erge

r is

a m

embe

r of

the

Cor

ner

Gra

ss R

ace

Team

, mul

tipl

e IS

DE

com

peti

tor,

and

fo

r th

e la

st fe

w y

ears

has

bee

n te

am m

anag

er fo

r th

e C

anad

ian

Trop

hy te

am. T

o sa

y he

’s a

n ex

-pe

rien

ced

ride

r is

a b

it o

f an

unde

rsta

tem

ent.

Fry

norm

ally

find

s hi

mse

lf on

the

oppo

site

sid

e of

ra

cing

, org

aniz

ing

the

fam

ous

Cor

ner

Gra

ss r

ace

in C

ompe

er, A

lber

ta, a

s w

ell a

s th

e 20

10 B

lair

-m

ore

CE

C r

ound

and

the

very

firs

t Can

adia

n ex

trem

e ha

rd e

ndur

o, X

tinc

tion

, nea

r Pa

tric

ia,

Alb

erta

.

History in the Making? Jason Schrage (left) and John Nelson (right) shake hands. Nel-son helped set up support for the Honda rider when he came east, in-cluding bringing a spare bike for the racer should he need parts. Nel-son is known for offering tremendous support for the off road riding community. His generosity didn’t stop at Schrage, he also brought an extra YZ450f for BC brute Ben Rego. Will Schrage be running Machine Racing and LGS stickers for 2011? Only time will tell.

Moto Media Madness! For Parry Sound the editors of Canada’s two motocross publications, Jeff Morgan of Inside MotoX and Off Road magazine, and Ryan Gauld of MXP magazine, put their money where their mouths are and saddled up. Morgan (left) competed in the B class, fin-ishing 8th on day one and 6th on day two. Gauld (bottom right) competed in the E1 class, part of the expanded Yamaha/Machine team, but was unable to finish due to mechanical problems (top right). Gauld smashed the chain guide clean off the swing arm and sent it into the case during lap one, day one, and was out for the count.

The Best Laid Plans

Jason Schrage hoped to repeat Bobby Prochnau’s perfect season, but G

uy Giroux put an

end to that pursuit in Parry Sound. After a less than stellar perform

ance out west, G

iroux came

home, trained hard and upped his gam

e, jumping on the H

usqvarna 300 for the final four rounds. It appeared to be the ticket, as G

-Rox rocked the Pro class day one in Parry Sound, tak-

ing home the top spot in E

3 and finishing first over all, effectively ending Schrage’s run at a perfect season.

Julia

n Ce

rny

Th

e O

rigi

nal H

urti

n’ A

lber

tan,

Jul

ian

Cer

ny is

a o

ne o

f the

few

who

can

mak

e th

e tr

ansi

-ti

on fr

om o

ff r

oad

to m

oto

and

back

. Cer

ny c

ompe

ted

in th

e W

ild R

ose

MX

rou

nd o

f the

CM

RC

na

tion

als

and

finis

hed

12th

ove

rall

in M

X1;

he

finis

hed

5th

in E

2, a

nd 8

th o

vera

ll, in

the

CE

Cs.

Top Finishers Rnd #51 - Guy Giroux, HSQ

2 - Brian Wojnarowski, YAM3 - Jason Schrage, HON4 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

5 - Chris Van Hove, SUZ

Top Finishers Rnd #61 - Jason Schrage, HON2 - Guy Giroux, HSQ3 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

4 - Brian Wojnarowski, YAM5 - Shane Cuthbertson, HBG

Labelle

Roun

ds 7

& 8

Where: Labelle, Quebec

When: September 18 and 19

Elevation: 878 feet above sea level

Terrain: Again, more mud. Parts of the course and transfer trails were rerouted for Sunday after riders had dif-ficulty navigating through some of the trail due to mud. The moto test was mostly grass track, but did cut through the forest in some parts; the extreme test was built in a sand pit.

Memorable Racing Moment: The final moto test show down between the top 13 riders. That was an epic battle.

Memorable Non Racing Moment: Hands down: the local children cheering “Guy Gi-Roux!” for their hometown hero.

L’Extreme There might not have been tires, or water pits, but there were rocks and bottomless beach sand, the likes of which is normally only seen at the CMRC’s infamous Gopher Dunes moto track in Courtland, Ontario. The LaBelle Extreme Test was much the same as the previous year, with the addition of a longer woods track cut into the start and some extra logs thrown into at the end. Riders agreed: it was one of the best tests of the year.

It’s not about how many times you fall...It’s about how fast you get up!

Double Take! Yamaha/Machine Racing riders Brian Wojnarowski (above) and Adam Millson (below) share a lot of similarities on the outside, but that’s where the likeness ends. Yes, both ride YZ 250s, Wojo’s num-ber is 2, and Millson’s is 22. They both wear the same Fox helmet and have the same sets of Shift gear, but while Wojo is a more tech-nical rider, Millson’s style is more laid back and laid out.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chaine! Philippe Chaine finally got his first E1 victory in front of the home crowd. The proud 20 year old was the youngest competitor in the Eastern E1 class.

G-Rox Rocks! “Guy Gi-Roux! Guy Gi-Roux!” You couldn’t go anywhere in the pits with-out hearing young fans of the fast french Canadian rider cheering him, or telling you who their fa-vourite rider was. The #801 gets a lot of love where ever he goes, but home is where the fans and heart lie. Gir-oux’s girlfriend, famous in her own right, the beauti-ful Karine “Flexi” Geof-frion, has almost as many fans as the man himself. In the final moto test, the brain child of Giroux, his brother Marc and the other master minds behind Labelle, the kids were all cheering for Gir-oux, the home town hero.

Bryan -Swampy- Marshall Hailing from Utpopia, Ontar-io, the man they call Swampy has made the trip cross country two years running now. Father of two, Swampy proves that family and racing can coexist beautifully. At Parry Sound, his two sons, Devyn and Curtis, could be seen riding their Oset electric trials bike through the pits to the delight and enter-tainment of those watching.

Changing Tides When the WEC guys set out putting their series together, their hopes were that they would bring fresh tires to the races. Younger riders, with motocross backgrounds, were their target audience. Patrick Gesualdi (above) is a mid-pack Intermediate moto rider, but trade his 450f for a 250 two stroke and he becomes a contender in the A class for the eastern series.

Amateur A Hour The 3 Amigos, Chris Culbert Castelo, Jamie West and Tyler Murray, were the top contenders in the A class on Saturday, that is until they got lost for almost four hours. Just before the awards ceremony, approximately 2 hours after the last riders came in, Marc Giroux and his crew, armed with head and helmet lights, set out into the darkening woods to collect the three wayward riders. Kudos to them, though. Proving that sportsmanship is para-mount in enduros, as the three sacrificed their points positions to

Man Down! The steep hills and soft sand, the LaBelle Extreme test was short but brutal. Many people were getting stuck on the first steep uphill after leaving the woods. There was a bypass to the right, but it dug out quickly, as it was made of the same soft sand. For most those who didn’t get their bikes up the hill the first time, they also had to fight with the soft sand which sucked in handle bars, foot pegs and other protruding pieces. Not to mention your feet would sink into the soft stuff too.

Going Out With a Bang In 2009, Guy Giroux invited everyone, regardless of their class designation, to line up for a final, one lap, dash for pride on the moto test. The fans, and the riders, loved it. For 2010 they incor-porated this idea into the scoring itself, but disallowed amateur classes from participating. The Pros were divided into an upper and lower half, with 13 riders in each class. They would do two laps, the winner of each moto would get bragging rights, and the times would count towards their final score for the day. Julian Cerny, who finished 12th overall at a western CMRC na-tional event, won the second tier, while Wojo, after battling Jason Schrage near the end, took home the bragging rights for being the fastest of the fast on the moto test.

Wojo Mojo Wojo led his heat in the final MX wire to wire; rocketing out to a fast lead ahead of Giroux, Schrage and Nelson. With three corners left to the finish, Schrage managed to catch up to the big blue #2, but was unable to pull in front.

Ben

Rego

:Th

e To

ughe

st M

an y

ou H

AVE

Hear

d Of

A

t the

beg

inni

ng o

f the

ser

ies,

Ben

Reg

o w

as d

eem

ed th

e “t

ough

est m

an y

ou’v

e ne

ver

hear

d of

” by

sev

eral

med

ia o

utle

ts, b

ut n

ow, t

hat t

itle

see

ms

to n

eed

som

e ed

itin

g. R

ego

has

mad

e a

nam

e fo

r hi

mse

lf. F

rom

Kit

amat

, Bri

tish

Col

umbi

a, th

e to

ugh

ride

r dr

ove

56 h

ours

to

race

the

east

ern

roun

ds. R

ego

finis

hed

6th

in E

2, 7

th o

vera

ll.

Top Finishers Rnd #71 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

2 - Brian Wojnarowski, YAM3 - Jason Schrage, HON

4 - Guy Giroux, HSQ5 - Ben Rego, YAM

Top Finishers Rnd #81 - Jason Schrage, HON2 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

3 - Brian Wojnarowski, YAM4 - Guy Giroux, HSQ

5 - Shane Cuthbertson, HBG

Rounds 1 & 2: Coleman/Blairmore Lee Fryberger, Clint Riviere and Bob Reed had an army of vol-unteers that included local off road community members, family members and friends. They would like to extend their thanks to ev-eryone involved, including, but not limited to:Bob and Debbie Reed Clint Riviere Leanna SchrageLee Terri Graysen Falyn Fryberger Roy and Di-ana ReedTravis Reed Amy Lyn Reed Rick and Adam FoxBen and Tyler Riviere Murray Sennott Kevin Renners David and Tracy French Gerry and Nina Conners Herald and Geannie Schrage Rob and Leticia MillerAl and Laurie Denis Vicki Miller Dave and Lori Scott

Rounds 3 & 4: Penticton Ken Wortman, Mike Fetterer and Ron Johnson put enormous effort into making the BC rounds of the CEC a huge success, with countless man hours working on the Extreme Test. Also to thank for the Penticton races were:Tammy, Mykahla, and Rebecca Wortman Alistair and Lucy Bishuty Maureen and Brian Hutchinson, Barb McMathKevin Dermondy Jay Hartwick Kevin Wortman, Terry Burke Dustin Chadburn Mick RasmussenDennis Smith Carol Boyd Gord SiemansAdrian and Christine VanNieuwkerk Kadin and Ken Hiebert, Gord Paulson Wendy Dyck Dale WellbornTanya Grunski Wes Barten Jane YaschukAlex Lamont John Davis Miko McgradyRob Taylor Carel Oberholzer Ryan and Missy Cutler Apex Mountain Resort: James Shalman Steve Laprairie.

The Men (and W

omen) w

ho made these events happen:

Rounds 7 & 8: Labelle The town of Labelle, Quebec welcomed the enduro rid-ers like the gladiators they are, and it was no small task, ask the many men and women involved in putting the event together. Headed by Marc Giroux and Francois Michel, the volunteer team is what made the event the huge success it was. They would like to thank everyone involved, including:

Daniel Gauthier Richard Gianchetti Marco PlanteMaxime Therien Carl Lauzon Martin PaquetteEric Lapointe Stephane Lapointe Julie Brouil-lardMichel Falardeau Michel Courci Patrice BigrasYanick Garon Benjamin Racine Ritchie Parent

Rounds 5 & 6: Parry Sound Matt McAnanama and his crew at DirtyBikes.ca did an amazing job putting together the Parry Sound rounds. Matt, along with Greg Bradnam, would like to thank all of their volunteers:

Rob Martin Kevin Cockayne Steven HartMike Hurst Dave Taplay Dave CockayneJake Stapleton Keith Bicard Kyle BicardTracie Bradnam Treva Job Mike MuirAlex Sidin Jeff Placidi Valerie Cheaney Emma Billings Guido Kneiling

1st Place:Jason Schrage

Vital Stats:Name: Jason SchrageDate of Birth: March 5, 1981Height: 5’6”Hometown: Lethbridge, AlbertaBike/Brand/year: 2011 Honda CRF450RSponsors: Honda Canada, Machine Racing, Fox Race gear, Rekluse, Riders Edge Suspension, MX1 Canada, Kermaxx, Acerbis, Rebel Hot-shot Racing since: 1984 I was 3 years oldPro Since: 1999Favourite CEC stop: Labelle, Quebec because its so different from what I am used to Favourite Test: Its a split between the Moto test at Labelle and the Extreme test in Penticton, B.C.Most memorable racing event: 2007 I.S.D.E. in La Serena, Chile be-cause it was a real test not only of your riding ability but to persevere and dig deep, you find out who you really are.

2nd Place:Geoff Nelson

Vital Stats:Name: Geoff NelsonDate of Birth: June 25, 1984Height: 6’2”Hometown: Abbortsford, British ColumbiaBike/Brand/year: 2011 KTM XC 300 Sponsors: KTM Canada, Royal Distrubuting, Thor, Alpinestar, Max-ima Oils, Mitas Tires, Holeshot Motorsports, Scorpion Racing, CTS Suspension, RTC CompositeRacing since: 1997Pro Since: 2005Favourite CEC stop: All of them have been fun, however I am partial to my home stomping grounds in BCFavourite Test: This would have to be a tie between the MX test in Quebec, and the Enduro test in BC.Most memorable racing event: This would be the 2007 ISDE in La-Serena Chile as I was the Top Canadian. This meant that my name would be added to the Jim Kelly Perpetual Memorial Trophie, along with all of the past Canadians that have won the Top Canadian Award at the ISDE. I also received the Bert Irwin Memorial Cup for being the Fastest Canadian. This was a true honour.

3rd Place:Brian

WojnarowskiVital Stats:Name: Brian WojnarowskiDate of Birth: April 5, 1979Height: 6’2”Hometown: Pontypool, OntarioBike/Brand/year: Yamaha YZ 250Sponsors: Yamaha Canada, Machine Racing, LGS Suspension De-velopment, Podium Grafix, Orthoflex, Electrosport, PerformX Moto-cross Training, Bondi Engines, Trail Tours and Rekluse.Racing since: 1995Pro Since: 2006Favorite CEC stop: LabelleFavorite Test: Parry Sound MX testMost memorable racing event: ISDE 2008 in Greece. There was a great deal of logistics and expense involved with this race. I met some really nice people. Rode with some really fast guys. It was the first time I had ever ridden in the mountains which was a great expe-rience. I also got smoked which is hard to forget.

E3:1st: Nelson

2nd: Giroux

3rd: Kroeker

E2:1st: Schrage

2nd: Wojnarowski

3rd: Cuthbertson

E1:1st: Thomas

2nd: Van Hove

3rd: Chaine

Love is in the Air!

There are a lot of people who I need to thank for making this book possible. First off I’d like to thank the crew at Machine, starting with my boyfriend, Mark, and shop front man John Nelson. Without Mark and his contacts, I would have never got into this sport, and without his support I would have never been able to go as far as I have. Speaking of support, no one in Canada supports off road more than Nelson, in my opinion at least. John goes out of his way to support both his moto and off road riders to the very best of his abilities. Brian Wojnarowski drove the 50+ hours (about 42 of actual driving) that was re-quired to take us from Newmarket to Blairmore in the rig, John’s big diesel truck and gooseneck trailer. We made good time and good conversation on the way. I learned there was a more human side to Captain Stress and he learned to never order a salad in a burg-er place. Bryan “Swampy” Marshall, Chris Van Hove and their buddy, Jitters (Jim Mueller) all put up with me between rounds out west, and let me camp with them in Drumheller, Alberta and Golden, B.C. It was a lot of fun to have company. Last year I bunked with my western counter part, Suzanne Pelletier, for a night, but it was still lonely travelling by myself. The guys were a welcome taste of Ontario in the prairies. For the eastern rounds I was in my element. Parry Sound was a short 2 hour drive from home, with plenty of friends from the Ontario series racing and coming to watch. Quebec was a flash back, riding out with Swampy for the just over 7 hour drive. Again, the Machine crew was well represented, even though the wives stayed home. Sun-day night we shut it down in style, led by the one and only Guy Giroux, who is probably one of the most approachable riders, once you get behind that big grin and bigger laugh. Naturally, the organizers, both at the WEC and the local level, deserve tremendous credit for making these events happen. Without all of their tireless effort, the armies of volunteers and locals willing to put up with us dirt bikers, I wouldn’t have had the op-portunity to come out two years in a row now and see the beauty of western Canada, and meet some of the nicest French people on the planet in La Belle. I’d also like to thank my friends and colleagues at Inside Motorcycles and Inside MotoX and Off Road magazines; David Weber, John Hopkins, Jeff Morgan, and Derek Rockel. Without their support, faith, work on my behalf and encouragement I would not have come so far. Jeff and Derek also supplied several boxes of magazines for the first four rounds on extremely short notice. Fellow media spokes person, and OffRoadMotorcycles.ca founder, Dan Paris also deserves credit. Not only is he a stellar guy who truly cares about the sport from a fun and family perspective, he also provided the photos of Stephen Abel and Lawrence Hack-ing for this book. My parents deserve a thank you as well, as much like with Mark, without their support and encouragement I would have never got as far as I have, and wouldn’t still be aiming higher. Thank you,

- Suzanne Howie

5th Gear MediaSuzanne Howie

2010