Article by Suzanne Howie
The 2013 Off Road Ontario Cross Country series kicked off this long weekend in Colborne, Ontario. The crowd was big, as one would expect for the series opener, with higher than anticipated turn outs in every class across the board, with Novice B taking home the prize for largest class of the day.
New this year was the live timing feature offered by the brand new scoring feature. As part of the smaller transponders and the programming that goes with it, spectators and family could keep track of their favourite riders throughout the day. A great feature for family who can’t make it to the event!
The morning opened with Mini A, Ladies B and Mini B, as well as a new formatted Pee Wee course which will be featured every round for young riders! Mini A featured a tough battle between Cole Allison and Keegan Frederikse. Ultimately Allison took the lead and the win, but just barely! Ladies B saw Hannah Girndt win with over a two minute lead on second place Josee Robert. Mini B was a 1 – 2 finish for Curtis and Devyn Marshall, sons of Pro racer Bryan “Swampy” Marshall.
At 11 the morning classes were off! Super Vet A, followed by Vet B, Super Vet B, Novice B, Ladies A and finally Novice C. The Novice B holeshot went to Emily Head, who summarily crashed shortly after, dropping almost all the way to the back of the class. She caught up, managing to pass her sister and finish 8th. Callum Marceau took the win.
In her Womens “A” début Jaqueline Legere took home top honours, in front of Elizabeth Holloway and Brooke Kares. Other great morning battles included Elmo Rutnik, Wayne Brogan and Rick Hone in the Super Vet A class. Hone went into the first turn like it was a rodeo, front end in the air.
There was much anticipation for the afternoon. Pro, Expert, Intermediate, Vet A and Novice A would all take to the course for the final race of the day. The Pro class held the interest of many, and there were many questions coming into the first round. Could Josh Long keep his win streak going? Was Wojo going to take home a much needed win to start the series? What about young gun Zach Lewis? Well, when the dust finally settled, Josh captured 25 points with a win, Wojo taking 22 for his second and Lewis 20 for 3rd place.
Next weekend the OO XC Series heads to MotoPark for the second round. Known for short loops, lots of laps and
lots of rocks, the MotoPark round is bound to test suspension of even the best set up bikes.
The Northhumberland Trail Riders, Warren Thaxter, Bob Kendall, Bill Batten, Jan Andringa and all of the other volunteers deserve a huge round of applause for the always well organized event. In addition to the crew who spent countless hours making this race the success it was, Off Road Ontario would like to thank all of its series sponsors: KTM Canada, Yamaha Canada, Honda Canada, Machine Racing, GP Bikes, Bowie Contracting ltd, Hone Printing, Orange Motorsports, Apex Cycle, Swampy’s Racing Supplies, Woody’s Cycle, LB Graphics, Cecile Gambin Photography, Free Flow MX Park, Lachapelle Racing Products and Asselstine Country
Pro:
1 – Josh Long
2 – Brian Wojnarowski
3 – Zach Lewis
Expert
1 – Maxime Belaner
2 – Jake Tustin
3 – Patrick Tremblay
Intermediate
1 – Andrew Tremblay
2 – Alan Snively
3 – Jeremy Quinn
Vet A
1 – Paul Lachance
2 – Jonathan Head
3 – Jamie McManus
Novice A
1 – Dave Beach
2 – Nathan Baker
3 – Charles Tremblay
Super Vet A
1 – Elmo Rutnik
2 – Wayne Brogan
3 – Rick Hone
Vet B
1 – Tim Carney
2 – Cameron Lowe
3 – Brent Phifer
Super Vet B
1 – Dan Clark
2 – Morgan Mould
3 – Ted Dirstein
Novice B
1 – Callum Marceau
2 – Ben Cubitt
3 – Trevor Strickland
Novice C
1 – Stuart Manser
2 – Kevin Handlsperger
3 – Kevin Laurin
Ladies A
1 – Jacqueline Leger
2 – Elisabeth Holloway
3 – Brooke Kares
Mini A
1 – Cole Allison
2 – Keegan Frederiks
3 – Andrei Cojocaru
Mini B
1 – Curtis Marshall
2 – Devyn Marshall
3 – Catherine Tremblay
Ladies B
1 – Hannah Girndt
2 – Josee Robert
3 – Suzanne Howie
Pro Standings
1 – Josh Long (25)
2 – Brian Wojnarowski (22)
3 – Zach Lewis (20)
4 – Aaron Wilkins (18)
5 – Alexandre Legault (16)
6 – Brayden Jones (14)
7 – Riley Jones (12)
8 – Kevin Cockayne (10)
9 – Bryan Marshall (9)
10 – Kurtis Holmes (8)
Grand Champion Standings
1 – Josh Long (75)
2 – Brian Wojnarowski (66)
3 – Zach Lewis (40)
4 – Kevin Cockayne (36)
5 – Darryl Forsbey (32)
6 – Brandon Camboreri (30)
7 – Riley Jones (28)
8 – Mike Vanden Hoek (27)
9 – Bryan Marshall (25)
10 – Alan Randt (20)