SuperminiS p e c i a l

While I love going to the races to catch all of the action in all of the classes, the two classes that I enjoy the most are the 85cc and the SuperMini classes. You see, I have all sorts of nostalgic feelings when these classes run, as my own racing

aspirations began in the 80cc class. At age 12, I lined up behind the gate for my first race ever, in the 80B class in Kelowna, and a scant 14 months later, behind the gate of the Ca-nadian Motocross Association (CMA) National at Little Rock (Aldergrove), with lap times in practice times on my bone-stock RM80G that placed me within the top 10. Unfortunately in moto 1, I was a bit late off of the gate, and in my impatience, I ran into the first corner hot, and ended up on the ground after hitting the guy that I had trained with all week (hey, in my defense, he did grab the brakes awfully early!). When I got up and grabbed my bike to get going again, I saw all of my antifreeze pouring onto the ground, as one of the radiator hoses had detached itself from the engine case. I was devastated realizing that my moto was done before it started, as were my chances for a good overall finish in Nationals. It was a surreal moment; I had crashed many times on that bike, but the hose had never come off before. Why now!?! Interestingly, Suzuki lengthened the receiving tube on the case the following year, but I would never get a chance to redeem myself. I hit a growth spurt around age 13 and had already outgrown the bike physically, even though I was just finding my speed, and not emotionally ready to leave the class yet. At that time, there was no Super-Mini class run in CMA events, so there was no transition bike to get the feet wet with the bigger bikes. You had to just jump in, and I did (to a CR250). I fit the bike well, and liked the increased horsepower, but the bike’s suspension was so unbalanced, that it was difficult to ride it with the intensity that I had with the RM80, whose suspension was pretty good as-is.

So, watching the 85s today, the familiar two-stroke sound and smell of pre-mix fuel brings me back in time, to what I consider the golden age of motocross, at least as far as my life is concerned. But seeing the SuperMinis on the track is an indicator to

me about just how much better the racing action is out of the track now than it was back in the 1980s when I raced. So, shooting the images of the smaller bikes, and putting this issue together was a little bit cathartic for me, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it -

Penticton’s own Derek Allanson (815) rode well to 6th in the 85cc 12-16 class, and 16th in the fiercely competitive SuperMini class.

Easily one of the trickest Hondas outside of Japan, Tyler Gibbs’ mighty Honda RC150F grabbed holeshot after holeshot all day long.

Jordan Hillrich displayed speed and style en route to a fifth place finish for the day in Supermini.

LAYNE NUYENS

AIDAN PROCTOR

KAELAN GREENHALGH

JULIEN BENEK

CAMERON MILLER

Joey Parkes had a great day, riding his Yamaha to 3-3 finishes in the Supermini for third overall, and his Kawasaki to 2-1 finishes in the 85cc class, for the win.

KTM’s Max Day did not get a chance to show his true potential, as freak mechani-cal issues haunted him in both the Junior MX 2 and SuperMini classes.

BROCK HENRY

Racers came from all over to participate in the year end race at Bear Creek, including Alberta ripper, Zane Barnett.

ZANE BARNETT

CAMERON BRADLEY

NICK VAN MEEL

THOMAS KAISER

Watching Trevor Steeves race at Bear Creek, one would never know that it was his first time back racing after five months off, as he charged hard to 6th place overall.

TREVOR STEEVES

DAMIEN MCLAUGHLIN

RYAN INGLESON

Final Number Name Home Brand Moto 1 Moto 2 1 46 Tyler Gibbs Mission BC Honda 2 1 2 81 Jacob Piccolo Abbotsford BC Kawasaki 1 2 3 477 Joey Parkes Nanaimo BC Kawasaki 3 3 4 108 Max Day Lake Country BC KTM 4 4 5 41 Jordan Hillrich Kamloops BC KTM 5 5 6 615 Trevor Steeves Peachland BC KTM 7 6 7 170 Julian Benek Maple Ridge BC KAWASAKI 6 7 8 991 Brock Henry Kelowna BC KTM 8 8 9 930 Thomas Kaiser Williams Lake BC Yamaha 9 9 10 187 Layne Nuyens Winfield BC KTM 13 10 11 172 Aidan Proctor Prince George BC Suzuki 10 13 12 16 Nick Van Meel Langley BC KTM 12 12 13 444 Cameron Bradley Saltspring Island BC Kawasaki 14 11 14 212 Ryan Ingleson Kelowna BC Kawasaki 11 15 15 132 Damien Mclaughlin Nanaimo BC Kawasaki 17 14 16 815 Derek Allanson Penticton BC Suzuki 16 16 17 32 Kaelan Greenhalgh Kelowna BC Honda 15 17 18 22 Cameron Miller Prince George BC KTM 18 18 19 672 Zane Barnett Sundre AB Yamaha 19 19

@gapmx

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.Romans 8:6