Regina Canadian Nationals Photo Report

Photos and Captions by James Lissimore

Even though the province of Saskatchewan is flat as f**k, the Moto Valley track has a suprising amount of elevation, nestled in a valley near the city of Regina.

After his 1-1 performance the week before in Calgary, Matt Goerke was rocking the red plate at Regina

Like the city background at Calgary, Moto Valley has the “Moto-X” van backdrop that’s a must shoot.

Ryan Surratt has been killing the starts in his debut year in Canada. He grabbed both holeshots in MX2 and is batting over .500 so far in the start department.

Jacob Hayes got out to the early lead in the opening MX2 moto before crashing and injuring his ankle.

Shawn Maffenbeier has been the fastest rider most of the time in MX2 this season but he’s had a weird run of luck over the years at his home race. In the first moto he tipped over while trying to make a pass for the lead and his boot got stuck in his bike. He couldn’t get it out, to the point where he had to remove his boot to get his foot out of the bike. He finally remounted in last and had to charge to 12th.

It was a rough day for MX2 contenders. Jess Pettis finished fourth in moto one but further aggravated his broken collarbone he suffered at Calgary and made a trip to the hospital instead of lining up for moto two.

Indiana’s Josh Osby has been solid in his first year in Canada. 2-3 for 2nd overall and Maff’s misfortune allowed him to move into second overall in the series going into the break.

Another top 10 for Ohio’s Kein Denzler with 10th overall

Considered one of the title contenders coming into the season, GDR Honda’s Dylan Wright had struggled so far in his first season with his new team but looked much better at Regina, grabbing his first podium of the season with third overall.

Maffenbeier bounced back in moto two to grab second. He pushed hard to catch Cole Thompson on the last lap but came up short.

Cole Thompson is again showing to be the class of the field as the defending champ stayed out of trouble to take a 1-1 sweep on the day and extend his points lead to 33 as the series takes a two week break before resuming in the east.

Tyler Medaglia(6) grabs the MX1 moto one holeshot

There’s been some great lead battling in MX1 so far this year

Texas’ Kyle Swanson grabbed 12th overall

Colton Facciotti came into the weekend under the weather and then had a big crash while running third on the last lap of moto one. A fall on the opening lap of moto two left him coming from last to 8th. Not the best weekend for the multi-time champ.

Pennsylvania’s Michael Fowler finished 16th overall in MX1

Christophe Pourcel closed the gap on Matt Goerke on the last lap of moto one but Goerke held on to take the win.

Kyle Chisholm finished the day with 8-5 moto finishes for 6th overall

North Dakota’s Ryan Peters finished 14th overall on the day

A few tip overs in moto one knocked Dillan Epstein back to 11th but he put in an impressive ride in moto two to bounce back from a first turn crash to work his way all the way from last to 3rd.

Goerke looked to be well on his way to a 1-1 sweep on the day when a rock derailed his chain with two corners to go, allowing Pourcel to get by to take the win and the overall.

Heartbreak for Goerke but luckily he was able to get the chain back on and finish 6th, savalging his championship hopes and sharing the points lead with Pourcel heading into the break.