Faces at the Races | Gopher Dunes – Round 4

I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t stand up on the hill and shoot a photo of the place because we had quite a few fans at this round and the grounds looked great. This round was by far the best so far, as far as presentation and attendance is concerned.

Tyler Rayner is now a Stark guy and was at the entrance to the pits. He’s just gotten married and we plan on getting out to give these things a try as soon as we can figure out a day that works for both of us.

Kourtney Lloyd was stationed at the Team Canada MXON booth again in an effort to help fund the team for Ironman MX this year.

Brett Lee did an amazing job on the mic and kept everyone informed on what was going on.

I hadn’t seen Randy “Billy Bob” Wiebe in a few years and he now looks like he’s ready to run a marathon!

Whenever I see Steve Luyks I can immediately hear him wringing out a 1982 Suzuki RM125. If you’re going riding at Gore Road MX, you’re at Steve’s place.

We had #31 Gavin Brough and #60 Riley Brough at Gopher Dunes. Unfortunately, Riley’s day was over early when his bike ended up on top of him burning his lower back. How was the flight and first shower, Riley?

When Dylan says run, you ask how fast!? 🤣

It was great to have Robbie and Ryder Malinoski at Gopher Dunes. Training on the sand track at Club MX probably had Ryder thinking he needed a sweater! Well, maybe not…

Andy Kerr was ready for Wyatt to have a great day. Let’s just ignore the first lap of each moto. I don’t think anyone passed more riders!

Remember these happier times for Lars Van Berkel a little further down the page.

It was nice to see Barry Heatherington not after him being up all night in a tractor for 4 days straight!

Lindsey Bradley did double duty on Sunday. She raced WMX and then helped as a medic.

Dutchie!!!

That’s Nathan Bles with Colton Facciotti. I went years seeing Nathan at every race I went to. Weird how time passes and things change.

Ok, let’s get…this guy. (Jimmy Fallon bit reference.)

I liked this. Jonathan Bergeron went down early in the Premix class and was dead last. When he came around to pass his dad in the mechanics area his dad urged him on and Jonathan didn’t look angry or anything. He just ripped by, nodded his head, and went to work.

Man, I don’t know when we last saw Jesse Kirchmeyer up here racing. He’s too busy criss-crossing the globe as a snowmobile racer these days. 25-21 put him 25th in the 450 class.

How about young Talon Medaglia ripping his 85 to a 3rd place in the Premix class?!

Tyler Kirby gave it his all to run with Crayden Dillon. He was 2nd.

I don’t known if he got let back in or if he just started a new Instagram name, but Crayden is back on The Gram. He took the Premix win.

It was great to see the Medaglia leadership in the house! The odds are pretty good that Derek was up all night building bikes.

I have a feeling I make more than a small appearance in this video… “Down in front!”

I have a ridiculous hot sauce story from way back in my triathlon days. Yes, I’m an idiot. That’s Rick Amyotte and he makes hot sauce.

After seeing how fast Brandy McLarty was in the WMX class, we really need to make sure she can make it to the rest of the races!

The self-proclaimed non-sand rider and defending WMX East champion, Jamie Astudillo ,went 1-1 for the win.

Team Turner.

Payton Morningstar made sure he got to the line in time. I think he sat there in the hot sun for quite a long time.

Friday, the weather was perfect. Saturday and Sunday for the racing, the humidiy went through the roof. Monday? Perfect again. Classic.

Taylor MacArthur was definitely the happiest of the 3 people in this shot. Tyler Medaglia decided to pull out of moto 1 after tweaking his elbow, and Blake Davies just couldn’t get going this week. Wait, Christian Plasse AKA McLovin in the back right is always happy.

Zach Ufimzeff is currently trying to get his broken collarbone plated in St Thomas. He crashed Tuesday at OCMC.

Liam Dodds from Revelstoke, BC ended up a very solid 15th (15-15).

Triumph rider #74 Alex Gatt didn’t make it into the motos. Watch for that to change this week.

427 is young Alek Guadagno. He had a solid first moto in 11th but not moto 2. He’ll be strong this week at Sand Del Lee.

Jayden Riley is usually busy chasing Loretta Lynn’s so it was cool to see him in Ontario. I don’t knwo what happened to him either but 19-35 is not where he should be.

Micah Grubbs was up from Ohio so he was probably OK with the humidity. He didn’t have a good day in the sand though and didn’t make the motos.

Ricky Conway just missed the motos this week.

Landon Hunt is from SS Marie, ON. 25-25 put him 29th.

#35 Clayton Schmucki from Alberta isn’t a sand guy and finished 14th.

#46 Nathan Germain is putting together a nice little season so far. He cracked the top 10 in 9th and sits 15th after not going west.

Tristan Dares made an appearance and finished 28th.

TJ Lanphear is our American Dirt Care guy. He showed up from New England again but this time on a 250 2-stroke. He looked happier on it and finished 23-22 for 26th.

I bet some of you asked yourselves who #37 was up near the front int he 250 class. That’s Kyle Murdoch from Massachusetts. 8-9 put him 7th and earned him our Ryno Power Privateer Performance of the Week.

#93 Cole Pranger crashed hard in the rollers in moto 1 for a DNF. I thought maybe he’d broken something in his lower leg but he came back and raced moto 2 and got 17th for 19th on the day.

Big day coming for this guy!

Wyatt Kerr must have passed the most riders on Sunday. He’s also the top rider who didn’t make the races in the west. He finished 6-7 for 6th and sits 11th in points.

#191 is Carson Mainquist all the way from Texas. He is scored with 37-DNS.

#80 Preston Kilroy leads the points and usually makes it look and sound easier than the rest. The effort he and Ryder McNabb pushed out in moto 1 left him fighting in moto 2. He ended up 4th (2-4).

Dylan Walsh isn’t having the best time in Canada so far. He blew up a bike in qualifying and then got hit by another rider in moto 1, ruining his chain guide and forcing him out. He came back and had a great battle with Malinoski for 6th.

Ryder Malinoski and Walsh went back and forth a few times in moto 2 with Ryder getting the better of the battle. He ended up 5th (5-5).

Like I said, Ryder left it all out there in moto 1 for the win. He barely had enough for the final lap in moto 2 but still ended up 2nd (1-3).

#155 Spencer Deleye ended up 24-28 for 32nd.

We have to enjoy having Tyler Medaglia at the Nationals when we get him! Unfortunately, the track that has been so kind to him wasn’t this time.

Jerry Lorenz was back. Unfortunately, handlebars to the ribs left him racing to 23rd in pain.

Pretty sure this Phil Nicoletti look was featured in Zoolander.

Daniel Elmore told me that when he saw “10 minutes left” on the pit board he was completely deflated. He still finished 4-5 for 4th.

Tanner Ward acknowledged that this win may have been gifted to him but it’s still his first 450 overall! You gotta be in it to win it!

It was Tyler Shewchyk’s Talaria electric bike I used to do a lap of the track at the end of the day. He had a good day and was 13th overall.

Breanna and Derek Hamm. Derek finished 24th. It’s Breanna’s bike that Brandy McLarty is riding this summer.

Quinn Amyotte is really starting to get comfortable running up near the front in the 450 class. 3-3 put him 2nd overall!

Watch for #90 Izack Guadagno to be faster in the 2nd half of the series. He was 28th in the sand.

That’s #69 Trevor Schmidt from Rochester, New York. He’s been solid so far and finished 13-15 for 14th.

Red Bud Saturday/Gopher Dunes Sunday. Atta boy, Preston Masciangelo! 5-7 for a very impressive 5th.

Easy way? Nope, not for Sam Gaynor. He finished 10-11 to round out the top 10. He’s also the featured rider in this week’s Frid’Eh Update.

And that’s Josh Boaz from Minnesota running the stars and stripes for the 4th of July weekend. He’s also been solid and finished 7th (6-8).

Tanner Scott getting a little extra fresh air. I tell ya, if we didn’t have that breeze we would have been screwed Sunday! Tanner was 11th (9-14).

#44 Noah Porter is ready for his breakout ride, I think. 16-10 put him 12th. It’s coming.

Payton ended up 17th after a solid 12th in moto 1. Unfortunately, he had to pull out of moto 2.

After that fairly well documented issue in moto 1, Dylan was all business in moto 2 and won by 25 seconds.

With no poles to climb this week, Daryl Murphy didn’t need his spider monkey suit.

I stood in the corral after moto 2 and snapped a few shots…

Great event, Derek Schuster.

Brandy McLarty would look good on a bike stand with Matt Deroy. Just saying…

Proud mom, Carrie Rempel.

A solid mixture of emotions for Kevin Tyler at Gopher Dunes. Let’s see how his home race goes this week.

Kyle Snelgrove started a little goggle company and look at him now!

Hey Jaydon, I think the fan is for Tanner…🤣

Sorry, Ryan Derry, but that’s the only one I got of you guys together. Ryan finished 19-19 for 22nd.

That’s standout FMSQ Cross-Country racer Alexandre Gougeon. He ended up 18-16 for 16th overall.

Gavin Brough ended up finishing 28-9 for 15th. He’s 8th in the standings.

Phil Nicoletti had to come from last to 7th in moto 1. He grabbed the holeshot in moto 2 and was 6th. He left The Dunes tied for the points lead with Jess Pettis. Jess crashed in Q2 and took a trip to the hospital. All indications are that we’ll see him on the line this at Sand Del Lee but that’s not an official statement.