Manitoba's Top Crop (Part 1)

Everybody loves lists. at least that’s what my Yahoo news thingy told me the other day. People love to look at them, debate them, write the author off as a nutjob and then make their own. With that in mind, I decided to make a list of the best riders to ever come out of my home province of Manitoba. There was no way that I could make such a list and leave out the people that still live there to tell me what’s up in the flatlands of ‘Toba. I was pretty young in the 80’s so I needed some perspective on the older racers as well as some guidance regarding today’s youngsters.

Manitoba hasn’t produced the number of fast guys that BC or Ontario has; they lag behind for a few reasons in my mind. One, being that there is a ton of snow, early and often. This gives the guys a short season to ride and doesn’t help in  rider development. The second is the poor quality of tracks. Manitoba is pretty flat, and it's right on the Canadian shield so there is nothing underneath the dirt but rocks. Good tracks bring out good racers in my mind. There was the famed Austin sand track, the site of so many Canadian National races, and one that former national #4, Jeff Surwall, believes is the roughest track that he's ever ridden. Manitoba has the odds stacked against it in producing top riders, but that's not to say there hasn't been a few superstars grown on the Flat Lands.

I enlisted the help of my friends and family that live Manitoba to supply me with a list of whom they thought carried Manitoba’s torch the highest. Not all of these guys who gave me their opinions know what’s going on up there anymore, so don’t take this too literally. The regret that I have with this list is not being able to get a hold of one Roy Borton. Roy’s been a fixture in Manitoba for many, many years and his ranking would probably go right at the top. He has a good grasp on new and old riders as he’s been helping Manitoba’s fastest riders for a quarter century. I'm going to do a Part Deux on this feature, so I'll hopefully get to hear Roy's take then.

If any Manitobans are reading this, send me your thoughts and we’ll do a follow up column. If anyone has any cool pictures of these guys from back in the day, scan’em and send them through. Also, you guys from other provinces, submit your own list and we’ll print them here at DMX. My email is steve@directmotocross.com. Now here is the list…
 

LAWRENCE HAMM
Lawrence was a top Expert in MB for many, many years. His accomplishments are many as you will read further down the list. He’s now a vet racer but if there was a Fargo Arenacross tomorrow, he’d pack up the wife and kids, hug the inside line and take the win. He’s some kind of principal in Winnipeg now and was the first guy to get this back to me. He doesn’t put himself down, but then at the bottom, he tells us how great he was. Just kidding Lawrence, you belong on the list.

1. Don Gill – And I’m not just saying this because I live in his childhood home! For me, growing up as a kid, there was no other rider as dominant as he was. From like 1980/81 until 1985, Don did not lose a single Manitoba Expert championship (something like 15 in total). A guy who can run the Manitoba marathon and then make it out to Austin in time to win the Expert class is enough said, as far as I am concerned. During his heyday (which lasted for more than one year) he was the man. No one could beat him, not because he had natural skill (because there were more talented riders than him) he just trained harder and wanted it more than anyone. No question in my mind that he is #1.
 

Nationally, I know that he finished the 250 series in the top five (but that was in the day that they only handed out national numbers for the Open class only) and he did not compete in it because that was not part of his deal. He was also very humble and not a guy who bragged, a total champion on and off the track.

2. Kim Houde – Kim was one of the most naturally talented riders that I have had the pleasure of racing against. He has won several Manitoba Provincial Championships (Expert class) against some great competition. He's definitely done a lot of winning over the years and often laid a spanking on kids easily young enough to be his kids (half of his age). Still extremely fast and extremely competitive, but he will never let you know that he hates to lose. He was the 1979 Canadian National Champ, and I don’t believe that he contested the nationals much after that. He's won a number of National Vet events as well.
 

3. Don Formo - An extremely fast rider, Don won a couple of Manitoba Expert Championships. He was a very talented rider and extremely competitive.  I traveled with him for a few years on the Nationals. He finished in the top 5 (National #5 in 1990). He is definitely in the top three from Manitoba. I have many stories about Don.
 

4. Earl Reimer - Earl turned Expert in 1987 and languished around for the first 3 years of his Expert career. But in 1990, I remember traveling with Don and Earl (and his dad) to the nationals and going riding with him during the week. He would ride for like 40 minutes and his dad would time each lap and write it down on the pitboard. I remember having a great battle for national numbers in the last moto of the nationals in 1989 and I finished with #25 and he finished with #28. His breakthrough year came in 1990/91. I believe he won a number of Provincial Expert championships from that time on. He was definitely a bull dog on a bike. Very fast and “tough as nails." He rode the nationals for a number of years and did well. I believe he won the CMRC National 125 title back in 1998.
 

5. Danny Winistock – Provincially, he did well; he was a “125 specialist." He finally got his 125 Expert Championship by beating Don Gill in 1985 for the 125 title. He was one of the best sand riders that I have ever seen. He rode a bunch of nationals , but did really well at Austin. Did not travel a whole bunch as far as I know.

6. Mark Medock – The 1987 Manitoba Provincial Expert Champion. He was a talented guy who rode all three classes. Even though he won a 125 Championship, I also remember him as a very good 500 rider (quite the hard task you know, Steve, something that you would appreciate). He did well at the Nationals , but I have no clue where he would have finished.

7. Dwayne Patterson – I believe that Dwayne won a few provincial titles in 1994/95 and I know that he beat me by a few points for the 250 title in 1996. A ton of natural talent, he was our Ron Lechien. The guy could really ride a bike and had the talent of going fast on any tin can that he would borrow.  I know that he rode some Nationals and also qualified at Millville one or two times. But I am not sure how he finished.

I don’t know that much about the guys below besides that they are pretty damm fast new kids!

8. Ryan Millar - Watched him ride; he is definitely talented and fast. If he stays focused he will have a good shot at doing well.

9. Josh Penner - Impressed me with his ride at Regina this year and came back to win a 250 title in the Province. Don’t know much else about him other than that he seems to be doing it on his own which does impress me. No silver spoon.

I will not rate myself but I thought I would write this for your entertainment....

I really enjoyed my time riding and racing and I would not trade my experiences for anything. I did manage to win a number of provincial Expert titles and I think I probably hold the record for finishing second to out of province riders (three seconds in 1988 alone to Allan Dyck in 125, 250 and 500--still gets me to this day! And a number of others to [Shane] Drew and [Darryl] Martens but who’s counting?).

I enjoyed riding the nationals and did well over the years in Canada, but I only rode the entire series once. I had a number of top-10 finishes in the mighty 500 class but I rarely finished higher (maybe once or twice). I had a national number from 1988 to 1991 and I did manage to win a Plus 25 title in 1993 at the amateur nationals which I am quite proud of. I rode quite a few nationals in the US and always managed to qualify. I also rode some supercrosses. I never lit up the place but I always did respectable.

I really enjoyed the arenacrosses that I rode over the years and I managed to do quite well out east when I rode the series for two years (always made the main and hugged the inside line against Ross Pederson and the boys). I cherish the times in Fargo against the mighty Stork, and, of course, the titles and accolades (and Robitailles mocking) that went along with them.I must say that during those times I would go and race anywhere no matter how small the fair was because the money was always good and that was all that I did while I was in university (I needed the money). Two of my biggest highlights would have to be qualifying and racing the USGP in 1993 and 1994. I really enjoyed the opportunity to race in those events and compete against the best in the world.

 

 

TREVOR GREAVES
Trevor never made it top Expert but continues to race in MB and is a good rider. He is also the CTi guy for Western Canada and wears sexy tight T-shirts all the time. He doesn’t go as far back as the others but still offers valuable input. Kind of....

1. Shane Langdale - Has the longest hair to ever win a national championship. He was the 1998 CMA 250 National Champion. He had epic battles with Formo, and when Don retired, Shane was the dominant rider in Manitoba. He had numerous provincial titles and made the night program at the 2001 Minneapolis Supercross. He has to be regarded as one of the smoothest riders to come out of MB. Had a riding style that looked effortless.

2.Don Formo - -He dominated provincial MX for a good chunk of the 90's. Training regiment was top notch. I remember a third place at the Austin national in 1990 or 1991. Probably has the title for the lowest national number to come out of Manitoba. Which was #5 in the Rollerball years.

3. Ryan Miller - He’s the most exciting prospect to come out of Manitoba ... very effortless style. He's dominated provincial classes up to his pro national debut with a career high 7th place in moto 1 at Gopher Dunes  2008 in the MX2 class. Ryan has a shot at a bright pro career in Canada and his story has yet to be written. Stay tuned!


JASON MATTHES
My brother is always calling me with crackpot column and The Bottom Line show ideas and some are actually good. Anyways, I gave him this job with the promise that his name would be up for everyone to see and then he sends me back this half-assed list. I thought he’d be all over it but apparently he’s a “thinker” not a “do-er."

1. Don Gill - Three classes for years. He has hundreds of local moto wins. The ironman of Manitoba.

2. Kim Houde - 1979 Canadian 125 champ. He’s raced nonstop for 30 years.

3. Don Formo - Highest ranking Manitoban ever in overall points. Effortless style and super cool.

4. Lawrence Hamm - He was the "King of the Arenacross."

5. Earl Reimer- - Blazing fast and fearless.
 

 

GERALD KINAST
Gerald is the original man-friend of Manitoba. He’s also been a long time MX watcher up there and has travelled all over North America as a mechanic for different Canadian riders and pro race watcher. In short, G-Force knows his stuff and his list is one of the best ones that I got. He did put a North Dakotan on it and left out Drew but whatever.

1. Kim Houde - Without a doubt, Kim is the undisputed king of Manitoba motocross. Use words like legend, or whatever you chose, but Kim won a “real” Canadian championship, multiple provincial titles, and still races. Anyone putting him after the #1 spot should really have their head examined.

 

2. Don Gill - What Houde had in talent, Gill had in desire and fitness. He was Manitoba’s first “athlete” of motocross. When shit would not go his way at the race track, he would take it out in the gym. Probably still in better shape than the young whipper snappers of today.

 

3. Mark Medock - As a young rider coming up, he was never psyched out by the kings of our circuit; he just wanted to win regardless of what was thrown at him. Only three Manitoba titles (one Schoolboy, one Intermediate, and one Expert), but he's raced more Canadian national races than any other Manitoba born racer. Had the number system been the same in the early 80’s as it is now, Mark would have had a top 20 number for about three years running.

 

4. Don Formo - A sand specialist who was probably the most talented rider our province has ever produced. Don was Manitoba’s last true national contender in the early 90’s, running top 5 pro in Canada.

 

5. Dan Winistok - Another sand specialist who, in his 40s, still kicks ass in the sand. Watching him ride at Austin back in the day was a thing of beauty.

 

6. Earl Reimer - Much like Don Gill, Reimer swapped skill for fitness and desire. Earl the “Pit Bull” can still run strong with today’s kids, and then munch on some sheet metal after the race.

 

7. Brian Juhnke - Much like Reimer, Brian raced the majority of his races in Manitoba. The North Dakota rider started racing here in 1983, and worked hard to become an Expert champion in 1985.

 

8. David Buller - Is this kid from Manitoba? Pretty sure he is. Anyway, Buller headed south of the 49^th to pursue a moto career. Based in Georgia, David is taking on the US amateur circuit, and seeking success in arguably the toughest competition in the world, and he will be the better for it.

 

9. Ryan Millar - This super fast kid is making a name for himself on the Canadian circuit. His future looks bright!

 

10. Lawrence Hamm - Hamm was a no-nonsense pro who kicked ass on hard, tight tracks. The burly bastard was on top of his game in the mid 80’s taking race wins from Houde, Gill, etc…

 

Other honourable mentions include: Scott Harland and Milt Reimer (owner of FXR Racing). To be perfectly honest, I have been to about five local races in the last fi years. I know there is some talent out there. I was at Gimli two years ago, and this kid who got fourth in pro that day intrigued me with his talent. I think his name was Shoeski or something like that. He really caught my eye that day.