Photo Report | AMO OPC/ANQ Round 1 at Gopher Dunes | Presented by Race Tech

Photos and Captions by Billy Rainford

Racing is firing up all across Canada and southwestern Ontario was no different as Round 1 of the AMO Ontario Provincial Championships (OPC)/Amateur National Qualifier (ANQ) took place at Gopher Dunes in Courtland, Ontario.

Spring is taking longer than usual around here but riders and fans were treated to upper 20C temperatures and sunny skies throughout the day. The wind was pretty strong and really dried out the track but the crew took advantage of a lunch break between motos and got a lot of water down, keeping the track in great condition.

there were over 700 entries for this race
they tried a Catch Class where they let Intermediates go first and the Pros then went out to try and catch them
did my first “slow nod” of the year with medic Ron Cameron
2 qualifiers in the Supermini class (51 entries)

Here’s a look at some of the racing action.

#630 Mason Murdy is one to watch in the younger 65 class. He was 1-1 in 65 (7-9) and 65 Open.

Racing is a family affair with the Murdys.

#356 Caleb Vankoughnett took the older 65 (10-11) class 1-1.

#22 Jonathan Bergeron went 1-1 in 85 (7-11).

#613 Cole Pranger has made the switch to Yamaha and took 85 (12-16) 1-1.

I missed 2nd moto winner #161 Jamieson MacDonald who went 1-1 in Supermini. Here’s Pranger and #7 Bobby Gravel after their qualifier.

#92 Isabella Morgan won the Ladies A (12+) and Girls (9-16) on Saturday. She crashed pretty hard on Sunday but was OK.

#199 Noah Jones won the Youth (14-24) class with 1-1 motos.

#7 Bobby Gravel won Schoolboy 1 (12-17) with 1-2 motos.

#991 Brendan McKee took the Schoolboy 2 (13-18) win 1-1.

#111 Gavin Forsbrey took the 2-Stroke class 2-1 after #27 Hayden Halstead sat out the 2nd moto.

#138 Dylan Rempel raced the Junior classes to get his points to move up to Intermediate. He was undefeated in 250 and Open.

#46 Tanner Scott won both Intermediate classes.

#21 Liam O’Farrell won +25 Open (1-1) ahead of #708 Jason Burke.

#675 Jamie Hajgato took the +30 B win 1-1.

#365 AJ Snively won +40 B but I don’t have a photo of him and #17 Fred Kesak won +40 A, same story. #462 Mike Parliament finished 2nd in +40 A after splitting motos with Kesak.

#14 Quinn Amyotte took the win in the Pro-Catch Class where they sent Intermediates out first and then let the Pro riders loose on them. He finished 2-2.

#64 Ryder McNabb won both motos but was docked 4 places in moto 2 for missing the big tabletop. #84 Tanner Ward was given the moto 2 win after finishing 2nd. That make sense?

Cash Class

It’s always fun to watch the Pro Class early in the season to see who’s done their homework over the winter. It’s not always a fair test as some riders are using these races as test days and results are almost secondary. For example, #1 Dylan Wright was practicing his race starts and went back to do more during one of his races.

Here’s a look at the results:

#781 Zack Zager has made the move to a 2-stroke and finished 20th.

#42 Derek Hamm finished 16th with 13-15 motos.

#80 Mikael Savard is back at it and finished 14-14 for 15th.

#19 Ryan Derry was 6th in moto 1 but had troubles in moto 2, taking 17th for 14 overall.

#14 Quinn Amyotte battled his way up in moto 1 for 3rd but then didn’t leave the line for moto 2 and is scored 12th overall.

#38 Seth Hughes and Halstead joked after Seth punted him off the track. Seth finished 12-10 for 11th.

I thought #147 Hayden Jamieson looked good all day. He battled for to 10th place (10-11).

#708 Jason Burke cracked the top 10 with 11-9 motos for 10th.

#55 Max Filipek kept his right hand in this position and took 9th (5-12).

#1 Dylan Wright took off out front in moto 1 but crashed and headed back to the shop. He came back and blitzed the field in moto 2 for 7th overall. Check out that clutch hand.

#46 Tanner Scott was in some great battles and took 6th (8-7) and was the top Intermediate rider.

#27 Hayden Halstead is back and on a 150 2-stroke. He rode 3 classes and yelled “*Wave the white flag!*” as he passed the line early in one of his 2-Stroke. He cracked the top 5 with 9-5 motos.

#69 Brock Kelly was also impressive throughout the day and took 4th (7-6).

#21 Liam O’Farrell hasn’t been on the bike much so far this season. He still managed to finish 3rd overall with 4-4 motos.

#84 Tanner Ward looks at home on the 450 even though they’ll work on the bike to reduce its powerful “hit.” He took runner-up spot with 2-3 motos.

#64 Ryder McNabb took the overall (1-2), and if you don’t have him as one of your favourites for the 250 title this season, you should probably think again.

CASH CLASS

Points for this class

Overall	Name	Moto 1	Moto 2	Points Earned
1st #64	RYDER MCNABB Minnedosa, Ma	1st	2nd	47
2nd #84	TANNER WARD Woodstock, On	2nd	3rd	42
3rd #21	LIAM OFARRELL Paris, On	4th	4th	36
4th #69	BROCK KELLY , ON	7th	6th	29
5th #27	HAYDEN HALSTEAD Waterford, On	9th	5th	28
6th #46	TANNER SCOTT Oromedonte, On	8th	7th	27
7th #9	DYLAN WRIGHT Drummondville, Qu	21st	1st	25
8th #343	MAX FILIPEK Grimsby, On	5th	12th	25
9th #708	JASON BURKE BURLINGTON, On	11th	9th	22
10th #147	HAYDEN JAMESON Woodstock, On	10th	11th	21
11th #38	SETH HUGHES , ON	12th	10th	20
12th #14	QUINN AMYOTTE Blackstock, On	3rd	DNS	20
13th #991	BRENDAN MCKEE Lloydminster, Sa	15th	8th	19
14th #26	RYAN DERRY Thornhill, On	6th	17th	19
15th #80	MIKAËL SAVARD Cumberland, On	14th	14th	14
16th #53	DEREK HAMM Brownsville, On	13th	15th	14
17th #751X	JASON FLURY Phelpston, On	16th	13th	13
18th #74	DANNY GAREY Brownsburgchatham, Qu	20th	16th	6
19th #158	DYLAN HARDER Aylmer, On	17th	DNS	4
20th #781	ZACK ZAGER Melbourne, On	18th	DNS	3
21st #222	KRAIG REINHART KITCHENER, ON	19th	DNS	2
– #188	SCOTT VANDEBORNE Denfield, On	DNS	DNS	0