Canadian Speedway Racing Association

May 27th (Cancelled Rain Logged Track)

Friday June 3rd 2005
It was a night of firsts at Paris this week. The first night of racing this year after last week's rain-off. The first night of racing for newcomers Ryan Broda, Tom Brown, Krys Chudyk, Peter Fornal and Bart Moskala. The first race wins for Chudyk and Moskala in their very first races. The first time racing started with a qualifier to set the field for Div 1 racing. The first visit to Paris in over two years by Nick Fafard. And one that we didn't want, the first time that a meeting had to be abandoned before the finals could be run so that the resu lts of the night were based on the qualifying scores. 26 riders signed in and with 13 of them being in Division 1, a qualifier was run to set up a 12 man field for the night. The riders contesting it were the four who have moved up to Div one this year and it was Aaron De Veau who got things going with a storming ride that saw him win it by nearly a quarter of a lap while Shawn Morrison was the rider who had to drop down to Div 2 for the night. With twelve riders chasing four places in the final, competition was bound to be fierce and that proved to be the case. Even so Aaron Hesmer managed to go through the qualifying rounds unbeaten while Joe Heye, Jeff Orosz and Nick Fafard bagged the other places after dropping a couple of points apiece. With the track in great condition the fans were looking forward to a dynamic final but it wasn't to be. A very fine rain was falling, really little more than a mist, but just enough to make it hard for the riders to see as it gathered on their goggles while they raced. After receiving a complaint about this from some of the riders, the referee discussed the conditions with them and decided to abandon the the meeting, so fans will have to wait another week to see the four top riders face off at the end of the night. Rob Dixon started slowly but finished strong to take fifth place overall while Aaron De Veau showed that he is ready to be competitive at this level. On the other hand it wasn't a night to remember for Greg Starcevic. He mistook the white flag for the checkered one in his first race, slowed and dropped from second to last and then hurt his hand when he slid off in a later race. Not surprisingly Shawn Morrison, in D2 for the night, dominated the action there and was unbeaten although he was not happy with how his bike was running. Behind him D2 regulars Mark Priebe and Corinne Franic had some entertaining battles in what showed promise of being a season long battle. Newcomer Bart Moskala was a surprise winner in his first race when he defeated last year's discovery Michael Small. But that was the only time Small was beaten and he defeated Moskala handily when they met twice more on the night. Nonetheless a good first outing for Moskala. They would have been joined in the final by sprightly veteran Graham Wale, who had a couple of wins and another newcomer Krys Chudyk who just edged out Greg Sim.

Friday June 10th 2005
The weather gods finally gave us a break this week. Some light rain an hour or so before the start just served to help prepare the track and the heavy thunderstorms in Hamilton and to the west stayed there, so the meeting ran like clockwork. Unfortunately the combination of the hot humid weather and the forecast kept several riders at home so it was a shorter than usual program. Although, as always, the riders in D1 were impressively fast and exciting to watch, on the night the closest racing was in D2. In it every race was closely contested and there were a couple of tight finishes with Corinne Franic bagging the win in one of them by less than a wheel as they crossed the line. So hats off to Corinne, Doug Beaumont, Tim Murray and Mark Engel on his first visit in a couple of years. They may not yet be the fastest or most skilled riders but they are racers in the truest sense of the word as they proved eachy time they rode and dueled with and passed one another. At the end of the night it was Corinne who showed that she has made the right decision when she moved up to D2 for this season by winning four of the five races to finish well ahead. A fall by Mark Engel in his final race allowed Doug Beaumont to just edge him out of second place for the night. However, it wasn't all bad news for Mark as the points he earned moved him one ahead of Andy Delimat which means that he is now the highest scoring American rider as far as career points earned in Canada is concerned. The action in D1 was entertaining with Nick Fafard providing the spectacle when he lifted as he left the gate in one heat and went all the way to the first turn on one wheel before settling down and charging from the back to take second place. Aaron Hesmer just edged out Joe Heye for choice of gate in the final. This time it was Joe Heye who lifted as they left the line and that allowed Hesmer and Fafard to beat him to the first turn and that is how they finished with Aaron Hesmer taking the win for the second week in a row while cousin Gary came in fourth. D3 was a war of attrition for both bikes and riders. Peter Fornal was done for the night after only a quarter of a lap racing. He hurt his shoulder when he fell and was hit by Krys Chudyk. Two restarts later Chudyk was more fortunate when he fell and Michael Small smartly laid his bike down and both were able to walk away uninjured although damage to Chudyk's bike saw him sidelined for most of the night. Two races later it was Bart Moskala who ran into trouble. He was squeezed into the boards and crashed spectacularly as Michael Small drifted wide. As a result only Small was able to come to the line for the next race. Although Small was the winner on the night Moskala had a good meeting and won the three races he was able to finish.

Friday June 17th 2005
Miserable weather all week finally cleared up in time to allow the meeting to go ahead and end the streak of rain-offs on the Vintage Club Rally night at three years on a row. A good rider turnout provided lots of entertainment for the biggest crowd of the year, although the meeting got off to a slow start with the second heat needing three tries and two on-track visits from the ambulance staff before it was completed. At the first attempt veteran Graham Wale bit the dust in the middle of the turn and Paul Martin was not able to avoid him and went into the safety fence. In an alarmingly spectacular crash Paul went over it while his bike went through it and landed on top of him. Happily after several minutes treatment from the St John staff he was able to get back to his feet and eventually made it back to the pits with no more than severe bruising. After repairs were made to the fence the restart also came to a quick end when Wale again got into trouble as locked up with another bike and hit the track for the second time. Fortunately he also recovered after treatment but reckoned that was it for him for the night. So for the second week in a row the D3 class was mainly a case of the survival of the fittest and with engine failures cropping up three heats had only a single finisher. Although Michael Martin-Evans and Peter Fornal got their first wins of the season it was Bart Moskala who dominated the class and was unbeaten on the night. In Div 2 Mark Priebe caught the eye with a second place finish from the penalty line after breaking the tapes in his first race. But at the end of the night it was Doug Beaumont who came out on top after losing only once to Corinne Franic. An eleven man field in D1 that included first time American visitor Merle Craven, meant that the competition for a spot in the final would be close, especially as a change in woek shifts allowed Jeff Orosz to ride. After a second place finish in his first heat Joe Heye decided to adjust his chain before his next race. That proved to a major mistake as he didn't have the work done in time and wasn't able to take part in it. Although he beat Nick Fafard over four pulsating laps in his final heat, the points lost from his missed race were too much to overcome and allowed Craven to join Aaron Hesmer, Orosz and Fafard in the final while rerlegating Heye to the Consi which he won convincingly.. In the final Fafard drove around Orosz as they came out of turn two and made no mistakes to win his first main event of the year. Behind him Orosz got some extra traction out of the fourth turn, lifted and shot out to the boards on the front straight. He was able to regain control but Hesmer took his chance and slipped past him to take second place. Closest finish and best move of the night came in an earlier D1 heat when Phil Small came from third place after the first lap to grab the win when he squeezed inside Aaron De Veau coming out of the final corner and just outran him to the line for a hard earned win, his first of the year.

Friday June 24th 2005
Hot weather all week brought out the biggest crowd of the season and they were treated to some interesting racing in all three divisions. For the second week in a row Nick Fafard won the D1 main event and this week he left no doubt that he was the man in form as he won all five of his races. He had to be in top form to do so as Jeff Orosz and Aaron Hesmer provided strong opposition. For the second week in a row Joe Heye had his problems. This time it was a carburetor that gave him trouble. Despite this he just managed to edge out Gary Hesmer and Aaron De Veau for a place in the final. This provided four laps of fast close racing with Fafard powering around the outside of the first two turns to grab the lead and keep it for all four laps. Close behind him Orosz and Hesmer had a race long battle for second with Heye right behind them until he slid off on the third lap. To finish the night Fafard treated the crowd to some celebratory wheelies after his victory lap and capped this by overdoing it and going down on the front straight. Other memories from D1 include Gary Hesmer and Phil Small proving that the best race isn't always the one for the lead when they swapped third place back and forth over the last two laps with Hesmer just having the edge on the line by a tire's width, a four lap battle with Orosz finshing a length ahead of (Aaron) Hesmer as they crossed the line and a great effort by Steve Glasgow to recover from last place after the first lap to catch and pass Phil Mosquera for second on the last lap. Although D2 was down to three riders after the first heat there was some entertaining action. A determined Corinne Franic took the honors on a night that saw her bumping with veteran Mark Engel on a couple of occasions. Bart Moskala moved up to D2 for the first time but it was a disappointing night for him as muffler problems sidelined him after only one ride. D3 was battle between a newcomer, Sean Trendelle making his speedway debut and veteran Tom Marriott who was in sprightly form and stayed close until he went down in the final heat. Quite a night for local boy Trendelle who won four of his five starts. Peter Fornal had a heavy fall in his first ride but happily was able to continue and took third place overall on the night.

Friday July 8th 2005
With Dave Havill absent overseas, track preparation was always going to be a concern for this week and late watering resulted in a much heavier track than usual for the opening heats. Although the riders handled it quite well it was a new experience for quite a few of the D2 and D3 riders to get filled in with wet dirt from the riders ahead of them. There will be lots of work needed this week to get bikes and leathers cleaned and ready for next week's race. Although each division produced a winner with maximum points, pride of place has to go to birthday boy Aaron Hesmer (pic above) who celebrated his 2Oth birthday by picking up 20 points on the night to extend his lead in the race for season high points at Paris. Ironically his toughest race was with his cousin Gary who gave him all he could handle in one of the best races of the season. It quickly became a two man race with Gary fending off every effort by Aaron to overtake him until the third lap when Aaron dove inside him going into turn three only for Gary to cut back and retake the lead coming out of four. Aaron then retook the lead on the final lap to grab a narrow win. Great racing and it was hard to tell who enjoyed it most, the riders or the crowd. Earlier in the night Aaron De Veau looked as if he might reach his first main event with wins in his first two heats while Nick Fafard was struggling and had to push his bike home for a couple of points. Just as well that he did as bike problems for De Veau cost him points later in the program and Fafard made it to the main event with a two point margin over three other riders. In this Joe Heye made the gate but Hesmer powered through and took the win with Orosz pushing him all the way and Fafard taking third. In D2 Doug Beaumont adapted best to the race track and came out on top for his second win of the season from Corinne Franic and Tim Murray while in D3 newcomer Craig Trendell continued to impress with a tapes to flag win in the final to give him his second win in two meetings. Michael Small and Graham Wale, back in action after a couple of falls in his last meeting, finished second and third respectively.

Friday July 15th 2005
Despite heavy rain the day before leaving sections of the track covered in water, hard work enabled it to be ready for racing and a smaller than usual field of riders provided some excellent entertainment for the fans with the D1 class leading the way. Not always the best of gaters, Joe Heye was quick off the line for most of the night, rode well and doubtless was disappointed to finish the night without a win which he richly deserved for his efforts. Up against Aaron Hesmer and Jeff Orosz in his first heat he grabbed the early lead while Hesmer slipping past Orosz on the first lap and led the chase. He fended off all challenges until the final turn when with the win in sight he lost his chain and coasted home in third place. His next outing provided an even better race but once again he went from first to third on the final lap. This time it was Nick Fafard who got the win with a spectacular ride. Back in third place after the first lap, he used the outside line to overtake Orosz and found enough drive there to slowly reel in Heye and finally get around him on the final lap while for the second race in a row Orosz just caught and passed Heye for second as they crossed the line. Next time out Heye once again had the lead before Fafard used the outside line to get around him but at least this time he did finish in second place. Going into the final, two riders were still unbeaten on the night. Fafard had won each of his four heats but Aaron Hesmer was unable to complete repairs to his bike before the riders were called to the line and was excluded from the race in which he would have met Fafard. Fortunately wins in his other three heats easily qualified him for the final. In this despite being under the weather with flu like symptoms, Hesmer led from start to finish to extend his unbeaten string at Paris to nine races in a row while behind him Fafard's chase ended on the third lap when he went down leaving Orosz to take second ahead of Heye. In the Consi "Big John" Perry got his first win of the season with Phil Small in second after the early leader Marc Gauthier dropped out with a fall. Nevertheless, Gauthier was satisfied with his performance as it was his first outing of the year after suffering a severe hand injury at work just before the start of the season. D2 action was another chapter in the chase for top spot in the standings between Corinne Franic and Doug Beaumont. There was little between them and Beaumont just got the edge with three wins to Franic's two while in D3 Michael Small was just too fast for his opponents and went unbeaten on the night.

Friday July 22nd 2005
This was one of those nights when things went wrong right from the start. The first sign of things to come was when the riders came to the line for the qualifier to set the field in D1 for the night. The starting gate would not work and for the entire night races had to be started by flags. Worse was to follow as two of three riders in the race pulled up before completing a lap and didn't ride again that night due to a combination of bike problems and concern about the track conditions. A lot of work had been done on the track during the week to improve it by removing the bumps which had developed in recent weeks. Unfortunately there hadn't been enough rain to bind the extra loose dirt created by this work with the track base and the surface was not yet back to its usual condition. More grading was carried out and the meeting finally got under way half an hour after the scheduled start time. It has to be mentioned that the track appeared to improve as the night progressed and the riders handled it well as there were only three falls all night and in two of them the rider involved was able to keep his bike going, get back on it and finish the race. With most of the time consuming hard work already done, all that is now needed is some solid rain for the track to be back in good condition for next week, so it is worth taking a moment to thank both Dave Havill and Alex Wilson for the many unseen hours they spend working on the track each week and without which racing could not take place. Aaron Hesmer kept his best bike under wraps in preparation for the Nationals on the following night and spent most of the night on borrowed bikes. Despite this he was in the thick of the action all night although it was the full throttle style of Jeff Orosz that came out on top. Joe Heye was the only rider to beat him during the night but Orosz made no mistake when they met again in the final. He was leading Hesmer when the race was called and restarted after Marc Gauthier went wide and left Heye with nowhere to go but into the fence. Orosz again grabbed the lead on the restart and led from start to finish with Heye taking a well earned second place from Hesmer and Gauthier. D2 featured another installment of the weekly battle for supremacy between Doug Beaumont and Corinne Franic. In the best of their races they passed and repassed one another around the final two turns with Franic getting the win. In the final she had the lead until she fell on the third lap. Despite having hurt her hand she remounted to finish third behind Beaumont and Bob Mosquera to pick up a point which could well be vital at the end of the season in their race for the High Points award. Sean Trendell was back in action and had no trouble stretching his winning run in D3 to 12 races as he went unbeaten for the second week in a row. During the night he received some advice from Andy Harris and put this to good use and for the first time was sliding the bike effectively. It will be interesting to watch his progress in the weeks to come. Veteran Graham Wale had a good night and finished in second place.

July 29th (Cancelled Rain Logged Track)

Friday August 5th 2005
All the hard work carried out on the track over the last two weeks produced the best race surface for many weeks and set the stage for an interesting night's racing. The start of the meeting was delayed as the setting sun would have caused problems for the riders but once underway it provided plenty of talking points which can be split into "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". "The Good" covers the racing highlights on a night which had its fair share of them including a spectacular move by Joe Heye as he squared off his exit from turn two to blaze past Aaron Hesmer. Unfortunately he undid this good work by falling on the next lap and dropping points that cost him a place in the main event; a classic overtake by Phil Small when he went into the turn wide and cut back to the inside to catch John Perry coming out of the turn, a move that helped him make it to his first D1 main event; a turn two clash which saw both Aaron Hesmer and Joe Heye bumped out and left with nowhere to go but into the fence; Shawn Morrison stalling his motor after a 360 degree pirouette and then restarting to finish the race; Nick Fafard going unbeaten in the qualifying heats before coming a cropper in the final; a good night for Gary Hesmer; Sean Trendell not looking out of place in his outing in Div 2 and Peter Fornal picking up his first win from an opponent in D3. Honors on the night in D1 went to Aaron Hesmer with Gary Hesmer and Phil Small finishing second and third respectively after Nick Fafard crashed out. In D2 Doug Beaumont was the winner with veteran Mark Engel providing most of the opposition after Corrinne Franic was sidelined, while in D3 Michael Small took the win and would have gone through the night unbeaten but for an engine failure in one race when he was in front. "The Bad" refers to a series of bike problems which decimated the D3 race program. They started from the very first heat when Tom Marriott couldn't get his bike running. He was able to borrow a bike for that race but after that was sidelined for the night. To make matters worse Aaron De Veau was also supposed to use Tom's bike so that meant that two riders were out for the night. Worse was to follow as John Feeney also only made it to the start for one race and with Greg Sim also having problems, in one heat Graham Wale was the only starter while in another he was the only finisher when Michael Small broke down. The Ugly" covers a couple of injuries which fortunately don't happen very often at Paris. The first involved Corinne Franic. After Mark Engel looped and came off at the gate, she led the restart but got into a wobble out of turn two and smacked into the fence. Happily, after attention on the track, she was able to walk back to the pits but a mild concussion sidelined for the rest of the night and this allowed Doug Beaumont to move ahead of her in their battle for season high point honors. The other accident happened in the D1 main event. Nick Fafard was chasing after Aaron Hesmer when he caught traction coming out of turn two, lifted and crashed spectacularly. After assistance from the St John staff he also was able to make it back to the pits but with a dislocated shoulder. Not at all phased by this injury he proved that speedway riders are indeed a special breed when it comes to injuries by saying that he would put his shoulder back into place himself and then proceeded to do so!

Friday August 12th 2005
A very disappointing night with only the late arrival of a couple of riders preventing the ultimate embarrassment of the meeting having to be cancelled due to a lack of riders on a night on which the weather was good and the track in the best condition that it has been all year. Veteran Greg Comstock was on hand all the way from Wisconsin but only eleven of the local riders put in an appearance with several choosing to skip the race and only ride in the Dean Bencsics Memorial meet on the following night. Hopefully those who did so will be back in action next week as without their support it will not be possible to continue to stage races for them. Making matters worse was that the night started and ended with a couple of accidents to riders. Unfortunately for Comstock he had an awkward fall at the second turn of the opening heat and was sidelined for the night with a minor concussion. Then in the final D3 heat, popular veteran Graham Wale looped at the gate and came off. Fortunately he was not hit by his bike but he did hit the track very hard. Although he was able to get back onto his his feet after treatment by the St John staff, he needed an ambulance ride to get back to the pits and was in considerable pain. As a result of Comstock being sidelined, all but one of the D1 heats were reduced to three starters and generally the riders were well spread out. The exception was the Main event which produced a thrilling battle. Jeff Orosz and Aaron Hesmer went shoulder to shoulder for the first half lap before Orosz went too wide trying to power around the outside and Gary Hesmer took over second. For the rest of the race Orosz chased Hesmer and a final burst around the inside of the final turn brought them level as they drifted out to the boards on the final straight. For a moment it looked as if (Gary) Hesmer would run out of room but Orosz left him just enough and Hesmer had perhaps six inches advantage as they flashed across the line. Ahead of them Aaron Hesmer got the win to round off another unbeaten night. The best racing in the night was in D2 where Doug Beaumont, Mark Priebe, Bart Moskala and Tim Murray kept the crowd entertained with plenty of passing and close racing every time they were on the track. Although Moskala ended the night in style with a good win, his first in D2, over the night he had to settle for third with Doug Beaumont the winner and Mark Priebe second with easily his best performance of the season. Until his accident it looked as if Wale would come out on top in D3 but Ryan Broda's win in the final heat was enough to move him ahead.

Friday August 13th 2005
John Perry and Shawn Morrison will be pleased with their first venture as speedway promoters under the banner of Speedy Race Promotions. The Dean Bencsics Memorial meet got great support from the riders and, blessed with great weather, drew easily the best crowd of the season at Paris. They certainly got their money's worth from the 41 race program which was replete with thrills, spills and even a chill. Although it took almost four hours to complete the program, the crowd stayed to the end and were rewarded with a perfect ending when the D1 Main Event produced the perfect climax to the night with a exciting race. However, the most spectacular incident happened early in the program when 15-year-old American Katalin Davis, on her first visit to Paris, got into trouble at the first turn, lost control and smashed through the wood safety fence before coming airborne and clearing the secondary crowd control fence. She traveled so far through the air that she landed only inches away from a spectator's vehicle and the crowd was silent fearing that she had been badly injured. Incredibly, after treatment from the St John staff she was able to get up and walk back to the pits unaided and smiling broadly as she received the thankful applause of the other riders and the fans. Even more remarkably she was able to get back onto the track and only missed the restart of that one race through the rest of the night. Whoever said that women are the weaker sex definitely didn't know Katalin! There were 13 riders in the D1 class, an unfortunate number for the organisers which meant that most of the races had only three starters. Despite this, there was plenty of excellent racing and the competition to make it through to the main event was very tight. After each rider had completed their four qualifying heats Aaron Hesmer and Nick Fafard topped the scores with 15 points and were safely through as was Brian Hollenbeck. However, the fourth place was still up for grabs as Joe Heye, Jeff Orosz and veteran Fred Legault, in only his second meeting of the season, were all tied on 13 points and had to take part in a run-off to decide who would be in the final. Orosz quickly settled that question by blasting around the outside of the first two turns to take the lead and was well clear of the others at the end of the race. With Aaron Hesmer, Jeff Orosz and Nick Fafard, currently 1-2-3 in the Paris High Points standings and American Brian Hollenbeck who won the ECSS race here last fall all in the final it promised to be a cracker and it didn't disappoint. Orosz had the lead coming out of turn two with Hesmer outside him, Fafard tucked down on the inside and Hollenbeck on their heels. Going into turn three Orosz chose to defend the outside line against Hesmer but that left the inside line open and Fafard burst through as he went from third to first coming out of turn four. The remaining three laps were non stop action. Fafard was able to stay just ahead of the other three who staged a race long battle for second place. Unable to get to his favourite inside line, Hesmer had to try to get around the outside of Orosz and try he did at every turn but that left him vulnerable to Hollenbeck on the inside line. So close was the action that several times Hollenbeck moved up to third as they came out of a turn only for Hesmer to repass his as they hit the straights. With no more than a few lengths separating all four riders throughout the race it was too bad that only one could win but that's what racing is all about and in the end Fafard got the checkered flag lap with Orosz, Hesmer and Hollenbeck finishing second, third and fourth respectively. D2 also provided plenty of excitement and it took three attempts to complete the final. Two falls to Corinne Franic put her back on the twenty yard penalty line for the second restart and it was Doug Beaumont who got the early lead and had a comfortable win from Bart Moskala and Mark Priebe. However, it has to be said that luck wasn't on Moskala's as he went through the qualifying rounds unbeaten and had the lead in each of the first two attempts to run the final before they were red flagged when Franic fell. In D3 Michael Small also went unbeaten in the qualifying rounds but he had no trouble completing the sweep with another impressive ride in the final with Sean Trendell, Tim Murray and Peter Fornal following him home. The addition of a veterans class to the program brought Greg Comstock all the way from Wisconsin to take part in it and he made the long trip worth his while by also going through the program unbeaten, including winning the final ahead of John Perry and the Mosquera brothers, Phil and Bob.

Aug 19th (Cancelled Rain Logged Track)

Friday 26th August 2005
On a night when the D2 riders provided some excellent racing and outshone their D1 counterparts as far as entertainment was concerned, it was nonetheless a D1 rider who captured the spotlight as Aaron Hesmer set a new single season high points record for Canadian speedway. The old record of 292 was set last year by Kyle Legault and Hesmer started the night needing just 11 points to break it. He wasted no time in doing so by winning his first three races to move his total to 294. Two of these wins were fairly straightforward with only Nick Fafard providing stern opposition in the other. A good effort by Fafard ended Hesmer's winning streak when they met again in the final qualifying heat and it seemed as if Hesmer's night was going to have an unhappy ending as he blew his motor just before the end of the race. However, that proved not to be the case thanks to Mark Priebe who lent Hesmer his bike for the final. Fafard was first off the line but Hesmer off gate four blasted around the outside to grab the lead out of turn two and held off a strong challenge from Fafard to take the win while Joe Heye caught and passed Gary Hesmer for third. With his win Hesmer broke another barrier and became the first rider to break the 300 point level in a season. Rob Dixon won the Consi from John Perry and Phil Small but apart from the Fafard / Hesmer races there wasn't a lot of close racing in D1. It was a different story in D2. John Bennett gave it a try but pulled out after one race due to the effects of his crash at Wheatley last week. The remaining five riders provided lots of close racing, plenty of passing and several very close finishes as they battled for every point available. Corinne Franic topped the qualifiers while Bart Moskala caught the eye as he bounced off the safety fence several times in the process of winning his last three qualifying heats. In the final Franic was the early leader but she left a small gap on the inside at turn four and Doug Beaumont slipped through to take the lead and hold on for the win from Franic and Chris Houtby who had half a wheel to spare over Moskala as they crossed the line. They certainly set the stage for what looks as if it will be a very closely contested CSRA D2 Championship on Saturday. Michael Small had an easy time of it in D3 going through the program unbeaten for the second meeting in a row while Tom Marriott had his best night for some time and took second place ahead of Ryan Broda and Peter Fornal.

Saturday 3rd September 2005
In the end there was no doubt about the winners of this year's D2 and D3 championships as both swept their opposition aside as they went through the program undefeated but that is where the similarity ended. In D3 Michael Small's win was never in doubt as he cruised to victory and was never really challenged. It was a different story in D2 where it was touch and go whether the eventual winner, Bart Moskala, would even start. With work on getting his bike ready running late, he responded to a phone call that time was running out for him to sign-in for the meeting and rushed to the track without it to get his entry in with less than twenty minutes to spare. He then spent that time on tenterhooks waiting for his bike to arrive. To make things even more awkward for him, all of his equipment was coming with the bike so he couldn't even get suited up until it arrived. He got a break in that his first race wasn't until the fourth heat but even that would not have been enough as his bike was finally delivered just as he was due to go on the track. Fortunately, help was on hand in the form of Michel Lemay who had pulled into the pits shortly before race time, as he lent Bart both his bike and equipment so that he did not have to miss his opening heat. Not surprisingly on and in the borrowed equipment, Bart was slow from the gate but a good burst around the inside of turns two and three moved him to second after the first lap. A lap later he was in the lead and on his way to the title. Being back in his own leathers and on his own bike for the rest of the night didn't much improve his gating but another last to first effort in his next heat was followed by two more wins from the back and this gave him a two point lead over Doug Beaumont as they came to the line for the final. This meant that a second place finish would be enough to take the title but another poor gate put this in doubt as Beaumont grabbed the lead while Moskala was last going into turn three. However, Moskala would not be denied and by the end of the second lap he had powered past Chris Houtby and Phil Lemay to move up to second which would have been enough to give him the title. Not satisfied with that he then caught and passed Beaumont to leave no possible doubt that on the night he was truly the champion. All in all it was quite a performance by a rider in his first season of racing. Considering that he started the season in D3 and missed a month's racing while overseas, he has improved both steadily and rapidly. If he continues to improve at this rate he should have no problem when her moves up to D1. Doug Beaumont fully justified his lead in the High Points standings with his second place finish and is another who can be pleased with his progress this year. Behind him Chris Houtby finished third ahead of Phil Lemay. Corinne Franic's hopes for a shot at the title came to an early end when she fell but she finished strongly and took fifth place away from Tim Murray. In D3 Michael Small was in a class of his own and was an easy winner. No doubt he will be looking forward to his next birthday which will allow him to move up to D2 next season where he will get a bit more competition. Behind him it was a trio of veterans, Tom Marriott, Paul Martin and Graham Wale, chasing second place. They may not be the youngest riders but they all still have lots of the competitive spirit in them and this brought about the only trip to the track by St John staff. Going into turn three Martin tried to come underneath Marriott but there wasn't room to do so and his front wheel caught the drainage channel inside the line and brought him down. Wale was unable to avoid the downed bike and also came off. Martin was able to make the restart on a borrowed bike but off the penalty line couldn't catch Marriott who took second place overall. A small D1 class was included in the program to add spice to the meeting for the fans. In it Aaron Hesmer won the first three races but then Jeff Orosz took over and won the next three including the Main event.

Sunday 4th September 2005
Perfect weather and an excellent race-track set the stage for a fast paced 21-race program that provided ample entertainment for the large crowd as the rider battled one another for a place in the all important main event at the end of the night. There were no major upsets in the early heats and the riders one would expect to be in the running for a place in the final four were all still in the hunt with one round to go. Nick Fafard and Aaron Hesmer were both unbeaten in the first four rounds and had a point in hand over Jeff Orosz who had finished behind Fred Legault in a keenly contested race Although all three were due to meet in the next heat, they had sufficient points that only a last place finish could keep one of them from making the main event. Nonetheless winning it would be critical as the high points scorer in the qualifying rounds would have the advantage of choosing his starting position in the final. Four very fast laps later Fafard had gained the advantage of gate choice but only after a cracking battle with Hesmer as they went side by side for the first two laps before Fafard found enough drive on the outside line to move ahead. Orosz finished third, so all three made it safely through to the final That left only one spot to be decided and three riders still in with a chance of snaring it. Leading them was veteran Fred Legault who turned the clock back with some great racing all night and had a point to spare over Joe Heye and Rob Dixon. As none of the three were to meet one another in the remaining heats, wins were vital for them if they were to make the Main. Heye was first and Lady Luck smiled on him. His chance seemed to be slipping away as he was a couple of lengths behind Michel Lemay with just over two laps to go when the latter's plug lead came off and Heye got the win he needed to keep his hopes alive. A win for Fred Legault in the next race would have settled the matter but Gary Hesmer prevented that by pinning him back in second place and leaving him tied with Heye.That opened the door for Rob Dixon and when he took the final heat he moved into a three-way tie with them and brought about a run-off to decide who would make it through to the final. In this Legault got the early lead but went a little wide coming out of turn two on the final lap and Heye seized the chance to dive inside into turn three.There was contact but neither faltered and it was Heye, with the advantage of the inside position, who squeezed out a last gasp win Fafard chose gate three for the Main but missed the start and Hesmer grabbed the lead with Orosz chasing him hard.Fafard and Orosz had a good scrap for second before Fafard finally got by on the third lap but by then Hesmer was well clear and could not be caught. Four D2 regulars were given the chance to see how they matched up with the D1 riders.Of these Bart Moskala confirmed the promise he showed the day before, when he won the CSRA D2 championship, by finishing ahead of three of this year's D1 regulars with a very creditable 11 points.It will be interesting to watch his progress in 2006.

Sept 9th (Cancelled Rain Logged Track)

May 27th (Cancelled Rain Logged Track)

Friday June 3rd 2005

It was a night of firsts at Paris this week.
The first night of racing this year after last week's rain-off.
The first night of racing for newcomers Ryan Broda, Tom Brown, Krys Chudyk, Peter Fornal and Bart Moskala.
The first race wins for Chudyk and Moskala in their very first races.
The first time racing started with a qualifier to set the field for Div 1 racing.
The first visit to Paris in over two years by Nick Fafard.
And one that we didn't want, the first time that a meeting had to be abandoned before the finals could be run so that the resu lts of the night were based on the qualifying scores.

26 riders signed in and with 13 of them being in Division 1, a qualifier was run to set up a 12 man field for the night. The riders contesting it were the four who have moved up to Div one this year and it was Aaron De Veau who got things going with a storming ride that saw him win it by nearly a quarter of a lap while Shawn Morrison was the rider who had to drop down to Div 2 for the night.

With twelve riders chasing four places in the final, competition was bound to be fierce and that proved to be the case. Even so Aaron Hesmer managed to go through the qualifying rounds unbeaten while Joe Heye, Jeff Orosz and Nick Fafard bagged the other places after dropping a couple of points apiece. With the track in great condition the fans were looking forward to a dynamic final but it wasn't to be. A very fine rain was falling, really little more than a mist, but just enough to make it hard for the riders to see as it gathered on their goggles while they raced.

After receiving a complaint about this from some of the riders, the referee discussed the conditions with them and decided to abandon the the meeting, so fans will have to wait another week to see the four top riders face off at the end of the night.

Rob Dixon started slowly but finished strong to take fifth place overall while Aaron De Veau showed that he is ready to be competitive at this level. On the other hand it wasn't a night to remember for Greg Starcevic. He mistook the white flag for the checkered one in his first race, slowed and dropped from second to last and then hurt his hand when he slid off in a later race.

Not surprisingly Shawn Morrison, in D2 for the night, dominated the action there and was unbeaten although he was not happy with how his bike was running. Behind him D2 regulars Mark Priebe and Corinne Franic had some entertaining battles in what showed promise of being a season long battle.
Newcomer Bart Moskala was a surprise winner in his first race when he defeated last year's discovery Michael Small. But that was the only time Small was beaten and he defeated Moskala handily when they met twice more on the night. Nonetheless a good first outing for Moskala. They would have been joined in the final by sprightly veteran Graham Wale, who had a couple of wins and another newcomer Krys Chudyk who just edged out Greg Sim.

Friday June 10th 2005

The weather gods finally gave us a break this week. Some light rain an hour or so before the start just served to help prepare the track and the heavy thunderstorms in Hamilton and to the west stayed there, so the meeting ran like clockwork. Unfortunately the combination of the hot humid weather and the forecast kept several riders at home so it was a shorter than usual program.

Although, as always, the riders in D1 were impressively fast and exciting to watch, on the night the closest racing was in D2. In it every race was closely contested and there were a couple of tight finishes with Corinne Franic bagging the win in one of them by less than a wheel as they crossed the line. So hats off to Corinne, Doug Beaumont, Tim Murray and Mark Engel on his first visit in a couple of years. They may not yet be the fastest or most skilled riders but they are racers in the truest sense of the word as they proved eachy time they rode and dueled with and passed one another.

At the end of the night it was Corinne who showed that she has made the right decision when she moved up to D2 for this season by winning four of the five races to finish well ahead. A fall by Mark Engel in his final race allowed Doug Beaumont to just edge him out of second place for the night. However, it wasn't all bad news for Mark as the points he earned moved him one ahead of Andy Delimat which means that he is now the highest scoring American rider as far as career points earned in Canada is concerned.

The action in D1 was entertaining with Nick Fafard providing the spectacle when he lifted as he left the gate in one heat and went all the way to the first turn on one wheel before settling down and charging from the back to take second place. Aaron Hesmer just edged out Joe Heye for choice of gate in the final. This time it was Joe Heye who lifted as they left the line and that allowed Hesmer and Fafard to beat him to the first turn and that is how they finished with Aaron Hesmer taking the win for the second week in a row while cousin Gary came in fourth.

D3 was a war of attrition for both bikes and riders. Peter Fornal was done for the night after only a quarter of a lap racing. He hurt his shoulder when he fell and was hit by Krys Chudyk. Two restarts later Chudyk was more fortunate when he fell and Michael Small smartly laid his bike down and both were able to walk away uninjured although damage to Chudyk's bike saw him sidelined for most of the night. Two races later it was Bart Moskala who ran into trouble. He was squeezed into the boards and crashed spectacularly as Michael Small drifted wide. As a result only Small was able to come to the line for the next race. Although Small was the winner on the night Moskala had a good meeting and won the three races he was able to finish.

Friday June 17th 2005

Miserable weather all week finally cleared up in time to allow the meeting to go ahead and end the streak of rain-offs on the Vintage Club Rally night at three years on a row. A good rider turnout provided lots of entertainment for the biggest crowd of the year, although the meeting got off to a slow start with the second heat needing three tries and two on-track visits from the ambulance staff before it was completed.

At the first attempt veteran Graham Wale bit the dust in the middle of the turn and Paul Martin was not able to avoid him and went into the safety fence. In an alarmingly spectacular crash Paul went over it while his bike went through it and landed on top of him. Happily after several minutes treatment from the St John staff he was able to get back to his feet and eventually made it back to the pits with no more than severe bruising. After repairs were made to the fence the restart also came to a quick end when Wale again got into trouble as locked up with another bike and hit the track for the second time. Fortunately he also recovered after treatment but reckoned that was it for him for the night.

So for the second week in a row the D3 class was mainly a case of the survival of the fittest and with engine failures cropping up three heats had only a single finisher. Although Michael Martin-Evans and Peter Fornal got their first wins of the season it was Bart Moskala who dominated the class and was unbeaten on the night.

In Div 2 Mark Priebe caught the eye with a second place finish from the penalty line after breaking the tapes in his first race. But at the end of the night it was Doug Beaumont who came out on top after losing only once to Corinne Franic.

An eleven man field in D1 that included first time American visitor Merle Craven, meant that the competition for a spot in the final would be close, especially as a change in woek shifts allowed Jeff Orosz to ride. After a second place finish in his first heat Joe Heye decided to adjust his chain before his next race. That proved to a major mistake as he didn't have the work done in time and wasn't able to take part in it. Although he beat
Nick Fafard over four pulsating laps in his final heat, the points lost from his missed race were too much to overcome and allowed Craven to join Aaron Hesmer, Orosz and Fafard in the final while rerlegating Heye to the Consi which he won convincingly..

In the final Fafard drove around Orosz as they came out of turn two and made no mistakes to win his first main event of the year. Behind him Orosz got some extra traction out of the fourth turn, lifted and shot out to the boards on the front straight. He was able to regain control but Hesmer took his chance and slipped past him to take second place. Closest finish and best move of the night came in an earlier D1 heat when Phil Small came from third place after the first lap to grab the win when he squeezed inside Aaron De Veau coming out of the final corner and just outran him to the line for a hard earned win, his first of the year.

Friday June 24th 2005

Hot weather all week brought out the biggest crowd of the season and they were treated to some interesting racing in all three divisions. For the second week in a row Nick Fafard won the D1 main event and this week he left no doubt that he was the man in form as he won all five of his races. He had to be in top form to do so as Jeff Orosz and Aaron Hesmer provided strong opposition.

For the second week in a row Joe Heye had his problems. This time it was a carburetor that gave him trouble. Despite this he just managed to edge out Gary Hesmer and Aaron De Veau for a place in the final. This provided four laps of fast close racing with Fafard powering around the outside of the first two turns to grab the lead and keep it for all four laps. Close behind him Orosz and Hesmer had a race long battle for second with Heye right behind them until he slid off on the third lap. To finish the night Fafard treated the crowd to some celebratory wheelies after his victory lap and capped this by overdoing it and going down on the front straight.

Other memories from D1 include Gary Hesmer and Phil Small proving that the best race isn't always the one for the lead when they swapped third place back and forth over the last two laps with Hesmer just having the edge on the line by a tire's width, a four lap battle with Orosz finshing a length ahead of (Aaron) Hesmer as they crossed the line and a great effort by Steve Glasgow to recover from last place after the first lap to catch and pass Phil Mosquera for second on the last lap.

Although D2 was down to three riders after the first heat there was some entertaining action. A determined Corinne Franic took the honors on a night that saw her bumping with veteran Mark Engel on a couple of occasions. Bart Moskala moved up to D2 for the first time but it was a disappointing night for him as muffler problems sidelined him after only one ride.

D3 was battle between a newcomer, Sean Trendelle making his speedway debut and veteran Tom Marriott who was in sprightly form and stayed close until he went down in the final heat. Quite a night for local boy Trendelle who won four of his five starts. Peter Fornal had a heavy fall in his first ride but happily was able to continue and took third place overall on the night.

Friday July 8th 2005

With Dave Havill absent overseas, track preparation was always going to be a concern for this week and late watering resulted in a much heavier track than usual for the opening heats. Although the riders handled it quite well it was a new experience for quite a few of the D2 and D3 riders to get filled in with wet dirt from the riders ahead of them. There will be lots of work needed this week to get bikes and leathers cleaned and ready for next week's race.

Although each division produced a winner with maximum points, pride of place has to go to birthday boy Aaron Hesmer (pic above) who celebrated his 2Oth birthday by picking up 20 points on the night to extend his lead in the race for season high points at Paris. Ironically his toughest race was with his cousin Gary who gave him all he could handle in one of the best races of the season. It quickly became a two man race with Gary fending off every effort by Aaron to overtake him until the third lap when Aaron dove inside him going into turn three only for Gary to cut back and retake the lead coming out of four. Aaron then retook the lead on the final lap to grab a narrow win. Great racing and it was hard to tell who enjoyed it most, the riders or the crowd.

Earlier in the night Aaron De Veau looked as if he might reach his first main event with wins in his first two heats while Nick Fafard was struggling and had to push his bike home for a couple of points. Just as well that he did as bike problems for De Veau cost him points later in the program and Fafard made it to the main event with a two point margin over three other riders. In this Joe Heye made the gate but Hesmer powered through and took the win with Orosz pushing him all the way and Fafard taking third.

In D2 Doug Beaumont adapted best to the race track and came out on top for his second win of the season from Corinne Franic and Tim Murray while in D3 newcomer Craig Trendell continued to impress with a tapes to flag win in the final to give him his second win in two meetings. Michael Small and Graham Wale, back in action after a couple of falls in his last meeting, finished second and third respectively.

Friday July 15th 2005

Despite heavy rain the day before leaving sections of the track covered in water, hard work enabled it to be ready for racing and a smaller than usual field of riders provided some excellent entertainment for the fans with the D1 class leading the way.

Not always the best of gaters, Joe Heye was quick off the line for most of the night, rode well and doubtless was disappointed to finish the night without a win which he richly deserved for his efforts.   Up against Aaron Hesmer and Jeff Orosz in his first heat he grabbed the early lead while Hesmer slipping past Orosz on the first lap and led the chase. He fended off all challenges until the final turn when with the win in sight he lost his chain and coasted home in third place.   His next outing provided an even better race but once again he went from first to third on the final lap.

This time it was Nick Fafard who got the win with a spectacular ride. Back in third place after the first lap, he used the outside line to overtake Orosz and found enough drive there to slowly reel in Heye and finally get around him on the final lap while for the second race in a row Orosz just caught and passed Heye for second as they crossed the line.   Next time out Heye once again had the lead before Fafard used the outside line to get around him but at least this time he did finish in second place.

Going into the final, two riders were still unbeaten on the night.   Fafard had won each of his four heats but Aaron Hesmer was unable to complete repairs to his bike before the riders were called to the line and was excluded from the race in which he would have met Fafard. Fortunately wins in his other three heats easily qualified him for the final.

In this despite being under the weather with flu like symptoms, Hesmer led from start to finish to extend his unbeaten string at Paris to nine races in a row while behind him Fafard's chase ended on the third lap when he went down leaving Orosz to take second ahead of Heye. In the Consi "Big John" Perry got his first win of the season with Phil Small in second after the early leader Marc Gauthier dropped out with a fall. Nevertheless, Gauthier was satisfied with his performance as it was his first outing of the year after suffering a severe hand injury at work just before the start of the season.

D2 action was another chapter in the chase for top spot in the standings between Corinne Franic and Doug Beaumont. There was little between them and Beaumont just got the edge with three wins to Franic's two while in D3 Michael Small was just too fast for his opponents and went unbeaten on the night.

Friday July 22nd 2005

This was one of those nights when things went wrong right from the start. The first sign of things to come was when the riders came to the line for the qualifier to set the field in D1 for the night. The starting gate would not work and for the entire night races had to be started by flags. Worse was to follow as two of three riders in the race pulled up before completing a lap and didn't ride again that night due to a combination of bike problems and concern about the track conditions. A lot of work had been done on the track during the week to improve it by removing the bumps which had developed in recent weeks. Unfortunately there hadn't been enough rain to bind the extra loose dirt created by this work with the track base and the surface was not yet back to its usual condition.

More grading was carried out and the meeting finally got under way half an hour after the scheduled start time. It has to be mentioned that the track appeared to improve as the night progressed and the riders handled it well as there were only three falls all night and in two of them the rider involved was able to keep his bike going, get back on it and finish the race. With most of the time consuming hard work already done, all that is now needed is some solid rain for the track to be back in good condition for next week, so it is worth taking a moment to thank both Dave Havill and Alex Wilson for the many unseen hours they spend working on the track each week and without which racing could not take place.

Aaron Hesmer kept his best bike under wraps in preparation for the Nationals on the following night and spent most of the night on borrowed bikes. Despite this he was in the thick of the action all night although it was the full throttle style of Jeff Orosz that came out on top. Joe Heye was the only rider to beat him during the night but Orosz made no mistake when they met again in the final. He was leading Hesmer when the race was called and restarted after Marc Gauthier went wide and left Heye with nowhere to go but into the fence. Orosz again grabbed the lead on the restart and led from start to finish with Heye taking a well earned second place from Hesmer and Gauthier.

D2 featured another installment of the weekly battle for supremacy between Doug Beaumont and Corinne Franic. In the best of their races they passed and repassed one another around the final two turns with Franic getting the win. In the final she had the lead until she fell on the third lap. Despite having hurt her hand she remounted to finish third behind Beaumont and Bob Mosquera to pick up a point which could well be vital at the end of the season in their race for the High Points award.

Sean Trendell was back in action and had no trouble stretching his winning run in D3 to 12 races as he went unbeaten for the second week in a row. During the night he received some advice from Andy Harris and put this to good use and for the first time was sliding the bike effectively. It will be interesting to watch his progress in the weeks to come. Veteran Graham Wale had a good night and finished in second place.

July 29th (Cancelled Rain Logged Track)

Friday August 5th 2005

All the hard work carried out on the track over the last two weeks produced the best race surface for many weeks and set the stage for an interesting night's racing. The start of the meeting was delayed as the setting sun would have caused problems for the riders but once underway it provided plenty of talking points which can be split into "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly".

"The Good" covers the racing highlights on a night which had its fair share of them including a spectacular move by Joe Heye as he squared off his exit from turn two to blaze past Aaron Hesmer. Unfortunately he undid this good work by falling on the next lap and dropping points that cost him a place in the main event; a classic overtake by Phil Small when he went into the turn wide and cut back to the inside to catch John Perry coming out of the turn, a move that helped him make it to his first D1 main event; a turn two clash which saw both Aaron Hesmer and Joe Heye bumped out and left with nowhere to go but into the fence; Shawn Morrison stalling his motor after a 360 degree pirouette and then restarting to finish the race; Nick Fafard going unbeaten in the qualifying heats before coming a cropper in the final; a good night for Gary Hesmer; Sean Trendell not looking out of place in his outing in Div 2 and Peter Fornal picking up his first win from an opponent in D3.

Honors on the night in D1 went to Aaron Hesmer with Gary Hesmer and Phil Small finishing second and third respectively after Nick Fafard crashed out. In D2 Doug Beaumont was the winner with veteran Mark Engel providing most of the opposition after Corrinne Franic was sidelined, while in D3 Michael Small took the win and would have gone through the night unbeaten but for an engine failure in one race when he was in front.

"The Bad" refers to a series of bike problems which decimated the D3 race program. They started from the very first heat when Tom Marriott couldn't get his bike running. He was able to borrow a bike for that race but after that was sidelined for the night. To make matters worse Aaron De Veau was also supposed to use Tom's bike so that meant that two riders were out for the night. Worse was to follow as John Feeney also only made it to the start for one race and with Greg Sim also having problems, in one heat Graham Wale was the only starter while in another he was the only finisher when Michael Small broke down.

The Ugly" covers a couple of injuries which fortunately don't happen very often at Paris. The first involved Corinne Franic. After Mark Engel looped and came off at the gate, she led the restart but got into a wobble out of turn two and smacked into the fence. Happily, after attention on the track, she was able to walk back to the pits but a mild concussion sidelined for the rest of the night and this allowed Doug Beaumont to move ahead of her in their battle for season high point honors. The other accident happened in the D1 main event. Nick Fafard was chasing after Aaron Hesmer when he caught traction coming out of turn two, lifted and crashed spectacularly. After assistance from the St John staff he also was able to make it back to the pits but with a dislocated shoulder. Not at all phased by this injury he proved that speedway riders are indeed a special breed when it comes to injuries by saying that he would put his shoulder back into place himself and then proceeded to do so!

Friday August 12th 2005

A very disappointing night with only the late arrival of a couple of riders preventing the ultimate embarrassment of the meeting having to be cancelled due to a lack of riders on a night on which the weather was good and the track in the best condition that it has been all year.

Veteran Greg Comstock was on hand all the way from Wisconsin but only eleven of the local riders put in an appearance with several choosing to skip the race and only ride in the Dean Bencsics Memorial meet on the following night. Hopefully those who did so will be back in action next week as without their support it will not be possible to continue to stage races for them.

Making matters worse was that the night started and ended with a couple of accidents to riders. Unfortunately for Comstock he had an awkward fall at the second turn of the opening heat and was sidelined for the night with a minor concussion. Then in the final D3 heat, popular veteran Graham Wale looped at the gate and came off. Fortunately he was not hit by his bike but he did hit the track very hard. Although he was able to get back onto his
his feet after treatment by the St John staff, he needed an ambulance ride to get back to the pits and was in considerable pain.

As a result of Comstock being sidelined, all but one of the D1 heats were reduced to three starters and generally the riders were well spread out. The exception was the Main event which produced a thrilling battle. Jeff Orosz and Aaron Hesmer went shoulder to shoulder for the first half lap before Orosz went too wide trying to power around the outside and Gary Hesmer took over second. For the rest of the race Orosz chased Hesmer and a final burst around the inside of the final turn brought them level as they drifted out to the boards on the final straight. For a moment it looked as if (Gary) Hesmer would run out of room but Orosz left him just enough and Hesmer had perhaps six inches advantage as they flashed across the line. Ahead of them Aaron Hesmer got the win to round off another unbeaten night.

The best racing in the night was in D2 where Doug Beaumont, Mark Priebe, Bart Moskala and Tim Murray kept the crowd entertained with plenty of passing and close racing every time they were on the track. Although Moskala ended the night in style with a good win, his first in D2, over the night he had to settle for third with Doug Beaumont the winner and Mark Priebe second with easily his best performance of the season.

Until his accident it looked as if Wale would come out on top in D3 but Ryan Broda's win in the final heat was enough to move him ahead.

Friday August 13th 2005

John Perry and Shawn Morrison will be pleased with their first venture as speedway promoters under the banner of Speedy Race Promotions. The Dean Bencsics Memorial meet got great support from the riders and, blessed with great weather, drew easily the best crowd of the season at Paris. They certainly got their money's worth from the 41 race program which was replete with thrills, spills and even a chill. Although it took almost four hours to complete the program, the crowd stayed to the end and were rewarded with a perfect ending when the D1 Main Event produced the perfect climax to the night with a exciting race.

However, the most spectacular incident happened early in the program when 15-year-old American Katalin Davis, on her first visit to Paris, got into trouble at the first turn, lost control and smashed through the wood safety fence before coming airborne and clearing the secondary crowd control fence. She traveled so far through the air that she landed only inches away from a spectator's vehicle and the crowd was silent fearing that she had been badly injured. Incredibly, after treatment from the St John staff she was able to get up and walk back to the pits unaided and smiling broadly as she received the thankful applause of the other riders and the fans. Even more remarkably she was able to get back onto the track and only missed the restart of that one race through the rest of the night. Whoever said that women are the weaker sex definitely didn't know Katalin!

There were 13 riders in the D1 class, an unfortunate number for the organisers which meant that most of the races had only three starters. Despite this, there was plenty of excellent racing and the competition to make it through to the main event was very tight. After each rider had completed their four qualifying heats Aaron Hesmer and Nick Fafard topped the scores with 15 points and were safely through as was Brian Hollenbeck. However, the fourth place was still up for grabs as Joe Heye, Jeff Orosz and veteran Fred Legault, in only his second meeting of the season, were all tied on 13 points and had to take part in a run-off to decide who would be in the final. Orosz quickly settled that question by blasting around the outside of the first two turns to take the lead and was well clear of the others at the end of the race.

With Aaron Hesmer, Jeff Orosz and Nick Fafard, currently 1-2-3 in the Paris High Points standings and American Brian Hollenbeck who won the ECSS race here last fall all in the final it promised to be a cracker and it didn't disappoint. Orosz had the lead coming out of turn two with Hesmer outside him, Fafard tucked down on the inside and Hollenbeck on their heels. Going into turn three Orosz chose to defend the outside line against Hesmer but that left the inside line open and Fafard burst through as he went from third to first coming out of turn four. The remaining three laps were non stop action. Fafard was able to stay just ahead of the other three who staged a race long battle for second place. Unable to get to his favourite inside line, Hesmer had to try to get around the outside of Orosz and try he did at every turn but that left him vulnerable to Hollenbeck on the inside line. So close was the action that several times Hollenbeck moved up to third as they came out of a turn only for Hesmer to repass his as they hit the straights. With no more than a few lengths separating all four riders throughout the race it was too bad that only one could win but that's what racing is all about and in the end Fafard got the checkered flag lap with Orosz, Hesmer and Hollenbeck finishing second, third and fourth respectively.

D2 also provided plenty of excitement and it took three attempts to complete the final. Two falls to Corinne Franic put her back on the twenty yard penalty line for the second restart and it was Doug Beaumont who got the early lead and had a comfortable win from Bart Moskala and Mark Priebe. However, it has to be said that luck wasn't on Moskala's as he went through the qualifying rounds unbeaten and had the lead in each of the first two attempts to run the final before they were red flagged when Franic fell.

In D3 Michael Small also went unbeaten in the qualifying rounds but he had no trouble completing the sweep with another impressive ride in the final with Sean Trendell, Tim Murray and Peter Fornal following him home.

The addition of a veterans class to the program brought Greg Comstock all the way from Wisconsin to take part in it and he made the long trip worth his while by also going through the program unbeaten, including winning the final ahead of John Perry and the Mosquera brothers, Phil and Bob.

Aug 19th (Cancelled Rain Logged Track)

Friday 26th August 2005

On a night when the D2 riders provided some excellent racing and outshone their D1 counterparts as far as entertainment was concerned, it was nonetheless a D1 rider who captured the spotlight as Aaron Hesmer set a new single season high points record for Canadian speedway.

The old record of 292 was set last year by Kyle Legault and Hesmer started the night needing just 11 points to break it. He wasted no time in doing so by winning his first three races to move his total to 294. Two of these wins were fairly straightforward with only Nick Fafard providing stern opposition in the other. A good effort by Fafard ended Hesmer's winning streak when they met again in the final qualifying heat and it seemed as if Hesmer's night was going to have an unhappy ending as he blew his motor just before the end of the race. However, that proved not to be the case thanks to Mark Priebe who lent Hesmer his bike for the final. Fafard was first off the line but Hesmer off gate four blasted around the outside to grab the lead out of turn two and held off a strong challenge from Fafard to take the win while Joe Heye caught and passed Gary Hesmer for third. With his win Hesmer broke another barrier and became the first rider to break the 300 point level in a season.

Rob Dixon won the Consi from John Perry and Phil Small but apart from the Fafard / Hesmer races there wasn't a lot of close racing in D1.

It was a different story in D2. John Bennett gave it a try but pulled out after one race due to the effects of his crash at Wheatley last week. The remaining five riders provided lots of close racing, plenty of passing and several very close finishes as they battled for every point available. Corinne Franic topped the qualifiers while Bart Moskala caught the eye as he bounced off the safety fence several times in the process of winning his last three qualifying heats. In the final Franic was the early leader but she left a small gap on the inside at turn four and Doug Beaumont slipped through to take the lead and hold on for the win from Franic and Chris Houtby who had half a wheel to spare over Moskala as they crossed the line. They certainly set the stage for what looks as if it will be a very closely contested CSRA D2 Championship on Saturday.

Michael Small had an easy time of it in D3 going through the program unbeaten for the second meeting in a row while Tom Marriott had his best night for some time and took second place ahead of Ryan Broda and Peter Fornal.

Saturday 3rd September 2005

In the end there was no doubt about the winners of this year's D2 and D3 championships as both swept their opposition aside as they went through the program undefeated but that is where the similarity ended. In D3 Michael Small's win was never in doubt as he cruised to victory and was never really challenged. It was a different story in D2 where it was touch and go whether the eventual winner, Bart Moskala, would even start. With work on getting his bike ready running late, he responded to a phone call that time was running out for him to sign-in for the meeting and rushed to the track without it to get his entry in with less than twenty minutes to spare. He then spent that time on tenterhooks waiting for his bike to arrive. To make things even more awkward for him, all of his equipment was coming with the bike so he couldn't even get suited up until it arrived. He got a break in that his first race wasn't until the fourth heat but even that would not have been enough as his bike was finally delivered just as he was due to go on the track. Fortunately, help was on hand in the form of Michel Lemay who had pulled into the pits shortly before race time, as he lent Bart both his bike and equipment so that he did not have to miss his opening heat.

Not surprisingly on and in the borrowed equipment, Bart was slow from the gate but a good burst around the inside of turns two and three moved him to second after the first lap. A lap later he was in the lead and on his way to the title. Being back in his own leathers and on his own bike for the rest of the night didn't much improve his gating but another last to first effort in his next heat was followed by two more wins from the back and this gave him a two point lead over Doug Beaumont as they came to the line for the final. This meant that a second place finish would be enough to take the title but another poor gate put this in doubt as Beaumont grabbed the lead while Moskala was last going into turn three. However, Moskala would not be denied and by the end of the second lap he had powered past Chris Houtby and Phil Lemay to move up to second which would have been enough to give him the title. Not satisfied with that he then caught and passed Beaumont to leave no possible doubt that on the night he was truly the champion.

All in all it was quite a performance by a rider in his first season of racing. Considering that he started the season in D3 and missed a month's racing while overseas, he has improved both steadily and rapidly. If he continues to improve at this rate he should have no problem when her moves up to D1.

Doug Beaumont fully justified his lead in the High Points standings with his second place finish and is another who can be pleased with his progress this year. Behind him Chris Houtby finished third ahead of Phil Lemay. Corinne Franic's hopes for a shot at the title came to an early end when she fell but she finished strongly and took fifth place away from Tim Murray.

In D3 Michael Small was in a class of his own and was an easy winner. No doubt he will be looking forward to his next birthday which will allow him to move up to D2 next season where he will get a bit more competition. Behind him it was a trio of veterans, Tom Marriott, Paul Martin and Graham Wale, chasing second place. They may not be the youngest riders but they all still have lots of the competitive spirit in them and this brought about the only trip to the track by St John staff. Going into turn three Martin tried to come underneath Marriott but there wasn't room to do so and his front wheel caught the drainage channel inside the line and brought him down. Wale was unable to avoid the downed bike and also came off. Martin was able to make the restart on a borrowed bike but off the penalty line couldn't catch Marriott who took second place overall.

A small D1 class was included in the program to add spice to the meeting for the fans. In it Aaron Hesmer won the first three races but then Jeff Orosz took over and won the next three including the Main event.

Sunday 4th September 2005

Perfect weather and an excellent race-track set the stage for a fast paced 21-race program that provided ample entertainment for the large crowd as the rider battled one another for a place in the all important main event at the end of the night.

There were no major upsets in the early heats and the riders one would expect to be in the running for a place in the final four were all still in the hunt with one round to go. Nick Fafard and Aaron Hesmer were both unbeaten in the first four rounds and had a point in hand over Jeff Orosz who had finished behind Fred Legault in a keenly contested race Although all three were due to meet in the next heat, they had sufficient points that only a last place finish could keep one of them from making the main event.

Nonetheless winning it would be critical as the high points scorer in the qualifying rounds would have the advantage of choosing his starting position in the final. Four very fast laps later Fafard had gained the advantage of gate choice but only after a cracking battle with Hesmer as they went side by side for the first two laps before Fafard found enough drive on the outside line to move ahead. Orosz finished third, so all three made it safely through to the final

That left only one spot to be decided and three riders still in with a chance of snaring it. Leading them was veteran Fred Legault who turned the clock back with some great racing all night and had a point to spare over Joe Heye and Rob Dixon. As none of the three were to meet one another in the remaining heats, wins were vital for them if they were to make the Main. Heye was first and Lady Luck smiled on him. His chance seemed to be slipping away as he was a couple of lengths behind Michel Lemay with just over two laps to go when the latter's plug lead came off and Heye got the win he needed to keep his hopes alive.

A win for Fred Legault in the next race would have settled the matter but Gary Hesmer prevented that by pinning him back in second place and leaving him tied with Heye.That opened the door for Rob Dixon and when he took the final heat he moved into a three-way tie with them and brought about a run-off to decide who would make it through to the final.

In this Legault got the early lead but went a little wide coming out of turn two on the final lap and Heye seized the chance to dive inside into turn three.There was contact but neither faltered and it was Heye, with the advantage of the inside position, who squeezed out a last gasp win Fafard chose gate three for the Main but missed the start and Hesmer grabbed the lead with Orosz chasing him hard.Fafard and Orosz had a good scrap for second before Fafard finally got by on the third lap but by then Hesmer was well clear and could not be caught.

Four D2 regulars were given the chance to see how they matched up with the D1 riders.Of these Bart Moskala confirmed the promise he showed the day before, when he won the CSRA D2 championship, by finishing ahead of three of this year's D1 regulars with a very creditable 11 points.It will be interesting to watch his progress in 2006.

Sept 9th (Cancelled Rain Logged Track)