www.iratherberacing.com GP 125 John Dempsey

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Friday’s practice day had the 125s taking to the track at 12:45pm, allowing the riders to take their time in the morning to prepare their bikes. John Dempsey, the current points leader, and Matt Cooper, third in points, had taken advantage of three Mosport track days at the beginning of the week to hone their skills on the 3.9 km track; Cooper set the pace by topping that practice with a 1:35.007, followed by John Hjelm of Colorado with a 1:35.256, and Dempsey rounding out the top three with a 1:36.040. Alex Welsh, who was second in points before this weekend, would post a top time of 1:38.664 with the TZ for that session.

The afternoon practice session took place at the end of the day, and would have Hjelm clocking the fastest time with a 1:35.070, followed by Dempsey with 1:35.534, and Cooper with a 1:35.553. Mark White and Joe Melchionda would finish out the top 5 for that session.

Saturday: Saturday’s morning practice saw Dempsey, Cooper and Hjelm once again set the pace; Cooper lead the session by dropping a second off his fast time from the previous day, turning a 1:34.320. Dempsey suffered a cracked exhaust pipe and pulled off in corner three, yet still managed to stay put in second with a 1:35.142. Hjelm posted a 1:35.592. John-Ross MacRae of Calgary went from a 1:42.007 on Friday, to 1:39.802 on Saturday morning.

Saturday would see the much anticipated arrival to the Can-Am Challenge series of the 250F powered four stroke of Jean Francois Trudel; his labour of love would have Mark Rabo as its pilot, a rider making his return to racing after a 2 year absence. Rabo would post a time of 1:42.756 in an effort to get the 4 stroke dialed in.

Angela Hiba, still suffering from a broken collarbone sustained in the first round, mounted her 125 this weekend only to face more disaster by losing control of her Honda as she was entering the track to practice with another class; she reportedly got tangled with the bike, and her foot was caught between the swing arm and wheel, causing serious damage to her ankle and foot. The Can-Am sends their best wishes to Angela, and hopes for a speedy recovery.

Saturday qualifying would have 12 bikes out on the track; the top riders would drop yet another second off their times with Cooper grabbing the pole position with a 1:33.123. Hjelm, Dempsey and Welsh joined him on the front row with 1:33.838, 1:33.841 and 1:35.420. Row 2: Mark White 1:36.754, Joe Melchionda 1:36.897, John-Ross MacRae 1:39.690. Row 3: Mark Rabo 1:42.099, Dane Walther 1:43.869, Don Murfin 1:45.310, Jim Bergey 1:46.498. Row 4: Craig Johnston 1:48.182.

Sunday: Sunday morning had the riders looking to the skies, the possibility of getting the rain tires out increasing as the practice session neared its time. A dry front straight misled everyone into thinking the rest of the track was in the same condition, but in true Mosport fashion, this was not to be the case. Within two laps, there were reports from officials that corners four, five and six were indeed starting to get drizzled on. With all riders on slicks, the Can-Am organizer’s decision was made to red flag the session to avoid the loss of any riders from the final grid. All riders would like to have gotten their laps in, but most likely none so much as Welsh, who had finally gotten hold of an Infinity Honda RS125, but had to concede to the red flag and hope that the bike would be tuned and ready for the final.

Heavy rain continued to plague the day and looked as if it might continue through to the end of the 125 final, scheduled as the last race of the day. However, the precipitation did move out of the vicinity of the track, and slowly but surely, the track dried out despite the heavy humidity. Infinity GP Racing graciously sponsored the filming of this Round Two event, so as the cameras took position, so did the 125s onto their grid positions, however, much later in the day then expected.

Cooper, sitting in pole position, had problems getting his RS125 off the line, and was shuffled back into the pack going in corner one. Dempsey, Hjelm and Welsh all launched cleanly, and the rest of the field followed suit. Cooper made quick work of getting back up front by the time the front of the field got to Moss’s Corner; the first lap had Hjelm, Dempsey and Cooper crossing the line in first, second and third. Dempsey would lead though laps two to five, but this is not to say that it was easy work; in true 125 action Dempsey, Hjelm and Cooper were glued together throughout those laps, creating a commentating frenzy between announcers Pat Gonsalves, Frank Woods and Eric Tryko. Hjelm and Cooper fought tooth and nail for second place through laps 2 and 5, with both riders finally getting by Dempsey through corners two and three. Lap 6 had Hjelm up in front, Cooper charging hard right behind him, Dempsey bringing up the rear of this freight train of furious two strokes gunning for first place. In the third lap, Welsh had ridden off the race track to discover a broken chain.

Melchionda held steady in fourth, followed by a group of riders not far behind: White, MacRae, Rabo, Bergey, Walther and Murfin; Craig Johnston rounded out the field.

Lap 7 had Cooper, make a pass on the veteran rider Hjelm and make it stick for first place. The commentating was probably the most excited and animated for any race ran that weekend, the speakers practically buzzing right off their poles.

Hjelm would return the favour to Cooper by passing him on the back straight, giving Dempsey, still very much in a position to jump into the fray between the two riders in front of him, a show to watch. Not only was the race amazing to watch with this group of three, but Cooper, in attempting to lead Hjelm on lap 8, lost his front end going into Moss’s 5a corner, burying himself and his bike into the hay bales. Reports have it that the fans in Moss’s were on their feet, at the fence, yelling their appreciation for a race well run. Hjelm finished off the remaining two laps in front with Dempsey in a safe second place behind him, leading the championship; Melchionda remained steadfast in his newly acquired third place.

Dempsey and Cooper will be looking to race together this weekend July 22-23 at Shannonville Motorsport park for rounds 3 and 4 of the Can-Am Challenge Series with Cooper looking to take a bite out of Dempsey lead.

Results

Current Points after round 2 of 6 rounds
Dempsey 94, Melchionda 64, White 55, MacRae 54, Hjelm 53, Walther 44, Welsh 43, Cooper 41, Johnston 38, Harrington 32, Bulmann 29, Rabo 27, Bergey 25, Murfin 21, MacPhail 17.

More info and pictures www.canamchallengeseries.com
Race results www.mylaps.com

The Can-Am Challenge Series would like to thank Infinity GP Racing, RACE Superseries, Diablo Energy Drink, Flair Photo, High-Side Health Services, Hjelm Motorsports, and Bickle Racing.

2005 Season: Round 1 - Round 2 - Round 3 & 4 - Round 5 - Round 6 Final

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