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Saturday's weather would bring some relief to the riders, as the problematic winds had died overnight, the sun was shining, and any signs of rain were nonexistent. Track conditions were favorable as the G.P. bikes took to the track for the morning's first combined session. Welsh, riding on the Infinity TSR chassied RS125, scorched the track with a very quick 1:51.399, leading 125s and 250s alike by four seconds. John Dempsey, the series' 2005 125 champion, followed with 1:55.032, and Ferris put in a 1:55.100 to be third in that first morning session. Andre Kipin would lead that session's 250s with a 1:56.016, Alain Brault came next with 1:56.041, then Colley with 1:56.471.

The morning's practice times got progressively better for everyone, however, Welsh, on the 250, would again challenge his elders by turning a 1:51.725, and claim the quickest times in both classes, leaving his competition to do some homework before qualifying.

Qualifying sessions were run separately at fifteen minutes each; 16 riders were registered for the 125s, however two riders were unable to make it on track due to mechanicals: 14 year old Brett McCormick, who was also campaigning a 600 this weekend, had his TZ suffer a seizure during practice, while Tim Harrington was forced to rebuild his motor after discovering an internal water leak.

125 G.P. QUALIFYING RESULTS

In the 250 qualifier, the usual group of entrants was left to chase down a flying Welsh, who took away pole position with a 1:50.206. Colley would next join Welsh on the first row, as well as Brault and Kipin.

250 G.P. QUALIFYING RESULTS

Sunday morning practice saw John Ross MacRae lose traction at the hairpin; MacRae went to the hospital with a broken wrist, and was unable to join the others for the125 final in the afternoon.

Sunday's final 125 race had Welsh setting a quick pace from the get-go; Dempsey, Ferris, Cooper, White and Harrington headed to the hairpin in close company behind Welsh, and the drama started early as Dempsey, with nothing to lose in this final, while challenging for the lead early tucked the front end of his RS125, leaving the rest of the front running group to continue without him. Dempsey rejoined the race, despite losing most of his upper fairing on the right side, as well as a large piece of fiberglass from the tail section a broken clutch lever, his foot peg bent down on the right hand side and the stinger barely holding on.

Welsh led the first two laps but was forced to retire early, as he pulled out of the race due to a mechanical. Young Californian Ryan Ferris took full advantage of Welsh's bad luck, taking the lead and running with it. Cooper followed Ferris, finding himself in a comfortable second place. Harrington focused on chasing Cooper down, as White pursued the American.

A fantastic battle for fifth proved to be the race to watch in this final; Richard Irwin, piloting the four stroke Yamaha, had to deal with Rick Bulmann and youngster Brett McCormick hot on his heels.

Harrington's RS125, unhappy with its rider's movements on the bike, threw him down at Allen's in the fifth lap, clearing the way for White to move up to third. Harrington rejoined the race behind the trio going for fifth, but was unable to get by them for the remainder of the race. Joe Melchionda was unable to make peace with Shannonville this weekend, and rode solitarily in eighth. Newcomer to the series Mike Duffy hung onto veteran rider Don Murfin's tail section, the pair vying for ninth position. Dempsey with his ailing machine crossed next, then Don MacPhail and Jessica Soodeen brought up the end of the field.

125 G.P. FINAL RESULTS

The 250 final had all ten bikes starting on the grid; in a repeat of Michele Danese's performance at the first round, Welsh took the same bike to the front of the pack after a DNF in the 125 final. Brault put in a valiant effort to keep up with the teenager, maintaining a safe second behind the youngster. The trio of Kipin, Crook and Colley scrapped it out for third, these three riders in close contact with each other throughout the race. Gord MacKay resigned himself to a lonely sixth, while Mark Jaeckle and Jerry Sadler had their own race for seventh. Laird Shingleton and Paul Rostic capped off the rest of the field. Welsh remained untouchable and dominated the final, ticking off 6 laps with consistent 1:50s. He was signaled to back off slightly in the final laps, the gap he had opened between himself and Brault allowing him to relax and bring the 250 safely into first. Alex's times on the 250 his third time riding the Infinity sponsored machine were faster then the Amateur 600 times during their race. Way to go Alex!! Wait till next year.

250 G.P. FINAL RESULTS

The Can-Am Challenge Series had a great season; John Dempsey of Brampton, Ontario took home the #1 plate for the 125 class, and John Crook of Erin, Ontario claimed the series' first 250cc championship. This season's smaller grids proved that sometimes less is more, and the series was delighted to have young riders in their midst, such as Welsh, MacRae, McCormick, Roberts and Ferris. Cooper and White with podium finishes in the last round secured the second and third places in the Championship. Nick Colley staying ahead of Gord MacKay to round out the top three in the 250 championship.

A Special thank you to Frank Pate of Infinity GP Racing for not only his sponsorship of the series, for giving these young stars of tomorrow a chance to Race and gain experience at many different tracks and exposing them to the racing communities around North America. For more information on these future stars please visit www.adoptakidracer.com.

2005 Championship Points

We would like to thank our sponsors: Infinity G.P. Racing, Diablo Energy Drink, 0nbike.tv, Hjelm Motorsports, Highside Healthcare, R.A.C.E., Flair Photo, Bickle Racing, boB, and Chris Chapelle for all his help.

Tammy Dempsey and Michelle Ractliffe
Can-Am Challenge Series.