This past weekend is one that will be remembered and talked about for years to come for some of the motocross racers from Quesnel.
Despite our Cariboo weather bringing on the heat and followed by thunderstorms, Quesnel racers attended rounds nine and ten in the BCMA motocross races in Prince George.
The P.G. track put all our racers to the test. As one spectator quoted saying, “It sure chewed up the Quesnel riders.”
That did not stop Colton Shepherd however, claiming five out of eight hole shots and didn’t stop Jackson Nickolet from taking home an overall first place trophy in School Boy, followed by Colton Shepherd who gave Jackson a battle to the very finish.
Shepherd held on to first place until his last lap, when he went down allowing Nickolet to pull ahead and take the lead.
It was a fast and furious battle the entire race on Sunday.
This came after Saturday’s race when Shepherd’s bike slid out from under him and sent him flying through the air, crashing hard and finishing him off for the day, but he recuperated in time to put on the challenge of the weekend for Sunday.
Quesnel racer Jordy Davis also performed like never before on Saturday in the Int. MX 3 class, taking a first overall.
Sunday, however, took a turn for Davis when things went terribly wrong over a jump, planting Davis to the ground and leaving him momentarily unconscious on the track.
After being examined at the hospital, Davis was found to have suffered a severe concussion forcing him to take the next several weeks off.
The same went for another Quesnel racer, Jordan Brears.
On Saturday, Brears flipped several times coming down a long hill known as the elevator and suffered a concussion from the accident.
Spencer O Flynn raced in the 7 – 11 age group in the 85cc class on Saturday, also taking a first place overall, followed by Dayne Cutrell taking third.
The Watson family, dad Brian and sons, raced this weekend, with Brian taking home a second place trophy on Saturday in the plus 40 class and a first place in the vet jr. on Sunday. His sons Austin and Haiden also raced, with Austin earning a first and third place finish in the 12 – 16 age group in the 85cc and Haiden finishing fourth overall in Schoolboy, each on Sunday.
Racing came to abrupt end for Jacob Nestel from Quesnel on Sunday while he was racing in the 85cc class 7 – 11 age group. Nestel rounded a corner, went off the track and fell down the bank into a deep water pond. With the bike fully submerged, officials and nearby spectators scrambled to his rescue, pulling Nestel from the pond. Later, volunteers went into the pond, tying a fire hose to the submerged bike so it could be retrieved.
Once the racing was all done I had to ask one of our injured racers, “Does this make you think you may be done with motocross racing?” To my surprise, the answer was “No way.”
Next weekend racers we’ll be off to Kamloops for more BCMA racing on Saturday and to attend the Monster Energy Pro Nationals on Sunday.
–submitted by Gerri Shepherd
