Quesnel’s Colton Shepherd #82, Jackson Nickolet #671 and Dayne Cutrell #55 left behind the smokey Cariboo and headed up to race in the wind and rain in Terrace to start the second half of the motocross season.
For Shepherd it was his first time racing in Terrace and said it’s the fastest track so far he’s raced on and loved the mix of sand and dirt which made for good racing.
By Saturday afternoon the rain and wind let up a bit, over head clouds kept it cool which made Sunday a perfect day for racing as well.
Red Bull KTM racer’s of Terrace said that no one had a chance to beat their bikes but both Quesnel’s Jackson Nickolet racing for Full Throttle Motor Sports and Colton Shepherd on his Suzuki proved them wrong in the Intermediate/Pro classes.
Nickolet also had a fast and furious race giving the crowd a race to remember against a Prince George racer in the School Boy class, battling back and forth until taking the lead in the final lap for the win.
Nickolet brought home the hardware both days in his classes.
The Quesnel boys put everyone else in their place in the last race in Intermediate on Sunday afternoon when it came down to the two Quesnel boys, Jackson Nickolet verses Colton Shepherd battling it out for first place.
Shepherd came out of the starting gates taking the hole shot, with Nickolet right on his heels.
Shepherd held onto the first lap in first place and coming around a wide turn with Nickolet going for a pass with neither one backing off.
“This was my race” Shepherd said, “I’m not going to back down.”
Both racer’s in fifth gear, wide open, as fast as those bikes could go, speeds that no one has seen them do before putting everyone on the edge of the fence to see if Shepherd could pull it off.
The race was now a battle between the two Quesnel racers.
As they drifted around the corner coming into the second lap, battling through ferocious ruts on the ragged edge, the bikes made contact sending Shepherd flying out of control, throwing his body at high speed across the track until he came to a stop against a bank.
Once checked over by first aid and at the emergency department in Terrace, he only suffered from a minor concussion and bad bruising.
Full safety gear played a big part in allowing him to walk away.
Stealing to win from Shepherd by default was Nickolet.
Second year racer Dayne Cutrell moving up from his 85cc to racing on his 100cc Kawasaki also racing for Full Throttle proved to be an upcoming competitor as he made his way through the pack for the Quesnel team.
The next sanctioned event was held in Smither’s July 26 – 27 followed by Arena Cross being hosted in Prince George during the fall fair Aug. 8 – 9, then races in Williams Lake, Chetwynd and Prince George in August as well.
–Submitted by Gerri Shepherd.
