The first-ever Shannonville Flat Track Canada National took place at the multi-purpose facility owned by the long-running Bayside Trail Blazers Motorcycle Club out of Belleville.
A clay and crushed stone mixed surface got plenty of rain prior to the event and was widely praised by most competitors. With no lighting, this event needed to be completed by late afternoon, and the schedule ran with few glitches or incidents.
Early in the Expert Open Feature, Hunter Bauer (Hon) picked up where he left off from the DTX class chase, leading from Tyler Seguin (Hon), David Pouliot (Kaw), Brodie Buchan (Hon), Gabriel Bousvert (Kaw), Cody Marentette (Hon) and previous round victor Dustin Brown on the number one plated Kurt Bieger Racing Honda framer. Seguin was soon pressuring Bauer for the lead of the 20 lap Main.
However, attention was focused on slow starting ace Brown, trying the low line while Bauer took most of the leaders to the high side of the wide, no-groove track. At the end of lap five, Brown ducked under Bauer and Seguin as the trio headed onto the front straight three abreast.
Brown’s efforts didn’t initially work, and he was back again in third, as Bauer continued to lead, and move lower down on the track. Eventually Brown used an aggressive attack on Turns One and Two to make a pass on Seguin stick and start seriously pressuring Bauer. Seguin, meanwhile, was under pressure from Pouliot over third.
Meanwhile, the steady progress of second Heat race winner Buchan ended with a crazy sideways moment inches from the wall and fence on the front straight, when he was clipped by one of the other leaders. Buchan’s Honda framer was damaged, and the third-in-points racer coasted into the paddock via the back straight and turn three run-off, out for the day.
Opening Feature Heat victor Brown soon hunted down Bauer, and once in the lead built a useable margin. Brown won from the solid effort of top-DTXer Bauer, with Pouliot making his way to a good third.
With one round left at the Hiawatha Horse Park in Sarnia next Saturday, October 2, Brown has now pulled well clear atop the standings. Second in points heading into Belleville, Sehl Yamaha’s Don Taylor missed the event while recovering from injuries suffered in M/X action.
Third in 2021 Feature points formerly belonged to the hard luck Buchan, so Tyler Seguin’s fourth moves him into second overall in the standings. Unofficially, Brown leads the points with 82 to the 68 total of Seguin, meaning the reigning number one should be able to play it safe in Sarnia and take another crown.
In the mid-schedule Expert DTX 12 lapper for stock-framed M/Xers, Bauer had the hammer down, with a solid lead by mid-race. Seguin and Pouliot staged a great fight for second, Seguin just getting the edge while the consistent Parker Kawasaki of Pouliot nailed down third.
DTX points leader Taylor didn’t attend Belleville, so the second result for Seguin moved him into the contention for the DTX Title, close behind new standings leader Brown.
- By Colin Fraser
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