Story by Frank Wood- Canadian dirt track champion Donald Taylor of Port Colbourne, ON, dominated the opening round of the Canadian Motorcycle Association Dirt Track National Championships held at Niagara Raceway in Welland on June 2.
“It was awsome!” the seven-time National Champion beamed after flawless performances in both the 450 Expert and Open Expert classes. “The track was in perfect shape and the program ran without a hitch. The Welland [County Riders] club did a great job. They make me look forward to racing there next Saturday.”
Taylor rode his personal bike, a stock-framed Honda CRF 450 in the Expert 450 division. “When I looked back after the checkered flag I couldn’t see anyone,” he said, illustrating his margin of victory. Mike Labelle, also Honda mounted, finished in second.
In the Open Expert class, Taylor was astride the Sehl Racing Yamaha YZF450 framer and in similar style, overwhelmed the opposition. “It was pretty much the same thing,” Taylor confirmed. “As I was going into one on the cool-down lap, [Chris] Evans was coming out of four.”
The wins did not come as easy as it might seem. Taylor had to fight his way to the front. “I didn’t get any really bad starts but I didn’t get any holeshots either,” he said. “The track was great and you could run it in anywhere. In the open final, [John] Parker got the holeshot with Doug [Lawrence] right with him. I ran it around the outside of Parker in one and two and then stuffed it on the inside of Lawrence going into three, and that was pretty much it.”
Taylor’s victories give him the points lead towards what he hopes will be his eighth Canadian Expert National Championship.
Donald Taylor is proud to represent Deeley Harley-Davidson along with Parts Canada and Sehl Racing.
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