Going into the seventh and final Flat Track Canada National at Humberstone in Port Colborne, ON, September 23, the focus was rightly on the title battle between Tyler Seguin and Dustin Brown – 112 points to 109. Brown needed some luck, but Seguin was in the driver’s seat – place in front of Brown, get the 2024 number one plate.
At the end of the cool and entertaining night, Seguin did more than enough to earn the title aboard the Evans Honda DTX single, taking control over three Open class re-starts to earn the win and the championship. Things were typically busy right behind, with Doug Lawrence pushing his way through the field to net second, having moved to the back of the grid on the first re-start when his fall in turn three caused the Red Flag.
In the Expert DTX class, popular American Justin Jones was in fine form, battling to the front early and then maintaining a margin as Lawrence and Tyler Seguin battled over second – the pair having a disagreement over track lines following an aggressive second qualifying race, won by Seguin. Brandon Seguin worked his way up to net fourth in DTX, while Hunter Bauer returned to the series to battle up to fifth.
Following a Feature victory lap with bike builder Chris Evans on the back of his Honda, Tyler Seguin celebrated with his wife and baby, then headed to the podium to chat with series announcer Todd Vallee.
“First, I need to apologize for any language the fans might have heard when the second red flat came out,” joked the new Champ. “With a three-point lead in the series, I knew it was just best to go in and win. Right from the start of practice, I just felt really good.”
“It worked out great, we had the pace to race for the win – I didn’t want to get mixed up in anything. It’s nerve wracking, frustrating when you have to manage the race and the Championship.”
“This race was the best I have felt all day, and the bike was absolutely perfect. Chris and George (Evans and his father) just did a fantastic job.”
“The title means so much, my whole life revolves around racing. And a big thanks to Parts Canada,” continued Seguin, as Lawrence hugged him at the presentation.
When asked if the machine he used to clinch the Championship would now go on display, Seguin offered that “Chris already has another one ordered! The goal is to come back and do it again.”
Meanwhile, Lawrence suggested that the “first few laps were pretty hectic,” although it wasn’t clear which set of first few laps he was referring to. “Man, it was insane, and it was a really good pace. My bike got a little twisted up in the crash, but we made it back.”
Prior to the initial launch, Lawrence’s Honda was pushed through some trackside mud, and “Fresh” annoyed staff and fellow racers by taking a couple of warm-up laps during the rider intros to try and clean his tires. Then he opted out of the official warm-up lap.
The second red flag occurred when outgoing champ Dave Poullot (Kaw), running near the front in fifth on a surface he doesn’t enjoy, fell in turn two just as Lawrence made a pass for position in a typical racing incident. This led to the final, single file re-start for a seven-lap sprint to the chequered.
“It for sure was a dog fight, everyone pushed up their pace,” commented third place finisher Jones, picked off by Lawrence with a lap to go. “Unfortunately, I lost my brakes on the second lap, so I was just winging it out there!”
“I have to give a huge shout out to MRC Racing,” continued the Expert DTX victor from earlier in the evening program. “These are great bikes to ride, all across the tracks. I’m really looking forward to next year.” Jones then announced that he would do the whole series for Husqvarna in 2024.
Brandon Newman of nearby Batavia, New York wound up third in the series, and confirmed that “we’ve been working at this for a while, and it’s really great to finally be up here at the end of the year.”
“This track is defiantly not my style,” commented potential Champ Dustin Brown after racing the KBR Honda DTX machine in the main event, having opted to park his ‘Framer.’ “It got too rough out there to use the “Framer,” it was really bouncing around when we tried it. When asked if he would return to compete for Bieger and Honda in 2024, Brown said “I don’t really want to ride down in the U.S., they have too many rules down there!”
Expert Open Results – 20 Laps – three starts
1. No. 22 Tyler Seguin Welland, ON. Honda
2. No. 73 Doug Lawrence Hamilton, ON. Honda
3. No. 91x Justin Jones Holly, N.Y. KTM
4. No.19 Brandon Seguin Welland, ON. Honda
5. No. 11 Taia Little Welland, ON. Suzuki
6. No.24 Hunter Bauer Niagara Fall, ON. Yamaha
Expert DTX
1. No. 91x Justin Jones Holly, N.Y. KTM
2. No. 73 Doug Lawrence Hamilton, ON. Honda
3. N. 22 Tyler Seguin Welland, ON. Honda
4. No. 19 Brandon Seguin Welland, ON. Honda
5. No. 24 Hunter Bauer Niagara Falls, ON. Yamaha
6. No. 11 Taia Little Welland, ON. Suzuki
- From Colin Fraser
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