Canadian Speedway
Canadian Speedway: Mike Hammond makes debut.
By Admin
Jun 16, 2008, 20:17

Sunday June 1st 2008, was poised to be a great afternoon of racing at the CKPC Paris Speedway event.

Under cloudy skies, the event began with a good field of riders. We welcomed Mark Engel from Michigan for the first time in 2008, as well as, a new rider Mike Hamond joining in the fun!

Our Division one rider list was filled with Aaron "Ace" DeVeau, Joe Heye, Fred "Hotdog" Legault, Terry Rideout and Chris Hesmer. These guys put on a fabulous show from start to finish. Joe Heye began the day with a newly built engine and a newly surfaced track. He came out of the gate like a bullet and was caught out in one heat race, when he crashed into the boards on corner 4, removing the board in the process. After a few minutes to get his breath back and a repair to the board by Dave Havill, he was able to take off again, only to slide out twice and get very frustrated! Terry Rideout once again demonstrated why he will be a contender for some high things in Division 1 this year. He was really composed and gave the guys a run for their money! Chris Hesmer also had a few problems with the track surface and slid out in one heat. He managed to win a heat in flying glory and got back into his groove. Aaron DeVeau sadly pulled out due to mechanical problems, but was showing some solid rides. Fred Legault was having a good day until the final race of the day. The final race was poised to be a cracker, Fred Legault, Chris Hesmer, Terry Rideout and Joe Heye all lined up at the tapes. Roger Stevens gave the all clear and referee John Franic let them go, but Fred looped hard at the line and was unable to hold it and landed hard just yards from the start line. Fred was up and walked back in the pits, but twisted his back and removed himself from the race. This left Terry Rideout to take a good lead over Joe Heye and Chris Hesmer in the restart. Joe Heye raced away from Chris Hesmer and went on a hunt for Terry Rideout. Sadly for Terry Rideout after leading for 3 laps, Joe Heye grabbed an open spot and dove under Terry Rideout to take the checkered flag. Superb racing by all!

The Division 2 guys, Graham "Pirate" Wale, Mark Engel, David Hope, Mike Hamond, Tim Murray and Allan Chisholm put on a show of their own!

The first heat of the day was marred with a nasty looking crash that left Allan Chisholm lying on the track. Entering the first bend, he eased off as they bunched up and Allan could do nothing but hit the back wheel of Graham Wale, causing him to high-side over the bike and he landed hard, and suffered the nightmare speedway injury!

Graham Wale went on to win the re-run well.

Tim Murray spent the day gating like he was on a rocket, he out gated everyone in every heat and had some great races with both Graham Wale and new rider Mike Hamond. These heats were worth the entry fee alone!!!

David Hope again was having a blast, and enjoyed the track time getting used to his new bike!

The final race was a great race with Mike Hamond taking the lead off Tim Murray after Tim went wide on turn 2, Mike led the race for 3-1/2 laps holding back a diving Tim, but under this pressure, Mike left a gap and Tim's experience led him through to take a well-deserved win! Brilliant race!

Matthew Sehl, Braden Vallee and Mike Fisher were on hand to race hard all day. These junior speedway guys did a great job all day, with Matt and Braden fighting for every inch of track available between each other. With a final race that left us all happy with Matt and Braden battling away. It was a great race with Matt pulling ahead on the final lap to enjoy his checkered flag lap of honor!