With hard fought for battles to claim top-10 overall finishes in MX1 and MX2 respectively, Team Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha Motovan.com’s Bobby Kiniry and Richard Grey displayed true grit at Round 2 of the CMRC Motocross Nationals in Kamloops, BC on Sunday, June 9th.
Kiniry recorded sixth overall in MX1 while Grey logged an MX2 seventh overall on the day.
Kiniry, especially, pulled out all the stops to prove he‟s one of the elite riders on the Canadian Nationals circuit and deserving of the handle ‘Iron Bobby K’.
A crash during the first MX 1 moto start saw Kiniry remount dead last; a hopeless and deterring position to find oneself in for many a rider.
Living up to the lyrics of a classic pop song “When you raise the roof with your rock ‘n ‘roll, you’ll get a lot more kicks with a little bit o’ soul,” Kiniri poured on the gas to lay down a catch-up race that saw him rip past three quarters of the field to install himself in 9th place towards the end of the moto.
After tangling with another rider on the last lap, he went down again but was able to get back into the fray quickly enough to lose only two positions and finish 11th.
The start of the second moto went a bit more smoothly for Kiniry, who ploughed through turn one somewhere around 10th place. Determined to salvage the day, the New York native again raised the roof, dug deep for a little bit of soul and chewed up the track, especially the whoops section, where he made great time jumping a few at a time on his nimble YZ450F.
Despite fierce resistance from Teddy Maier, Morgan Burger, Brock Hoyer and Gavin Gracyk, Kiniry (pictured below right) stuck pass after pass on them to grab third place by the time the checkered flag was waved. Combined with his 11th position in moto one, Kiniry was still able to earn a respectable sixth overall on the day.
“I knew I had to get a podium finish in the second moto to make up for my less than great results in the first moto. I had some trouble finding my grove this weekend, but once I got the lines dialled in that suit my style of racing, I was able to see some light at the end of the tunnel,” Kiniry said.
In the MX2 class, Grey put on a great performance in both motos. Having worked on his starts before the event paid dividends for the Ontario native. He nailed third place in both motos behind division heavyweights Brad Nauditt and Austin Politelli in the first moto – Kaven Benoit and Politelli in the second.
Although he had to surrender positions to Benoit and Ingalls in the first moto, Grey handily secured a noteworthy fifth place at the finish line.
The second moto more or less transpired as the first, at least as far as the start went. By the halfway mark Grey had slipped from third place to sixth. While making a move to rejoin the top-five, he tangled with another rider, losing his front braking in the process, which saw him eventually greet the checkered flag in ninth position. Thanks to his fifth in moto one, Grey recorded seventh overall on the day.
“I didn’t quite get the finishes I wanted but I was really happy with my starts this weekend. The first moto was definitely good. The second would have been better if I could have finished at least fifth again. I know I was about two seconds slower than the top guys, so I’ll be working on my speed come next Sunday,” Grey said.
Iain Hayden, Team Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha Motovan.com’s athlete manager and all-round inspirational guy, decided to saddle up for Saturday’s races aboard an injured Shawn Maffenbeier’s YZ250 two-stroke. The former top-10 MX1 and MX2 rider, and reigning Canadian Pro Open National Snowcross champ, took wins in the Vet Master class and runner-ups to Ryan Lockhart in Plus 25. Way the go Iain!
Hats off to the other Yamaha riders who kept the Blue Team in the MX1 top-10, including Morgan Burger (fourth overall), Dylan Kaelin (ninth overall) and Shawn Robinson (10th overall); Jarred Allison (eighth overall) and his brother Parker Allison (10th overall) in the MX2 top-10.
The national tour continues this Sunday, June 16th at Wild Rose MX Park in Calgary, where Kiniry will be defending his 2012 overall win.