A solid third overall on the strength of 3-3 motos for Team Rockstar Energy/OTSFF/Yamaha/Motovan.com’s Bobby Kiniry at Castrol Raceway on Sunday, saw him move up a notch in the MX1 points to second place as the series wrapped up its western leg in Edmonton.
In what proved to be another tough day of MX1 racing, Kiniry knew top-five starts were more critical than ever on the smooth hardpack, and super fast Castrol Raceway track. With that in mind he had both starts dialled in, which made his life a lot easier running in the top-five and race for podium finishes.
Teddy Maier, who had recorded the fastest lap time in practice, grabbed the first moto holeshot followed into turn one by his teammate Brett Metcalfe, Kiniry, Tyler Medaglia and Gavin Gracyk.
While Maier, who won the moto, and Metcalfe who finished second, ran their own race, behind them all-out battles were fought for the remaining top-five positions.
A bobble by Kiniry saw him lose a number of positions some five laps into the race, but he had no problem to reclaim lost ground in the second half of the moto. After some tight racing with Gracyk, Kiniry went after T. Medaglia, who made it clear he wasn’t going to give away any points.
A dogfight between the two saw Medaglia keep Kiniry behind him until the second last lap, when a little extra burst of power from Kiniry’s YZ450F put him back into third just before the checkered flag was waved.
The second moto holeshot was nailed by Jeremy Medaglia. He took Maier, Kiniry, Tyler Medaglia, Ross Johnson and the rest of the freight train in tow through turn one and stayed in control of the moto well into the second half. But relentless pressure from his main pursuers, which included Metcalfe, Maier, and Kiniry, saw J. Medaglia lose position up to fourth place, where he finished.
Metcalfe was unable to break free of Maier and Kiniry and a take-no-prisoners war for the lead ensued until the checkered flag signaled the end of the race.
Although Metcalfe won the moto, and with it the overall, thanks to his second place in moto one, Maier and Kiniry recorded almost identical lap times as they followed him across the finish line in second and third respectively.
“The track was like a highway today so everybody just pinned it and raced for all they were worth. All in all it was a good day for me by staying consistent and grabbing enough points to move into second place. This is definitely going to get interesting when the series continues in the east,” Kiniry said.
Kiniry’s MX2 teammate, Richard Grey, despite dealing with a nasal infection, finished his usual top-10. On the strength of 7-8 motos, which were actually an improvement over the previous round’s 9-9 moto results, the upand-comer nailed down eight overall on the day.
The first moto start, which was claimed by Kaven Benoit, saw Grey enter turn one around sixth place. He basically held on to that position for most of the moto, eventually taking the checkered flag in seventh.
The second moto proved to be more of the same for Grey. Another top-10 start ensured that he would finish in the points, but he was unable to break into the top-five. He again held his own, however, crossing the finish line in eighth place.
Grey’s position in the current points ranking remains at seventh place, well within reach of moving towards a top-five by the end of the series.
“It was a bit harder out there for me today because of problems breathing. My intention was to get a good starts in both motos and defend my position rather than go on the offensive and overexert myself and then start fading,” Grey said.
| MX1 Points After 4 of 9 Rounds | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Brett Metcalfe (Kaw) | 191 |
| 2. | Bobby Kiniry (Yam) | 147 |
| 3. | Tyler Medaglia (KTM) | 143 |
| 4. | Teddy Maier (Kaw) | 139 |
| 5. | Jeremy Medaglia (Yam) | 122 |
| 6. | Morgan Burger (Yam) | 121 |
| 7. | Gavin Gracyk (KTM) | 108 |
| 8. | Brock Hoyer (Kaw) | 98 |
| 9. | Ross Johnson (Hon) | 75 |
| 10. | Dylan Kaelin (Hon) | 61 |
| MX2 Points After 4 of 9 Rounds | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Austin Politelli (Kaw) | 187 |
| 2. | Kaven Benoit (KTM) | 154 |
| 3. | Brad Nauditt (Hon) | 151 |
| 4. | Joshua Clark (Kaw) | 140 |
| 5. | Topher Ingalls (Hon) | 128 |
| 6. | Jared Allison (Yam) | 112 |
| 7. | Richard Grey (Yam) | 108 |
| 8. | Kyle Swanson (Hon) | 96 |
| 9. | Blake Savage (Hon) | 91 |
| 10. | Nathan Bles (Hon) | 88 |
The CMRC Motocross Nationals take a three-week hiatus and will resume for Round 5 at Gopher Dunes in Courtland, Ontario, on Sunday, July 14th.