With podium finishes in MX1 and MX2, it was a banner weekend for Team Rockstar Energy Drink OTSFF Yamaha at Round 5 of the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals, which were held at Gopher Dunes in Courtland, ON this past Saturday.
Under a hot, scorching sun and temperatures that reached 28ºC, Bobby Kiniry, Kyle Chisholm, and Shawn Maffenbeier rose to the occasion in the deep sands of Gopher Dunes – hailed as the toughest track in Canada – to nail down four podium finishes over both classes.
Although Kiniry pinned the first MX1 moto holeshot and one podium finish, and would leave Courtland with a noteworthy third overall on the day, it was former MX2 East Champion Chisholm’s turn to shine with second overall, which he recorded thanks to two podium finishes.
In MX2 action, Shawn Maffenbeier, currently holding down third in the points chase, claimed fourth overall on the day, which also came about thanks to a finish on the box.
Shortly after Kiniry nailed the first MX1 moto holeshot, he lost the lead to Mike Alessi and four laps later he vacated second place to Colton Facciotti. Kiniry looked solid in third place for the next eight laps but at that point Chisholm, who had started around tenth place, came calling to stick a pass on him.
The teammates played a game of cat and mouse for the remaining laps, but Kiniry, despite his best intentions, was unable to retake third place, finishing in Chisholm’s rear wheel and settling for fourth.
In the closing laps, however, Alessi, who had led most of the moto, ran out of gas and subsequently handed the win to Facciotti, with Chisholm inheriting second and Kiniry taking over third.
The second moto start saw both Kiniry and Chisholm snare top five positions on their potent YZ450 four-strokes, but only Chisholm would finish the moto on the podium.
In a bid to stick a pass on second place running Facciotti, Kiniry went down for a soil sample and by the time he resumed the race found himself in 14th place.
Undaunted, the New Yorker regrouped to knife his way back into the top ten, finishing the moto in seventh place, which still sufficed for third overall on the day.
“I’m happy with my overall results today, but seventh in the second moto proved to be a bit of a disappointment. The good news is Kyle and I grabbed second and third overall for the team and some valuable championship points,” Kiniry said.
Meanwhile, Chisholm, who had recorded the second fastest qualifying time, stayed in the upfront mix for the entire second moto. He held down third place, which he had taken over from Kiniry, to the checkered despite some challenges from an unrelenting Josh Hill.
Chisholm had more than one reason to celebrate at Gopher Dunes. In addition to scoring his first top three finishes of the season, the Florida native moved up two positions in the points chase from seventh place to fifth.
“I’m happy to be finally on the podium. My bike ran awesome. I felt in the groove,” Chisholm said.
With fourth overall on the strength of 4-3 motos in MX2, Shawn Maffenbeier continued to run with the title contenders at Gopher Dunes. The Swift Current, Saskatchewan native snared a top ten start in the first moto, working his way into fourth place by the time the checkered flag was waved.
In the second moto, Maffenbeier piloted his YZ250F into a sixth place start, which he parlayed into a third place podium finish by the time the race ended.
“Gopher Dunes is always a big challenge for rider and machine and finishing as high in the points as possible was my goal. Being able to depend on my YZ250 to get me through the motos I was able to achieve that today,” Maffenbeier said.
The 2014 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals continue on Sunday, July 20th at Sand De Lee in Richmond, ON.
Points Standings after 5 of 10 rounds
MX1
1. Colton Facciotti (Honda) 206
2. Mike Alessi (Suz) 178
3. Tyler Medaglia (KTM) 157
4. Teddy Maier (Kaw) 150
5. Kyle Chisholm (Yam) 147
6. Josh Hill (Kaw) 146
7. Bobby Kiniry (Yam) 140
8. Morgan Burger (Yam) 96
9. Dylan Kaelin (Yam) 94
10. David Gassin (Yam) 68
MX2
1. Kaven Benoit (KTM) 174
2. Vince Friese (Honda) 166
3. Shawn Maffenbeier (Yam) 159
4. Jesse Wentland (KTM) 153
5. Topher Ingalls (Honda) 130
6. Austin Politelli (Kaw) 125
7. Jeremy Medaglia (Kaw) 118
8. Seth Rarick (KTM) 97
9. Dylan Schmoke (KTM) 86
10. Dylan Wright (Yam) 78