Quebec rules!!

On a picture perfect night for speedway racing at Welland, 28 riders from Canada and the US, all stood side by side whilst being introduced to huge crowd. All asking the same question inside, will I do it?This night of the 'Canadian Speedway National Championship' was poised to be a superb display of close and exciting racing. With a large US contingent the atmosphere was electric in the pits and all the riders worked so hard on and off the track adjusting their bikes, riding styles etc...The track was "Len Dillon" perfect! A great job by Len provided a smooth and really fast track for these riders to display their wares. Many riders last night had some great personal highlights despite not winning the night! Mark Priebe rode his first Welland meeting and did very well, "Big" John Perry and Phil Small rode to higher levels than ever experienced at Welland and provided some great close racing! The lap times were very fast and the rear tires were being smoked on this very smooth surface by every rider,Rob Dixon had a great start to the night, winning his first heat and finishing second in his next 2, but unfortunately for him while chasing hard in his rear tire lost grip forcing him outside the racing line and this caused him to finish below his own goal for the night. Some close racing which mainly involved our Canadian boys was witnessed by the large crowd, Drew Kehoe had a superb battle with Phil Small behind the leaders, with Phil holding a tight smooth line that Drew had no choice to sit and wait for his opportunity to go around Phil on the last lap, It was great to see!"Jumping" Jeff Orosz was flying this night and the crowd favorite was always on top of his game with some great passing. John Kehoe pushed his bike to the limit every lap and looked smooth and controlled throughout the night. Aaron Hesmer and John Kehoe had a cracking race with both dueling side by side for 4 laps, with Aaron eventually winning this one on the last bend, they bumped and bounced off each other throughout the race and the crowd was cheering so loud it was hard to hear Wes Pierce over the P.A. system! Great racing and great respectful riding by both guys!The semi final races were run to provide a five man final, but due to the close points race that we had all night, a final postional place run-off was needed to place 2 riders in the final. 3 riders came to the tapes "Jumping" Jeff Orosz, Jeremy Parsons and Adam Mittl. Here's where the fun started! The tapes were touched by Jeff without a doubt, he moved back to the penalty line, but the referee also claimed that Jeremy Parsons did as well, so he had to move back with Jeff under much protest, with Jeremy claiming that Jeff had jumped! (rolling starts are something that we often see, but good referees catch it and penalise the riders)The race began with Adam on the front start line and away they went, Jeff and Jeremy raced and caught Adam on the first corner and then they all went toe to toe, until Jeff powered by to take the lead, this he held to win his final place! Great racing! After the racing, Jeremy rode to the start line and questioned the referee's decision and upon a frustrated departure sprayed the referee and his assistant with dirt which caused a huge roar from the crowd! The final race of the night was ready to go, the one to crown the new 2005 Champion, Aaron Hesmer, John Kehoe, Nick Fafard, Jeff Orosz, and Adam Mittl all lined up at the tapes in preparation, the tapes lifted and Aaron Hesmer flew out and took a good lead until the amazingly fast Nick Fafard, the nights points leader, flew past him coming into turn 3, he kept his bike flat out and flew around Aaron to grab the lead, absolutely amazing power and skill! Waving to the crowd as he completed every lap ahead of Aaron, John, Jeff and Adam, Nick just did what he came to do, WIN! Congratulations to the New Canadian Champion NICK FAFARD for a night of pure magical speedway racing!It was indeed a real pleasure to witness all the riders give 110% last night, the crowd left feeling that they had seen a night of one of the best speedway meetings in Canada, and we thank each and everyone of the riders for their spirit in keeping Canadian Speedway alive!!! Superb job, Congratulations everyone and especially congratulations to the "Flying Frenchman" NICK FAFARD!!!!