Aaron Hesmer is Canadian National speedway champion.
Welland's logo of 'Thrills - Chills - Spills' were perfectly aligned with the stars this night! A great night of speedway racing was presented to a very large enthusiastic crowd, giving them lots of things to discuss on the way home! With a good solid field of 20 riders ranging from California, US to St, Cuthbert, Quebec, the cast was set for the night.
Mark Engel - Rob Dixon - Gary Hesmer - Chris Hesmer - Aaron Hesmer - John Bennett - Terry Rideout - Allan Chisholm - Nick Fafard - Fred Legault - Shawn McConnell - Josh Carr - Mike Buman - Casey Donholt - Katalin Davis - Tim Murray - John Dmytrow - Cole Farewell -Joe Heye - Jeff Orosz. At 5:00pm, local boy - John "Crash" Dmytrow arrived at the gate with a spare bike in case anyone needed it. After some discussion of riders being held at the border from the US, Crash signed up and said he would ride. He stated that he hasn't ridden in a long while and will take it easy The first selection of heats were all close in their racing and the track still caught a few out, which included Jeff Orosz who usually looks very composed at Welland having to settle for 3rd place in one heat. Nick Fafard was on hand to show his great skill. Sadly for Nick, he was leading a race well when his chain came flying off mid-turn and he kept it upright very well. He returned in his next race aboard Tim Murray's bike and took a huge lead to give the crowd a race to remember, in true Nick style he was waving to the crowd and finished the race doing the infamous wheelie across the line! Shawn McConnell from California put on some great racing.
With his "Mad dog" ears on his helmet, he ensured that they flapped in the winning air a few times to keep the crowd on their feet! A pure showman and we thank him for making the long trip to Canada! As the heats progressed so did the tension, the racing was fast and furious. Joe Heye was a man on a mission and took some very good leads. but sadly went too hard into turn 3-4 and lost control, this caused Fred Legault to lay his bike down and end up in the safety barrier.
The heat was called complete as it was on the last turn, but it was a sad end to the heat for both Joe and Fred as they had been doing so well. Chris Hesmer and Katalin Davis also produced the 'Spill' part of the program. Chris was coming hard out of turn 4 when his back wheel suddenly went out of control and on the front straight he twisted badly and fell, his bike launching across the open track leaving Katalin Davis nowhere to go! She hit the bike head-on and was left to dramatically tumble down the track. With a broken helmet and some bumps and bruises, both she and Chris were back up their feet after a visit from the St. John's Ambulance. Katalin withdrew from the program for the night, and Chris took part on his back-up bike to re-start the heat and finish the night of racing.
Rob Dixon who has been working hard to get his engine tuning right, did so! He took to the track and produced some amazing heats with a new attitude to go with the newly tuned engine. He looked very cool and controlled against some very strong opposition and proved that he is a rider who is still a big threat around the Welland! track! The semi-finals were set, and the riders came out to gain their place in the much desired grand final. Aaron Hesmer took his lead and did just what he had to do to ensure his place in the final, Terry Rideout was holding his own against Gary Hesmer but suddenly he lost some traction and almost put Gary through the boards, Gary's quick reactions saved the day and he went onward without any further incident.
Joe Heye also went to the front in the second semi-final. He held his line and won ahead of a battling Shawn McConnell. The final 5 were poised to go! Aaron Hesmer, Shawn McConnell, Jeff Orosz, Joe Heye and Casey Donholt enjoyed their introductions from Wes Pierce, and took to their bikes for the last time - The points totals were all in Aaron Hesmer's hands, all he had to do was finish the race and he would take the title! The tapes went up and Aaron Hesmer took to the front ahead of Jeff Orosz, Casy Donholt, Shawn McConnell and Joe Heye.
The race was for 2nd and 3rd, Casey was all over Jeff who did a great job to keep the US youngster from grabbing second place from him. But the man who needed only to finish the race did so in-style. He crossed the finish line with fist pumping in the air putting behind him the bad memories of his chain failure while chasing Kyle Legault last year, to lift the coveted crown as the 2007 Canadian Speedway Champion!!!
posted by Andy at 7:56 AM
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