Niagara Raceway
Netherby Road / Townline Tunnel
Welland, Ontario, Canada
1997 Canadian National Speedway Championship
July 26, 1997 Niagara Raceway
From: Kim Gregory
Jeff Orosz took the Canadian National Championship away from John Kehoe, who has held the title for the last two years. Chris Hesmer amazed us all, winning the final event and
finishing third overall, only weeks after doing serious damage to his right knee at a family party.
Great spectator turnout with the stands full! We were honoured by the appearance of Ivan Mauger
(6 times World Finals Champion and 3 LT Finals) who has recruited Buck Blair and Chris Slabon
for his Austrailian tour this winter. He gave a brief interview midway through the program,
but was drowned out by the carts warming up on the track for their next race.
The track was dryer than usual, due to the threat of rain (that did not come).
The inside ten to fifteen feet was bare and grippy, but the outside was loose
'marbles' that caused several crashes in the first half. Water was then added to the outside, and the
track became much safer for those that wandered off the groove.
The riding was very fast and each heat saw some unpredictable results as the
riders adjusted to the track (for some it was their first ride here).
There were several with laydowns, but did not do well. Patrick Ahlund started with his GM
laydown, but switched back to his upright after two heats because he could not
get the power to the ground. 'It would not grip, it would just spin.'
In the final, John Keyhoe had the start and the first corner of the final event, then
Chris Hesmer pulled by him on the outside. Jeff Orosz moved up from the back of the pack to third
with a lap to spare to the checkered flag.
Ranking (by total points)
1st 32pts Jeff Orosz
2nd 30pts John Kehoe
3rd 28pts Chris Slabon (3 firsts)
3rd 28pts Chris Hesmer(2 firsts, beat Slabon in final)
5th 25pts Bogden Muszynski
6th 19pts Andy Harris
7th 17pts Fred Legault
8th 15pts Sobec Muszynski
9th 14pts Guy Fafard
10th 13pts Buck Blair
11th 8pts Pat Reynolds
12th 7pts Glen Brown
12th 7pts Nick Fafard
14th 6pts John Busler
14th 6pts Tim Ford
16th 5pts Greg Comstock
17th 4pts Joanne Edwards
18th 3pts Jim Goertz
18th 3pts Ian March
20th 3pts Mark Engel
21th 1pts R. Guy
21th 1pts Ian Boyd
23th 0pts Dan Riddle
23th 0pts Brian Marshall
Semi Final I
1st John Kehoe,
2nd Chris Slabon,
3rd Fred Legault,
4th Buck Blair,
5th Andy Harris
Semi Final II
1st Jeff Orosz,
2nd Bogden Muszynski,
3rd Chris Hesmer,
4th Sobec Muszynski,
5th Guy Fafard
Final
1st Chris Hesmer,
2nd John Kehoe,
3rd Jeff Orosz,
4th Chris Slabon,
5th Bogden Muszynski,
Reserve Andy Harris
Heats
Thanks to Duncan Luke for the full report of heat points.
Riders are seeded into the initial 1st round of heats. Then the top riders
are moved up to higher point weighted heats through the night.
Round One
Rider # Heat 1 2 3 4 5 Total
John Kehoe 1 4 4
Andy Harris 19 4 4
Bogden Muszynski18 4 4
Jeff Orosz 31 4 4
Fred Legault 68 4 4
Chris Slabon 3 3 3
Chris Hesmer 11 3 3
Sobec Muszynski 15 3 3
Patrick Ahlund 66 3 3
Buck Blair 39 3 3
Guy Fafard 23 2 2
Glen Brown 9 2 2
John Busler 16 2 2
Pat Reynolds 12 2 2
Greg Comstock 75 2 2
Nick Fafard 6 1 1
Tim Ford 42 1 1
Jim Goertz 0 1 1
Joanne Edwards 62 1 1
Ian Boyd 2 1 1
Ian March 47 0 0
Dan Riddle 24 0 0
Brian Marshall 87 0 0
R. Guy 17 0 0
Mark Engel 69 0 0
Biff Waczvnski 48 DNS 0 Engine quit during practice, and Biff was injured.
Round Two
Pts Rider # Heat 6 7 8 9 10 Total
4 John Kehoe 1 7 11
4 Bogden Muszynski18 6 10
4 Jeff Orosz 31 5 9
4 Andy Harris 19 4 8
4 Fred Legault 68 3 7
3 Chris Slabon 3 5 8
3 Chris Hesmer 11 4 7
3 Sobec Muszynski 15 3 6
3 Buck Blair 39 2 5
3 Patrick Ahlund 66 1 4
2 Glen Brown 9 4 6
2 Guy Fafard 23 3 5
2 Pat Reynolds 12 2 4
2 Greg Comstock 75 1 3
2 John Busler 16 0 2
1 Nick Fafard 6 3 4
1 Tim Ford 42 2 3
1 Joanne Edwards 62 1 2
1 Jim Goertz 0 0 1
1 Ian Boyd 2 DNF 1
0 Mark Engel 69 2 2
0 Ian March 47 1 1
0 Dan Riddle 24 DNF 0
0 Brian Marshall 87 DNS 0
0 R. Guy 17 DNF 0
Round Three
Pts Prev Rider # Heat 11 12 13 14 15 Total
8 5 Chris Slabon 3 7 15
9 5 Jeff Orosz 31 6 15
7 4 Chris Hesmer 11 5 12
11 7 John Kehoe 1 4 15
10 6 Bogden Muszynski18 3 13
8 4 Andy Harris 19 5 13
5 3 Guy Fafard 23 4 9
5 2 Buck Blair 39 3 8
7 3 Fred Legault 68 2 9
6 4 Glen Brown 9 1 7
4 1 Patrick Ahlund 66 4 8
6 3 Sobec Muszynski 15 3 9
4 2 Pat Reynolds 12 2 6
4 3 Nick Fafard 6 1 5
3 2 Tim Ford 42 0 3
2 0 John Busler 16 3 5
3 1 Greg Comstock 75 2 5
2 1 Joanne Edwards 62 1 3
2 2 Mark Engel 69 0 2
1 1 Ian March 47 0 1
1 0 Jim Goertz 0 2 3
0 0 R. Guy 17 1 1
1 0 Ian Boyd 2 DNS 1
0 0 Dan Riddle 24 DNS 0
0 0 Brian Marshall 87 DNS 0
Round Four
Pts Prev Rider # Heat 16 17 18 19 20 Total
15 6 Jeff Orosz 31 7 22
12 5 Chris Hesmer 11 6 18
15 7 Chris Slabon 3 5 20
13 5 Andy Harris 19 4 17
9 4 Guy Fafard 23 3 12
13 3 Bogden Muszynski18 5 18
15 4 John Kehoe 1 4 19
9 3 Sobec Muszynski 15 3 12
8 3 Buck Blair 39 2 10
8 4 Patrick Ahlund 66 1 9
9 2 Fred Legault 68 4 13
7 1 Glen Brown 9 3 10
6 2 Pat Reynolds 12 2 8
5 3 John Busler 16 1 6
5 2 Greg Comstock 75 0 5
3 0 Tim Ford 42 3 6
5 1 Nick Fafard 6 2 7
3 1 Joanne Edwards 62 1 4
3 2 Jim Goertz 0 0 3
1 1 R. Guy 17 0 1
1 0 Ian March 47 2 3
2 0 Mark Engel 69 1 3
1 0 Ian Boyd 2 1
0 0 Dan Riddle 24 0
0 0 Brian Marshall 87 0
Semis and Final
Pts Rider # Semi Semi Final Total
22 Jeff Orosz 31 6 4 32
20 Chris Slabon 3 5 3 28
19 John Kehoe 1 6 5 30
18 Chris Hesmer 11 4 6 28
18 Bogden Muszynski18 5 2 25
17 Andy Harris 19 2 19
13 Fred Legault 68 4 17
12 Guy Fafard 23 2 14
12 Sobec Muszynski 15 3 15
10 Buck Blair 39 3 13
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