Shane Wiebe may be one of the top up and coming motocross racers in the province, but Whistler’s Shaun Greenaway had something else going for him Sunday – patience.
For the second straight year the Green River Riding Club in Pemberton hosted a stop of the CMA Golden Harvest Series, with motocross categories for kids, women, amateurs and pro-am riders.
The turnout eclipsed the previous year with more than a 100 riders coming out, as well as over 300 spectators on the sidelines.
Greenaway, one of the event organizers and a spokesperson for the GRRC, was amazed by how well the weekend went for the club – and for himself.
"It was just amazing, it had the feel of being a real pro-am kind of event, but you also still had the feeling of being in the mountains with the whole community out to support you," he said.
"The women’s field was huge, which was great to see, and the riders came from all over to be here. The pit was full, the campsite was overflowing, people were staying in town at hotels, and coming in to Whistler to ride the bike park one day and race motocross the next.
"They went away happy, too, I can tell you that. I heard a lot of comments over the weekend about the track and the competition, and none of them were negative. There are still a few things we can do better, but for a second-year event organized by a small club, it was really pretty professional."
Greenaway estimates that he and the other volunteers put more than 50 hours of work into the track in recent weeks.
"We’d get it perfect, then it would rain and we would have to start again, but for the race day it was great. It held up perfectly for the early races… and we kind of designed it to get a little tougher as the day went on and as it got tracked out, and that definitely took a few people out," he said.
Greenaway said he was helped to first place by the fact that one of the top riders, Adam Robarts of Burnaby, crashed in a qualifying run and injured his shoulder. After that his main competition looked to be Shane Wiebe of Abbotsford, a young rider who has his own track at home, and whose parents also have a place in Whistler.
In the first of two races Greenaway said he just tried to stay on Wiebe’s tail, come away with second place and turn up the pace on the second race, which is worth more in the final standings. Greenaway then battled Wiebe every step of the second race, hoping his endurance would pay off against youth. On the fifth lap Wiebe made an error and cartwheeled over his handlebars. By the time he was up and running again, he was in last place.
"He finished that race in fifth, which is pretty amazing, but I had about a 20-second lead on the rest of the pack heading into the last lap so all I had to do was race carefully, keep the bike upright, and cruise to the finish," said Greenaway.
"It was amazing. Everybody was cheering for me because I was the local guy, which is something I’ve never had before. Usually you’re off racing somewhere else where nobody knows you. But now I can truly say I’ve raced all over Canada and the U.S. at some of the best tracks, and there’s nothing better than racing with a crowd on your side. It was pretty special for me."
Greenaway earned $300 for the win, a large purse for what is billed as an amateur series. He gave some of that money to a friend who worked as his mechanic for the day.
Greenaway is still waiting to have surgery on a hand he broke last year, and has rebroken a few times since. Before the Harvest race that was a priority, but now he’s wondering if he can squeeze in a few events before he undergoes an operation that will put him on the sidelines this winter. He’s even considering heading to California in early November to compete in the Veteran World Championships.
"If my hand is willing, I’d like to go. It’s been a while since I felt I was healthy enough to race at my best, and I’m still pretty sore after Sunday, but it was great to be out racing again. Racing Shane in that second heat was as exciting as it gets."
Wiebe finished third overall, while Ryan Bissenden of Duncan squeezed into the second spot.
Other strong local performances included Justin Andiel, who was ninth in the A Main class despite the fact that he is new to racing.
Justin Patjas, who grew up in Whistler and now lives in Garibaldi Highlands, was the surprise winner of the B Main category. Patjas was seriously injured earlier in the year, and is slowly making a comeback.
"He was just great out there, really smooth. It sucks that he was hurt as badly as he was but you can see he’s still got the skills and the confidence is coming back," said Greenaway. "He even had a little crash out there, but still came back to win the whole things."
There was a secret U.S. $100 prize for the top B Main competitor – secret because organizers didn’t want anyone dropping out of A Main to go for the money.
Robert Fawcett of Pemberton was second, followed by Brendan Martin, also of Pemberton. Whistler’s Derek Burgen came close, finishing fourth.
In C Main the win went to Victoria’s Evan Tilley, followed by Derek Lynn of Courtenay and Tom Boorman of Nanaimo. Whistler’s Tim Jervis was fourth.
In the D Main category, Ian Tindal of Bradner took the win, followed by Travis Williams and Steve Armitage of Whistler.
Doug MacFarlane of Pemberton was seventh.
In the kids’ 85cc class, Clinton Wall of Chilliwack took the win, followed by Dalton Whynacht of Ashcroft and Cary Quiring of Aldergrove.
In the 65cc race, Kyle Springman of Abbotsford was first, followed by Levi Beckett of Kamkloops and Austin Pennington of Vancouver. Whistler’s Malcolm Watson was fifth, while Jonathan Dempsey of Squamish was sixth.
The 50cc ‘A’ race went to Wyatt Waddell of Delta, followed by Maxwell Creighton of Nanaimo and Alex McKay. Dawson Amann and Lucas Simpson of Garibaldi Highlands and Squamish were fifth and sixth.
There were just two kids in the 50cc ‘B’ race, Simon Creighton of Nanaimo and Jack Fawcett of Pemberton, finishing first and second respectively.
In the women’s race, Missy Hackett of Chilliwack took the win, followed by Camille Baker of Nanaimo and Amy Aspell of Port Alberni. There was a crash near the start, but otherwise it was an exciting race.
The Green River Riding Club is hoping to host up to four events next year, while continuing to build the Golden Harvest race into a bigger and bigger event. The GRRC is also hoping to host some snowmobile motocross events this season, if the snowpack permits.
Vision Motor Sports of Pemberton is also putting together a local team, which Greenaway has joined after years of riding for Pacific Yamaha in Richmond. They are looking for riders in every class and age group, and will send team members to events around the province.
For more information on the Green River Riding Club, visit www.grrc.ca .
