canadian speedway

A good night of racing was enjoyed by a bumper crowd at the 2013 Norm Carr Classic event in Belleville. Four speedway riders completed the class, consisting of Glen Brown, Kyle Legault, John Kehoe and Terry Rideout.

Heat One

Legault flew away and left the other three riders to battle it out! John Kehoe blew a motor on the second lap and was forced out, which left Glen Brown to defend his place from a hard charging Terry Rideout. The charge was too much, and Rideout passed Brown on the last lap in the final corner, to grab a good second place finish.

Heat Two

Legault led Kehoe and Brown from the tapes to take the win, as Rideout was a non-starter with mechanical problems.

Final

Legault flew out front and never looked back, as the action once again was behind him! Rideout on his spare bike was on a mission and he completed this mission by coming from last to second, passing Brown on lap 3 and then Kehoe on lap 4, to grab a well-deserved second place.

Final Placings:

1: Kyle Legault

2: Terry Rideout

3: John Kehoe

4: Glen Brown

Report by Terry Rideout

The weather was the talk of the day as severe storms rolled around the area, but kept away from the Belleville 1/2 mile event, which left a dry and very rough track. The track became very rutted with the different classes taking part in their practice sessions!

We welcomed many speedway riders to the event including the welcomed return to Canadian Speedway by Frenchman Nick Fafard, Nick back on the bike after 3 years away! Was joined by returning riders Drew and John Kehoe, and regulars, Aaron Hesmer, Mike Hammond, Tommy Hensby, Terry Rideout, Glen Brown, Gary Moody and local rider Rob Dixon.

The practice session ended Tommy Hensby's day in less than 2 minutes, coming out of turn 2 he hit a rut and his foot slipped off the foot rest and flipped it backwards under the rest, he immediately pulled up and was treated by the track medical staff, who recommended a hospital visit as they suspected he had fractured his ankle, but following x-rays at his home town hospital, he was given the all clear and told to rest the sprained and swollen ankle!

The other riders all struggled during practice to get a read on the rough track surface!

Round 1 - Heat 1:

Nick Fafard got a good start, leading Glen Brown, Aaron Hesmer, Gary Moody and Rob Dixon into turn one. The disaster as Fafard hit a rut and slid out on turn 4, as he slid out Glen Brown was left with nowhere to go, and slid out going straight under the safety fence! After some treatment, Glen Brown was up, he shook off the crash and took part in the restart.

1st: Hesmer - 2nd: Fafard - 3rd: Brown - 4th: Dixon - 5th: Moody (DNF)

Round 1 - Heat 2:

Mike Hammond led John Kehoe, Terry Rideout and Drew Kehoe from the gate, but on lap 2 in corner 4, John Kehoe went under Hammond to hold the win!

1st: J. Kehoe - 2nd: Hammond - 3rd: Rideout - 4th: D. Kehoe

Round 2 - Heat 1:

From the gate, Aaron Hesmer beat out Glen Brown, Rob Dixon and Gary Moody, Nick Fafard suffered mechanical troubles on the line and did not start.

1st: Hesmer - 2nd: Brown - 3rd: Dixon - 4th: Moody - 5th: Fafard (DNS)

Round 2 - Heat 2:

A great race, with John Kehoe gating ahead of Mike Hammond, Terry Rideout chased him hard, and they both had a last lap side by side duel with Hammond grabbing the second place by just a wheel!

1st: J. Kehoe - 2nd: Hammond - 3rd: Rideout - 4th: D. Kehoe

FINAL:

Aaron Hesmer pipped John Kehoe on the line to grab the win of the night! Mike Hammond despite his valiant effort was unable to catch the front runners, as Rob Dixon, Terry Rideout, Nick Fafard and Gary Moody pressed hard, sadly Glen Brown pulled up and didn't finish and Drew Kehoe suffered mechanical problems and did not start!

Winner : Hesmer - 2nd: J. Kehoe- 3rd: Hammond - 4th: Dixon - 5th: Rideout - 6th: Fafard - 7th: Moody - 8th: Brown (DNF) - 9th: D. Kehoe (DNS)

The annual Norm Carr Classic in Belleville, Ontario, took place on the large 1/2 mile track. With 5 speedway riders completing in the class, Mike Hammond, John Bennett, Garry Moody, Glen Brown and Tommy Hensby making his debt at the event, the races were set. Despite the absence of 1/2 mile specialists such as Rob Dixon and Jeff Orosz missing due to injuries, these racers put on a great evenly balanced show for the sell-out crowd!

With the close points race for the #1 racing plate being contested between Mike Hammond and Glen Brown, due to the recent injury to Rob Dixon taking him out of the equation, the night was filled with some extra buzz amongst the speedway riders and fans alike, to see who could take the points on the night. Would it be current leader Hammond to extend his current lead, or would Brown grab the pocketful of points and catch up to Hammond? The stage was set for a thriller!

Heat 1:

Glen Brown was the star as he blasted out of the gate, to be followed closely by Mike Hammond, with John Bennett and Gary Moody not too far behind and Tommy Hensby finding his feet on the large fast track!

Heat 2:

Gary Moody had the fright of his life as Tommy Hensby drew alongside him for a lap in some close racing, before pulling away, whilst Glen Brown again took the lead by two bike lengths ahead of John Bennett and Mike Hammond, Hammond did everything possible to get by Bennett, but the pass was too late, as Brown took the checkered flag by three bike lengths.

Final:

The tension was high as the riders took to the line for the final, would Hammond hold off Brown and would the other riders pull off any surprises? Lots of questions would be answered as the starting marshall gave the 'GO'!!!

Mike Hammond got a flyer, as Brown was chased hard by Bennett, Moody and Hensby. Coming out of lap one, Hammond hit the dip in turn one and slid off, Brown and company went by, leaving Hammond to chase as hard as he could, he caught Tommy Hensby on lap 3 and passed him coming into turn 3, but Hensby slipped in tight behind him on the chase to begin lap 4, Brown was flying and pulled ahead as Bennett was pushed by Moody, but it was Tommy Hensby who stole the limelight, as he entered corner 3, he saw Hammond was missing his steel show following his accident, and powered around the outside of him to drive hard out of the corner ahead of Hammond, but despite Hammond's valiant effort on the chase to the line, Hensby held him back to be the spoiler of the night as Hammond finished in last place, with Brown grabbing the important points in the #1 plate race!

With one more race to go, the night will surely bring happiness to one and sadness to another, who will it be, Mike Hammond or Glen Brown? September 10th at Welland Speedway will provide the answer, so be there to enjoy history in the making for one of the riders!

Th e 2010 Norm Carr ½ mile Classic in Belleville, Ontario proved to be a controversial one, with the exclusion of the defending champion in the last final race despite his taking of the checkered flag! Jeff Orosz lead a field of riders to defend his CMA #1 plate for 2010 at this ½ mile event, these included reigning 2010 Canadian Speedway Champion, Aaron Hesmer, Rob Dixon, C.J. Hesmer, Gary Moody, Glenn Brown, Terry Rideout and Mike Hammond. The heat races were all fast and furious leaving the crowd to ponder on what will the final race of the day produce? Aaron Hesmer in his first ½ mile race, produced some great speed and kept the ½ mile specialists, Hammond, Orosz and Dixon on their toes during the heat races, in his quest to gain the crowning glory of the ultimate dream, of holding the #1 plate for Canada. The final race was set with Orosz, Dixon, Hammond, Aaron Hesmer, C.J. Hesmer, Terry Rideout, Brown, and Moody taking to the line. Rob Dixon dropped a cracker and flew into turn one ahead of the pack, he looked good and was disappointed when C.J. Hesmer crashed in turn 3 and the race was stopped. Up and OK, Hesmer joined his fellow riders for the restart. However, Orosz made the biggest error of his racing career, when he changed bikes following a mechanical problem, and under the ½ mile race ruling, Orosz was allowed to do this and has to start from the penalty line, Unfortunately for Orosz, he went to the line and took the race by storm, being chased hard by Aaron Hesmer but as he completed the race, he was disqualified for his error, leaving the win and the award of the CMA #1 plate to Aaron Hesmer in the total points accumulated for the season. Behind Hesmer, a surprise second place was awarded to Mike Hammond, Third to Rob Dixon, Fourth to Glenn Brown, Fifth to Terry Rideout, Sixth to C.J. Hesmer, Seventh to Gary Moody and Eighth to Jeff Orosz.

Congratulations the Aaron Hesmer for his completion of both Canadian titles, in superb winning style throughout 2010. A very well deserving rider, who really has hit his peak at all the Canadian tracks!

The annual CMA event, the Norm Carr Classic National Championship took place on Saturday August 8th. With a large field of Flat track, ATV, Junior flat track riders, and the additional smaller class of speedway, all producing a great event for an ever-enthusiastic crowd!

Unfortunately, some delays caused by some crashes and the water truck having problems during the event, pushed it into the late evening hours, but the wait was worth it! With the absense of Joe Heye and John Bennett, the four man speedway field of Rob Dixon, Gary Moody, Terry Rideout and Jeff Orosz, produced some close entertaining racing! Heat 1: Jeff Orosz got a flying start ahead of Rob Dixon into corner 1, with Terry Rideout being pushed by Gary Moody for the first lap. Rob Dixon pushed hard and looked very fast as he inched his way toward Orosz, but Orosz's pace was too much, and he flew into grab the first checkered flag of the night. Terry Rideout took a comfortable third place ahead of slower paced Gary Moody. Heat 2: Terry Rideout got a flyer from the inside gate to enter the first corner ahead of the pack, but the aggressive pace of Orosz and Dixon was too much, as they passed Rideout out of turn 2, Dixon held the throttle wide open and was side by side with Orosz into turn 3 and for the next two laps, Terry Rideout and Gary Moody had a great view of this battle as they followed behind the battling pair. On lap four Jeff Orosz pulled away to take the second checkered flag of the night! Final: The final event was won from the tapes for Jeff Orosz, Rob Dixon did all he could to reel Orosz in, while having Terry Rideout pushing him. Gary Moody again showed his love for the speedway and his dedication to the second year of riding at the 1/2 mile as he followed, Rideout, Dixon and Orosz to the finishing line for the last time.

Congratulations to all four riders for a great show and display of speedway racing on the larger track!