CEC Enduro’s Round 5&6 Labelle Quebec – Round 7&8 Parry Sound
By Jeff Pillon
Labelle kicked my butt!!! That is the best way to describe the loop in Quebec as it took just under 2 hours to complete a lap and you had to do 3 laps Saturday and then the same again on Sunday & the entire loop is made up of trails thru the steep rocky hills. These races are styled after the world enduro’s each lap is made of 3 test, an extreme test in this case it was a sand pit with some rock piles and logs to cross on the way in and then up and down steep wall in the pit, the 2nd test was the cross test FUN open grass track with some rolling hills, the 3rd was the enduro test and this was tight trails with a lot of rocks and was not very forgiving. Many of the best riders from all over Canada were there and the talent level was high, I was on the leader Bobby Prochnau min I did not see him too many times after the start that guy is fast. I managed to keep it together and finish both days I rode the E2 class and finished near the bottom of that but had a great time my results Sunday were a bit better finishing about 24th out of 37 pro’s.
Parry Sound was fun allot of fun, I truly enjoyed this event even though the test were a harder and longer the trail was shorter and it just did not seem to beat you up as much as the long loop in Labelle, we had to do 4 loops on Saturday and 3 on Sunday, the extreme test was in an old stone quarry the same area used for the world enduro’s a couple years ago, I managed to keep it on 2 wheels until the last lap when I crashed in a transfer section and hurt my knee I sucked it up and kept going as if I quite my wife would have made fun of me and was not going to have that. I was on the same min as Guy Giroux and enjoyed following him for as long as I could, it was a great experience to ride with the top riders from all over Canada and these events were as well run as any events I have attend in Canada or the US.
Blain Amlin also rode he managed to finish 3rd both days in the C class and earned a couple really cool trophies that were made from real Canadian timber, Blain rode a great race and look confident coming thru the extreme test a few more years and he will be pushing me to go faster.
There are some great pictures and video’s on the Direct motocross website.
The 2010 Yamaha YZ450F is no longer a rumor – it’s officially here. After much speculation and anticipation, Yamaha finally unveiled the all-new YZ450F with its “backwards” motor, “curly fry” exhaust, and rearward-slanted cylinder. These drastic changes are designed to give the bike a lower center of gravity and more centralized positioning of weight, thus improving handling and cornering. The fuel tank, which actually holds slightly less gas (though we’re assured it can still easily last a 40-minute moto), is now position underneath the seat. The YZ is fuel-injected, via a 44mm Keihin, and has gone back to a four-valve (rather than five-valve) arrangement. It will again be offered in two colors – traditional Yamaha Racing Blue, and white/red (with black rims). The bike should start arriving at the dealers towards the end of the month. Pricing, however, has not yet been announced.