Continental News

 

In the first of the quarter final match ups it was Reimer, Erwin, Wolfgang Coleman and Jesse Tynan.  Reimer and Erwin finished first and second to advance to the semi finals.  The second of the quarter final matchups was between Australians Jackson Shapiera and Adam Yates, Riley Harris and defending Champion Mischo Erban.  Shapiera led Erban over the finish line with Yates trailing far behind.  Harris crashed heavily in the left hander and was unable to finish. 

The third quarter final featured Silva from Brazil, Nick Breton, standout junior racer Alex Tongue and 2008 World Champion Scoot Smith.  Silva won the heat with Breton a close second.  Scoot finished a disappointing third and was eliminated.   The fourth quarter final was between Andrew Chapman, 2X Women's World Champion Brianne Davies, Number two qualifier Shikaze and George Mackenzie.  Shakaze and Mackenzie defeated Chapman and Davies to advance.

The first of the semi finals featured Reimer, Erwin, Shapiera and Erban.  Reimer and Erwin simply rode away from Erban and Shapiera to move into the final.  The second semi featured Silva, Breton, Shikaze and Mackenzie.  Silva and Shikaze finished first and second to make up the other two spots in the final.

 

The final round first featured the Consolation Final to determine fifth through eighth place.  Mackenzie took the early lead followed by Erban, Breton and Shapiera.  As they exited the left hander Mischo had a run on Mackenzie but Mackenzie moved to the center of the track and the two riders bumped.  That was all that Breton and Shapiera needed to move around them and into first and second.  As they headed down the long final straight Mischo began reeling in Shapiera.  Breton crossed the line to earn the win  As Shapiera and Erban came to the line, Shapiera's lead was only about 10cm.  Shapiera stayed tightly in his tuck.  Mischo outstreched his hand to beat Shapiera and take second place.

With World Champion Reimer and top international racer Silva in the Final against locals Shakaze and Erwin it was definitely a case of David vs Goliath.  In this case, Goliath prevailed with Reimer riding solidly to the victory followed closely by Silva in second.  Shikaze rode a clean and solid race to finish third. 

Reimer has now added the North American Champion crown to his already impressive resume.  He rode seemingly unchallenged the entire weekend and must be considered the clear favorite heading into the first World Cup race of the year.  Maryhill is less than three weeks away.  It will be interesting to see if the rest of the field can catch the man they call White Lightning.