Bernie Hildebrand was like a proud papa watching his baby graduate to the big leagues of motocross.
Back when he was president of what was known as the Interior Motocross Association, it was his vision to 21 years ago to build a motocross track on a piece of Crown land cut into the side of a hill 35 kilometres from downtown Prince George
Little did Hildebrand know that a day like Sunday would happen and 3,500 spectators would descend on the track he helped carve out of the forest to give Canada one of its most spectator-friendly motocross facilities, one that pro riders in the Canadian Motorsports Racing Club (CMRC)-sanctioned event would absolutely love.
“It’s a fantastic thing, this is a whole big deal,” said Hildebrand.
“As CMRC grew, (Prince George Motocross Association president) Andrew Forbes and Cycle North grew the Blackwater, and it all came together at the same time and now the rest of country is seeing the nicest track in Canada.”
There were a few glitches and the lack parking in close proximity was the biggest problem organizers of the race encountered. Race fans had to park in a line several kilometres away up the Pelican Forestry Road and be shuttled to the track in RVs and vans, but the race went off without a hitch and the Rockstar Energy Drink MX National series will definitely be back. The PGMA has two more years left in the contract it signed as a national series host.
“It’s really positive, especially for the first year, the track is in about the best condition it’s ever been in, the rain (Saturday) actually helped us,” said CNRC president Mark Stallybrass. “As far as the spectators go, we have a pretty strong crowd and lots of riders and overall I couldn’t be too much happier.
“This is probably the best track for viewing. To be able to stand at one spot and see 95 per cent of the track is very unique. With the big uphills and downhills it’s great for the riders and they all love the track and the spectators can see everything.
“The club and the people putting this event on have just done a fantastic job. These fans are seeing some amazing racing. I’ve been doing this for 25 years now with the pros and this is some of the best we’ve had.”
Christophe Pourcel of Marseille, France, a former motocross/supercross world champion who won the MX1 class Sunday, is looking forward to getting the chance to race in Prince George again next year when the MX national series returns.
“It’s one of the best tracks for sure, it’s uphills, all kinds of jumps, a bit rutty, with good traction, it was amazing,” said MX1 450cc overall winner
“The only bad thing was it was tough to pass on this track. When it gets rough, as we saw today, usually you see the good guys (rise to the top) in the second moto and that’s what we saw today.”
Pourcel swapped podium positions with Matt Goerke of Panama City. Fla., who took the first MX1 moto.
“The track was cool, I really liked it, it was a fun track,” said Goerke. “I liked the elevation, the breaking bumps, the cuts, it was a cool layout.”
Jess Pettis of Prince George ended up second in both MX2 250cc motos, racing on the track where he cut his teeth in motocross and he wanted to show it off to the rest of the riders. Prince George is now on the map as a national motocross hot spot and Pettis could not be more proud.
“It’s pretty cool to have in my backyard these high-class guys in my hometown track that I come ride during the week,” said Pettis. “All the feedback I’ve heard is great things and people are excited about it. The track crew put in endless hours of work and they want it just as bad as us riders want to win and that’s pretty cool.”
Jacob Hayes, 23, a U.S. arenacross champion, is back racing outdoors full-time for the first time since 2012, after missing all of last year with an injury. He was fifth in the first moto before climbing into the three-spot to end the day. Track conditions became a lot more challenging for him and the rest of the riders at Blackwater as the 100 truckloads of sand brought in for the national event got chewed up and worn off the track, resulting in ruts as the hard clay surface underneath was exposed.
“I actually like it, last week in Kamloops it was really fast and slick and I like it to be rough and rutty,” said Hayes. “We rode the track Tuesday and it was a highway, dry and slick, and then we got some rain and that rain definitely helped it.
“I’m from the East Coast and ruts suit me well and I was happy to see that second moto really rut up and get bumpy with a lot of technical stuff. It just slows the pace down and you have to be methodical and pick good lines and I enjoy that about motocross. I enjoyed the whole track layout.”
Cole Thompson, who won both MX2 pro motos, had his guts put through a blender Sunday but it was obviously worth it from his view atop the podium.
“Honestly, this will probably be one of the roughest ones we’ll probably see,” said Thompson. “It’s unique for sure on the hill. We don’t have a lot of (tracks) that have elevation and this one, being on the side of a mountain is definitely unique. It’s tough for me being a little bit bigger, I’m a bit heavier than the little guys out there but you’ve got to get up those hills and keep the momentum going.”
The series moves to Wildrose MX Park in Calgary for the next race in the 10-city series on Sunday. Sunday’s pro races were steamed live and were taped for broadcast in late-June or early-July on TSN/RDS.
