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1997 Niagara Raceway
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1997 Race Results

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Niagara Raceway
Netherby Road / Townline Tunnel
Welland, Ontario, Canada

1997 Canadian National Speedway Championship
July 26, 1997 Niagara Raceway
From: Kim Gregory

Jeff Orosz took the Canadian National Championship away from John Kehoe, who has held the title for the last two years. Chris Hesmer amazed us all, winning the final event and finishing third overall, only weeks after doing serious damage to his right knee at a family party.
Great spectator turnout with the stands full! We were honoured by the appearance of Ivan Mauger (6 times World Finals Champion and 3 LT Finals) who has recruited Buck Blair and Chris Slabon for his Austrailian tour this winter. He gave a brief interview midway through the program, but was drowned out by the carts warming up on the track for their next race.

The track was dryer than usual, due to the threat of rain (that did not come). The inside ten to fifteen feet was bare and grippy, but the outside was loose 'marbles' that caused several crashes in the first half. Water was then added to the outside, and the track became much safer for those that wandered off the groove.

The riding was very fast and each heat saw some unpredictable results as the riders adjusted to the track (for some it was their first ride here).

There were several with laydowns, but did not do well. Patrick Ahlund started with his GM laydown, but switched back to his upright after two heats because he could not get the power to the ground. 'It would not grip, it would just spin.'

In the final, John Keyhoe had the start and the first corner of the final event, then Chris Hesmer pulled by him on the outside. Jeff Orosz moved up from the back of the pack to third with a lap to spare to the checkered flag.

Ranking (by total points)

1st 32pts Jeff Orosz
2nd 30pts John Kehoe
3rd 28pts Chris Slabon (3 firsts)
3rd 28pts Chris Hesmer(2 firsts, beat Slabon in final)
5th 25pts Bogden Muszynski
6th 19pts Andy Harris
7th 17pts Fred Legault
8th 15pts Sobec Muszynski
9th 14pts Guy Fafard
10th 13pts Buck Blair
11th 8pts Pat Reynolds
12th 7pts Glen Brown
12th 7pts Nick Fafard
14th 6pts John Busler
14th 6pts Tim Ford
16th 5pts Greg Comstock
17th 4pts Joanne Edwards
18th 3pts Jim Goertz
18th 3pts Ian March
20th 3pts Mark Engel
21th 1pts R. Guy
21th 1pts Ian Boyd
23th 0pts Dan Riddle
23th 0pts Brian Marshall

Semi Final I
1st John Kehoe, 2nd Chris Slabon, 3rd Fred Legault, 4th Buck Blair, 5th Andy Harris

Semi Final II
1st Jeff Orosz, 2nd Bogden Muszynski, 3rd Chris Hesmer, 4th Sobec Muszynski, 5th Guy Fafard

Final
1st Chris Hesmer, 2nd John Kehoe, 3rd Jeff Orosz, 4th Chris Slabon, 5th Bogden Muszynski, Reserve Andy Harris

Heats Thanks to Duncan Luke for the full report of heat points.

Riders are seeded into the initial 1st round of heats. Then the top riders are moved up to higher point weighted heats through the night.

Round One
Rider        # Heat 1  2  3  4  5  Total
John Kehoe       1              4  4
Andy Harris     19     4           4
Bogden Muszynski18        4        4
Jeff Orosz      31  4              4
Fred Legault    68           4     4
Chris Slabon     3        3        3
Chris Hesmer    11           3     3
Sobec Muszynski 15     3           3
Patrick Ahlund  66  3              3
Buck Blair      39              3  3
Guy Fafard      23  2              2
Glen Brown       9     2           2
John Busler     16              2  2
Pat Reynolds    12           2     2
Greg Comstock   75        2        2
Nick Fafard      6           1     1
Tim Ford        42        1        1
Jim Goertz       0              1  1
Joanne Edwards  62  1              1
Ian Boyd         2     1           1
Ian March       47           0     0
Dan Riddle      24        0        0
Brian Marshall  87              0  0
R. Guy          17     0           0
Mark Engel      69  0              0
Biff Waczvnski  48             DNS 0 Engine quit during practice, and Biff was injured.
Round Two                                
Pts Rider       # Heat 6  7  8  9 10  Total
 4 John Kehoe       1              7   11
 4 Bogden Muszynski18              6   10
 4 Jeff Orosz      31              5    9
 4 Andy Harris     19              4    8
 4 Fred Legault    68              3    7
 3 Chris Slabon     3           5       8
 3 Chris Hesmer    11           4       7
 3 Sobec Muszynski 15           3       6
 3 Buck Blair      39           2       5
 3 Patrick Ahlund  66           1       4
 2 Glen Brown       9        4          6
 2 Guy Fafard      23        3          5
 2 Pat Reynolds    12        2          4
 2 Greg Comstock   75        1          3
 2 John Busler     16        0          2
 1 Nick Fafard      6     3             4
 1 Tim Ford        42     2             3
 1 Joanne Edwards  62     1             2
 1 Jim Goertz       0     0             1
 1 Ian Boyd         2    DNF            1
 0 Mark Engel      69  2                2
 0 Ian March       47  1                1
 0 Dan Riddle      24 DNF               0
 0 Brian Marshall  87 DNS               0
 0 R. Guy          17 DNF               0
Round Three
Pts Prev Rider       # Heat 11 12 13 14 15  Total
 8    5  Chris Slabon     3              7   15
 9    5  Jeff Orosz      31              6   15
 7    4  Chris Hesmer    11              5   12
11    7  John Kehoe       1              4   15
10    6  Bogden Muszynski18              3   13
 8    4  Andy Harris     19           5      13
 5    3  Guy Fafard      23           4       9
 5    2  Buck Blair      39           3       8
 7    3  Fred Legault    68           2       9
 6    4  Glen Brown       9           1       7
 4    1  Patrick Ahlund  66        4          8
 6    3  Sobec Muszynski 15        3          9
 4    2  Pat Reynolds    12        2          6
 4    3  Nick Fafard      6        1          5
 3    2  Tim Ford        42        0          3
 2    0  John Busler     16     3             5
 3    1  Greg Comstock   75     2             5
 2    1  Joanne Edwards  62     1             3
 2    2  Mark Engel      69     0             2
 1    1  Ian March       47     0             1
 1    0  Jim Goertz       0  2                3
 0    0  R. Guy          17  1                1
 1    0  Ian Boyd         2 DNS               1
 0    0  Dan Riddle      24 DNS               0
 0    0  Brian Marshall  87 DNS               0
Round Four
Pts Prev Rider       # Heat 16 17 18 19 20  Total
15    6  Jeff Orosz      31              7   22
12    5  Chris Hesmer    11              6   18
15    7  Chris Slabon     3              5   20
13    5  Andy Harris     19              4   17
 9    4  Guy Fafard      23              3   12
13    3  Bogden Muszynski18           5      18
15    4  John Kehoe       1           4      19
 9    3  Sobec Muszynski 15           3      12
 8    3  Buck Blair      39           2      10
 8    4  Patrick Ahlund  66           1       9
 9    2  Fred Legault    68        4         13
 7    1  Glen Brown       9        3         10
 6    2  Pat Reynolds    12        2          8
 5    3  John Busler     16        1          6
 5    2  Greg Comstock   75        0          5
 3    0  Tim Ford        42    3              6
 5    1  Nick Fafard      6    2              7
 3    1  Joanne Edwards  62    1              4
 3    2  Jim Goertz       0    0              3
 1    1  R. Guy          17    0              1
 1    0  Ian March       47  2                3
 2    0  Mark Engel      69  1                3
 1    0  Ian Boyd         2                   1
 0    0  Dan Riddle      24                   0
 0    0  Brian Marshall  87                   0
Semis and Final
Pts Rider         #   Semi Semi Final Total
22 Jeff Orosz      31        6    4    32
20 Chris Slabon     3   5         3    28
19 John Kehoe       1   6         5    30
18 Chris Hesmer    11        4    6    28
18 Bogden Muszynski18        5    2    25
17 Andy Harris     19   2              19
13 Fred Legault    68   4              17
12 Guy Fafard      23        2         14
12 Sobec Muszynski 15        3         15
10 Buck Blair      39   3              13
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