Over the next month, we will be looking back at some of the unforgettable moments from the 2020 race season. Even though this was a shorter season than we’re used to seeing, it didn’t lack in excitement or intensity as once the gate dropped in 2020, all of the riders were ready to go. One could say that the first few races of 2020 we’re better than ever as every rider had more time to prepare through April, May, and even longer in certain parts of the country. The first gate drop of 2020 was most certainly an unforgettable moment and that is where we shall start today.
If we think back to mid-March and where we were at with this Covid-19 Pandemic, at the time things were starting to shut down and we were all being told to stay home. In Ontario, we had just begun riding as Gopher Dunes and a couple of private tracks were opened for business. But that quickly changed and within a few weeks, Gopher Dunes was forced to close and in the process, they lost out their busiest time of the year. For weeks, the only tracks that you could ride at were private ones. And since it was still early in the spring, not many of those were opened.
Thankfully, things began to improve as we moved into May and by the Victoria Day long weekend, there was finally talk of our race season beginning. Those who lived in and around Ontario were the luckiest group of riders as this region was the first to hold a race in 2020. This event took place at Gopher Dunes on June 14th at everyone’s favourite sand track, Gopher Dunes! It was a glorious day at the Dunes as the sun was shining and the track was in great shape. To make it even better, AMO Racing had one of their largest turnouts as over 600 entries filled the Gopher Dunes paddock. Two weeks after that it was Walton Raceway’s turn to hold an event and once again riders came out in droves to compete. It was a great time to be a racer in Southwestern Ontario as AMO Racing, Gopher Dunes, and Walton Raceway really came through for its membership. Moto Park was also going to host an early season event, but due to the limited space for parking, and the large number of entries that were now coming out, there wasn’t enough room at MP to safely hold an event.
Unfortunately, other regions across the country weren’t able to hold races at that time due to the ongoing government restrictions. I’m quite sure that in June Ontario was the envy of the rest of Canada as not only were they allowed to hold events, but they were also seeing a record number of entries each weekend. As it turns out, a month after the opening AMO race at Gopher Dunes, the 2020 Triple Crown Series kicked off on the same track. Considering how bleak everything looked back in late March, all of April, and most of May, those first few events in June really were special. Thank you for reading and stay tuned next week for another unforgettable moment from 2020.