Go Back

BUMP HARESCRAMBLE.

7th Sep 2010

It has been two years now since Johnny Sochor left us on that foggy February morning on his way to work.John knew he wasnt going to make a living as a racer,he had other career ambitions.His Dad did some Road Racing back in the former Czechoslovakia before the family moved to the County of Barrhead in 1986.In the last couple of years Johnny rode casually whenever he had time between work,travel,having a house built & making wedding plans with Jill.Its hard to accept that it all had to end & that it ended in such an uncharacteristic way-we all miss him a lot.But,there are a lot of good memories to look back on.This race is dedicated to him.

Jason lives in his camper van accross the Railroad tracks on the Miners Memorial campground in Coalhurst,8 miles West of Lethbridge.We had a 350 mile drive to This weekends race,which was round 3 of the CMRC Provincial series,being held at Barrys Ultra Motorsports Park,near Busby,40 miles North of Edmonton,Alberta.

We arrived in Busby late on Friday night.I read a roadsign which said `5th Parallel Highway `,I dont know if it was,but it could have been.We were certainly a long way from home.

Busby is a quiet country town,set in rolling,heavily forested countryside,not unlike the New Forest.

Barrys Ultra Motorsports Park was exactly what it said,a superb off-road motorsports park covering several hundred acres & owned by the Barry family.From the vintage Bultaco on top of the entrance ticket booth,to the detatched timber house being used exclusivly for signing on & lap scoring,we could tell that these people were all about running this event to the highest standard.

And so it proved to be.They even had the support & presence of the local Mayor for the entire weekend.How often do we see that in this sport? They really had made an inspired effort.

Saturday was taken up with 2 hour cross-country races for the junior riders,everyone having a great time in the warm sunshine.In the evening there was to be a ` Big Dog Harescramble ` I wasnt too sure what this was all about.I had been watching the Barrys Labrador Dog digging huge holes on the track all day,& had assumed that he was just helping to make the racing a little more challenging,untill I saw him emerge from one hole with an unfortunate Gopher between his teeth.Maybe a ` Big Dog Harescramble ` was going to be something to do with this.

I was way off the mark.It turned out to be a 2 hour race for Pit Bikes around the same track that the Junior riders had been using earlier,& it proved to be quite an event!

It seems to stay light much later in the evening here in Canada,& after the Pit Bike race,there was still plenty of daylight left for everyone to enjoy gathering around barbecues & having a good time.It was very much a family weekend.The social side of the canadian race scene is a big attraction to the sport for many of the competitors,& there are classes for everyone to race in.Its great to see so many guys my age still out there having fun,& the Ladies classes also attract a good entry,& an excellent level of competition.

Sunday morning soon came & we were all up early for the riders meeting & signing on.There was to be an extra loop out into the thick Birch scrub for todays race,none of the riders,like Jason,who had been helping out as sweepers for the Juniors on Saturday,had seen these trails,but everyone was given a sighting lap so they could familiarize themselves with the course.

It was to be a dead-engine,hands on head,shotgun start,& it was a real shotgun! at 12 o`clock the starter pulled the trigger & the race was on!

Number 841,Frank Barry ( Honda ),the son of the owners,got off to a great start,hotly pursued by number 807,Jason Paradise ( Honda ) & number 48,Kevin Pelletier ( KTM ).Ratboy was charging hard as usual,on his trusty KTM200XC,& by the end of the 1st lap,which was 25 minutes long,he had opened up a 40 second lead.I decided to leave the pits for a while & watch the proceedings in the woods.Ive lost track of the number of times Ive watched old Ratty race,its certainly been a good few,but I have to say,Ive noticed a change in his style this year.He seems to combine a delicate poise with raw,ruthless aggression on the bike these days,&,even though he is my son,it is a joy to watch.I think he`s certainly found the machine which enables him to give of his best with the KTM.

Back in the pits there was a major panic when Avery Turner,the 14 year old son of our good friends Trevor & Renee Turner, came in with a siezed kickstarter,I was running around like a headless Chicken as usual,Trevor was out in the race himself & Renee was doing the lapscoring,but Avery`s 12 year old Sister,Shelby,saved the day by sprinting to her own bike & removing the kickstart,then sprinting back & fitting it to her Brothers machine! She was so cool,absolutly no panicing at all,an awesome performance! I immediatly offered her the position of Ratboys Chief Mechanic! She actually has a great future as a rider herself,she finished 3rd overall in the Saturday race,this Girl is well fast!

Back on the track Ratboy had opened up a 12 Minute lead by the time the last lap board went out at the 2 1/2 hour mark,& thats the way it stayed until the chequered flag.

The final result was 1st,Jason Thomas,( KTM ) 2nd, Frank Barry, ( Honda ),& 3rd,Jason Paradise, (Honda ) with Kevin Pelletier, ( KTM ) only a few seconds behind him in 4th.

It had been a superb & very memorable event,one of the best organized that Ive been to for a long while,with a really good family atmosphere.We would like to congratulate & thank everyone who made the event happen,especially Wendy & Lawrence Barry for their warm hospitality.

Thanks also to Trevor & Renee Turner,KTM North America,&,of course,Alf Gurr at Lethbridge KTM.

We hope we did our best for You Johnny,Thankyou for letting us carry Your name to the Chequered Flag.