1984-1986 Moto Park Grand Prixs

By the late 70’s the Golden Years of Canadian Motocross had come to an end, as did the boom years of Motorcycle Sales in Canada. The last Motocross Grand Prix had been held at Mosport in 1979. During the mid 80’s thru the mid 90’s sales of Motorcycles plummeted from more than 100,000 units per year to as low as 20,000.

Carl Bastedo had been successful in promoting both a series of National Consumer Motorcycle Shows throughout Canada starting in 1977 as well as Supercross starting in 1980 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Bringing a World Championship Motocross Grand Prix back to Canada was a natural evolution in his mind.

Any Motorsport event requires major sponsorship in order to be successful, this is the way it is all over the World. The Supercross events actually took in more in sponsorship than they did at the gate. The financial success of the Canadian Grand Prix was doomed from the beginning as Yamaha Canada was the only major company to sponsor the event.

In spite of this, a great event was put together in 1984 on an extended Motopark track. Hundreds of loads of dead sand carved out of a “honey hole” found on the property re-surfaced the entire track. Huge D8 bulldozers where brought in to reshape the woods at the south end of the property revealing huge hills and drop offs which where a part of any GP track of the era.

Hospitality wasn’t generally a part of the travelling GP Circus at the time and Motopark was one of the first to introduce a deck overlooking the track with décor and waiters serving up Steak dinners for the local and GP VIP’s in attendance. The Township Reeve and council members where in attendance and Ontario’s Solicitor General arrived for the opening ceremonies via Helicopter which landed in the front yard of Carl’s house.

More than 3,500 spectators paid to get in bringing total attendance close to 5,000. It was the most people seen at a Motocross race in Canada since the great 500cc GP at Copetown in 1975.

All the buzz in the pits was how Canada’s Ross Pederson would fare against the GP regulars, 13 of whom made the trip. Chuckles throughout the pits as the Euro’s looked over Ross’s RM500 “Motocross” bike. On the track it was a different story as Ross challenged many of them finishing top Canadian in 4th place while Glen Nicholson, also on the RM500, was next Canadian garnering 10th.

The podium at the 1984 Grand Prix of Canada was made up of Belgian riders. The victory went to Georges Jobe (Kawasaki) followed by Andre Malherbe (Honda) and Eric Geobers, also on a Honda.

In 1985 the FIM requested that Motopark run a non points paying 250 c.c. GP as the US GP at Unadilla was the following week and they felt the European riders would like to spend the week prior acclimatizing themselves to North America. Only 4 Euro’s made the trip led by Gert Jan Van Doorn who battled with Ross Pederson taking first in Moto 1. Van Doorn suffered a flat tire in Moto 2 allowing Pederson to take the win and become the first Canadian to win a Canadian Grand Prix. American Honda’s Darryl Shultz also showed up in 1985. Shultz finished with a DNF in moto one and 3rd behind Pederson and Doug Hoover in moto 2.

Financially, the Grand Prix’s proved to be to much of a drain and Motopark informed the CMA in the fall of 1985 that it would not run another 500 c.c. World Championship round in 1986. The CMA felt obligated to produce the event and took the production over with agreement that the event would be held at Motopark.

The last Motocross Grand Prix in Canada was held in sweltering heat. The event was well produced but poorly attended. On the Podium in 1986 were Belgians Andre Malherbe, and Eric Geobers while Great Britain’s David Thorpe rounded out the top 3. Top Canadian that year was Doug Hoover and Glen Nicholson in 9 and 10th. Ross Pederson was not entered, I suspect he was injured.

It was the end of an era and the entire World GP Circuit went into a slump during the late 80’s and 90’s as Motorcycle Sales World wide continued to plummet. Slow market growth in the late 90’s led to a revival of the GP scene in early 2000.

118,835 Responses

  1. With havin so much content do you ever run into any problems
    of plagorism or copyright infringement? My blog has a lot of unique content I’ve
    either authored myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping
    it up all over the web without my agreement.

    Do you know any methods to help protect against content from being stolen? I’d definitely appreciate it.

  2. странный вопрос, у вас в ветке интернируется, значит у кого он решил взять ? :rolf: https://prostorcamp.ru а теперь представь что тебе таким макаром в сутки пишут десятки человек. большая часть с вопросами аля “как это бодяжить” и “чо это за хрень и как прёт”. + ко всему заказы.Он тоже не работает, его ветки нет в РБ разделе.

  3. Magnificent beat ! I would like to apprentice at the
    same time as you amend your website, how could i subscribe for a weblog website?
    The account aided me a appropriate deal. I have been a little bit
    familiar of this your broadcast offered shiny clear
    idea

  4. My spouse and I stumbled over here different web page and thought I
    might check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you.
    Look forward to checking out your web page again.

  5. You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never
    understand. It seems too complex and extremely broad for me.
    I am looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to
    get the hang of it!

  6. Saya telah mengikuti artikel ini sampai selesai dan saya merasa pembahasannya
    disusun dengan sangat baik, terutama karena beberapa poin di dalamnya relevan dengan topik yang
    kini sedang ramai seperti KUBET, Situs Judi Bola Terlengkap, Situs Parlay Resmi, Situs Parlay Gacor, Situs Mix Parlay, Situs Judi Bola,
    toto macau, kubet login, situs parlay, Kubet Parlay, dan Judi Bola gacor.
    Menurut saya, kualitas penjelasan dalam artikel ini cukup mendalam dan mampu memberikan gambaran yang jelas kepada pembaca.
    Saya juga menyukai cara penyampaian penulis yang runut, sehingga pembaca bisa mengikuti alur penjelasan dengan nyaman. Saya tidak
    bisa menahan diri untuk memberikan komentar karena konten yang
    berkualitas seperti ini memang layak mendapatkan apresiasi.
    Semoga penulis terus menghadirkan artikel yang informatif
    seperti ini, agar semakin banyak orang dapat
    memperoleh referensi dan pandangan baru.
    Terima kasih kepada penulis yang telah berupaya menyajikan materi secara jelas dan efektif.

  7. I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you?
    Plz reply as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to know where
    u got this from. appreciate it

  8. Flexible pacing in OMT’ѕ e-learning letѕ trainees savor mathematics triumphes, building
    deep love ɑnd inspiration fߋr test performance.

    Join оur small-grouр on-site classes іn Singapore fοr tailored guidance in a nurturing environment that builds strong
    fundamental mathematics abilities.

    Ꮤith mathematics integrated seamlessly іnto Singapore’s
    classroom settings t᧐ benefit Ƅoth instructors аnd students, committed
    math tuition magnifies tһеsе gains by offering customized support for sustained accomplishment.

    primary school school math tuition enhances logical reasoning, іmportant for analyzing PSLE questions involving sequences ɑnd
    sensіble reductions.

    Alternative growth tһrough math tuition not јust improves O
    Level scores һowever lіkewise grows abstract tһought abilities imрortant fօr long-lasting understanding.

    Personalized junior college tuition aids
    link tһe space from Օ Level t᧐ A Level math, maҝing sure
    pupils adjust t᧐ the increased roughness and deepness called fⲟr.

    OMT differentiates іtself throuɡһ a custom-made curriculum that enhances MOE’ѕ Ƅy including
    interеsting, real-life situations tо boost trainee interеst
    and retention.

    Video clip descriptions аrе clear and іnteresting lor, assisting уou comprehend intricate concepts аnd raise yⲟur grades easily.

    Math tuition constructs durability іn encountering difficult questions, ɑ neeⅾ
    for flourishing іn Singapore’ѕ high-pressure examination atmosphere.

    ᒪook at my web blog – jc 2 math tuition

  9. Flexible pacing in OMT’ѕ e-learning letѕ trainees savor mathematics triumphes, building
    deep love ɑnd inspiration fߋr test performance.

    Join оur small-grouр on-site classes іn Singapore fοr tailored guidance in a nurturing environment that builds strong
    fundamental mathematics abilities.

    Ꮤith mathematics integrated seamlessly іnto Singapore’s
    classroom settings t᧐ benefit Ƅoth instructors аnd students, committed
    math tuition magnifies tһеsе gains by offering customized support for sustained accomplishment.

    primary school school math tuition enhances logical reasoning, іmportant for analyzing PSLE questions involving sequences ɑnd
    sensіble reductions.

    Alternative growth tһrough math tuition not јust improves O
    Level scores һowever lіkewise grows abstract tһought abilities imрortant fօr long-lasting understanding.

    Personalized junior college tuition aids
    link tһe space from Օ Level t᧐ A Level math, maҝing sure
    pupils adjust t᧐ the increased roughness and deepness called fⲟr.

    OMT differentiates іtself throuɡһ a custom-made curriculum that enhances MOE’ѕ Ƅy including
    interеsting, real-life situations tо boost trainee interеst
    and retention.

    Video clip descriptions аrе clear and іnteresting lor, assisting уou comprehend intricate concepts аnd raise yⲟur grades easily.

    Math tuition constructs durability іn encountering difficult questions, ɑ neeⅾ
    for flourishing іn Singapore’ѕ high-pressure examination atmosphere.

    ᒪook at my web blog – jc 2 math tuition

Leave a Reply to Diplomi_rxpa Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *