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.

17,339 Responses

  2. Thank you, I’ve just been searching for info about this subject for ages
    and yours is the greatest I’ve came upon so far. However,
    what in regards to the bottom line? Are you positive concerning the supply?

    Reply

  5. Выбор тарифа домашнего интернета в Москве — задача, требующая постоянного внимания. Во-первых, важно оценить нужную скорость интернета, необходимую для ваших нужд, будь то работа или онлайн-игры. Провайдеры Москвы предлагают множество интернет-тарифов, и рекомендуется сравнить цены и условия на сайтах провайдеров, таких как msk-domashnij-internet005.ru. Обратите внимание на стабильность соединения и технологии подключения, которые влияют на качество интернета. Не забудьте о дополнительных услугах, такие как подключение Wi-Fi, также могут быть важны. Не забудьте ознакомиться с отзывами пользователей, чтобы понять, насколько надежен выбранный провайдер. Наконец, следите за акциями и скидками, это поможет сэкономить на подключении. Правильный выбор провайдера и тарифа обеспечит вам удобный и быстрый интернет!

    Reply

  8. Ищете гражданство паспорт германии евросоюза ес? Expert-immigration.com – это профессиональные юридические услуги по всему миру. Консультации по визам, гражданству, ВНЖ и ПМЖ, помощь в покупке бизнеса, защита от недобросовестных услуг. Узнайте детальнее на ресурсе о каждой из услуг, также и помощи в оформлении гражданства Евросоюза и иных стран либо компетентной помощи в приобретении недвижимости зарубежной.

    Reply

  13. supermoney88

    Supermoney88 adalah situs game terkemuka yang menawarkan pengalaman bermain luar biasa dengan server unggulan asal Thailand. Stabilitas serta performa tinggi server memastikan permainan tanpa gangguan, membuat pengalaman bermain semakin menyenangkan dan stabil.

    Supermoney88 menjaga konsistensi kualitas permainan dan menyediakan tampilan ramah pengguna untuk navigasi mudah. Peluang menang yang tinggi dan aturan permainan yang adil dan jelas menjamin semua pemain mendapat peluang setara, membangun kepercayaan dalam komunitas pemain game.

    masyarakat gamer yang luas dan aktif di Supermoney88 menambah keseruan bermain dengan berbagai aktivitas dan interaksi. Para gamer bisa saling berlomba, bertukar strategi, dan menjalin hubungan baru membangun ekosistem gaming yang aktif dan menarik.

    Supermoney88 menempatkan keamanan sebagai nilai utama, dilengkapi teknologi keamanan mutakhir untuk menjaga data dan privasi pengguna.

    Supermoney88 menghadirkan ragam permainan menarik dengan tema unik, tampilan visual yang menarik dan fitur inovatif seperti putaran gratis, jackpot progresif, dan bonus menarik yang memberikan peluang menang lebih besar.

    Selain itu, Supermoney88 memberikan beragam promo dan hadiah menarik termasuk layanan deposit pulsa yang mudah dan instan. Layanan dukungan pelanggan yang ramah dan cepat memastikan kenyamanan dan kepercayaan pemain saat bermain di Supermoney88.

    Reply

  14. Wonderful blog! I found it while browsing
    on Yahoo News. Do you have any suggestions on how to get
    listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to
    get there! Cheers

    Reply

  20. Normally I do not read post on blogs, however I would
    like to say that this write-up very compelled
    me to try and do it! Your writing taste has been surprised me.
    Thanks, quite nice article.

    Here is my site – website

    Reply

  21. Normally I do not read post on blogs, however I would
    like to say that this write-up very compelled
    me to try and do it! Your writing taste has been surprised me.
    Thanks, quite nice article.

    Here is my site – website

    Reply

  27. Одни подойдут для новичков, помогут
    сориентироваться в терминологии,
    освоить азы астрологии, другие – профессиональные инструменты, предназначенные для специалистов.

    Reply

  30. Can I simply just say what a relief to discover someone that genuinely understands what they are discussing on the net.
    You actually realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important.

    More people need to read this and understand this side of the story.
    It’s surprising you aren’t more popular given that you certainly possess the gift.

    Reply

  37. Hello! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if
    you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment
    form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and
    I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!

    Reply

  38. TESLATOTO adalah situs demo slot tanpa deposit hingga X5000 dari provider PG Soft & Pragmatic Play.
    Main tanpa modal, langsung klik dan main, nikmati peluang maxwin hari ini!

    Reply

  40. Помимо общения, здесь есть игра «Симпатии», чат-бот для подбора пары, опросы, подарки и задания, которые позволяют заработать монеты.

    Reply

  50. Ищете приватный софт rust? Arayas-cheats.com/game/rust. Играйте, не боясь получить бан. Узнайте подробнее на странице какие бывают читы для игры Rust и как ими правильно пользоваться, а также ответы на самые частые вопросы для того чтобы нагибать всех в Раст.

    Reply

Add a Comment

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