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.

22,921 Responses

  12. Gibbs, Thom (18 December 2022). “The 11 causes this was the greatest World Cup ultimate”.
    The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off in host nation Qatar from November twentieth,
    2022 to December 18th, 2022 aas the biggest tournament
    in males’s international soccer brings plenty of action to our sportsbook.
    Banerjee, Apratim (19 December 2022). “Riots erupt in France as over a hundred and fifteen arrests recorded after Les Bleus suffer defeat to Argentina in FIFA World Cup remaining”.

    Teams were drawn consecutively into Group A to F.
    Teams from every pot were assigned to the positions of their groups following by numbedr orders
    of group stage, for instance Pot 1 team were assigned tto A1, and continued.
    Pundits, commentators, and audiences praised the depth, worrying atmosphere,
    and thrilling again-and-forth nature of the match, highlighting the number of
    targets scored, and with many meedia shops spotlighting it as a duel
    between Paris Saint-Germain teammmates Messi and Mbappé.
    Messi and Mbappe are additionally battlijng for
    the top scorer in the tournament. That’s nnot even remotely close to how the tournament performed out, as Germany flopped hard, crashing out of the
    group stage. The outdated and still-standing Olympiastadion iin Munich (69,250), the venue for
    the 1974 remaining match was not used for the tournament, even though FIFA’s rules enable one city to make use of
    two stadia.

    Have a look at myy homepage world cup online betting

    Reply

  14. This design is spectacular! You definitely know how to keep a reader entertained.
    Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start
    my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Fantastic job. I really enjoyed what you had
    to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!

    Reply

  27. В современном мире домашний интернет в Екатеринбурге стал важной частью нашей повседневной жизни. Интернет-провайдеры в Екатеринбурге предоставляют разнообразные тарифные планы на интернеткоторые включают услуги по обеспечению сетевой безопасности. Важным аспектом являются антивирусные программы и спам-фильтры, защищающие от киберугроз.Настройки роутера также на безопасность Wi-Fi. Фильтрация контента помогает ограничить доступ к нежелательным сайтам. Работая удаленно, защита персональных данных становится особо актуальной. При выборе интернет-провайдера по вашему адресу, стоит обратить внимание на предлагаемые меры безопасности. провайдер Екатеринбург по адресу интернет

    Reply

  36. Hi! Cooking sous vide is all about precision. The https://my-everie.com/ sous vide container helps maintain steady temperatures for evenly cooked meals every time. The clear, durable design makes it easy to monitor progress, while the sturdy build ensures long-term use. A must-have for anyone who enjoys hassle-free, restaurant-quality cooking at home!

    Reply

  42. I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes
    it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you
    hire out a developer to create your theme?

    Fantastic work!

    Reply

  43. Зависимость от алкоголя — это острая проблема, которая касается не только пьющего человека, но и окружающих его людей. Вызов нарколога на дом в владимире является первым шагом к борьбе с алкоголизмом. Обсуждение с наркологом поможет оценить степень проблемы и рекомендовать подходы к лечению, включая психотерапию при алкоголизме.Семейные проблемы из-за алкоголя часто влекут к разладам в семье. Помощь со стороны семьи играет ключевую роль в процессе восстановления. Важно, чтобы семья понимала, как помочь, и какие советы по борьбе с зависимостью могут быть полезны. Реабилитация алкоголиков включает в себя не только медицинское вмешательство, но и социальную поддержку. Профилактика алкоголизма начинается с признания проблемы и готовности к изменениям. Возобновление нормальных отношений — это долгий процесс, который требует усилий всей семьи. вызов нарколога на дом владимир Обращение к врачу на дом дает возможность воспользоваться помощью в привычной обстановке, что помогает лучше понять информацию и уменьшает стресс. Поддержка семьи и готовность к лечению — это ключевые шаги на дороге к восстановлению.

    Reply

  49. Посетите сайт https://kedu.ru/ и вы найдете учебные программы, курсы, семинары и вебинары от лучших учебных заведений и частных преподавателей в России с ценами, рейтингами и отзывами. Также вы можете сравнить ВУЗы, колледжи, учебные центры, репетиторов. KEDU – самый большой каталог образования.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to mostbet_rfsa Cancel reply

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