2023 BFD MOTO Fall Super Series: RD 1
Canadian hard enduro star Trystan Hart (KTM Factory Racing) came out to race the first round of the 2023 BFD Moto Fall Super Series. © Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
The BFD Moto Fall Super Series got started at the Wild Rose Motocross Association here in Calgary this past Sunday. The series consists of five rounds over three weekends, and is traditionally very well attended, with only the Triple Crown rounds coming close to matching them for numbers here in Alberta. For example, round 1 of this year’s Fall Super Series saw just around 450 riders registered. Adding a little bit of extra interest to the day, Trystan Hart and Will Riordan crossed over from hard enduro to take the start in a couple of morning motos.
While the racing was great at Round 1 the day was impacted by some significant wrecks, including one involving Jason Slingerland in the 125cc 2-stroke first moto that has left him still hospitalized with significant head injuries, and multiple leg arm inuries. As of the last update from the family (Wednesday morning), Jason was still not awake and had undergone surgery to remove part of his skull to relieve pressure from brain swelling. If you’re interested in helping out the family during this tough time, there is a Go Fund Me campaign in progress that you can donate to here.
Jason Slingerland (Team Mountains Edge) racing shortly before his major crash. © Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
GP PRO/AM
The 20 deep GP Pro/Am was a dog fight between Calgary locals Tee Perot (Manluk Rock River Yamaha), Nick Collins (just coming off a Triple Crown outdoor season stint with the Manluk team), and Kelowna BC’s Zach Ufimzeff (Manluk Rock River Yamaha). Nick and Tee were flying in tight formation for most of Moto 1, with Tee making the pass heading up the tabletops on the east side hill. Trystan picked up a very solid third place in the moto, with Zach in fourth, and Kale Cuthbertson (BFD Moto / Rad 2.0 / Husqvarna Canada) rounding out the top five in Moto 1. Tee also took P1 in Moto 2, building a commanding lead out of the gate, with Zach and Nick swapping finish positions for P2 and P3 respectively, Kale Cuthbertson in P4, and PJ Stratton in P5.
GP JUNIOR
The GP Junior was the biggest field of the day, with 37 riders on the line. There was an interesting spread of results across the two motos, primarily because of a large pileup in the bottleneck off the start of Moto 2. This was a big one, collecting several riders from the middle to the outside lines, and causing a big traffic jam behind it. From my position it appeared to be primarily a result of the freshly watered track after the intermission. It was definitely slick there when I walked by before the moto started.
Destiny Slingerland rode a very consistent 7-4 to finish 4th in class on the day, and was the youngest rider in the top 10 of the class. The P4 in Moto 2 was an especially notable ride for Destiny as she had to battle through the start pileup, and as it also came not long after her brother was taken to hospital by ambulance after a significant crash and injuries (more on this later). It was a real demonstration of her mental toughness. In fact, her final lap of this moto was 3rd fastest of the moto, and within 1 second of the fastest lap of the moto (Ryder Lesperance).
Samuel Clement – 1 (3-1)
Ryder Lesperance – 2 ( 4-6)
Steven Favreau – 3 (8-4)
Destiny Slingerland – 4 (7-5)
Connor Wells – 5 (6-7)
250 JUNIOR
Connor Wells (BFD Moto) went 2-1 to take the win over a field of 25 in the 250 Junior class, over Ryder Lesperance (1-2) in P2, Dexter Seitz (3-2) in P3, with Owen Bartok and Samuel Clement rounding out the top 5.
250 INTERMEDIATE
Stephan Larochelle had a strong day in 250 Intermediate going 1-1 and taking the overall over Austin Hemphill (3-2) and Matteo Derose (5-3). In an unfortunate turn of events, Wyatt Hasil went down on lap 3 after setting what would be the fastest lap of the moto. Wyatt re-injured the same leg that he had just come back from, and was unable to continue. I haven’t heard any updates, but we’re wishing him well. Wyatt was definitely looking like he was getting back to full speed at Round 1, and also at the AMSA MX final round the day before here at Wild Rose.
LADIES
The Ladies A race was the Destiny Slingerland show, with Destiny going 1-1 on dominating lap times that were consistently 10 seconds faster than anyone else in both motos. The Moto 1 ride was especially impressive as it came after a very lengthy delay on the line following the crash and severe injuries suffered by her brother in the previous moto. The ladies were waiting in the sun for a long time waiting for EMS to safely remove Jason from the track. Jordynn Brennan rode a very solid 2-3 and P2 overall on her way back from shoulder surgery following a crash in the third round of the Triple Crown series here in Calgary. Jordynn is an up-comer here in Alberta, and I’m looking forward to watching her progress. Josi Ball had a big turn-around in Moto 2 to go 7-2 for P3 on the day. Harley Lawson (5-4, P4) and Alivia Werezak (4-7, P5) finished out the top five.
Ladies B:
1. Cali Austad (1-1)
2. Reese Lawson (2-2)
3. Jessica Marr (4-3)
4. Brooke Speight (3-4)
5. Emily Hunter (5-5).
Girls 7-16:
1. Jessica Marr (2-1)
2. Brynn Langford (1-2)
3. Anna Marr (3-3)
4. Emily Hunter (4-4)
5. Lola Kurtenbach (5-5)
SUPER MINI 16 & UNDER
The Super Mini class was owned by Dexter Seitz going a dominant 1-1. Parker Hatt (3-2) and Chase Nemeth (2-3) swapped places in Motos 1 and 2 to finish P2 and P3 respectively, with Jacob DeHaan (6-4) and Braxton Becker (5-5) in P4 and P5.
85 CC
In the 85cc Expert class it was Dexter Seitz (1-1) leading the way again, ahead of Parker Hatt (2-2), Braxton Becker (3-3), and Jacob DeHaan (4-DNS). This race was tighter on lap times than we saw between these same riders in the Super Mini motos, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out in Rounds 2 and 3 coming up this weekend.
The 85cc Junior class was a big one, with 23 riders lining up. The top 10 riders on the day were very consistent in their moto finishes while being led by Kai Bryant (1-1), Ryan Taylor (3-2), Liam LeBeau (2-3), Donovan Dool (4-4), and Carter Fletcher-Walker (5-5) as your top five finishers.
The 85cc Intermediates were led by Rylan Sawyer (1-1), Madden Bell (2-2), Tavis Alexander (3-5), Cade Houk (6-3), and Liam Bergeron (5-4).
