Richard Pelchat

Walton, Canada Cup round 2, June 28th:

I had to miss the Blountville AMA race in order to go race in Walton. I came into this race ready, I was able to relax in one of my only off-weekend and I trained hard in the week before the race. Unfortunately, the weather was bad, with a lot of rain that turned the beautiful Walton track into a big mud bog. James Bank was able to beat in the first moto mud. Thankfully the sun dried out the track before the second moto. I took this god-sent opportunity to holeshot and check out the second moto for the win.
Result: 2-1 (first Overall)

St-Wenceslas, Courses VTT round 2, July 5th:

Thanks! That was only one hour drive!!! I bunch of my friend and family came to see me race. I had left all my stress back home and went there to have fun! I did my job with 2 holeshots and a perfect win pattern!
Result: 1-1-1 (qualifier and 2 motos)

Southwick, NEATV, July 12th:

That race was on my schedule for a while. I really like this track! But once again I was starting to feel my non-stop racing and travelling. I had a really nasty cold in the week before the race, I should have stayed home…but hey Southwick was on my to-win list! I really wish I had some luck on my side to help but I didn’t happen! A faulty fan ruined my race bike in practice so I had to use my not-so ready practice bike. I tough it up and rode as hard as I could for third overall in both the Open Pro and the Open Pro-am.
Result: 3rd Overall Open Pro and 3rd Overall Open Pro-am

Pennsylvania, AMA, July 19th:

I was really happy to finally be back racing the AMA. After my 7th overall in Unadilla I was confident to continue to improve my results. I was able to rest a bit and heal up my cold in week before. I had really good lap times easily in the top ten. First moto went good, but I got pass late in the race when I took a bad line. I finished 12th in the first moto. The track was really dusty for the second moto start. I hit a big pot hole in the second corner, when I tried to square up a corned but I could see the ground…I got bucked out of the bike and then ran over by a fellow rider, this got me winded and my back was all bloody and scrached. Plus my bike was all bent up for the impact. Really nice!
Result: 12th and DNF for 17th

St-Seraphine, Courses VTT round 3, July 26th:

Due to my schedule this would be my last race in Quebec for the summer before the Montreal SX. I had to use my practice quad as my race bike had a mysterious electrical problem in practice. My mechanic Mathiew would have found the problem in a second but he was back at the shop to get a DS 450 ready for RED BUD the week after…tight schedule!!! I got a bad start and I was able to catch Jasmin Plante who was in the lead. But as I was knocking on his rear wheel…my bike let go. Then the second moto was cancelled due to heavy rain!
Result: DNF

RED BUD, AMA, Michigan, August 1-2:

What a nice MX track!!! I had not been there in 3 years. Plus, this time the weather was great! I had really good lap time during the weekend. I qualified ready well in front of many factory riders. I rode hard the entire first moto for a 8th place finish. Second moto, I was involved in a first lap jam…but put my head down to catch up and pass up to 8th place again. My 8th and 8th moto finish gave me an amazing 6th overall. My best finish ever in AMA.
Result: 6th Overall (8th and 8th motos finishes)

Parry sound, Canada Cup final round, August 9th:

Oh! I was stressed out for that race. With only three races in the Canada Cup championship, any problems would mean no Championship! Plus, I really wanted to win this for Can-am.

To make matter worse, the sky open up in morning, to transform the track in a huge pool! Fortunately, I was able to holeshot the first moto and win, my DS 450 ran perfect. For the second moto, the sun was back and dried the track. I won again the second…and clinched the Canada Cup championship.
Result: 1-1 and 1st in the Championship

Lorreta Lynns, Tennesse, AMA, August 15-16:

It was my first time ever at this track, the heat and humidity is really something! Unfortunately my quad setup was really off for the soil of the track. In the first moto, I tangled with Jeremy Lawson and was sent flying into the fence. I got up to finished 15th. In the second moto, I rode hard but eventually the heat got the best of me and I started to feel some stomach pain. I finished 11th. But this where the fun part end!!! On the way home (a 20+hours drive) my diesel truck engine BROKE! It left us stranded 17hours from home. I had to take a plane to France on Tuesday. Well my girlfriend was able to get me another plane ticket one day later and my parents actually drove down with a truck on a trailer. We switched truck and drove everything back to Canada! This little incident, set me back around 9000$ as I had to buy a new engine for my truck, plus the extra gas and truck rental!
Result: 14th Overall (15th and 11th motos finishes)

12hours of Pont-de-Vaux, France, August 22-23:

This event is really amazing with an impressive turn out of spectators and teams! I was teamed up with French riders Jeremy Warnia and Greg Lassaigne. To say, that we were the heavy favourite would be an understatement! For the actual race we had a bunch of little problems that you can’t have to win an endurance race. Too bad, as Greg had taken extra care to prep the DS 450. But sometime you need a bit of luck, and this time it was not our turn. We eventually finished 10th overall, thanks to our never say ‘’stop’’ attitude. Thanks to the team over there who work really hard!
Result: 10th overall

Montreal Supercross, October 4th.

I took the previous month to put myself in SX mode. I changed my practice track to make it a real SX challenge. It had some impressive section on it. I also did a lot of TV and radio stuff to promote the event. The Montreal SX is really great for that, as it get the mainstream media involved. I was ready for the race like never before. Josh Creamer, John Natalie, Chad Wienen, where all in the entry list. But deep down, I didn’t fear them, I really felt like I could beat anybody! Unfortunately, I had a get off in the first practice on a tricky section. The impact messed up my left shoulder big time. I tried to continue the event in pain, even qualifying but the pain was increasing each lap, each bump. In the end, I pulled out of the main event in pain. Propably the toughest decision I could make but probably one of my smartest.
Result: DNF