Walton Raceway
Home of the TransCan | |
---|---|
Location | One Km east of Duff's United Church at Walton, Ontario, Canada |
Time zone | UTC−05:00 |
Owner | Chris & Judy Lee |
Operator | Tite Racing Promotions Inc.[1] |
Broke ground | 1970 |
Opened | 1972 |
Major events | Closed course offroad motocycles, ATVs and trucks |
Website | http://www.waltonraceway.ca |
Walton Raceway is an off road vehicle motorsport park located just outside the hamlet of Walton, part of the Municipality of Huron East in Huron County Ontario, Canada.[2] It is on a 200-acre site which includes several ponds, wetlands, reforested areas, hardwood forest, rolling hills and an agricultural acreage owned by the Lee family since 1965.
The race track began operating in the early 1970s as the home track for the Maitland Dirt Riders club. During that period CMA sanctioned motocross events were organized. In the early 1990s the track began to host CMRC sanctioned motorcycle racing.
In 1992 the concept of a multi day Grand National Championship was held for the first time. It was modeled after the Loretta Lynn US national championship held annually in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. It is currently called the Parts Canada TransCan Grand National Championship.[3] The TransCan is acknowledged as the biggest outdoor motocross in Canada[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Scheduled for 15–19 August 2012.
Walton Raceway has been a featured location for television production since 1995 on TSN and subsequently on Global TV, Sportsnet, FUEL TV and ESPN2. A Rick Mercer Report feature was aired on CBC in 2009 in which Rick Mercer is given a quick course in how to ride and then sent out to compete with a group of youngsters.
Each year the Huron Tourism Association (HTA)[11] recognizes a member who has demonstrated leadership, creative invention, partnership initiative, community impact and excellence in the tourism industry. In 2011, following nomination[12] by the Municipality of Huron East, the Tourism Development award[11] was presented to Walton Raceway.
In 2012 a family succession plan was entered into. An expanded and diversified range of activities includes RC truck racing, truck mud bogs, closed course truck racing and the Edge of Walton Challenge Course
Notable Participants
- Mike Alessi
- Jolene Van Vugt
- Travis Pastrana
- Blair Morgan
- Jean Sebastien Roy
- Dusty Klatt
- Jason Lawrence
- John Dowd
- Julien Bill MX3 World Champion
- Mike Jones
- Andy Bell
- Seth Enslow
- Tyler Butler
- Tucker Hibbert (multi time champ at X-Games )
References
- ^ [1] business profile
- ^ "Google Maps"
- ^ "Parts Canada TransCan" Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ^ [2] Huron Expositor Aug 2009 Dan Schwab Article covering event
- ^ [3] Offroad Motorcycles magazine Dan Paris editor
- ^ [4] Motocross Performance Magazine Ryan Gauld editor
- ^ [5] RacerX Magazine TransCan race report 2010
- ^ [6] RacerX Canada Moto show from Walton 2008
- ^ [7] Direct Motocross event wrap up 2009
- ^ [8] Canadian Motorsport Racing Corp. The "Big Show" at Walton Raceway
- ^ a b [9] Tourism Development award
- ^ [10] Huron East award nomination