Photo Report: Lethbridge AX Night One

Welcome to the 15th Annual Alberta AX Championships!

Nearly 3,000 fans took in the action last night at the Enmax Centre.

Blackfoot's Kyle Beaton was a late - but very appreciated - addition to this weekend's event. The poster child of the Raymond Amateur National, "Beets" won both of his heat races, both main events, and walked with over $1,000 last night.

Local Luke Firth finished third behind Beaton and Ryan Lockhart in the AX2 final.

"Bartman" Bart Stephenson was in the house last night. A former podium contender at the nationals, Bartman held his own against the young bucks and qualified for both main events.

George De Graaf Jr. (73) leads Bartman (237) t hrough the whoop-dee-doos. This is pretty much where all of the passing (and crashing) took place.

Riley Blackmer was the man to beat in the intermediate classes. He qualified for the AX2 Pro main event as well.

Thanks to some setting tips from James Lissimore, I managed to capture some "flawless" photos, as shown here.

The Vixens warmed things up inside the Enmax Centre.

George De Graaf Sr. and Pro-Action's Chris Bonneau chat it up.

As you can guess, this didn't end well....

Dean Thompson does his best Uncle Buck impersonation.

Not really sure what the deal was here....

The intermediate class blasts off the line.

Kyle Keast bulldozes his way past the #107 Yamaha.

A Pro heat jumps off the gate.

The promoters put a little spin on the Dash-for-Cash. Rather than making a lap on their bikes, riders had a foot-race around the track. Firth grabbed the win and a quick $200. Lockhart and Keast should stick to racing motorcycles and stay far, far away from marathons. I thought these guys were professional athletes?