As the Blackfoot team photographer for the last few years I got to spend a lot of time on the road with Blair and am proud to call him a friend. As a hero of mine growing up it was nice to find out that he was just as nice in person as he seemed on TV, and never once gave even the slightest hint of an ego, despite all of his accomplishments. Since I returned from Montreal I have spent the last few days going through my entire archives, a collection of over a 100,000 images looking for shots of Blair. Though I'm still sorting through film stuff that needs to be scanned, I thought I'd share a few of the images I've taken over the years.
James
2003
After 2002's epic battles with JSR, Blair left Blackfoot to form his own Yamaha team. Unfortunately at the second round he had the infamous stuck throttle crash that knocked him out for the rest of the season.
Still scanning 03 and 04 stuff so that's all I have for now from that era....
2005
This is the year that still confuses people. With Yamaha electing to start their own team instead of renewing with Blair, he found a home at Chris Morgan's Morgan Racing Yamaha team, which had just switched to Yamaha's from Suzuki. Many people still thought it was the Blair Morgan team since it had Morgan Racing in the name.
Blair debuted his new four stroke at the opening round at Mission to sunny skies on Saturday.
Sunday turned into a mess as the skies opened up but there was Blair, sloshing along in the mud with no goggles and a smile on his face.
Blair's son Corbin wishes him good luck before Nanaimo.
2006
2006 brought a return to Blackfoot for Blair and he picked up right where he left off when he left the team.
Blair with his close friend and trainer, Todd Schumlick (PerformX on here).
Blair was too sick to race at his hometown race at Regina this season so Truck Driver Kelly suited up in Blair's gear and volunteered to ride.
The helmet says it all. Blair getting ready for another podium appearance at Moncton.
The height of Blackfoot dominance. Dusty, JSR and Blair go 1-2-3 in 2006. Unfortunately they would announce that Honda had pulled out soon after the podium presentation.
2007
With Honda out, Blackfoot signed a deal with Yamaha, returning Blair to his familiar blue bikes.
The day that all the Blackfoot bikes quit. Blair had charged all the way to third before his bike quit on the last lap. It was a heartbreaker for sure but Blair didn't let it get him down.
Blair's friend Tyler Hazelwood drove the Blackfoot semi for part of the season.
Blair finally got back to the podium at Calgary, bringing Corbin with him.
Blair is a great mentor to the younger riders. Here he offers some words of advice to his Snocross protege, Brett Turcotte, who won an X-Games silver medal riding for Blair's Snowmobile team at this season's Winter X-Games.
Unfortunately, this happened a few times in 2007, contributing to his number 12 for 2008. His speed was a lot better than what the results showed.
Captain Canada was never one to turn down an invitation to the MX des Nations. He was number 54 for the all Blackfoot Canadian team at Budds Creek.
Blair and longtime wrench Anthony Turner wait in staging at the Des Nations. Though business obligations kept Anthony from being at every round this season he was still an integral part of Team Blair.
Blair is always available to sign whatever is needed. Here he signs Snuffy's Canadian Flag at the Des Nations.
Despite his hurt ankle, Blair still gave it everything he had at Budds Creek.
My favorite shot from the Des Nations. The ruts, the crowd, and Captain Canada riding alone.
2008
With the industry hurting, there were some cutback's for 2008. Blair's new contract didn't include numbers so he had to fashion his own out of electrical tape.
Blair could always be counted on to ham it up for the camera. Here he strikes a pose with his teammates in Georgia.
Again showing how well he was at mentoring the young riders, Blair lends the new kid, Aron Harvey, a helping hand.
My favorite Blair shot from the Team photo shoot in Georgia.
Blair knew I had caught this as soon as he hit the ground.
Though he wasn't racing, JSR was still at the races to cheer on his old friend.
One of the best races of the year was Blair and Tyler Medaglia's battle for second at Regina. Here they come across the finish line side by side.
Blair celebrates another podium at Edmonton with his family.
Blair nabbed a rare holeshot at Sand Del Lee this year.
Blair was pumped to finish second at Walton.
Blair gets congratulated for another sucessful season by longtime boss, Jason Mitchell.
Here are a couple of shots from Saturday.
Blair and Colt discuss lines during the track walk.
Blair skims the whoops.
Walking out for the last practice session. I tagged along as Blair and JSR walked and chatted, same as they'd probably done for close to a decade.
That's what I have for now. I will try and post more as I continue to come across stuff.
