Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
With the Spring of 2016 officially upon us, so is the beginning of our cherished racing season. For the next seven or so months we will try to jam as much riding and racing in as we possibly can. With the amount of hours that we’re about to put on our machines, we need graphics that stand up to all of this abuse. There are no better custom graphics in motocross than DeCal Works. All you have to do is log on to www.decalmx.com and within minutes you can design and order your very own set.
Well, as I mentioned above, according to the calendar, Spring is officially here. The Canadian racing began yesterday on Vancouver Island, a group of Canadians made their first step in qualifying for Loretta Lynn’s on the weekend, and here in Ontario, Gopher Dunes enjoyed their first few days of riding. Oh yes, for most of us, never mind Christmas, this is the most wonderful time of the year! Also, Moto Park is planning on opening this coming weekend, but that may change if Ontario gets the wintery weather that is forecasted over the next few days.
At times the battles were intense on the slippery and rocky Detroit SX track. Here, a few of the series’ top riders try to get through the whoops in one piece. Photo by Frank Hoppen
I hope everyone had a great weekend doing whatever it was you guys did. I noticed on Social Media that many of you travelled to beautiful downtown Detroit to take in the SX at Ford Field. I was planning on going down on Saturday morning, however the flu bug hit our family hard this past week so a four hour drive just wasn’t in the cards. I did sit down on Saturday evening to watch the race from start to finish, and as I went to bed after the 450 main event, I was under the assumption that it was just another dominating Ryan Dungey win. Well, in all fairness, that’s exactly what it was as Dungey, who hadn’t won in three weeks, showed why he is the best rider currently on the planet.
By all accounts, the track layout in Detroit was well received by the riders and teams, however, the dirt was not. Not only was it very hard packed and loose, but there were also rocks, bricks and a few other objects that probably shouldn’t be in the dirt that you build a SX track with. Because of this, we once again saw a few flat tires in the main events, none more heartbreaking than Justin Brayton who was running 4th with just a few laps remaining when his rear tire went flat. When the soil is that slippery and loose the riders and teams are in a tough situation. If they run extra air pressure in their tires to guard against getting a flat, then they would lose precious traction that could cost them positions on the track. I’m guessing that after last weekend in Toronto when a few riders suffered flat tires, some of the teams more than likely went up just a smidgen on their air pressure, and while it was fine for most, Brayton and Blake Baggett both suffered from the bad luck of getting a rare flat tire in SX.
Even though the 450SX class results got a little messy, Malcolm Stewart definitely was your 2016 Detroit SX 250SX class winner. Photo by Frank Hoppen
Another part of the Detroit track that looked uncomfortable to me was the section just before the finish line jump. We saw Marvin Musquin get it wrong in his heat race and take a trip over the bars, also Jake Weimer crashed there in the main event, but he made the mistake as he was exiting the corner before. I personally don’t understand why the track builders construct a jump like that peaked one after the tabletop when they know full well that there isn’t going to be much traction available. As we saw, a few riders were daring enough to jump from the tabletop over that next peaked jump. It was very fast but it also had zero room for error. All it took was just a little unanticipated wheel spin off the tabletop and the riders were sent straight into the next jump, and as we saw with Musquin, there was no hope of saving it. I mean, we’re at Round 11 of the series, the riders have been racing for two and half months straight with no break. Why build a section like that, with that dirt, that has no forgiveness? Maybe it’s just my age and experience speaking, but it really does baffle me. Of course, this sketchy section was far overshadowed by what happened in the hours after the 450SX main event. Regardless of who protested Ryan Dungey for jumping on a red cross flag, someone did and when video evidence was provided, the FIM/AMA officials decided that according to the rules, Dungey was docked two positions and thus Jason Anderson was your new winner of the 2016 Detroit SX. As with many events like this one, the people who make a living from racing in this high profile series get very angry and it starts a domino effect for change. Not necessarily a change to the rules, but a change in how the call is made to implement them. The first item that will no doubt come out of this incident is flagging, and where and what flag should be waved in certain situations. The red cross flag, at any level in our sport, is a no brainer. You slow down, you don’t jump until after you’re by the injured rider and then you continue on. This is usually followed correctly, especially outdoors as the riders most times can see the danger ahead much easier than in SX. There has been the occasional infraction over the years (just ask Paul Kingsley), but for the most part, obeying this flag hasn’t been an issue.
Rockstar Energy Drink MX National Series Head Referee Paul Kingsley has had to deal with more than one flagging issue over the years. Photo by James Lissimore
Supercross is another beast all together as every rider who is racing has to be so focused on the track and what’s immediately in front of them unless the flagger is virtually on the track or the rider can see for themselves that someone is down. Noticing any flag that requires an immediate reaction on their part (like chopping the throttle on the face of a jump) is almost impossible. Are these flaggers good? Of course they are. Are they professional flaggers that have been trained by the governing body to do the job with the utmost efficiency? Not in the slightest! And that is where the problem lies as everyone else involved in situations like this are trained professionals at what they do. Ryan Dungey spends his weeks training, riding and trying to be the best that he can be. Dungey’s Red Bull KTM Team, same thing. The FIM/AMA official makes his living being an official. However, all of these individuals who make their living in SX are still using people in the very important role of flagging who are just volunteers with very little training. Don’t get me wrong, they’re very good at flagging and they’re doing their absolute best, but they’re not professionals and that is the broken link in the chain. So in my opinion, either change the rules slightly to reflect that a certain flagger was slow to wave a red cross flag and the rider in question had already committed to a jump, or spend the extra money to make sure that whomever is flagging at a SX has done the same amount of training that the riders and team personnel have done.
It will be very interesting to see where this goes in the coming weeks as there is a lot of support for Ryan Dungey from his fellow riders. Much like the Chad Reed’s black flag situation last season, the riders are confused and angry about what has transpired. With no union or disciplinary committee in place, the riders are at the mercy of the official’s ruling. It’s too bad because Ryan Dungey rode great and certainly deserved the win, but Jason Anderson rode incredible too. While he didn’t cross the finish line first, officially his name is now in the record books as the winner of the 2016 Detroit SX. Oh yes, the unpredictable sport of motocross at its absolute best.
Even though he didn’t do it the way he wanted to, Jason Anderson was your 2016 Detroit SX winner. You can really tell in this photo how rocky the soil was in Detroit. Photo by Frank Hoppen
Well, that’s it for me this week. I hope you’re all enjoying the first few days of Spring and I hope everyone is getting ready to go riding. As I write this it’s snowing outside my office, so to me it doesn’t appear to be Spring-like, but this will hopefully change by the weekend. Before I go I want to tell you about a young athlete that has chosen a different path and a different sport than his famous moto dad. On Saturday, we headed 30 minutes North to watch Carl Vaillancourt’s son, Elliot, compete in the Canadian Junior Ski Championships at Beaver Valley Ski Resort. Elliot won his class and is well on his way to becoming one of the top young mogul skiers in Canada and a possible Olympian in the near future. It was also great to see Carl and talk not just about skiing and family, but also to trade some old moto stories. Have a great week everyone and Happy Easter this weekend!
Former Canadian Motocross Champion Carl Vaillancourt’s son Elliot is making quite the name for himself in the World of Mogul Skiing. This past weekend Elliot won his age group at the Beaver Valley Ski Resort.
