Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good day and welcome to the first Honda Canada Racing Gate Drop of 2018. Honda Canada is very excited to see what 2018 holds and with an all new CRF250R, as well as the durable CRF450R, you will no doubt be seeing a lot of red up front during this coming year. Honda Canada would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best in 2018!
Well, here we are once again, the first day of a brand new year, and with it comes a clean slate for everyone. This is usually the time of year when old habits are broken and new habits begin. Maybe it’s a new diet or a gym membership, or maybe it’s just an internal promise to be more relaxed and not sweat the little things. Whatever your New Year’s resolution is, I hope it works out and I hope your 2018 is an awesome one.
It was very cool to see a superstar like Sidney Crosby play in person.
Did everyone have a Merry Christmas? I sure hope so as it really is the best time of the year. Over Christmas, my family and I travelled down to South Carolina to spend the holidays with some friends that we have down there. Normally we take my son’s bike with us and do a little riding, but this time we left it at home and just had a vacation. We had a great time and it was very cool waking up on Christmas morning, opening presents and then going outside to play basketball in 15c temperatures. On the drive home we stopped in Pittsburgh to watch a Penguins game at the PPG Paints Arena. To see superstars like Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin in person was pretty amazing. It’s not every day that you get to see the best in the world, in any sport, play live. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to witness top athletes like Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Wayne Gretzky and Tiger Woods all play in person. Now I can add Sidney Crosby to this incredible list, along with all of the top riders that I’ve seen ride as well. Anyway, we had a great Christmas and now we look forward to a healthy and successful new year.
In the Canadian motocross industry, it’s been a while since we’ve had so many new things to talk about as we welcome in a new calendar year. With a new national series beginning in late February, as well as a new sanctioning body to oversee racing in Canada, there is no doubt that 2018 is going to be an exciting season. As I mentioned, the 2018 Rockstar Triple Crown Series begins on February 24th in Abbotsford, BC. The first four events of this series are indoors, so that should add a little extra flavour to the racing. From what we understand at this point, all of our top riders (with the exception of Kaven Benoit) will be on the line for Round 1 in Abbotsford. Thankfully, all of the top riders in the series have AX experience so they all should be fine racing in the tight confines of an arena. I think beginning the season indoors will certainly add a different vibe to the racing in Canada, and definitely a little more animosity than ever before. For instance, on the starting line for the MX1 main event in Abbotsford we could see names like Goerke, Facciotti, Alessi, Epstein, Medaglia, Thompson, Leitner, Meston, as well as a few other possible big names. With a tight track and so much at stake, there is bound to be some bumping and grinding during the main events. In the past, the first time these riders race together each season has been on the spacious Whispering Pines track, where there is a lot of room to battle. Now, I’m sure these riders are going to be respectful to each other for the most part, but as we’ve seen so many times in the past, anything can happen indoors. I remember back in 1997, most of the top pro riders raced a Niagara Falls AX the week before the outdoor national series began in Quebec. Between myself, Marty Burr, Bill Wallin, and Blair Morgan, there was more than a few aggressive passes in the Niagara Falls Arena and it really set the stage for the nationals. This coming season is obviously on a much larger scale, but we could see the same results.
The track for Anaheim 1 looks very technical and should provide some incredible racing.
So with the new Rockstar Triple Crown Series on the not so distant horizon, we turn our attention to this coming weekend and the opening round of the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross Series. The opening round of SX, which is now simply known as “A1,” is the most anticipated race of the season and fans from across the globe are excited for it. I’ve been lucky enough to have attended the opening round at Angel Stadium multiple times over the past 20 years, and I can tell you that even if the racing on the track ends up being anti-climatic, the vibe off the track is incredible. As soon as you arrive at the stadium in the morning and see the giant Los Angeles Angels New Era hat out front, you can just feel the energy of opening day. New bikes, new teams, and new riders; everything is new and everyone is starting with a clean slate – just as we all are today! As of today, the weather forecast looks good for Saturday so track conditions should be ideal for racing. All that is left is for the gate to drop and the new season to begin. Obviously, as history has shown us, the winner of A1 normally doesn’t go on to win the series. However, winning the opening round in Anaheim is something that every rider dreams about so each and every rider in the field will be going for it. Check back on Wednesday and I’ll go over all of the major players in the 2018 series – who’s in, and, sadly, who’s out.
Well, that is it for me on this opening week of 2018. I hope that the new year finds you healthy and happy and that all of your dreams come true in 2018. Happy New Year and enjoy this first cold week of January. Happy New Year from me, and all of us at MXP Magazine!
