Palm’s 2013 Year In Review

Brett Metcalfe used his smooth style and his motocross IQ to dominate the MX1 Class in 2013.

Palm’s 2013 Year in Review

The past 365 days has been quite a year for me, both on a personal note and professionally. With my son Ayrton just completing his first year of racing I had new reasons to be at the track, in addition to attending seven of the nine rounds of the Rockstar Energy MX Nationals, it was definitely a busy racing season. I also raced myself this past summer a few times to get ready for the Parts Canada TransCan – so that was different for me also. While I love being busy, the one drawback it does have is that it makes time go by really fast and when I think back to 2013, it seems like a blur of work, fun and the sound of a PW-50.

To begin this story let me take you back to the first week in June in beautiful Vancouver, BC. I had flown into Vancouver in the morning for round one of the nationals in Nanaimo, BC, and my plan was to meet up with Ryan Lockhart and drive with him over to Vancouver Island.  Since Ryan didn’t get off work until later that day, I ended up having a few hours to kill. I decided to head downtown and have lunch with 1980’s Ontario MX legend Frank Watts who was also in town for work (Frank is a corporate pilot). During lunch Frank and I spoke about the upcoming race in Nanaimo as well as our plans for the summer. My reason for telling you this is that it feels like just yesterday that Frank and I were sitting at that Granville Island restaurant talking about the summer of 2013. As I said before, time really does fly by when you’re busy and having fun.

After winning the opening round in Nanaimo, Colton Facciotti would suffer a horrible injury at round two and would be out for the season.

That opening round in Nanaimo was the first glimpse of Leading Edge’s new rider Brett Metcalfe. With very few options for 2013 in the USA, Metcalfe had decided to venture north to regain his confidence and try and win a Canadian Championship. During those first four rounds in the west it was a real treat to watch Metcalfe methodically navigate our Canadian tracks. From the rough sand of Kamloops, to the deep ruts of Calgary, to the freeway-like conditions of Edmonton, Metcalfe adapted very well to tracks he’d never seen before. By the time the western swing wrapped up, Metcalfe had a commanding points lead in the MX1 class.

Although Metcalfe left Edmonton as the dominate rider, the riders who were chasing him had really picked up their game since round one in Nanaimo. Riders like Teddy Maier, Tyler Medaglia, Jeremy Medaglia and Bobby Kiniry all found some extra speed during the first five rounds and were threats to win in each moto. This seemed to the theme as the MX1 series moved east as these riders definitely closed the gap on Metcalfe and in end they made him earn every point in his championship chase. Another thing that made life tough on Metcalfe in the east was the addition of Cole Thompson to the series. After signing just two weeks before round five at Gopher Dunes, Cole didn’t have much time to get used to his new KTM, but sometimes being young and talented is a wonderful thing and when it was time for the east rounds to begin, Cole was ready to win.

Cole Thompson was a great addition to the 2013 series when he joined it at round five at Gopher Dunes.

As it would turn out, round five at Gopher Dunes was memorable for a few different reasons. First in the MX2 class it was 15 year old Dylan Wright who garnered most of the attention with his unbelievable ride on his Yamaha YZ250 two stroke to finish third overall. After his awesome Gopher Dunes ride, Dylan Wright would go on to have a great summer and would end up winning multiple TransCan championships and securing himself a factory Yamaha ride for 2014.

Another Yamaha rider who would end up having an unforgettable day at Gopher Dunes was Ontario legend Kyle Keast. While it’s no secret that Gopher Dunes is one of Keast’s favourite tracks and he always does well there, in 2013 Kyle had been so busy with work that he hadn’t put as much time into training as he usually had in the past. However, Kyle loves being the underdog and when everyone is betting against him, he almost always shines. On this particular day at Gopher Dunes Kyle Keast was shinning as bright as the scorching sun. With some series regulars barely being able to finish because of the heat and humidity, Keast charged from behind in both motos to finish second overall in the MX1 class and almost winning the second moto. It was an unbelievable ride for Keast and one that I’m sure he’ll cherish for many years to come.

Kyle Keast showed up at Gopher Dunes motivated to show everyone that he still had it. After a day of extreme heat and a super rough track, Keast proved once again that he is one of the toughest riders in the world.

With the toughest round of the series behind them, the final four rounds of the series would see three different winners. At Sand Del Lee it was Cole Thompson who would grab his first MX1 win on Canadian soil, a win that certainly lifted the spirits of his decimated KTM team. The very next weekend in Quebec, it was Jeremy Medaglia who would step up and dominate taking his first career MX1 win. While these other riders were taking their turns on top of the podium, series points leader Brett Metcalfe was quietly doing what he had to do to secure his very first Canadian Championship. By the time series came to its conclusion in Walton, the Leading Edge Team had won both the MX2 Championship with Austin Politelli and the MX1 Championship with Brett Metcalfe.

It was a great summer of racing and one that certainly continued to keep Canadian motocross on the world map. One has to wonder how much better it would’ve been had Colton Facciotti not got hurt at round two in Kamloops. After winning the opening round convincingly over Metcalfe and company, Facciotti showed that he had the speed necessary to win motos. Would it have been enough to hold off Metcalfe for eight more rounds? Well, we will never know, but one thing is for sure, it definitely would’ve been fun to watch. I will give Frank Watts some more credit as sitting there at lunch back in June, Frank predicted a Leading Edge sweep for the MX2 and MX1 classes.

Bobby Kiniry had a great 2013 and finished second overall again in the MX1 class. Next year he will no doubt be one of the riders to challenge for the title.

So with 2013 now behind us, we now can look ahead to 2014. We know now that Brett Metcalfe will be back with Leading Edge to defend his number one plate, we also know that he will have some stiff competition from Colton Facciotti (who is now on a GDR Honda), newly signed Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha rider Kyle Chilsolm will also be fast, so will his teammate Bobby Kiniry. KTM will have Cole Thompson and Tyler Medaglia representing the orange brigade, and this just all in the MX1 class, the MX2 class is a whole other story and is equally exciting. Finally, for 2014 we will have a brand new national series title sponsor. Rockstar Energy will now take over from Monster Energy and it will be interesting to see what the new sponsor will bring to the series. Could next year the best year ever in Canadian motocross? Things are certainly shaping up that way and the fans should be very excited.

There is also so much that I haven’t even touched on and I must apologize for this, things like all of the fast amateur kids that stood out in 2013. Riders like Casey Keast, Jacob Piccolo, Preston Masciangelo and Jake Tricco. These names are just the tip of the iceberg as there are many fast Canadian kids that hopefully will continue to flourish in 2014. We hope everyone has a Happy New Year and we hope that 2014 is a great year for all. Here’s to 2013 and what a great year it was in Canadian Motocross!!

With speed, style and a strong work ethic, the sky is the limit for Dylan Wright in 2014 and beyond.