Nationals heat up as they head to Sand Del Lee this weekend
The Monster Energy Motocross Nationals head to Sand Del Lee in Richmond, ON this weekend for Round 6 of the MX1 and MX2 title hunt.With the series having passed the halfway point, things are starting to heat up. The top-10 contenders have been determined in both classes and from this point on it’s going to be about securing those positions while at the same time attempting to improve on them.As far as the MX1 Championship is concerned, it seems that now only worst-case scenarios will derail Monster Energy/Parts Canada/Leading Edge Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe’s express train to the No.1 plate.
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| Metcalfe enters Sand Del Lee with a comfortable points lead in the MX1 class. |
With a solid 60 points lead, Metcalfe has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is a champion in the making and the man to beat by anyone still entertaining the notion that he has a shot at the title.
“Everything has been going great so far. I love Canada and the more relaxed racing atmosphere here. The Leading Edge Monster Kawasaki team is superb. The bike is fantastic,” Metcalfe said. “I’m just happy to be back racing. That was the main goal for me to come to Canada, to just get back to racing, after a long time of inactivity due to injuries.”
From a mathematical standpoint, Red Bull/Fox/Royal Distributing/KTM’s Tyler Medaglia (pictured above) and Rockstar Energy/OTSFF/Yamaha Motovan.com’s Bobby Kiniry are about the only riders in the mix who can still dream about the championship. Medaglia and Kiniry are currently tied for second place, 60 points down from Metcalfe.
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| Tyler Medaglia hopes to use the familiar Sand Del Lee track to move up the standings. |
To see the dream come true, however, both Kiniry and Medaglia are going to need a bit of extra good fortune on their side, and hope some extra misfortune comes Metcalfe’s way. One DNF would contribute to the cause, but only if Kiniry and Medaglia win motos and score the big points.
If Metcalfe keeps going the way he’s going, then the racing will be for runner-up in the series and the remaining single digit number plates. As the pro tour heads to Sand Del Lee, it looks like Kiniry, Medaglia, and Metcalfe’s Leading Edge teammate, Teddy Maier, are going to be the ones banging handlebars for that No.2 plate, which
currently belongs to Kiniry.
An intense three-way battle is underway for the No.5 plate between MX101 Yamaha’s Jeremy Medaglia, (pictured right) Sewer Rat Racing Yamaha’s Morgan Burger, and Redemption Racing KTM’s Gavin Gracyk. Medaglia has six more points than Burger and Gracyk, who are tied for sixth place in the rankings right now.
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| Jeremy Medaglia hopes to make it three wins in a row this weekend but this time in the MX1 class. |
In the volatile MX2 class, the championship possibilities are more open. Although Leading Edge Kawasaki’s Austin Politelli enjoys a 36 points lead over Cycle North Honda’s Brad Nauditt, things can change dramatically over the next four rounds.
Nauditt currently sits in third place, three points down from KTM’s Kaven Benoit, who is out of the series with injuries. Nauditt and Joshua Clark are poised to move up and ahead of Benoit this weekend.
Politelli ruled the roost for the first three nationals but in the last two he didn’t fare as well and he will have to stay focused and finish on the box every weekend if he wants to ride off with the No.1 plate at the end of the season.
Whatever the case, it looks like the battle for the MX2 Championship will go down to the wire with Nauditt, Devil Lake MX Kawasaki’s Joshua Clark and RTR Performance Honda’s Topher Ingalls in the top-five mix.
Local motocross fans can count on area favourites Tyler and Jeremy Medaglia in MX1, and Dylan Wright in MX2, to pull out all the stops on their home track for podium finishes on Sunday. |
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| Topher Ingalls took the overall win at Gopher Dunes and will be shooting to repeat his performance at Sand Del Lee. |
The Medaglia brothers have both won in the MX2 class at Sand Del Lee, but not in MX1. Meanwhile, 15-year-old Wright, who still rides as an Intermediate, shook up the status quo last Sunday at Gopher Dunes by claiming third overall on the strength of 5-3 motos.
Wright did not campaign the western rounds of the tour, but he intends to do the five eastern rounds. If he can reproduce his Gopher Dunes ride at the remaining rounds, Wright could very well end up sporting a top-10 plate, when he makes his debut as a pro next year.
Also on the schedule this weekend is Round 2 of the CMRC Women’s Nationals East; it will be held on Saturday, which has a full roster of amateur racing as well.
Past Champions at Sand Del Lee
MX1
2006 Jean Sebastien Roy
2007 Jean Sebastien Roy
2008 Colton Facciotti
2009 Colton Facciotti
2010 Kornel Nemeth
2011 Colton Facciotti
2012 Matt Goerke
MX2
2006 Michael Willard
2007 Michael Willard
2008 Kyle Beaton
2009 Kerim Fitz-Gerald
2010 Tyler Medaglia
2011 Jeremy Medaglia
2012 Jeremy Medaglia
Points Standings After 5 of 9 Rounds
MX 1
1. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw) 241 pts
2. Tyler Medaglia (KTM) 181
3. Bobby Kiniry (Yam) 181
4. Teddy Maier (Kaw) 159
5. Jeremy Medaglia (Yam) 136
6. Morgan Burger (Yam) 130
7. Gavin Gracyk (KTM) 130
8. Brock Hoyer (Kaw) 112
9. Ross Johnson (Hon) 83
10. Dylan Kaelin (Hon) 61
MX 2
1. Austin Politelli (Kaw) 187 pts
2. Kaven Benoit (KTM) 154
3. Brad Nauditt (Hon) 151
4. Joshua Clark (Kaw) 140
5. Topher Ingalls (Hon) 128
6. Jared Allison (Yam) 112
7. Richard Grey (Yam) 108
8. Kyle Swanson (Hon) 96
9. Blake Savage (Hon) 91
10. Nathan Bles (Hon) 88
Don’t miss Round 2 of the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals from the Whispering Pines Raceway in Kamloops on Rogers SportsNet at the dates and times listed below.
Round 2 – Whispering Pines Raceway
SN Pacific Sun, 7/21/13 8:00
SN West Sun, 7/21/13 9:00
SN East Sun, 7/21/13 11:00
SN Ontario Sun, 7/21/13 11:00
SN One Sun, 7/21/13 22:00
SN One Mon,07/22/13 14:00
SN One Tue, 07/23/13 19:00
SN Pacific Tue, 07/23/13 21:00
SN East Tue, 07/23/13 0:00
SN Ontario Tue, 07/23/13 0:00
SN West Tue, 07/23/13 1:00
SN One Wed,07/24/13 14:00
SN One Wed,07/24/13 19:00
SN One Thu, 07/25/13 23:00
SN One Fri, 07/26/13 14:00
SN Pacific Fri, 07/26/13 21:00
SN One Sat, 07/27/13 14:00
Sand Del Lee mid-week Race Report
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