Monday Gate Drop

Good morning and Happy Cinco de Mayo on this first Monday of May. As I’m sitting in my office writing this, I can look outside and see something big, yellow and very bright in the sky. I think it’s the sun but I’ll have to look it up? This past week in Southern Ontario was brutal with the five days straight of rainy weather. Actually, everyone who lives east of the Mississippi River had it pretty rough with very active weather. I saw on the news that on Thursday, Central Park received more rain than it did during Hurricane Sandy. Also, down in Pensacola, Florida, more than a foot of rain fell in two days! Of course we can’t forget about all the tornados that rolled through the southern USA causing absolute havoc. Hopefully things settle down this week and everyone can get back outside and enjoy some sunshine.

One place that didn’t seem to have any weather problems this weekend was Las Vegas where the final round of the very anti-climactic 2014 Monster Energy SX Series came to an end. With the championship in the 450 class decided last weekend in New Jersey, all Ryan Villopoto had to do was go out and have fun! He once again crushed the competition so I’d say he was having fun in the main event. In the Lites classes it was Justin Bogle and Jason Anderson who took home their very first supercross championships. Both riders rode very well all season and deserved to win, although the east title was definitely served up to Bogle on a silver platter when Martin Davalos got injured. However, to win a championship you have to line up so good work to Bogle on staying healthy when others couldn’t.

Ryan Villopoto walked away with yet another win on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Will we see him at Glen Helen in a few weeks? Only RV and his inner circle know for sure.

So Ryan Villopoto won his fourth SX Championship in a row, which is a pretty incredible feat. Now the big question is, what is he going to do for the outdoor series this summer and beyond? The uncertainty surrounding Villopoto’s outdoor plans are big enough that his team has had to go out and pluck our 2013 MX1 Champ Brett Metcalfe right out from under the Leading Edge Team. I was always under the assumption that going out and getting Metcalfe meant that Villopoto wasn’t going to ride the outdoor series this year, but that apparently isn’t the case as Metcalfe seems to be more of an insurance policy for Kawasaki. The plan is for Villopoto to start the outdoors but he isn’t likely to finish it because of his mysterious injuries. Who knows what will happen. All we know is that Brett Metcalfe is gone from the 2014 Rockstar Energy MX Series and that alone sucks!!

So who will replace Metcalfe this summer? By all accounts it’s going to be Josh Hill as he is already a Monster athlete and he’s currently unemployed. Nothing is signed yet but Hill will be testing a Leading Edge Kawasaki today and tomorrow so it sounds like the deal is pretty much done. It will be interesting to see how Hill will do up here, especially early on in the series. I don’t think it’s a question of speed as he has plenty of that, I think it’s more of a question of fitness and desire. In the past we’ve witnessed a couple of fast, young American riders travel north with high expectations, only to go home bewildered at just how fast everyone is on Canadian soil. My personal opinion is that it’s either going to be a very successful summer in Canada for Josh Hill or an absolute disaster. There might not be any middle ground. Of course, according to my wife I’m wrong quite a bit so please don’t go by what I think. Whatever happens, things will be interesting and the racing will be awesome, so that’s all the matters.

Cycle North Honda rider Ross Johnson lined up in Las Vegas on Saturday night and had a good race going until he crashed. Hopefully we see Ross on the gate in Nanaimo in four weeks.

This past Friday I ventured down to Gopher Dunes for the GDR Honda Team photo shoot as well as to interview Colton Facciotti. Now, I’ve known Derek Schuster for a long, long time, actually since he was a teenager, and he used to bug me about how I could let Mike Harnden beat me in the first 250 moto at the 1998 Gopher Dunes Provincial (please insert paddle tire joke here). Anyway, in all of the years that I’ve known Derek I’ve never seen him more excited than he is now. With Canada’s fastest rider as the pillar on his team and a brand new 18 wheeler in the paddock, 2014 should be a great year for the GDR Honda Team. Also, in talking to Colton, he seems very focused and excited to get the series underway. I know Colton has already won three MX1 Championships, but at 26 years I feel like he is just coming into his prime as a rider and an athlete. If he can stay healthy, we could see him continue to dominate Canadian moto for years to come. However, his only goal right now is having a safe and successful summer in 2014.

So that’s it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great, safe week on your dirt bike. In closing I want to pass along a big congratulations to young Canadians Preston Masciangelo, Tanner Ward and Mitch Goheen on their finishes in Las Vegas over the weekend. With the success we had as a Country a few weeks ago at the World Mini GP and now at the Arenacross Finals, the Las Vegas area has been very good to Canadian riders lately. As Elvis used to sing, Viva Las Vegas!

Colton Facciotti has been loving his new Honda since he first through his leg over one last November. After a winter of training down south Colton is ready for the nationals to begin.