Decal Works Presents Monday Gate Drop

As usual this weeks Monday Gate Drop is brought to by the fine hockey loving folks at DeCal Works. If you need a brand new set of custom graphics for your new or used bike, then all you have to do is visit their website at www.decalmx.com and within minutes you can design your very own set.

As we’ve talked about for the last few weeks, it’s spring time and that means it’s time for play-off hockey, plus it’s time to go racing. Before I get into yesterday’s race at Gopher Dunes, I’d like to dedicate this week’s Monday Gate Drop to all the riders that are waking up stiff this morning and either have to go to their jobs or to school. Mondays are tough for almost everyone in society, however for motocross racers they’re particularly hard. So riders, parents and track staff, my thoughts are with you today!

So on to Ontario and the opening round of the AMO/CMRC Provincial Series at Gopher Dunes. While I thought the entry numbers were on the low side for a Spring event, both the mini track and the main track were in great shape and all the riders seemed to enjoy themselves. Well, almost everyone. The god of Gopher Dunes, Kyle Keast, made a very uncharacteristic mistake while leading the Under 30 moto and swapped into the face of the finish line jump. It was a very scary crash and everyone was very relieved to see Keast eventually get up and walk back to his pit area. When I spoke to him afterwards, he said that he was very sore and shaken up, but nothing appeared to be broken. I have no doubt though that ‘The Dozer’ is waking up this morning very stiff and sore. Up and until that crash Keast looked great on his new GDR Honda, and as usual he was making the Gopher Dunes track look easy.

Hopefully Keast will be back very soon as it is always good watching him ride. Another pro rider that was on the gas yesterday was Husqvarna Canada’s Tyler Medaglia. Other than a small crash in one moto, Tyler was virtually unbeatable yesterday and looked very comfortable and confident on his 2015 Husqvarna 450. Due to the large amount of snow still on the ground in Nova Scotia, Tyler and fellow east coaster Davey Fraser made the last minute trek west to Ontario to spend some time riding at Gopher Dunes. It’s always cool when top pros show up at regional events. Yesterday, everyone was pretty entertained watching a few of this country’s top riders play in the sand.

After a great opening race yesterday, the AMO/ CMRC schedule moves north to Moto Park this coming weekend for the first Parts Canada TransCan ANQ of 2015. Although the weather looks a little wet this week, the long range forecast is good for the upcoming weekend of racing. With Moto Park getting hundreds of riders out for their weekend practice days so far in 2015, this Sunday’s race should be another successful event. I know I speak for everyone when I say thank you to Gopher Dunes, AMO and everyone who helped make the 2015 season opener one awesome day!

So we move from the sands of Southwestern Ontario to the hard pack tracks of Italy where Ryan Villopoto had another frustrating day on the MXGP circuit. After racing to a solid fourth in moto one, Villopoto grabbed way too much throttle after landing from a jump and ended up looping out his factory KX450F. It was a strange crash and one that was reminiscent of Davi Millsaps’ crash in SX a few months back. However, unlike Millsaps’ crash, Villopoto’s was done at high speed and it looked like it hurt quite a bit.

So far Villopoto’s season in Europe has been mediocre at best. Although his lap times are as good as the leaders and he did win in Thailand, he just seems to be struggling with bike set up and technique. If you watch the highlights from yesterday’s race you will notice two things: the first thing is that the track is located in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. The surrounding mountains look amazing in the photos. It kind of reminded me of some of the photos that come from the Whispering Pines track in Kamloops. The other thing you’ll notice is how slippery and choppy the track was. There was no moisture in the dirt, very few ruts and little traction. Obviously, under race conditions, Villopoto’s steer-with-rear-wheel-style isn’t working very well on these types of tracks.

Even though the series is just four rounds old, RV has put himself in quite a hole as the MXGP riders move to the sands of Holland this weekend. This is will be the first real sand race of 2015 so it will be interesting to see how RV does against some of the best sand riders in the world. I think he’ll do really well as it looks as though he’s been riding a lot in the sand, and those conditions should suit him a little better. Regardless of how RV finishes this weekend, I think the hype that he’s brought to the MXGPs has been incredible. The videos, social media, just everything has really sparked the interest of people from all over the world. I know I get excited each weekend to see how he does and obviously I’m not alone. It’s too bad that he’s so far behind in the points already as it’s going to be tough to make up points on riders like Cairoli and Nagl. Oh sure, as the series goes on some tracks will suit RV and he’ll win his share of motos, however the GP regulars rarely seem like they make major mistakes that cost them a lot of points. RV is definitely going to need some luck if he wants to take home this Championship, but there’s still a lot of racing left so we’ll see what happens.

Another USA rider who also may soon want to travel overseas is now former Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Davi Millsaps. In a very surprising move last week Millsaps somehow got himself fired and let go from his contract. Why did this happen? Only Millsaps and Kawasaki know for sure but the rumours have suggested everything from his non-stop complaining about the bike to Kawasaki finding ‘stuff’ in his locker. As I said, most of this is speculation, however the one clear thing is that Millsaps has been having an awful year and he was obviously not agreeing with his green machine.

Whatever the reason, it’s never cool when someone gets fired, but the big question is what happens now? Who can Kawasaki get in the next few weeks to race the US Outdoor series? The one rider I’m sure they’d love to get is Brett Metcalfe who, as we all know, is set to return to Canada this summer for the Monster Energy Thor Kawasaki Team. This scenario played itself out exactly 365 days ago when Metty was lured back to the USA and ended up having a great summer for Kawasaki USA. I think if his SX capabilities were just a few positions better, Metty would be a full time rider in the States again. As of today, Brett Metcalfe will be returning to Canada again this summer, and Kawasaki USA must be scratching their heads as they debate who they can sign.

That is it for me this week and the drama filled world of motocross. I want to say congratulations to everyone that made it through the first race of the year in Ontario on the province’s toughest track. Now that the gate has finally dropped on the Ontario racing season, it now officially feels like Spring. I hope everyone has a safe week riding and we’ll see some of you on the weekend at Moto Park.