Decal Works Presents Monday Gate Drop

This week’s Monday Gate Drop is presented by the best graphic company in the world, DeCal Works. If you want your bike to look like the best machine in the pits then log on to www.decalmx.com and in minutes you can create your own set of custom graphics.

After the weather this weekend we experienced this past weekend in Ontario, it definitely feels like summer has arrived, because for the first time in the 2015 calendar year, it was very hot and very sunny. The temperatures made it perfect to do just about anything you could think of: go to the cottage, sit on a patio, or go to a beach. Well, for a few thousand of us motocross lovers, we chose to go to a beach this past weekend. The only problem was that this beach was missing the refreshing H2O that usually goes with it. Yes, our slightly abnormal beach is called Gopher Dunes.

As you all know, this past weekend was time for the beginning of the Eastern half of the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan to kick-off. On Saturday, the gate dropped on round one of the CMRC Eastern Canadian Women’s Nationals as well as the KTM Eastern Canadian Super Mini Nationals. Then on Sunday it was the race that all of the riders circle on their calendars prior to the season; round five of the series at Gopher Dunes.

Matt Goerke rode incredible yesterday and went 1-1 in the MX1 class at Gopher Dunes. photo by James Lissimore

Yes, this is the one round of the series that every rider tries to prepare a little differently for. Instead of 60km training rides of their bicycles, they ride for 70km. Instead to two practice motos, they do three. In most cases, the riders search out the roughest practice tracks they can find to ride, or in some cases the riders stop doing anything except stretching and hydrating days before this to conserve their energy to make sure their tanks are full of fuel. I always find it interesting that at the end of the day at Gopher Dunes, more than any round of the series, regardless of how fit and ready these guys are heading into the weekend, they still look completely spent after their second motos. Even though this is just a one day event for the people watching, for the riders the Gopher Dunes National is pretty much a two week journey for them as they spent the week before getting their bodies ready for Sunday, and then spend the week after recovering before Sand Del Lee this coming weekend. This is why I believe that the first three rounds of the East (Gopher Dunes, SDL, Deschambault) is the toughest stretch of races anywhere in the World.

On Saturday, the big winners were KTM Canada and Orange Brigade riders Tanner Ward and Eve Brodeur who dominated the both Super Mini and Women’s classes respectively. Tanner, who was coming off a pretty serious injury in the spring, has done a great job in the last month of getting himself into shape (thanks to Frankfit Canada) and it all paid off on Saturday. For Eve Brodeur, it was a little different story as she’s been steadily preparing for months to try to defend her 2014 Championship. Right from the drop of the gate, Brodeur took the lead and never looked back. Behind Eve, was a great battle for second between Kim Normandin and Kassie Boone as these two rode the rough Gopher Dunes track like a couple of champions. As all of the Super Mini and Women riders now move to Sand Del Lee for round two, we want to send our best thoughts to Breanna Rose who suffered a massive crash on the first lap of moto one. Breanna has a few injuries, all of which will heal but will take some time. Heal up Breanna and we’ll see you back soon.

The ageless Junk Yard Dog John Dowd showed up with his son Ryan yesterday and finished an amazing 10th in moto 2. photo by James Lissimore

Now, on to the men who lined up on Sunday for round 5 of their series. Coming into Gopher Dunes, all of the talk was about the impending battle between Matt Goerke and Brett Metcalfe in the MX1 class, as well as the tough conditions that all of the riders would have to face. Well, all of this pre-race hype certainly lived up to its billing as fans got to see not just a great battle between Goerke and Metcalfe, but also some inspired performances from a number of riders. Regardless of how you finished yesterday at Gopher Dunes, the one thing every rider had to face was adversity. Whether they were bike problems, crashes or just battling through the tough motos, yesterday wasn’t easy for anybody.

As I said, most of the talk coming into Gopher Dunes was about the battle that we might see between Goerke and Metcalfe as both riders have had tremendous performances at this track in the past. Right from the early moments of the first MX1 moto these two sand masters did not disappoint. Lap after lap these two riders went at it and, especially in moto two, it was an incredible race to watch. If you go to www.mxnationals.ca and click on the Current Results section; from there navigate your way to the lap times for each moto. These lap times tell the story of the moto inside the moto and during the Goerke/Metcalfe battle in moto 2. This duo went almost 30 minutes without giving an inch. Behind the lead, two were Canadians, Colton Facciotti and Tyler Medaglia, who definitely had their best rides of the series so far. In the end, Metcalfe was no match for Goerke who picked the Gopher Dunes track apart like a professor on route to his 1-1 finish. It was so cool to watch the contrasting styles of Goerke and Metcalfe as they battled each other and their fellow MX1 riders. The taller Goerke attacked the deep sand whoops the traditional way by trying to wheelie over the tops to maintain his momentum. Metcalfe, on the other hand, who isn’t quite as tall, likes to preload and hop over multiple sand whoops at a time. While both styles obviously work very well, Goerke’s way is definitely more efficient, which takes much less effort and energy. However, as I said before, regardless of the style you use in the sand, every rider was completely spent at the end of the day yesterday.

A very happy but exhausted MX1 podium. photo by James Lissimore

That it is for me this week as we have the latest issue of MXP Magazine to put to bed today. Even though I might have only mentioned a few names from the weekend at Gopher Dunes, my hat goes off to every single rider who lined up. Although there are other sand tracks in the series, Gopher Dunes is a one unique track with its layout and bottomless sand. With all of the wet weather Ontario has been having during the last month, it made the conditions yesterday even tougher as the sand was pretty moist. However, now it’s over and we all begin the second half of this awesome series. Both Kaven Benoit and Matt Goerke take their well-earned points lead into round six this weekend at SDL where again the weather looks sticky hot for Sunday and the track will once again be very rough. We shall see everyone there at one of the riders’ favourite stops of the series.