Big Steel Box Presents The Friday Flight With Brent Worrall

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This weeks ‘Friday Flight comes to you from the heart of Sin City as my long awaited 2016 winter getaway is finally underway. My wife and I are both pretty excited as we will be on the road for six and a half weeks. After a couple of days of driving through pretty much the middle of ’nowhere’ USA, we are now at the first of what will be two stops on this trip. In case you missed it last week, we are here as the result of some good people working together to make good things happen. Without going back into too much detail, I would just like to thank both Lonnie Shevkenek and Steve Matthes. Steve put up an all inclusive trip to sit in on his PulpMX show in an effort to raise funds for Canada’s 2014 MX of Nations team. Lonnie was the winning bid and he for reasons to this day I may not ever understand, gave it to me! We are right now at a hotel called the Aria on the Vegas strip. and let me just say good lord! I think it’s safe to say that if dollars were put to doughnuts, the cost to build this place could have likely taken a substantial bite out of world hunger. I am not sure where Vegas stacks up on a list of ‘Wonders Of The Modern World” or anything like that, but it is definitely unique. If I had to write a dictionary definition of this place it would be this. Las Vegas – ‘a middle of a desolate desert outcropping oasis of persuasive illuminated structures, lying in wake to intoxicate your senses’. I am not afraid to say that as a kid I was a huge Michael Jackson fan, so I’m very much looking forward to attending the “Michael Jackson’s One’ Cirque du Soleil performance on Sunday night at Mandalay Bay Hotel. Then Monday night it will be into the Lions Den with PulpMX Moto guru Steve Matthes.

A big part of me wishes I could be a little further northwest this weekend in Oakland CA. for round 4 of the Monster Energy Supercross series tomorrow night. Unfortunately we opted for this route as on Tuesday we will drive to San Diego and check into our condo that will be our home for a month. From there, two days later we will jump back in the Van and drive to Glendale, Arizona for round 5 of the SX series. The track in Arizona looks great and I cannot wait to see my first live Supercross of 2016. A trip over to the Grand Canyon may be in order on Sunday after the night of racing. I am kind of on the fence on this one as there is a good chance that after many long road miles, my wife may go full ‘Joe Dirt’ on me! If your not picking up the reference, the movie is a must watch. Okay in all seriousness now (cut me some slack after all its a holiday). I know I am not the only Canadian on the road in pursuit of life, love, happiness and Moto dreams. Many were down in San Diego and at the two Anaheim rounds. It looks like this trend will continue through the balance of the early portion of the western swing of the series. I spoke with Dylan Wright who rides for the MX101 Yamaha team and he is now in California to train for the upcoming season. Dylan told me that he is looking forward to getting some valuable seat time and he could be there for a while. I also chatted with Kevin Tyler from MX101 who will be headed to San Diego along with Johnny Grant and others as part of their annual ‘Factory Fan’ experience. A very cool incentive based deal that they have put together to reward some of their ridership with an all inclusive trip of a lifetime south.

As I’m writing of this it looks as though we will have our own Cole Thompson back in action this weekend in Oakland. Cole had a significant timed qualifier get off at A2. The crash and subsequent shoulder injury saw him have to shut things down in the night program. On Tuesday Cole visited the doctor and was given the green light to proceed. The diagnosis was a severe bruise, however, the good news is there was nothing broken. Go get ’em Cole, and no matter what the results are, your courage and determination has all of us proud. I am sure the MX101 guys have (like most of us) had their eyes on Jimmy Decotis and his great results. ‘The Rippa’ continues to turn heads so far in a very thick Supercross West plot. That 5th last weekend, and having to deal with those massive whoops was very impressive. Another key to JD’s success is that he is once again getting the kind of starts he was known for prior to last season in Canada. Keep it up Jimmy and lets all hope the kind of racing we saw last week in the 250 class continues. It was the best main event yet.

The series touches down in Oakland tomorrow and the last time I checked there was rain in the forecast. I am hoping in the name of good numbers in the stands along with other things that it does not materialize. However, part of me is always up for something a little bit different. You guessed it, mud is always the great equalizer. In Supercross where starts are already a game changer, a mudder only amplifies things. If history is any teacher, coupled with the current El Nino year, anything is possible Saturday night in the Bay area. This fortunately is not the first rodeo in Oakland. I believe they will be using a type of soil that can handle a little of whatever Mother Nature decides to serve up. As a kid who grew up idolizing Bob Hannah, I will never forget the images of the first ever Oakland Supercross in 1979. It was dubbed ‘Paddle Gate’ and Jamming Jimmy Weinert (who now runs JWTF) had a secret weapon that on that night would see him no match for his competitors. The Paddle type tire only had 12 or 13 massive knobby’s on it, that’s it. He would get to the front, and folklore has it that the roost it left in its wake was up to 100 feet. Bob Hannah who would finish second that night claims he still has sand in his eyes from trying to stay behind Weinert. Be that true or false, that is typical Hannah. He is as colourful off the motorcycle all the years later as he was on it. The AMA banned such a tire after that historic first ever event. Hannah would go on to win the series in 1979 over Weinert and I was fortunate enough to have attend the Seattle round.

The other thing that we know heading into this weekend is that there are still quite a few that can challenge for this title. I do think however if it is to be someone other than Ryan Dungey wearing the crown at series end, others will need to make a move soon. Dungey has been ‘The Man’ so far (sorry Roger, you know what I mean) and shows no rust whatsoever in his shining KTM armour. Chad Reed looks brilliant and yes he did hit the podium last year in Oakland. Reed looks confident, but even though his starts have been good, he needs to get ahead of Dungey early. The other thing I believe that has helped the youthful like re-surgence we have seen in Chad Reed is his relationship with Cooper Webb. Chad has admitted to spending time with Mini Coop here and there, including at the Yamaha test track. How can you not cheer for a guy like Chad Reed, he is defying all the odds. You can do it Chad, I know I am not the only Vet pulling for you.

The other main components in this title chase for now anyway are Jason Anderon, Ken Roczen, Cole Seely and Eli Tomac. What is it going to take for these guys to get back up to speed. Anderson has been a winner already and I don’t think confidence is an issue for him, he knows what he can do and just has to do it. Roczen,Seely and Tomac are a different story all together. They also need to get out front and I mean sooner rather than later. Deep down inside they know what they are capable of doing, but it would be much easier to do with a good start. Without it this could be the recipe for disaster for a couple of reasons. The first is obvious; Dungey will slip away and hide in the main events and in the points chase. The second is that without a start I believe these guys will begin to push hard soon. Pushing too hard can mean trouble on a track that there is no room for error on, and that throttle control is imperative. What does it mean? Only time will tell, but time will soon be an enemy and these guys know it. I know where my time piece will have me on Saturday night on the Vegas strip, in my room glued to Fox Sports 1

Before lift off, I would like to congratulate to my little buddies from B.C. Blake Davies and Tyler Bruvold on their great performances in Anaheim last Saturday night. In the KTMJRSX race Davies was third and Maple Ridge Motorsports rider Tyler Bruvold was 10th. I bet that this was a moment neither you or your family will ever forget. Way to go boys, the whole country is proud of you.
Until next Friday from Glendale Arizona, ‘Airmail Out’………………………………….