Honda Canada Racing Presents the MX1 East Preview

 

MX1 East Preview

By Ryan Lockhart

Photos by James Lissimore

As the MX1 riders enter the eastern rounds of the 2016 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan, they’re definitely in store for the very difficult final six rounds. While most of the western rounds blessed the riders with cool temperatures and hard packed soil conditions, the eastern rounds will be sure to deliver heat and humidity, as well as much more challenging tracks. To be successful in the second half of this highly competitive series, the athletes will have to be incredibly fit, steadfast, and very aggressive. Whichever rider comes out on top when the series concludes at Round 10 in Barrie, Ontario, they will have certainly earned the label of one of the best riders to ever race on Canadian soil.

Right from the opening round of the 2016 MX1 series in Kamloops, KTM Thor rider Davi Millsaps has most definitely been the man to beat. Moto after moto, Millsaps has muscled his way to the front of the pack in almost every race, and if it wasn’t for a ten position penalty for jumping on a Red Cross flag at Round 2, Millsaps’s results, entering Round 5, would have almost been perfect. Coming into this summer, everyone predicted that Milllsaps would be good, but very few predicted that he would be this good. Fellow top riders like Matt Goerke, Mike Alessi, Colton Facciotti and Brett Metcalfe have all been close to Millsaps at times, but so far no one has been able to pass the American superstar. Davi Millsaps enters Round 5 at Gopher Dunes with a 24 point lead over fellow American Mike Alessi, and as mentioned, many more moto wins. Can Millsaps get through the rough tracks and the extreme conditions that only the eastern rounds can bring? Once again we reach out to Ryan Lockhart for a look at who will find the most success in the second half of the 2016 MX1 Series.

1. Davi Millsaps – KTM Thor Racing

Heading into the 2016 MX1 series, I, like everyone else, knew that Millsaps would be very fast. After all, he is a former US Supercross Champion and a SX main event winner from not that long ago. However, I never in my wildest imagination thought that Millsaps would be as dominant as he has been. Right from the first gate drop of the year, he’s proven to be the most aggressive rider, as well as the fastest. In short, Millsaps has simply wanted it more than everyone else thus far.

With six very difficult tracks ahead in the east, there’s no reason to think that Millsaps won’t continue his winning ways in the MX1 class. Although he may have a tough time beating sand specialist Matt Goerke at Gopher Dunes, and he might not win every remaining moto, there’s little doubt in my mind that he won’t win this title and win it going away. In the past we’ve witnessed a few top Americans travel north to Canada to try their hand at beating our top stars, and while a few of those riders have been successful, none have come here with the raw speed that Millsaps has shown us in the first four rounds. My prediction is that Davi Millsaps will be our 2016 MX1 Champion and he will give his team their first title in this class.

2. Matt Goerke – Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha

Since Matt Goerke’s win in the opening moto of the series back in Kamloops, Goerke has been making mistakes and they have cost him a lot of points. At Round 2 in Nanaimo, Goerke was also penalized ten positions for jumping on a Red Cross flag. At round three in Calgary, he was involved in a first turn incident which pushed him way back in the results. Then at Round 4 in Regina, Goerke did finish on the podium but he was well off the pace. In a nut shell, Goerke enters the second half of this series in a massive hole. If you remember back to his championship winning year in 2015, Goerke was leading the MX1 series heading into the Gopher Dunes National.

Even with all of his troubles so far, Goerke must be confident for the series to begin its eastern swing. With four remaining tracks made up of sandy, soft conditions, Goerke will be looking to use his superior sand skills to make up those lost points. He is without a doubt one of the best, pure sand riders in the world, so look for him to be very good at Gopher Dunes. After that, Goerke will need some help from his fellow competitors if he hopes to win another MX1 title. I predict that he will win a few motos in the east but will come up short of winning the 2016 MX1 Championship.

3. Colton Facciotti – Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing

I’m not sure what has surprised me the most about Colton Facciotti during the first four rounds of this series. It’s either his second moto in Kamloops when he almost caught and passed Millsaps for the moto win or it’s the fact that he hasn’t come remotely close to doing it again. Compared to the opening weekend when Colton was so fast, since then he’s been struggling with his starts and that has cost him. With the competition being so deep in 2016, none of the riders can afford to get off to a slow start.

It will be very interesting to see if Colton can rebound in the east and find that little extra speed that he appears to be missing. If this was anyone but Colton Facciotti then I’d be worried, but over the years he’s shown so much resiliency that anything is possible. Last season we had to wait until Round 6 at Sand Del Lee for Colton to find his A-game. Once he did, though, he managed to win multiple motos to finish out the series and almost win the MX1 Championship. With the level of talent in this year’s MX1 class, another late season charge by Colton will be very tough. If he has any hope of winning the 2016 title, he must come out at his sponsor’s home track and show that he’s able to run at the front of the pack. He will have a lot of fans cheering for him as right now he is Canada’s best hope at winning another MX1 Championship.

4. Mike Alessi – Monster Energy Alpinestar Kawasaki

We all remember two years ago when a few very strange mechanical issues in the eastern rounds cost Mike Alessi the 2014 MX1 title. First it was a shortage of fuel at Gopher Dunes that knocked him down form the lead to just inside the top twenty, then a week later, one of his grips fell off while he was leading. It was a shame that Alessi suffered those problems as he was the fastest rider of the series that year. But racing is racing and those things sometimes happen.

So far in 2016, we’ve seen a much calmer and a more calculated Mike Alessi, and it seems to be working. After a strong showing in the first four rounds in the west, Alessi heads to the final six rounds with a lot of confidence. Not only is he heading to a few of his favourite tracks, but he is also getting more and more comfortable on his all-new 2016 KX450F. During the last two rounds in Calgary and Regina, Alessi showed us a few glimpses of the speed that has made him famous over the years. Can he find a little extra speed and chase down Millsaps for this 2016 MX1 title? I say that Alessi may win a moto or two in the east, but he will come up well short of the championship.

5. Brett Metcalfe – Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha

With how successful Brett Metcalfe has been over the years I find it hard to put the likeable Aussie in fifth place in the final standings. During the first four rounds out west, Metcalfe showed a few flashes of speed but his slow starts in some of the motos have cost him a shot at the podium. Also, it appears that Metcalfe has had some issues with finding comfort on his new Yamaha, which may explain why he’s been slightly off the pace. With this year’s MX1 class, there is simply no room for error, a bad start or even a few bad laps; any of the riders can find themselves outside of the top five. This has been the case so far with Metcalfe and if he wants to be successful he’ll have to limit his mistakes.

However, this is Brett Metcalfe and there’s a reason why he’s a former MX1 Champion and a 15 year veteran. Few riders are better at making the best out of a bad day than Metcalfe; he just simply never gives up. He’ll need all of this intestinal fortitude, as well as a little Aussie luck, if he hopes to win his second Canadian MX1 title. As we enter Round 5 at Gopher Dunes, Metcalfe still has as good a shot as anyone to bring home the gold, he just needs to find a way to beat the KTM of Davi Millsaps.