Honda Canada Racing Presents The Monday Gate Drop

 

This week’s Monday Gate Drop is once again brought to you by the fine folks at Honda Canada Racing. In two weeks Honda is releasing their all-new 2017 CRF450 at Monster Mountain Raceway in Alabama and MXP Magazine will be there. This exciting new motorcycle is exactly what the doctor ordered for Honda, and with top riders like Ken Roczen in the USA and Colton Facciotti in Canada ready to race next year, 2017 is no doubt going to be an exciting year. We’d like to thank Honda Canada Racing for their continued support of this Monday Gate Drop column, as well as this sport in Canada.

As I write this I’m doing my best to stay awake as I’m in the recovery process after a large Thanksgiving dinner. I’ve never been a huge fan of big turkey dinners, in fact one year I was allowed to pick the menu for Thanksgiving dinner and we ordered Chinese food. However, my parents absolutely love turkey and everything that goes with it, so each year we always just roll with it. In keeping with the tradition of this holiday, I’d like to give thanks that I’m given the opportunity to write this column each and every week and still be involved in this sport. I’m also thankful to the healing powers of the human body as my family has had a rough go this past summer, but they’re getting better and are almost back to 100%. I hope everyone reading has at least one thing that they’re thankful for.

Now, onto the news of the day. This past weekend the opening round of the 2016 Canadian National AX Tour powered by Rockstar Energy kicked off in Sarnia, ON. Heading into Sarnia there was a pretty decent list of top pro riders signed up for Round 1. However, after injuries to Matt Goerke, Cole Thompson and Dylan Wright, that list sadly shrunk slightly. Thankfully, for the fans, though, Matt Goerke was replaced with Chris Blose on the Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha Team, and Colton Facciotti decided that he needed a little more off-season competition, so he showed up in Sarnia. Finally, American Steve Mages was in Sarnia, as well as young Ontario speedsters Tanner Ward, Austin Watling and Marco Cannella.

Even though the temperatures cooled off a little for Saturday’s race, the sky was clear and there was no rain in the forecast. With the opening round being held outside, no one wanted any rain to fall. The track this year was completely different than last year as it not only ran in the opposite direction, but it also featured much less technical sections. I actually thought the track was better last year and most of the riders I spoke with thought the same thing. However, with this year’s counter clockwise direction, Saturday’s track did have a few more left hand corners that made it a little easier. I don’t know, I just thought that the Sarnia track last year was more technical and set-up better for racing.

Regardless of the track and the injuries to a few of the top riders expecting to come, it was awesome to see AX racing back for another season in Ontario. As we spoke about last year on so many occasions, this region of Canada had been starving for some high profile AX racing, so to have two rounds again in 2016 is great for the sport. This past weekend was the Hiawatha Horse Park, and this coming Saturday the series moves to the more traditional AX setting of the Molson Center in Barrie, ON. With the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals returning to the Barrie area this past summer, this city and surrounding area should be primed and ready for some more exciting two-wheeled racing.

On Saturday night in Sarnia the racing came to down to a battle between three riders. Chris Blose took home the AX Pro main event as well as the AX Lites main event, while Colton Facciotti used the power of his big Honda CRF450 to dominate the 20 lap Dash for Cash main event. American Steve Mages rounded out the podium in all three main events. It was a good night of racing at the opening round; Blose was obviously fast, Facciotti was incredibly smooth and precise, and the Ontario youth trio of Ward, Watling and Cannella all rode great in their pro AX debut. To close out this week’s Honda Canada Racing Gate Drop, I was able to catch up with this country’s top red rider Colton Facciotti moments after his big win on Saturday night. I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving long weekend. Be safe and I’ll see everyone this weekend in Barrie, ON.

MXP: Colton, great night of racing for you. You won both your heat races and then you were able to end the evening with a big win in the Clash for Cash race. Can you take us through your night?

CF: Like you said, I had two pretty easy heat races and was able to get the first gate pick for the mains. I made a couple of mistakes in the first two mains events and let Blose get to the inside of me and take the wins. I don’t know, I felt like I wasn’t quite in race mode for those first two mains. I guess it’s been a few months since I’ve raced, so I shouldn’t be too hard on myself. For the final race of the night I just focused on getting a good start and then riding smooth.

MXP: After a few laps in the Clash for Cash you were able to get a small gap and then take the lines you wanted. Once that happened you appeared to pull away pretty easily.

CF: Yes, I think that was the advantage of riding my 450 in that race. Everyone else was on 250Fs, so once I did get a small lead, then I could use some outside lines and really carry my momentum. From there it was just a case of riding a smart race and staying out of trouble.

MXP: Did you considered racing your 250F in the final main event?

CF: Yes, I actually did for a bit. Although I was a little faster on my 450, I felt better on my 250F as I was able to throw it around more. But, in the end, I went with what I felt stronger on and I chose to ride the 450F.

MXP: You haven’t raced an AX in some time. You looked decent in practice and then you just got better and better as the night rolled on?

CF: I didn’t have any SX suspension or anything, all we did was stiffen up my outdoor stuff so that was bugging me in practice. However, as the night went on and the track went away, I’m glad I didn’t have real SX suspension on my Hondas. I’d like to thank SSS Suspension as my set-up was pretty good for the night show.

MXP: The track was loose and slippery all day, but for that final race it actually looked okay. There were a few inside ruts that finally formed?

CF: I think you’re right, the track was pretty good in the Clash for Cash. I could triple/ triple through the whoops, and there was a couple of inside ruts that favoured the 450. It was a lot fun to get out front and get a win.

MXP: I know this race maybe isn’t the biggest one you do all year, but it must feel really good to get a win?

CF: After a summer like the one I just had, I will take any win I can get, Palms. These are great races and I really like the people that are putting them on, that is why I’m here. The plan is to go next weekend and then we’ll see where we’re at.

MXP: Well, with the birth of your daughter this past week and then this big win, congratulations to you and your family?

CF: Thanks, yes it’s been quite a week for us and I’d like to thank my wife for being so awesome, I definitely wouldn’t be here without her.

MXP: Happy Thanksgiving Colton, we’ll see you in Barrie.

CF: Thanks Palms, you guys as well.