Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Back to the cold, back to the snow, and back to reality for me. We just got home from an eight week trip down south, which had a lot of training at GPF Training Facility prior to the Mini O’s. I was really looking forward to competing this year at the Mini O’s as I had only been there one time before, and it was one of the biggest races of the year.
The B class is always really stacked with competition there, because it’s some kids’ final chance to race B before moving up to the A class. Also, all of the younger kids have just moved up to B from Super Mini and the Schoolboy classes. It is also pretty cool because everyone races on the supercross track for the first three days, and then everyone goes to the famous Gatorback outdoor track for the following three days. The Mini Olympics is really like no other race in the World, and I think that is what attracts so many riders.
I felt good in practice on the supercross track since they had changed it a lot from 2015. The redesigned track was a lot better for passing and made for better racing. When the gate dropped for my first race, I was able to get a great jump out of the gate, but I backed off a touch early going into the first corner and let a rider sweep from the outside. He hit my front wheel which ended up causing a big pile up. Luckily, I got through it and began the race mid-pack. With all of the SX practice I had been doing prior to this race, I felt very comfortable and was able to charge back up to fifth place by the finish. It wasn’t a bad start to my week, however I knew that I could do better.
I found myself struggling with being aggressive enough right out of the gate, and when I needed to make passes within the first few laps, I would sit behind guys that I knew I should be beating, which was very frustrating. During my final heat race, I’m not sure what I did prior to the race, but I got a terrible start and things were not looking too good. However, early in the race I found some good lines and rode very aggressively, attacking the entire track and passing guys without hesitation. That gave me a lot of confidence heading into the main events, and thankfully that is where I had my two best finishes, a 4th in 250 B Mod class, and a 6th in 450 B Mod. Unfortunately, they docked me five positions in the 250 class because they said I jumped on a red cross, which I know I didn’t 100% – that was obviously very frustrating. However, there was nothing I could about the ruling so I just tried to let it go and refocus on the outdoor portion of the event.
In my first race on the outdoor track I ripped a third place start in the Schoolboy 2 class and made a quick pass into second on the opening lap. From there I rode strong and smart and held onto second, which I was pretty happy about. My speed was close to the top riders, so with a few better line choices I could finish just as well in the main event. My next moto was 250 B Mod, and once again I rocketed out of the gate and got a great holeshot. From there I felt like I rode a little tight and not quite the pace I would’ve liked, but I led the entire race right up until the final lap. That is when I came around the front roller section, which at the time was really muddy. Because of this I was little bit hesitant, which allowed another rider to get next to me. I held the lead for the next two corners and then we were side by side going into the third to final corner. It was there that I came in a little hot in an attempt to hold him off, and sadly I went sailing off the track and gave the win away. That one was a hard pill to swallow, but the worst part came after I heard they docked me again for jumping a single on yellow! I even had a few of my fellow competitors go and tell the officials that I wasn’t guilty of this infraction, but it didn’t matter. Once again, I had to put some adversity behind me and just focus on the task at hand.
Marco Cannella was flying high at the 2016 Winter Olympics in Florida finishing off his season in style. Photo by Krystyn Slack
I think the week in Florida was a great learning experience for me and it was also good to see where I’m at going into the 2017 season, The following two weeks after the Mini O’s I went to MP Countyline and had an awesome time riding the outdoor track as well as the AX track. The Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha Team was at MP Countyline testing and preparing for the upcoming Amsoil AX Series. Chris Blose and Matt Goerke were there with their mechanics and Team Owner Andre Laurin. It was great to observe all the hard work that goes into testing. I will now be home for three of four weeks enjoying my family time as we all celebrate Christmas. Then, once the holidays are done, we will be heading back down south to prepare for the spring nationals. I will be training at MP Countyline full time. I will also be doing the Matt Crown Camp, and a few Winter Am races in Florida. I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Holiday season and hopefully I will see some of you down south in 2017. Thank-you for reading, all the best in the New Year.
