Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good day and welcome to another edition of the Honda Canada Monday Gate Drop. With the 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink Nationals wrapping up last weekend, the GDR Fox Honda can look back with pride as they took home second overall in the MX2 class with Dylan Wright, and third overall in the MX1 class with Colton Facciotti. It was a season of ups and downs for the red team as they travelled from Coast to Coast across Canada, but in the end they persevered and found success. We at MXP Magazine would like to congratulate the GDR Fox Honda Team on their 2017 season, as well as thank Honda Canada Racing for their continued support of this Monday Gate Drop column, as well as this sport at all levels.
I guess the first thing that I want to say this week is that I’d like to wish longtime motocross announcer Dave Bell a very happy belated 50th birthday! Dave’s birthday was yesterday and although I wished him happy birthday in person at Moto Park, I feel like all of this industry owes him the same best wishes. In case you don’t know Dave Bell, he’s been around for over two decades calling races in Southern Ontario. His voice has been heard at every type of event, including AX, local races, and the Walton TransCan. I think it’s awesome that he’s still at the races almost every weekend putting his vocal cords to the ultimate test. He is true professional at what he does and he deserves a big thank-you. Dave, I hope you had a great birthday yesterday while calling all of the races at a track that is almost as old as you!
At Whispering Pines Raceway this past weekend, young Meston Lockhart sure doesn’t want to let go of his Daddy’s big check. Photo by Courtney Bowman
With that important bit of information out of the way, let me use it to segway into this weekends first ever Huckabucka Slam at Moto Park. This race was actual schedule for a few weeks ago, but with the recent cancellation of the Walton TransCan, the crew at Moto Park opted for this past weekend instead. With the hype and preparation that went into this event, I thought the overall attendance was very poor. Now, I’m not sure of the exact entry numbers ( I heard under 250) but I figured that this event would probably be around 400 or above. I’m sure why so few showed up, whether the timing was bad with big Madoc amateur race being next weekend, or the dreadful weather forecast, or if the price point per class was a little high. Maybe it was a little bit of everything, as well as the fact that some families are just a little burnt out on racing during this time of the year. Anyway, regardless of the quantity of riders at Moto Park, the quality was very high and the racing was great all weekend. Even though Mother Nature tried her best to wreak havoc on the event with rain on Friday and Saturday, yesterday the sun came out and the track was in perfect condition. Great job to Moto Park and it’s crew for even holding this cool event and trying to fill in the gap left by the Walton TransCan cancellation.
One of the big winners at this past weekends 2017 GNAC in Kamloops was Intermediate rider Josh Gedak who took home the Yamaha Canada Factory Ride Award. Photo by Courtney Bowman
Out in BC where they would probably kill for just a fraction of the rain that we have had in Ontario this summer, the gate dropped on the 2017 GNAC at Whispering Pines Raceway near Kamloops. Originally this event was supposed to be held in Revelstoke, but with the popularity of it, more room was needed and it was decided that Kamloops was the place. Of course, at the time no one knew that massive forest fires would be ragging all summer long in many parts of BC. Thankfully, this past weekend at Whispering Pines Raceway there was only a little smoke in the air and the racing went off without an issue. With almost 400 entries, the racing by all accounts was great all weekend long and the winners enjoyed a lot of prizes, and of course big trophies. Everyone knows how rough and challenging the Whispering Pines track is on it’s best days, but with hot and dry temperatures on each day, the riders at the 2017 GNAC were really put to the test. One of the biggest prizes of the week went to Intermediate rider Josh Gedak who took home the second Yamaha Factory Ride for a day award of the year as he won a free 2018 Yamaha of his choice. Congratulations to Josh, as well as all of the riders this week in Kamloops who brave the warm temperatures and tough track conditions at Whispering Pines Raceway. Here are all the results from the 2017 GNAC: http://live.tracksideresults.com/mcqmx/seriespoints.asp?s=8. With the ECAN taking place a few weeks back in Deschambault, the GNAC now over, the next big race for our amateur riders is this coming weekend in Madoc, Ontario.
GDR Fox Racing Honda rider Dylan Wright travelled down to Budds Creek to race the 250MX class. After two very hot motos, he ended up 13th overall after going 13-13. Photo by Krystyn Slack
Moving on from amateur racing to pro racing, on Saturday GDR Honda rider Dylan Wright headed south to Budds Creek for the second to final round of the 2017 Lucas Oil Outdoor Pro National Series. On the day where temperatures exceeded 35c, Dylan rode the wheels off his GDR Fox Honda CRF250R to finish up in 13th overall. Dylan was fast all day and at times ran inside the top ten in the 250MX class. In the end he went 13-13 in his two long motos. It was definitely an impressive ride for Dylan as his speed matched those who were riding factory machines and had obviously been racing in this series all summer long. Dylan will once again head to the USA this coming weekend to race the final round of the series at Ironman Raceway in Indiana. It always exciting when our Canadian riders head down south at the end of the summer to compete and see how they stack up against our American friends. It most certainly validates the speed that our riders have and just how fast the pace is currently at the Canadian Pro Nationals.
Finally, I will leave you with some more talk on the Canadian Nationals and it’s future. Even though it’s not even September and most are still recouping from the 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals, with last weeks announcment of JetWerx new plans for 2018 it seems like everyone wants some answers. Unfortunately, I don’t have any and nor does anyone else as to what the final outcome will be. Although last weeks press conference answered the big question about what JetWerx and now Rockstar Energy wants to do in 2018 and beyond, it also raised a lot of questions that obviously cannot be answered today, or tomorrow, or even next week. There are big questions such as is the proposed JetWerx schedule set in stone as teams, OEM’s and some riders aren’t sold on racing 17 times in a calendar year, to small questions like will riders be able to run numbers based on their 2017 results? For instance, would Shawn Maffenbeier and Matt Goerke be able to run their big #1 plates if they raced in this new series? For me, the answer is a no brainer yes as it’s the only one that makes any sense. But, with the CMA back in the picture now, will they allow this? I’m not even sure what the CMA rulebook says on this matter, someone will have to take a week to blow the dust off the last one made in order to check.
I spoke to Kaven Benoit on Friday about the new 17 round series planned next season. He said that although he cannot wait to get back racing outdoors in 2018, he wants no part of racing indoors anymore. Photo by James Lissimore
All joking aside, I think there are still obviously a few things that still need to be sorted out. The biggest question I’m sure everyone wants to know is that what will the CMRC now do if the OEM’s and teams decide to go with this new series? That is the million dollar question as after 25 years and over 200 outdoor nationals, no would expect them to just close up shop simply because another shop says they can do things better. I mean, when the CMRC took over from the CMA years ago, the CMA Nationals were a complete joke with no money, no direction and no one even thinking about the future of our sport (this is one reason why talk of the CMA coming back pains me to no end). That is definitely not the case now as the CMRC Nationals are still going strong and are coming off 25 years of success. Does the CMRC Nationals need some adjustments and a few fresh ideas? Of course, what series couldn’t benefit from that? But, to put a “Closed” sign up and walk away no doubt would be tough. However, the one thing that everyone seems to agree with as we sit here today is that there cannot be two national series in 2018! That is a fact. The sport, the industry, the fan base in Canada is not big enough for that. So, what happens now? Well, honestly, I don’t know, but I have a feeling that there is definitely some more news to come in the next month and the picture will become clearer. My humble opinion is that if JetWerx wants to start a new series then great, if the CMRC wants to continue their long standing series then great, if Rockstar and the OEM’s want to spend money on our sport, then god bless them. I think they should rent a conference room, get all the parties together, order pizza, and no one is allowed to leave until a deal can be made where everyone finds a way to work together! But, what do I know, not much obviously as no one has asked me what they should do. For today, I’m just a guy trying his best not to look at this dam solar eclispe.
That is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week and hopefully you’re able to enjoy these final two weeks of summer. Good luck to those racing in Madoc this weekend, and congratualations to all the riders who made through the 2017 GNAC in Kamloops last weekend. Have a great week and thanks again to Honda Canada Racing for their continued support.
Good luck to everyone this weekend at the 2017 Madoc Amateur Nationals
