Honda Canada Racing Presents the Monday Gate Drop

Good day and welcome to another edition of the Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop. With the spring of 2018 now underway, our riding season is about to get ramped up. Yesterday, Gopher Dunes was able to open up for some early season riding and by all accounts the track was in great condition. Gopher Dunes is also home to one of Honda Canada’s ride centre. This is where anyone is able go and rent bikes and get some valuable instruction.

Fans in Calgary were excited to see the gate drop on Rounds 2 and 3 of the 2018 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series. Photo by James Lissimore

This past weekend the 2018 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series resumed in cold and snowy Calgary, AB. With a downright muddy track for Round 1, the riders and teams were looking forward to the dry confines of the Agri-Plex in downtown Calgary. I will premise this by saying that I was not able to attend this event as my son’s hockey team had their final year end tournament in Niagara Falls. As one of the coaches of his team, as well as the fact that the date of the Calgary event was changed after we booked this tournament, I was forced to miss this exciting race. Thankfully, the new series has a great Live Streaming show and I was able to tune in watch all of Saturday nights race action. The track in Calgary, the racing itself, as well as the Live Streaming production with Brett Lee and Kyle Thompson on the mics, is top notch and entertaining to watch. However, as good as the racing was on the track, behind the scenes there are a few adjustments that already need to be made to this new series. More on that later, for now let’s talk about the racing.

After two weekends of racing, Cole Thompson is your Triple Crown red plate holder. Photo by James Lissimore

After being one of the fastest riders at the opening round in Abbotsford, Red Bull Thor KTM rider Cole Thompson came out on fire in Calgary. All weekend long his race craft appeared to be above everyone else and he took home wins on both nights. At times, Colton Facciotti’s speed was certainly on par with Thompson, but for some reason Colton’s starts were a little off. I was one of the people who thought that after racing the Daytona SX last weekend, Colton Facciotti would come into Calgary as the favourite to win. For whatever reason, Colton looked a little off and was forced to play second fiddle to Thompson, and after two nights of racing he also had to hand over the red plate to Thompson. After three rounds very interesting rounds of indoor racing, Cole Thompson is now your Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series points leader.

Along with the riders from the opening round, there was also a few new names in Calgary as Brad Nauditt, Josh Hill, and the ageless wonder Mike Brown were on hand to race. It was great to see all three of these riders back on Canadian soil and ready to battle. Nauditt was fast all weekend, but was just a little rusty, Hill struggled on Friday with soft suspension and wasn’t able to ride the way he wanted. His Cycle North Honda team got the suspension sorted out for Saturday, but then he had a big practice crash in the whoop section and was detuned for the rest of the evening. Despite his issues, by all accounts Josh Hill was great with the fans and it was a pleasure to have him in Canada for at least one more weekend. As for Mike Brown, he did exactly what he was brought to Calgary to do, he entertained everyone. At 46 years old Mike Brown is a living legend in the motocross world. His long standing work ethic, as well as his unique ability to still compete at a high level makes Mike Brown a freak of nature in this sport. But even with all of those attributes, Brown’s biggest contribution to this sport is his overall presence in it. Mike Brown is just an all around great guy who basically still loves to compete. I was able to hang out with him last month at the FXR Racing dealer show in Minnesota, and I can say that Brown is just one of those individuals that this sport can’t do without. Whether it’s his training facility in Tennessee, his contributions back into this sport, or just the fact that he still wants to show up at events like the Calgary AX and battle with the kids, Mike Brown is a true legend. This past weekend he rode very well in the main events and had a ton of fun doing so. He even mixed it up with a few of our young riders and almost had to give them an old fashion spanking. By the sounds of it, Brownie will be making a few appearances this year in Canada and I personally cannot wait.

It was great to see 46 year old Mike Brown in Calgary mixing it up with the kids. Photo by James Lissimore

So as I mentioned above, the racing in Calgary was superb in both classes. In the 250 class, it was great to see Shawn Maffenbeier riding so well on his new Kawasaki. It was sad to hear that Dylan Wright injured his shoulder this weekend. He will be revaluated this week to see the extent of his injured shoulder. Hopefully it isn’t too serious and Dylan will be back on the race track soon. With two weekends remaining in the AX portion of the 2018 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series, it looks as though the action is heating up as a few riders came together this past weekend in Calgary. The next race in Sarnia is bound to be an exciting one for sure.

Now, onto what happen behind the scenes in Calgary. One of the big issues that seems to be coming up in the first two rounds of this series (especially this past weekend) is rules. Right now the series is operating under two rule books, the outdoor version that has been the CMRC rulebook for years, and the Jetwerx AX rule book. Obviously, using just one rule book is the simple solution to all of this, but since the racing is so different indoors than it is outdoors, this really isn’t possible. Certain rules like jumping on a red cross flag, have to be somewhat altered during indoor racing to adjust to the smaller track and the reduced time that the riders have to make decisions. Even with two rule books, everything must be crystal clear and that is what is going to have to happen moving forward.

The best race of the weekend might have been the Clash for Cash battle between teammates Colton Facciotti and Dylan Wright. Photo by James Lissimore

The one positive thing I ever took out of the CMA racing days so many years ago, was that the CMA was all about rules and structure. Yes, some would say that they had too many rules and it felt like somewhat of a autocratic state when you were at the track. However, looking back, I almost miss all of those rules. I miss the tech inspection prior to the day of racing. This was even done at local races as all of the bikes had to be inspected prior to being allowed on the track. I know that these days, time is of the essence at the track so maybe there isn’t time for this micro-managing of racers. But I am in total favour of having more rules than currently exist, or at very least having the current rules enforced. Although the CMA way of doing things died a long time ago and with good reason, but I still feel that people at the race track these days are craving more structure and consistency with the way things are run.

In Calgary, Shawn Maffenbeier continued his winning ways in the 250 class and showed everyone why he is the favourite to once again win the 250 Championship in 2018. Photo by James Lissimore

From what I have seen and heard at the first two weekends of the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series is that there just needs to be a little more structure and communication. The good news is that this is an easy fix, and with so many smart moto people currently involved in this series, solutions should be easily found. With two more indoor races before this series gets even more complicated and moves outdoors, now is the time to get everything streamlined and running smooth. One of the new items that has just recently been formed is a five person rules panel that will first help the head referee with any incidents that might come up at pro events. This panel will also hear any appeals that might be put forth once rulings are made by a referee. Obviously, the head referee will still be making the initial rulings at the track, but now he will have a panel of five to assist with the most serious of offences. Stay tune for a press release this week of who exactly is on this panel. There are bound to be growing pains with any new series. As long as everyone learns from them quickly and changes are made, things will continue to progress in this country.

Well, that is it for me this week. Congratulations to all of the winners this past weekend, including the winners in Calgary, St Louis, as well as our group of Canadian riders who made it through the first round of Loretta Lynn’s qualifying in the USA. I love this time of year as almost everything is new and exciting. In closing, I hope everyone had a great March break and a safe time riding.