Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good day and welcome to first Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop of the month of May. We are now four months into 2018 and the race season is in full swing. In just three weeks the GDR Fox Honda Team of Colton Facciotti and Dylan Wright will be lining up at the opening round of the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown MXTour in Calgary, AB. Both riders will be looking to get off to a quick start in the 450 and 250 Pro/Am classes respectively.
Congratulations to the entire Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team.
It’s very hard to believe that the 2018 Monster Energy SX Series is now a thing of the past. I know it always does, but this season has really flown by. It honestly feels like just yesterday we were all excited for the gate to drop at Anaheim 1 to see which rider would step up to fill the boots left by Ryan Dungey. I think most thought that Eli Tomac would most likely be the rider to do so. After all, over the past few years Tomac has won a lot of races, even with Dungey on the gate. However, for whatever reason, Tomac made a lot of mistakes early in the SX series and it definitely cost him yet another SX championship. With Tomac struggling early and Marvin Musquin also having problems in January, this left the door wide open for Jason Anderson to build some much needed confidence early in the series.
Armed with a new Rockstar Edition Husqvarna FC450, Anderson was the best rider for the first few months of the 2018 SX series. Then, once he built a decent points lead in the 450SX class, Anderson went into consistent mode and took what each race gave him. Anderson’s consistency was so solid that it was almost like he had found the “How to win a championship” playbook in Dungey’s old locker at the Baker’s Factory and read it cover to cover. Even when a few of the series’ top riders went down with injuries, Anderson found a way to remain healthy for all seventeen rounds. As he entered the final round in Las Vegas all he needed was a top ten finish if his closest rival, Musquin, won. In the end, Anderson rode fast and smart in Las Vegas and got the job done. He is your 2018 Monster Energy Supercross 450SX class champion!
Here is the opening spread of a story I did a few years ago when Husqvarna was beginning their comeback to the motocross scene. It’s really amazing to see how far they’ve come in such a short time.
It’s amazing to think just how far Husqvanra has come since its revival a few years ago. What started out as basically a white KTM, little by little Husqvarna has charted their own path and now the 2018 FC450 is pretty much a bike on its own. There are so many differences now between a KTM and a Husqvarna, so much so that they feel nothing alike when you’re riding them. This season Husqvarna released the long-anticipated Rockstar Edition FC450 and by all accounts the bike is awesome. I will get a chance to test out this all-new bike next month so I’m obviously very excited about this. Anderson loved the bike from the moment he started testing it back in December; even Chad Reed raved about the new FC450 when he began riding it a few weeks ago. As I said, in just a few short years Husqvarna has gone from just returning to the motocross scene to becoming a brand that has now won multiple AMA championships in the past two years. Congratulations to Zach Osborne, Jason Anderson and the entire Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Team.
With SX now over, everyone now turns their attention to outdoor motocross. I know that the American riders have been doing it for many years now, but I still don’t know how these riders and teams turn around after a gruelling SX series and head straight to an outdoor series. The season in the USA is just insane so no wonder it’s driving some of these top riders to retire before they even turn 30. In Canada, our teams are ramping up their preparations for the opening round of the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown MXTour in a few weeks. Last week the Monster Energy Kawasaki Team and OTSFF Yamaha had their photo shoots, and in the coming weeks both the GDR Honda and MX101 Yamaha teams have theirs. Yes, our staff photographer, James Lissimore, is going to be a busy man in the weeks leading up to Round 1 in Calgary.
Shawn Maffenbeier looks pretty good with his red plates and his big #1. Photo by James Lissimore
This is such an exciting time of year in Canada as there is always so much excitement surrounding the outdoor nationals. This year’s Triple Crown Series will see the pro national on Saturdays, with the exception being Round 8 in Quebec, which will remain on Sunday. Both the 250 Pro/Am class as well as the 450 class are going to provide intense racing action from the moment the gate drops. Names like Maffenbeier, Wright, Pettis, Osby, Crown, Goerke, Facciotti, Thompson, Alessi and Medaglia (sorry to those I didn’t mention) are all championship contenders. Also, we can’t forget about the Women’s class, which will now be racing on the same day as the men. Get ready as we’re about to witness some pretty spectacular Saturdays this summer in Canada.
The opening round of the 2018 New Era MPCup is right around the corner.
In regional news, one of most famous tracks in Canada, Moto Park, hosted their first event of the 2018 race season yesterday. Over 300 entries were on hand for the second AMO race of the season, and they were greeted by a perfect track and ideal race conditions. I wasn’t able to make it as my son had his first baseball game of the season yesterday. By all accounts the racing was great and everyone was happy to be back at Moto Park. In two weeks, Moto Park will once again be hosting their annual MP Cup event, with Rounds 1 and 2 taking place on the Victoria Day long weekend. Over the past few years the MP Cup races have become some of the best motocross events of the year in Ontario. With a large number of entries and a weekend full of camping and fun, all that’s been missing lately is the cooperation from Mother Nature. Hopefully the sun will be shining bright when the gate drops on the first 2018 New Era MP Cup in two weeks.
The first few races of a new season isn’t just about what happens on the race track, it’s also about reuniting with old friends and sharing a few laughs. Photo by Heather Greig Photography
In case there was ever any doubt, old guys can jump! On a perfect spring day, Jim Scott airs it out over a MP jump. Photo by Heather Greig Photography
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week ahead and don’t forget about Mother’s Day this coming Sunday. This is one of best days of the year as we pay tribute to our wonderful moms out there. Happy Mother’s Day and please have a great weekend! Finally, I would like to send get well wishes to fellow Vet rider Scott Tokley, who suffered a bad injury yesterday at Moto Park, and also best wishes to Ontario moto mom Michelle Cryer who was involved in an accident over the weekend. Heal up – we’re all thinking of you.
In closing, here is a link announcing the passing of motocross legend Eric Gerboers.
https://www.gpone.com/en/2018/05/07/news/bereavement-in-the-bike-world-eric-geboers-drowns.html
