Honda Canada Racing Presents the Monday Gate Drop

Good day and welcome to the first Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop of 2019. The beginning of any new year is always an exciting time as it makes us feel like it’s time for a fresh start. Statistically speaking, gym memberships peak in the month of January as self improvement seems to be the most popular theme through the first month of the year. Whether you’re jumping on the New Year’s resolution train or not, I hope the opening few weeks of 2019 find you healthy and happy.

Angel Stadium once again was the host of the opening round of Supercross. Photo by Frank Hoppen

So before I talk about the opening round of the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross Series, which took place on Saturday night in Anaheim, CA, let me dive into some Canadian moto news as the 2019 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series schedule was released last week. The series will kick-off on April 6^th as the opening round of the AXTour heads to Abbotsford. From there the series begins its trek east with races in Calgary, Sarnia and Barrie on May 4^th. A few weeks later the MXTour begins at Wild Rose MX Park in Calgary on June 1, 2019. After the opening round in Calgary, the MXTour only has two more western rounds before moving east to the heat and humidity of Ontario, New Brunswick and Quebec. The MXTour has been cut from nine rounds down to eight, with the event in Popkum, BC being removed. I really wish that Jetwerx could’ve kept the MXTour at nine rounds, or even increase it to ten, but just like the old 1970’s television show, eight is enough…I suppose. After the MXTour wraps up at Walton Raceway on August 17^th, the third leg of the Triple Crown Series begins in mid-September and concludes in Hamilton on October 19th with the final round of the SXTour.

That is the 2019 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series in a nutshell. As you can see, this year’s series is a little shorter and a lot more condensed. I think the entire series looks good and I like that it begins later and ends sooner than it did in 2018. The only wish I have is that the MXTour portion was one or two rounds longer than just eight rounds. With the talented group of riders that we have lining up this summer in Canada (I’m sure there are a few more to be announced), 16 motos doesn’t seem like enough to showcase their talents and watch them battle. However, it will have to do and I’m sure the MXTour Series is going to be great and I’m sure it will garner interest from around the globe. In case you missed the Social Media posts last week, here is the 2019 schedule:

In other Canadian moto news, last week there were two big team announcements as Shawn Maffenbeier confirmed he will be racing a 450 for the Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha Team. This appears to be the perfect time for Shawn to move up to the big bike class as I think he’s in the perfect place both mentally and physically. The 2019 YZ450F is much improved and I think Shawn will gel with the bike very well. Taking Shawn’s place on the Monster Energy Kawasaki Team will be Matt Goerke, who moves back to Team Green after a long stint with OTSFF Yamaha. Like Shawn, I think this is a great move for Matt as at times in 2018 he looked a little stale. The new KX450F is an awesome bike and I know that Matt is going to be very good on it this season. Finally, in a very surprising move, Tyler Medaglia will stay will the Kawasaki Team, but he’s moving back to the 250 class for 2019. I must admit that I didn’t see this one coming as I thought the green team would go out and get a young gun to compete for the 250 title. But I love a good story and Tyler Medaglia racing the 250 class again will definitely make for one heck of a story in 2019. Tyler is a legend and to see him racing against the kids this summer is going to be fun. I hope he’s ready for the added aggression that these kids bring to the track each weekend.

Tyler Medaglia will move to the 250 class for 2019. Photo by James Lissimore

Moving on now to Anaheim 1 and the opening round of the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross Series. I must admit, like most of the country I got caught up in the Jess Pettis fever this past weekend. Throughout practice and qualifying Pettis looked great and was just off the pace of the elite riders in the 250SX class. In his heat race, Pettis again rode great and finished in fourth against some very talented riders. Then in the main event with rain pouring down, I thought Pettis rode the perfect race for his first SX of 2019. Even though television made the conditions look somewhat bearable, for Pettis and rest of the field, the track was extremely difficult. At the best of times the Anaheim soil is very slick, but with rain falling it becomes almost as slippery as the rink across the street where the Anaheim Ducks play. Tempered aggression is the name of the game and I thought Pettis played it perfectly. To finish in tenth at the opening round on a bike that he’s only been riding for a month is very impressive in my opinion. I can’t wait to see what he can do in the next few weeks.

After all of the mud settled at Anaheim 1, Dean Wilson was the talk of the opening round as he rode to a very impressive fourth overall. Photo by Frank Hoppen

In the 450 class, it was Canada’s second favourite SX rider Dean Wilson who made the biggest splash on Saturday night as he grabbed the early lead and looked as though he might be able to hold on to the win. But after 15 minutes of holding off the world’s best riders, Wilson finally gave way to first Justin Barcia, then Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac. Wilson would end up fourth in the main event, and given the conditions and where Deano has come from this past year, I’m sure this felt like a win. By all accounts Wilson is riding Zach Osborne’s factory FC450, minus a few parts, so it’s not like Dean is a true privateer in 2019. His equipment is as good as any other rider on the track, his preparation for 2019 has been solid, and now with this finish at the season opener, I would say that Deano’s confidence is probably higher than it’s been in years. If he can stay healthy then this could be the season that Dean Wilson has been looking for. So with Barcia looking good, Roczen, Tomac, Webb and even Chad Reed, who came from almost last to 9th, looking good, one rider who appeared to be very uncomfortable was the defending champion Jason Anderson. In fact, other than a few past champions who DNF’d the opening round in past years, Anderson’s Anaheim ride was one of the worst we’ve ever seen from a defending champion. Whether it was the conditions, his nerves, or just him not wanting to make a big mistake, Anderson had an awful main event. After a few laps of fighting for position, the second half of the main appeared to be just about survival as no one wanted to make a ‘big’ mistake.

Justin Barcia rode like he was all rails at the opening round in Anaheim. Photo by Frank Hoppen

So Round 1 is now in the books and the series moves to the dry deserts of Arizona. It will interesting to see if the results change a little in Phoenix with a dry track to race on. Also, with Anaheim being the first time most riders and their bikes have seen a real race track, this week some adjustments will be made and all of the teams will be better prepared at Round 2. Regardless of what happened on Saturday night in Anaheim, let’s all be thankful and excited that the 2019 racing season is now underway.

I hope everyone has a great start to 2019 and I hope you’ve enjoyed this first Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop of the year. Thank-you for reading and please, have a great week. Happy New Year!

Jess Pettis once again gave all of us Canadian fans something to cheer about at Anaheim 1 as he gutted out a solid 9th place finish. Photo by Frank Hoppen