Honda Canada Racing Presents The Monday Gate Drop

Good day and welcome to the May long weekend edition of the Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop. I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday Monday and I hope all of you are having a great weekend. It’s hard to believe that we’re almost to the end of May and the beginning of our summer season. Like every year I guess, 2019 is moving along very quickly.

One of Stewart’s best races came in Toronto in 2014.

To begin this week, let’s talk about the official retirement of James Stewart, which was announced via video on Thursday. Although there was zero chance of him returning to the race track at this point, a few of his biggest fans I’m sure were holding out hope that JS7 would one day line up on the starting line again. Giving Stewart’s immense talent on a dirt bike, as well as his long resume of race wins and championships, it is sad that he wasn’t able to finish off his career the way he wanted on the track. However, in the unpredictable and complicated world of professional sports, very few athletes walk away under the exact conditions they envisioned. For Stewart, his last few seasons of racing were made even more difficult by his suspension as well as his inability to remain as the fastest rider in the sport. Prior to his 18 month suspension by WADA, Stewart was almost always the fastest rider on the track. Even if he didn’t win every race or every series he entered, there were very few times that he either wasn’t the fastest or at the very least appeared to be the fastest rider on the race track. Once he returned from his long suspension his competition had improved and he wasn’t ‘that guy’ anymore. Now, he did get some bad luck when he collided with Ryan Dungey during his first race back and suffered a concussion, but that crash was mostly rider error and should’ve never had happened. I think if Stewart could’ve made it through that first season back healthy, and if he would’ve allowed himself to relearn how to go fast, I honestly think he might be still racing. However, as we’ve seen so many times in not just sports but in life as well, when you have that much genius in your craft, how you maintain that level of excellence is extremely complex. For Stewart, once he took that year and a half off and his mind and body got out of the routine of racing and making those on-the-bike decisions so quickly, he was unfortunately done.

But as sad as that is, James Stewart can be proud of not only all of his accomplishments but he also can sit back and know that he changed how a dirt bike is ridden. At any point during his retirement he can take his family to any track, sit in the stands and know that he is the one who introduced this new style of riding to this sport. Like Jeremy McGrath with his staying low off jumps style, or RC with his work ethic, thanks to James Stewart our sport is forever different and forever better. To me, that is the legacy he leaves behind. Thankfully, for those who were sitting in the Rogers Centre in 2014 when Stewart came from almost last to win the main event, you got to witness perhaps Stewart’s greatest race ever. No one will ever forget his contributions to motocross, and considering where he and his family came from, I would say that he’s one of sport’s biggest success stories. I hope he remains in decent shape and then shows up at Loretta Lynn’s in a few years to complete the full circle of his racing career. I guess we’ll all have to wait and see what is next for James Stewart.

With over 1000 entries for the weekend, the opening rounds of the 2019 New Era Moto Park Cup was a huge success. Photo by BP Photography

So my weekend was spent in Williamsford, ON for the opening rounds of the 2019 New Era Moto Park Cup. Since 2012, these MP Cup events have been going strong and with 1000 entries this past weekend, I think it’s safe to say that things are still good. Other than a few injuries on Saturday and a big rain storm yesterday afternoon, everything else was great over the two days. The highlight of the weekend was the Pro-Am class on Saturday as it was jammed with talent. These days with the national series being so important for most of our pro rider’s livelihoods, they don’t feel the need to get out to very many regional events. Even though I come from an era where all of the top riders had to race as many races as possible to even survive financially, I totally understand why these guys don’t race local events and why they just focus on the national series. After-all that is what they get paid to do, and if you look at other sports, you don’t see Sidney Crosby playing in a 3 on 3 tournament just because he has a weekend off. However, on the rare occasion that our top riders do show up at a local race, it’s very special.

There was a great pro turn out on Saturday at Moto Park. Photo by BP Photography

For the lucky people that were at Moto Park on Saturday they not only got to see riders like Tanner Ward, Marco Cannella and Sam Gaynor, but they also got to see the very first race between Colton Facciotti and Cole Thompson since their incident last November in Quebec City. After last year, there is definitely no love lost between these two champions as their relationship now reminds me of the old Peterson/Hoover days when those two warriors simply tolerated each other. And I think that is even sugar coating things. Anyway, to see them on the Moto Park starting gate together was a real treat and it was also very cool to see every single person on the Moto Park property lining the fences to watch this class on Saturday. I think it’s also great for our young riders to see these guys race on the exact same track on the same day. Regardless of your age or your skill level, you couldn’t help but notice some of the little things that these top riders were doing on the Moto Park track. Whether it was their unique lines, their technique or just their raw speed, they were a treat to watch and I wish they’d come out more. Fittingly, Facciotti and Thompson each grabbed a moto win with Thompson going 2-1 for the overall in Pro-Am class, but it was Tanner Ward who took the honour of having the fastest lap time of the day. After Saturday, I’m even more excited for the opening round of the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown MXTour Series in Calgary. Anyway, look for a full report on the Moto Park Cup tomorrow.

Former Ontario Pro rider Chuck Mesley had his son racing on the mini track at the MP Cup. So did Facciotti, Ken Clark and Ryan Gauld. Photo by BP Photography

Before I end this holiday edition of the Monday Gate Drop, I want to congratulate Ken Roczen on his big win in Hangtown on Saturday. Between the deep ruts of the opening moto and the mud of Moto 2, the conditions looked very difficult at the opening round of the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships. Adam Cianciarulo took the win in the 250MX class so that was nice to see him bounce back after his devastating mistake a few weeks ago in Las Vegas. Our Canadian contingent of Keylan Meston and Jared Petruska didn’t qualify for the motos in Hangtown having just missed the cut. This definitely shows how difficult it is to qualify for a US National, especially at the opening round.

Well, that is it for me today. I hope everyone has a great week. Also, if you have any race reports from any Regional events please email them to me at chris@mxpmag.com. I will gladly post them and mention them in this Monday column. Have a great week and thank-you for reading.