Expecting the Unexpected- Prince George

The uphill start is one of the coolest parts of the Blackwater Track. Photo by James Lissimore

As we head into Round 2 of the 2019 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown MXTour Series, what might we expect from the riders as well as this unique track? Both will be primed and ready to help make the second round an exciting one. With the weather forecast calling for the perfect amount of moisture to fall between now and the opening moto on Saturday, the track will most likely be in perfect condition. Since the series began going to the Blackwater Circuit two years ago, this race has been blessed with at least a little rain each year and that has helped to make it one of the riders favourite tracks of the summer.

So what makes this round in Prince George, BC. so special, and what is it about the track that for the past two years has given us some very memorable moments? Is it the Prince George hospitality? It most certainly could be as the people there always seem to embrace our riders and teams when they arrive. With a true four seasons each year, PG is a powersports kind of city with tons to do outdoors. Having the pro motocross series come to town is very important to not just local motocross fans, but to the entire city. Hopefully the third year of this event will bring out everyone in the area who spends so much of their time riding on two wheels.

Which riders will win one of these cool moto bears this weekend? Photo by James Lissimore

As I mentioned above, I haven’t spoken to too many riders who don’t like the Blackwater track. Even the riders who haven’t had great results there in the past two years still seem to like the layout. From it’s unique steep uphill start, to it’s rapidly changing elevations, this track appears to have it all. It’s my feeling that the Blackwater track is one of the most demanding of the series as it simply doesn’t give the riders any time to rest. From trying to get through the corners at the bottom of the hills clean so you can get a good run up them, to making sure you brake later then your competition on the way down, the margin for error is very small. Not to mention that the soil at the Blackwater track is made up of deep power robbing loam so even the 450’s are working to capacity. Yes, this track has it all and it’s very entertaining for the riders as well as the spectators.

So who is going to be successful at the 2019 Prince George National? I think you have to look both at who was good in Calgary last weekend, as well as which riders struggled at Round 1. For the riders that enjoyed a successful weekend in Calgary, well they’ll come into Prince George confident and ready to duplicate what happened in the opening round. On the flip side, for the riders that weren’t happy with last weekend, they will obviously be super motivated to not repeat what went wrong seven days ago. In the past we’ve seen riders like Dylan Wright, Josh Osby, Matt Goerke and Cole Thompson have good races here, while last years 450 MXTour Champion Colton Facciotti for some reason struggled in Prince George. Also, this is the hometown race for Jess Pettis, so look for him to pull out all of the stops in order to have a great race in front of his friends and family. As we know now, Pettis came into last weekend in Calgary still injured from a practice crash last month. So Saturday will definitely be a delicate balance between trying to impress his hometown fans to once again just trying to score some more quality points while he’s still healing. My humble predictions for Round 2 in the 250 class are that just like last year, I believe we could see another double moto sweep by Honda rider Dylan Wright. He showed some great speed last weekend in Calgary and I think he’ll be fast again in Prince George. Last year his speed and aggression couldn’t be matched in Prince George.

Last year, Dylan Wright won both 250 motos in Prince George, can he repeat the same result in 2019? Photo by James Lissimore

In the 450 class, I think things are just a tad more complicated as last weekend we saw three riders racing at pretty much the same speed. We could see a carbon copy from last weekend when it comes to the Top 3, with Facciotti winning a moto and Thompson winning the other. However, something tells me that Nicoletti will win at least one moto this weekend. Either way, it’s definitely going to be exciting and I cannot wait to see what happens. It all gets underway early Saturday morning with practice and qualifying, and then the opening motos kicks off around 11am with the first WMX race of the day.

Coming off his overall win last weekend in Calgary, how will Cole Thompson handle the difficult Blackwater Track on Saturday? Photo by James Lissimore