Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good day and welcome to another edition of the Monday Gate Drop brought to you by Yamaha Motor Canada. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ontario Intermediate rider Jamie Powell who won the Yamaha Canada Factory Ride Award at last week’s 2019 ECAN in Deschambault. Powell relied on his smooth riding and consistent results at the ECAN to win this prestigious award.
Jeremy McKie was one the top finishing Blu Cru riders at the 2019 ECAN. Photo by James Lissimore
Speaking of the 2019 ECAN, let’s begin there for this column. Like last year, the ECAN once again dropped off a little with entries. I heard a few different numbers so if I average them out I’d say that there were just over 300. For an event like this, that takes place at one of the coolest tracks in Canada, I cannot believe there weren’t more. Obviously, there is some good old motocross politics in Quebec that helped to keep people away from the ECAN, but also having to be there basically all week is a big commitment both financially as well as time wise. I’m not sure what the solution is to help get this event back to what it was a few years ago? With the MXTour Series being on Saturdays now, events like the ECAN are forced to work around that schedule. Anyway, for those riders and families that were at Deschambault last week, we all had a great time and there was some incredible racing.
I personally love going to the Deschambault track to watch not only my son race but also the group of fast Eastern Canadian Amateur riders that show up each year. Also, I haven’t spoken to any rider that doesn’t enjoy racing on this historic Quebec track. With its sandy soil and multiple elevation changes, this track really is fun to ride. The first time I raced at this track was way back in 1993 when I travelled there for a late season Quebec Provincial event. The track was a little different in those days as it didn’t head back into the valley section, so there weren’t as many elevation changes. Fast forward to now and the track is a little less sandy in certain sections than it used to be, plus there are also a few more jumps now, including the biggest jump that our riders hit all season long. What used to be just two big rolling hills is now a double jump that most 450 and just a few 250 riders clear now. The face gets a full groom before each moto so that it’s fresh for the riders to entertain the fans. Thankfully, each year the track crew make the massive leap a tiny bit safer, however it still takes a large amount of courage to jump it each lap. This year at the ECAN we only saw a couple of brave riders that jumped the biggest double in Canadian motocross. One of them was the big man Marc Genereux who jumped it on almost every lap on his way to the 30A ECAN Championship. Racing in Quebec is definitely different and can sometimes take a little extra patience, but I do believe it’s something that every rider should experience at least once as it’s just a ton of fun!
For numerous reason’s, racing in Quebec is always fun! Photo by James Lissimore
With the ECAN over and all of the amateur riders able to relax and reflect on their three days of racing, it was time for Round 7 of the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown MXTour Series. Coming into the penultimate round of this 2019 series, a few riders were most definitely due for a victory. On the way to the track in the early morning my son asked me (as he always does) who I thought was going to win at Round 7. My response was pretty quick as I’d been thinking of it all week long. I told him that I thought that Mike Alessi was going to holeshot both 450 motos (easiest prediction in moto right now), Phil Nicoletti was finally going to get a moto win, and that Jess Pettis was going to win the 250 class. I also picked Colton Facciotti to take the overall win on Saturday so I wasn’t perfect, but lucky for me I was fairly close in my predictions. Now, I’m not by any means a genesis when it comes to predicting race results, but here is why I came up with what I did for Round 7.
Another 450 moto and another holeshot for Mike Alessi! Photo by James Lissimore
Other than his inner confidence that he’s able to holeshot every moto he enters, I don’t have a clue how Mike Alessi has been able to get almost every holeshot this summer. He’s gotten so many in the past month that you’d think he was on the Royal Distributing payroll. I’ve watched him pack his gate and he doesn’t really do anything special. I’ve watched his technique and it’s normal for any top rider. I just think he has quick reflexes, and as I said above, I really think he believes deep down that he’s going to get the holeshot. This is a great lesson for young riders as it’s so important to try to build confidence with your starts. Once you find a process that works for you, stick with it and see what happens. That is one thing I have noticed with Alessi is that he does the same thing every time, and that includes his pre-start routine. In the opening 450 moto Alessi grabbed another holeshot and was able to sprint to his third moto win in a row. In Moto 2, Alessi once again got off to the early lead before getting reeled in by Nicoletti and Facciotti. He would go on to finish second overall, and for the second week in a row he made up points on Facciotti for the lead in the 450 class. With just two motos to go, Facciotti has a 14 point lead.
Even Colton Facciotti couldn’t match Phil Nicoletti’s determination to win the final 450 moto on Saturday. Photo by James Lissimore
In my opinion, there were two riders in the MXTour series who were overdue for an overall win. One was Phil Nicoletti, who has on more than one occasion been so close. I was talking to Phil and his Team Manager Steve Simms in the morning at Deschambault and the topic of our conversation ranged from the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross Series to kids and marriage. Not sure how we got to all of that but it was interesting, for sure. Phil did say that he loved the Deschambault track and that he felt great in the opening practice session. Regardless of what happened two weeks ago in Sand Del Lee, everyone in the paddock loves having Phil in Canada, and I think most of his peers were happy to see him finally get the win at Round 7. As you saw in the Instagram video that I posted on @mxpmag, Nicoletti had to hold off a hard charging Facciotti to get his first moto win of 2019 during the second 450 race. With this monkey off of his back and Facciotti and Alessi both going for the title, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Nicoletti go 1-1 at the final round at Walton Raceway in two weeks.
Jess Pettis and his mechanic celebrate their first overall win of 2019. Photo by James Lissimore
As we’ve talked about a few times this summer, Jess Pettis came into the opening round in Calgary still healing from a broken arm. He was not healthy, and according to his doctor, he wasn’t supposed to be racing. But he did line up in Calgary, won a moto on his home track in Prince George, and has battled hard all summer long to remain in the hunt for the 250 championship. If it wasn’t for a certain rider named Dylan Wright, who has been absolutely dominant in 2019, Pettis would be in line for his second title in a row. Since the MXTour moved east, Pettis has been getting stronger each week, and as we headed into Round 7 you could just feel like he was ready to break through for his first overall win of the season. Also, with Wright starting to think more about what he has to do to bring his first outdoor pro title home rather than winning races, this was the perfect time for Pettis to strike. In the opening moto, Pettis took the early lead from his teammate Tanner Ward and never looked back. He even jumped the big double like a savage for the first half of the race. In Moto 2, Pettis went down on the opening lap and was forced to battle from behind on the rough Deschambault track. He was able to make his way back up to third, which was enough for the his first overall win of 2019. Like Nicoletti, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pettis dominate at the final round as Dylan Wright will be consumed with clinching this title. With a 38 point lead, Wright can wrap up this championship in the first moto at Walton if all goes as planned.
Exactly one week today the 2019 Walton TransCan begins Photo by James Lissimore
So that was the week at Deschambault, and what a fun week it was. With some great amateur racing and some very entertaining pro racing on Saturday, it was definitely worth the trip to Quebec. Now it’s on to the Walton TransCan and the final round of the MXTour next week. With a large group of riders travelling to Walton from both the west coast and the east, as well as the USA, the 2019 TransCan should be a competitive one. Thankfully, everyone has this upcoming weekend off to make some last minute preparations. I hope everyone has a great week and thank-you for reading!
