Yamaha Motor Canada Presents The Phil Nicoletti Report: Winning Breeds Confidence

As we get ready for Round 4 of the 2020 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown MXTour Series, OTSFF Yamaha rider Phil Nicoletti currently sits second overall in the 450MX class, 22 points behind Dylan Wright. It’s been anything but an auspicious start to the series for Nicoletti as a couple of inopportune crashes and some very strong riding by Wright has him in second place. Before a muddy Round 3 at Walton Raceway, Nicoletti appeared frustrated as he tried to find a way to beat his GDR Honda rival. However, after some very strong riding in some very awful conditions, Nicoletti was able to get the result he was looking for and took the overall win on the day. With six motos remaining in the 2020 MXTour Series, and almost a full moto to make up in the point standings, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Nicoletti. But considering the amount of experience that Nicoletti brings to the starting gate for each race, if anyone can pull this off it’s him. When asked about how this season has gone so far, Nicoletti had this to say, “I’ve been feeling good at all of the rounds so far, I think I’ve just been a little off with my overall speed. At Round 3 I was able to ride more like myself and get the win.”

In life and in sport confidence is a wonderful thing. Whether you’re heading to a 9 to 5 job or lining up for the pro-national, believing that you’re 100% capable of doing your job is vital for success. In racing, when there are so many variables that you’re not able to control, it’s very easy to lose confidence in yourself and your machine. As we’ve seen so many times in the past, confidence can take weeks or even months to build, but sadly it can be taken away in a heartbeat. Looking back now at the opening two rounds of the MXTour Series, there is no doubt that Dylan Wright’s six moto win streak did some damage to his fellow competitor’s confidence. How could it not? He won in the sand and heat at Gopher Dunes, then he followed that up with a come from behind win as well as a mud moto win at Round 2. When victories like this happen it’s easy to get the mental edge over your competition, and I’m sure a few riders (like Nicoletti) did some serious soul searching after Round 2. “Prior to the second round my team and I did some suspension testing and we found a few things that definitely helped us at the two rounds at Walton Raceway.”

So what did Nicoletti do between Walton 1 and Walton 2 to change his results? Well, the first thing he did was sign up for the Youth class during the TransCan. Actually so did Dylan Wright, Tanner Ward, and a few other top pros. Even though they only rode the opening moto, it still gave them some valuable track time and some intense practice in race conditions. During that opening Youth moto Nicoletti was able to pull off a much-needed win, while Wright settled for second. Now, I don’t think for a second that anyone who watched this moto thought that Wright was giving his best effort (he might have even had bike issues), but if you were Nicoletti, it didn’t matter as a moto win is a moto win. That feeling of crossing the finish first and standing on the top spot of the podium is a powerful and addictive thing. Once you have it, you don’t want to lose it. And in Phil’s case, once you get it back you definitely don’t want to lose it again. Could that win on the Thursday of TransCan have helped Nicoletti get his first win of 2020 on Sunday? It sounds far-fetched, but it’s possible. I asked Phil about this and here is what he said, “Racing during the week at Walton was great. I was able to get wins in both the Youth class as well as the Vet 30A class. I know we all weren’t pushing as hard as we could, but I don’t care if it’s motocross or ping-pong, we all want to win anytime we compete at something and when we do it makes us feel good.”

For proof of this theory let’s go back to 2001 for a second and talk about Sean Hamblin. At the time, Hamblin was racing the premier class in the Canadian Nationals aboard a Two-Wheel Kawasaki. The series was at the halfway point and was getting ready to head east. Hamblin had been doing okay, but he wasn’t where he wanted to be with his riding or his confidence. Well, that all changed when he and his fellow Two-Wheel teammates showed up at the Listowel SX the weekend before the eastern rounds were to begin. It was a small race, to say the least, and in the grand scheme of things it meant very little. But that night Hamblin dominated the 250 main event and was treated like a rockstar by the local crowd. That race and that feeling of finally winning gave Hamblin some much-needed confidence. A week later (or two weeks, I cannot remember) he got his first-ever 250 Pro National win in Moncton, and then he went on to get a factory Suzuki ride in the USA. Now, was it all to do with his win that night in Listowel? I would say no, the same way that Nicoletti winning a Youth moto at TransCan didn’t have everything to do with his 450MX win at Round 3, but every big victory needs some sort of catalyst! The Listowel SX was it for Sean Hamblin, and maybe the TransCan was it for Phil Nicoletti.

Now we look ahead to Round 4 in Sand Del Lee and the most important race of the series thus far. Another Nicoletti win will once again close up the points and make the final round in Deschambault very interesting. On the flip side, if Dylan Wright wins again then he’s really in the driver’s seat with one round remaining. Remember, this is Wright’s home track as he grew up just around the corner. If there were fans allowed this weekend you could make the argument that this might add to the pressure that Dylan might be feeling. But, with no fans, I think Dylan will be able to keep his emotions in check and just race the track. This will only make things more difficult for Nicoletti and the rest of the 450MX class as Dylan knows the SDL circuit very well. However, as I mentioned above, after his big win last weekend, Nicoletti has a little bit of momentum, some all-important confidence and that could be the difference maker. “I really like the track at Sand Del Lee, the dirt is good and the layout is fun. I also really enjoyed the Deschambault track last year so I’m looking forward to the final two rounds. I’m a little behind in points, but anything can happen and I think we’re in a good spot with the bike and our set-up.”