Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
For the second race in a row, rain and a muddy track greeted the riders for their opening two motos. After a sunny and pleasant Friday here at Sand Del Lee, overnight the rain started and it quickly turned the sandy track into a very soupy mess. It was so wet in fact that practice was delayed and both the 250MX and 450MX motos were shortened by five minutes. There was also just one practice session for each class so the riders were forced to learn the track quickly. To sum it up, the opening day of Round 4 of the 2020 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown MXTour Series was a muddy mess!
When the gate dropped for the opening 450MX moto, OTSFF Yamaha rider Shawn Maffenbeier led his fellow riders around the sloppy track. Maffenbeier has been riding better lately and his third overall two weeks at Walton Raceway has no doubt boosted his confidence to new heights. While Maffenbeier was out front, his teammate Phil Nicoletti had gone down in Turn 2 and was forced to start his first lap almost thirty seconds behind the last place rider in the 450MX class. It was a crushing blow to Nicoletti’s title hopes as his biggest rival, Dylan Wright was sitting comfortably in second place. As the opening moto wore on, Maffenbeier was doing his best to hold Wright off, while Nicoletti was setting an unbelievable pace as he charged forward.
At just past the halfway mark Wright made his move and got around Maffenbeier, while Nicoletti had made his way to tenth place. From there, not much happened as the riders appeared content with where they were. All of the riders except Nicoletti, who kept his Yamaha pinned right to the checkered flag to eventually finish in sixth place. Upfront, Wright would cruise to his seventh moto win of the season, Maffenbeier would hold on for a strong second place, and Matt Goerke rode to a quiet third place.
In the 250MX class, KTM rider and the current points leader Jess Pettis grabbed the holeshot and never looked back. By the third lap, he had a ten-second lead, but the halfway point of the opening moto he was twenty seconds ahead of Tanner Ward and Marco Cannella. That is the way they would finish as Pettis completely dominated Moto 1 of the 250MX class. Ward was a solid second and Cannella would get close to Ward but would have to settle for third. Marshal Weltin did his best Phil Nicoletti impression in the opening 250MX moto as he crashed on Lap 1 and would eventually chargeback to a strong fifth place.
So that was what happened in the opening motos in Round 4. Although it rained again late this afternoon, it’s supposed to clear up overnight and Sunday’s forecast is calling for sun and 21c. The Sand Del Lee track might still be a little sloppy in the morning, but by the time the gate drops on the second set of motos the track should be in perfect condition. Stay tuned for more race action tomorrow from Round 4 at Sand Del Lee.
250 Class:
| – | #15 |  | JESS PETTIS PRINCE GEORGE, BC | 1st |
| – | #18 |  | TANNER WARD WOODSTOCK, ON | 2nd |
| – | #46 |  | MARCO CANNELLA WATERDOWN, ON | 3rd |
| – | #164 | | RYDER MCNABB COURTLAND, ON | 4th |
| – | #19 |  | MARSHAL WELTIN HUNTERSVILLE, NC | 5th |
| – | #41 | | JEREMY MCKIE BELOEIL, QC | 6th |
| – | #32 |  | WILLIAM CRETE BLAINVILLE, QC | 7th |
| – | #123 | | RYAN SURRATT BC, BC | 8th |
| – | #223 | | AUSTIN JONES PERTH, ON | 9th |
| – | #30 | | HAYDEN HALSTEAD RICHMOND, ON | 10th |
450 Class:
| – | #9 | | DYLAN WRIGHT COURTLAND, ON | 1st |
| – | #3 | | SHAWN MAFFENBEIER KAMLOOPS, BC | 2nd |
| – | #2 | | MATT GOERKE PANAMA CITY, FL | 3rd |
| – | #10 | | KEYLAN MESTON CALGARY, AB | 4th |
| – | #5 | | TYLER MEDAGLIA BROOKFIELD, NS | 5th |
| – | #54 | | PHIL NICOLETTI AMARANTH, ON | 6th |
| – | #50 | | BOBBY PIAZZA EASTON, PA | 7th |
| – | #28 | | SAM GAYNOR ERIN, ON | 8th |
| – | #64 | | LIAM O’FARRELL PARIS, ON | 9th |
| – | #117 | | MICHAEL DA SILVA SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHE, QC | 10th |
