The Monday Gate Drop Presented By Yamaha Motor Canada

Good day, and welcome to the Monday Gate Drop which is once again presented by Yamaha Motor Canada. Hopefully you had a great Halloween weekend, it’s always cool to see some of the costumes that people come up with. The best one I saw over the weekend was from a father on my son’s hockey team who dressed up as Alan from the movie Hangover. He nailed both the costume as well as the persona of Alan, he really got into character.

I want to begin this week with some very sad news that came out of BC late last week. Longtime Canadian moto industry guy Wally Levy passed away suddenly, and it sent shock waves through our close knit moto family. Everyone loved Wally, his infectious personality made it impossible not to like him. I first met Wally in 1988 when I travelled to BC for the Junior Canadian National Championships. The race was in Duncan, BC, which Wally attended, and I believe he did the announcing that weekend as well. However, in the days leading up to the race I went to practice at the old Aldergrove track and ironically Jim Pomeroy was there conducting a motocross school. I had never met Jim, but when he heard there was another Pomeroy on the premises he and Wally came over and introduced themselves. After that, I’d run into Wally pretty much every time I raced in BC, and we always had such great conversations. He was a beauty, and he will be missed by everyone in our sport. RIP Wally and condolences to his family, friends and fans.

Moving on from some sad news to some exciting news, and that is Trey Canard debuting the new HRC electric MX bike in Japan this past weekend. As you can read in the PR below, the weekend went well for Trey and his prototype HRC bike. At times, the bike was very good, especially off the start. However, there are obviously some kinks that need to be worked out. Of course, it also opened up some strong debates on whether or not an electric bike should be allowed to line up alongside gas powered bikes at this level. I think we’re still a long way from this even being an issue at the top level of our sport. But, if you ask me right now if a rider should be allowed to line up at Anaheim 1 on a Stark Varg, I would say no, not at the top level in our sport. It’s not because of the power output etc, I just think it’s a safety issue as you can’t hear an electric bike. Imagine the opening lap of an SX main event when riders are trying to battle aggressively, but safely for a position. As a racer, you’re not only seeing other bikes on the track, but you’re also listening for other bikes, so all of your senses are in alert mode! I don’t think it would be safe and you don’t see the mixing of E-Bikes and gas powered vehicles yet in other motorsports where the electric movement is more advanced than in motocross right now. At the end of the day though, innovation and progression is always incredible to see, and I’m glad our sport is making some solid advancements. I mean, the E-bike technology that we’re seeing from the KTM Group in youth motorcycles is just amazing. Here is the HRC Press Release from Japan:

“After a successful qualifying run yesterday, Sunday’s race day brought mixed fortunes for Team HRC but a race-leading demonstration of pace of the new CR ELECTRIC PROTO.

In the morning’s practice, Trey Canard followed on seamlessly from his Saturday pace to go second fastest on the all-electric #41, making its global competitive debut this weekend.

Then came the first ever race for Honda’s new prototype machine, in the form of JMX Rd.8 Heat 1. The opening race was smooth, with Canard starting strongly, settling into a rhythm and crossing the line second aboard the CR ELECTRIC PROTO. As learning, development and ultimately the pace continued to improve throughout the weekend, Canard closed to just 0.7s off the fastest lap and was looking fast.

In the second heat, Canard again started well and looked to be set to keep building on the weekend’s momentum, but an early crash with heat 1 rival Jay Wilson unfortunately ruled him out of the race.

Returning for the third heat, Canard made best use of the Honda’s instant electric torque and again started strongly, taking the lead exiting the first corner. In fact, Canard took two of the three holeshots on the CR ELECTRIC PROTO.

Starting to stretch that lead from his weekend-long rival, the #27 of Wilson, it would have been the perfect culmination of the weekend’s learning and work on the CR ELECTRIC PROTO to take the machine’s first win in its first ever competitive weekend – but unfortunately, as the track continued to get ever more rutted, Canard crashed with 12 and a half minutes remaining of the 15-minute race.

Nonetheless, with the opportunity provided by racing to learn, develop and prove the prototype machine in the heat of battle for the first time, it has been a successful and encouraging debut for the CR ELECTRIC PROTO – a weekend which has provided valuable data for ongoing development of Honda’s all-electric motocross initiative.

Trey Canard:

“This weekend was definitely a big challenge for me but it was a great race for our development. Each time I was on the track we improved the motorcycle and the CR ELECTRIC PROTO team adapted to the challenge. 

“We had some shines of brilliance as a team, the starts being one of them with two of the three holeshots. There were also some sections on the track that were very impressive and that makes me excited for the future of this motorcycle. 

“I’m disappointed to not finish all of the motos after all of the hard work the team has put in but I think we showed that the potential of the bike is quite high especially for our very first attempt at racing. I’m grateful to be a part of this effort and I’m very proud of each and every person who has worked so hard.”

Taichi Honda, Team HRC Team Manager

“First of all, I would like to thank the development team and everyone involved for preparing the CR ELECTRIC PROTO to be ready for competition in such a short time.

“I would also like to thank Trey Canard for showing his potential even though he has only had a few tests.

“We had three heats for the first time today and we will take what we learnt from each race and feed it back to the ongoing development of the CR ELECTRIC project.” 

So, after five long months the 2023 Triple Crown Series concludes this coming weekend in Calgary at the spacious Nutrien Western Events Centre. This is a great venue for SX/AX and each time that the Triple Crown Series has travelled there the racing has been excellent. My family and I are flying to Calgary on Thursday evening as I’m not only going out to cover the final round, but my son is also racing as part of the Amateur program. Hopefully, we get to see a continuation of some of the solid performances that we witnessed in Medicine Hat from riders like Julien Benek, and Blake Davies. These two BC kids were on fire last weekend in Medicine Hat, and they should come into this weekend with a ton of confidence. Another BC rider who needs to end the Triple Crown Series on a high is GDR Honda’s Jacob Piccolo. Lately, he’s been struggling with his health on race days, and in Medicine Hat it got so bad that he was forced to sit out the final main event of the evening. Internal ailments are always challenging for any athlete, as well as the people supporting them. They are sometimes difficult to diagnose, and since they are at times stress related, a rider can feel normal all through the week and into the weekend, and then on the day of competition they feel sick. Jacob told me last week that he was getting some tests and blood work done so hopefully he has some concrete answers sooner than later. As I mentioned last week, this kid should be battling for race wins, and not watching races from the stands. Of course, all of the riders this weekend will be chasing Mitchell Harrison as he’s been unbeatable so far indoors. Harrison is a great SX/AX rider and he will be difficult to beat this weekend in Calgary. I love this race and I cannot wait to see everyone there on Saturday.

Also, this weekend the WSX Series travels to Abu Dhabi for its second round. This race is looking like it’s going to be very cool with its unique track design, and the vibrant city as the backdrop. Cole Thompson will be on the starting line in the 250 class, so we’ll have him to cheer for. Cole is beginning his trip around the globe this week as he will travel from Charlotte to Abu Dhabi. Then he will board a plane to Australia for the final round of the Australian SX Championships in three weeks’ time. Then it’s across the Pacific Ocean and back to Charlotte where Cole will begin his preparation for the Monster Energy SX Series in January. If Cole were making a video of his life he could call it “Around the world in 30 days!” Also, this weekend in Abu Dhabi will see some familiar Canadian faces in the background as both the Vision Built guys, and Kevin Tyler will be assisting with the track build. I’m not sure if they will be continuing on to Australia to assist with that event, but I’m sure this weekend will be a great experience for them both. The GT AX Series in the USA also kicks off this coming weekend in Topeka, Kansas, and Tyler Gibbs will be on the starting line with the Creo Race Team. Competing in this series is a great opportunity for Tyler, so we want to wish him the best of luck.

Well, that is it for me this week. Happy Halloween to everyone tomorrow and I hope all of our young moto kids have a safe night of trick or treating. Finally, congratulations to Trystan Hart on his big win this past weekend at the third and fourth rounds of the AMA Endurocross Series in Idaho. The next race in this series is on November 11^th in Oregon. Thank you for reading this week, and if you have any questions or comments please email them to me at editor@mxpmag.com.