Greetings! Welcome to this post-Walton TransCan edition of the Yamaha Motor Canada Monday Gate Drop Column. This past week was a hot and exciting one at the most famous raceway in Canada, and whether you’re already at home, or travelling home as we speak, I hope everyone had a great week in Walton, ON.
Well, that is a wrap on the 2025 Triple Crown Series, and what a finale it was yesterday at Walton Raceway. In front of the solid spectator turn out, the riders in all four classes put on one heck of a show. In the WMX East race, Kaylie Kayer rode great to win the final round and secure second overall in the final points standings. Jamie Astudillo took home the championship, while Katrine Ferguson recovered nicely from a broken collarbone suffered two weeks prior at the ECAN to finish third overall in the series. In the FXR Pre-Mix East Series, Crayden Dillon dominated the final round and took the title. Crayden also raced the 450 class in the afternoon and rode amazing to finish 5th in the second moto. Finally, I want to send out a big get well to Tea Ferguson, who had a bad crash yesterday in the second WMX moto and had to be air lifted to a London Hospital. As I was writing I got word from one of Tea’s sisters that she had surgery on her arm last night, and that everything went well. She’s doing much better, and the next step is weaning her off the pain meds, and then getting her on a flight back home. Tea is about to enter her final year of high school, and at school she is considered to be one of the top athletes in her district. Hopefully, she will be able to make a full recovery, and return to her normal life of sports excellence ASAP! During the past two seasons I’ve helped Tea on the starting line by holding her bike during staging and helping pick, and pack her gate. Even in those pre-race moments when stress levels are high, Tea is always relaxed and light hearted. She loves racing dirt bikes and being at the track with her friends and family. Obviously, injuries are part of this sport and now Tea will have to face another long recovery (she was seriously injured two years ago at the ECAN), but given her resilience and positive spirit, we know she will want to be back behind the gate in 2026.
The big story of yesterday was the 450 class and the championship battle between Phil Nicoletti and Tanner Ward. Heading into the motos yesterday, Phil held a slim 8-point lead over Tanner, so every position was going to be important. To complicate the matter, Phil and Tanner both had to deal with the return of Dylan Wright, who after healing up front his recent injuries, decided to race the final round. Add in the defending 450 champ Jess Pettis and we were back to a stacked field in the 450 class. In the opening moto, Dylan Wright shot out of the gate like a cannon, and within a few laps he held a sizable lead over Pettis. Ward settled into a solid third place, while Phil recovered from some shaky opening laps to secure 4th at the halfway point. The order remained the same until the closing laps when Dylan Wright’s GDR Honda ran out of fuel, and he was forced to pull off of the track. This moved everyone up one spot and Phil’s lead was now only six points heading into the final moto of the year.
When the gate dropped on the second and final 450 moto, Jess Pettis was out front with Ward in second and Phil in third. Dylan Wright did not get off to a good start in the second moto, and then went down on the opening lap. This only added to the drama as the fans were then treated to another exciting Dylan Wright charge from behind. In the opening laps, Pettis tried to run and hide from the pack, but Tanner was not letting him. In fact, during lap five Tanner closed right to the back tire of Pettis and looked to be the second fastest rider on the track. I say second because Dylan Wright was shredding through the pack, and in those opening laps he was over three seconds faster than everyone else. So, with Tanner set to take the lead, and Dylan charging past Phil and into third, things were beginning to get dicey for the WTLN Kawasaki rider. If Tanner had taken the lead and Phil dropped back to fourth, then the 450 championship would have gone to Tanner Ward. Also, with Dylan not finishing the opening moto and not factoring in the overall win on the day (bonus money etc.) and with he and Tanner being best friends, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Dylan remain in second so Tanner could win the title. However, that all went up in smoke when Tanner crashed hard in the roller section and was instantly out of the title chase. It was one of the most heart breaking moments ever witnessed in the Triple Crown Series as Tanner is liked and respected by everyone in the paddock. Tanner would get up and go on to finish 9th in the moto, but with Phil hanging onto fourth place, the damage was done. When the checkered flag flew, Pettis took the moto win, and with Dylan running out of fuel again late in the race, Josh Boaz snuck into second, and Gavin Brough passed Phil on the final lap to take third. However, when the dust settled, Phil Nicoletti was crowned the Triple Crown Series 450 Champion for 2025. What a great moment for not only Phil, but for the entire WLTN Kawasaki Team who worked so hard all year long to stay consistent and take home their first-ever Triple Crown Series Championship. This is also Canadian Kawasaki’s first 450 championship since Brett Metcalfe won his in 2013. As for Tanner Ward, we caught up with him moments after he spoke on the podium, and he was obviously gutted. But knowing Tanner, he’ll lick his wounds and then start preparing for the MXON where he will represent Team Canada.
It was a crazy day, and really a crazy week at Walton Raceway. Mother Nature gave us some very hot temperatures all week, but only allowed it to rain for about 45 minutes on Friday afternoon. Even though it was relatively short lived, it was enough to turn the perfectly prepped TransCan track into a quagmire. Thankfully, the sun returned on Friday evening and the track crew was hard at work pushing mud around, and doing everything they could to make the track raceable on Saturday morning. The Head Referee Tim Lee made the wise decision to postpone the remaining races on Friday afternoon, and then a new revised race schedule was made up for Saturday. So, while the track was still fairly muddy for the first half of the Saturday motos, by mid-day the riders had the best conditions they had all week long. In another wise and fair decision, the final 50cc motos were pushed to the end of the day on Saturday, and that gave our fearless kids the best conditions possible. I will go into the 2025 Walton TransCan more later in the week, but it was honestly another incredible week in Walton, ON. We witnessed some amazing battles in every moto that kept the fences full of fans trying to get a glimpse of the action. During the post-race awards ceremony, Alberta rider Jayden Reilly won the Rick Joseph Award as the top Intermediate rider (Jayden would back that up with a solid 7th overall yesterday in the 250 Pro/Am class), and Jonathan Bergeron won the coveted Fox Racing Canada Bronze Boot Award. It was an unforgettable week, and honestly, I can’t believe it’s over now. I wish everyone safe travels home, and we’ll see everyone in 2026!
Well, that is it for me this week. Like everyone who just spent their week at Walton Raceway, my body and mind are shot! My pick for Rider of the Week is Phil Nicoletti, who yesterday withstood the pressure of a championship battle to take home the 2025 Triple Crown Series 450 class title. Thank you for reading this week, and if you have any questions, comments, or Walton TransCan stories to tell me, you can email me at editor@mxpmag.com. Have a great week!
