Now that the western rounds of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals presented by Motovan have completed, who is going to win this 2015 series? That is the question weighing on everyone’s mind. With six remaining rounds, it’s pretty well up in the air in both classes. The eastern tracks are made up of lots of sand, rocks and a little hard pack. At the first three tracks in the east, you can run sand paddle tires, so that helps on the budget.
Gopher Dunes | Courtland, ON
Gopher Dunes is first on the schedule. Smooth as silk in the morning but by lunch time it’s a blown out mine field. It’s impressive to watch skilled sand riders like Matt Goerke and Kyle Keast carve their way around this track. You either skim the top of the sand whoops or you motor through them. It’s the only way to the podium at ‘The Dunes.’ You better be in good shape if you want to compete here.
Sand Del Lee | Ottawa, ON
The series then moves to Ottawa (Sand Del Lee). The MX101 guys have done a great job over the years at preparing this national track that has been on the circuit for over ten years. Local riders like Jeremy Medaglia and his brother Tyler know how important it is to get the inside gate for those well needed holeshots. The first couple of corners are pretty tight so you better be out in front gapping your competition.
Motocross Deschambault | Deschambault, QC
Following the Ottawa round, the teams head to La Belle Province; Deschambault is next on the schedule, a track that has won many awards for “Best Track.” You can see why when you pull in to the facility. The track is hidden away behind rows and rows of trees. Daniel Thibault and his team have put thousands of man hours into this MX park and it shows when you see it. The local pros like Kaven Benoit and Tim Tremblay will be hard to beat here, because there are a ton of lines that only the locals know. You can hear the French Canadian spectators cheering and blowing their horns. It’s almost like you are at a GP in Europe.
Riverglade MX Park | Moncton, NB
The series then heads all the way to the east coast to Moncton where the track is a little harder packed but still very loamy compared to some of the tracks in the west. This track has lots of different obstacles from super long straight-a-ways to a huge finish line plateau where the riders like to air it out for the fans. This event usually has one of the best spectator turnouts on the schedule.
Motocross Ulverton | Ulverton, QC
Ulverton is Round 9 on the circuit, and as you may remember, lots happened at this race last year. If you didn’t know who Vince Friese was, you sure did after the race was overlast year. This track is pretty well the only naturally laid out track in the series with lots of elevation changes. The rocks on this track will leave marks for weeks if you don’t get out of the way.
Walton Raceway | Walton, ON
The final stop on the series is in Walton, Ontario. Make sure you reserve a hotel room before you head out that way because there are no hotels for miles. This event is similar to Loretta Lynn’s in the US. Every top amateur qualifies their way to Walton. From Tuesday to Saturday the amateurs put on some great racing. It’s easy to say that Kaven Benoit has the bull’s eye on his back in the MX2 class. He does have the #1 plate on his KTM, plus he was the guy to beat in 2014. Not only has he left the western rounds with the points lead, he did it on a two-stroke. After most critics thought he would struggle with it on the hard pack tracks, I think Benoit is smiling under that helmet. Now he is back on the sand tracks where he pretty well dominated last year. Let’s not count our chickens before they’re hatched; there are lots of motos and anything can happen. Jeremy Medaglia, on his GDR Honda, has proven that he is no pushover in the sand either. This kid has put in a ton of laps on all the east coast tracks. I’m pretty sure that Derek Schuster and the team have put in the hours preparing the Honda for the deep sand tracks. Mr. Consistent is his new name as he was exactly that at the western rounds. MX101 sand specialist Jimmy Decotis will look to put his Canada’s Motorcycle/FXR/ Yamaha up front and gain some well needed points if he plans to win this series. With a DNF in the west, Jimmy sits third in the series.
There will be a few east riders that plan to take a run at the podium. Quebec rider Tim Tremblay will be on his YZ 250 two-stroke. Liam O’Farrell from Ontario will be on his Orange Motosports KTM two-stroke. Liam has lots of seat time at these tracks; I’m pretty sure you will see him near the front. The MX1 class is loaded with great sand riders; Matt Goerke, Brett Metcalfe, Colton Facciotti, Cole Thompson, Tyler Medaglia and local hero Kyle Keast just to name a few. I have no clue who will be the king of the sand tracks. Any one of these five riders can win races. Let’s add a few more names in the mix that have had solid results in the sand: Bobby Kiniry, Nathan Bles and Teddy Maier.
Points leader Matt Goerke is the guy on the move in the series. With good results in the west, it looks like he has the confidence to continue winning. Brett Metcalfe is a fighter and I am sure he wants it just as badly. Colton Facciotti is the one rider you can’t count out of the championship; there is a reason he has four #1 championship plates at home. Local rider Cole Thompson showed everyone in 2013 that he knows something about sand riding too. How cool would it be to see Canadian privateer rider Kyle Keast put his GDR Honda on the box? I’m sure we will be in for some awesome racing. All eyes focused on that championship, starting at Gopher Dunes on July 12th. We’re now geared up and ready to start the wagon trains heading east.
