Each year, the Gopher Dunes National produces unbelievable storylines. These stories vary from great battles on the track to riders suffering through each moto’s final moments. On Sunday, it was much the same as hot temperatures blanketed the Gopher Dunes facility, making this the most challenging round in the 2024 Triple Crown Series so far. However, the riders made it through, and in the end, Drew Adams and Josiah Natzke took the overall win in the 250 Pro/AM and 450 classes. As always, James Lissimore was there and sent us these incredible photos for this week’s Behind the Lens Presented by Fox Racing Canada.
As always the Gopher Dunes track and facility looked great for Round 4. It was cool to see a Monster Energy display back at the races in Canada. Drew Adams is living the dream so far in Canada. Quinn Amyotte came into Round 4 with high expectations. However, bad starts kept him off of the podium. Julien Benek was having a great opening moto in the 450 class until a late crash caused him to DNF. Kaven Benoit did everything he could to keep Adams in sight. He wasn’t able to and now his points lead has shrunk to 4 points. Michigan rider Chris Blackmer showed up on 250 two stroke and overall rode pretty decent. Eve Brodeur had to battle hard in both WMX motos but was able to secure the win. A day at the beach wouldn’t be compete without a bouncy castle. It was great to see Max Filipek back on the track this weekend. Each year Frank Schuster shakes the hand of every rider prior to the start of the first moto. This year the GDR Honda Team threw it back to the first year Tyler Medaglia joined the team. Since he’s still dealing with a wrist injury from out West, Harrison struggled on the rough Gopher Dunes track. It was great to USA Team Green rider Krystian Janik at Gopher Dunes. The WLTN Kawasaki Team pit was a busy place this weekend. Once again Preston Kilroy had a quiet but successful weekend at Round 4 of the Triple Crown Series. The WLTN Kawasaki Team riders were ready for their day at the beach. USA rider Tristan Lane raced RedBud on Saturday and then finished second overall at Gopher on Sunday. Gage Linville did not have a great day at Gopher Dunes and sadly lost a lot of points in the 250 Pro/Am class. Preston Masciangelo showed up on Sunday and rode quite well. Hopefully we see him again this summer. After a tough start to the series it was great to see Tyler Medaglia back at the races. He also rode great to finish third overall in the sand. Josiah Natzke rode smooth on Sunday and took his second overall win in a row in the 450 class. Jess Pettis had the first 450 moto win in the bag before his bike failed on the final lap. He did win moto two and finished 3rd OA. We’re not sure what caused it but there was a massive first turn pile up in the second 250 moto. Sebastien Racine had the speed to win on Sunday, but he was unable to get to the front. After slow start to the series Tanner Ward led the final 450 moto for 12 mins and ended up in second place. It was a great ride!After gutting out two strong motos at Gopher Dunes it’s safe to say that Dylan Wright is just built different. The Blu Cru was ready to go at Gopher Dunes. Great job to all of the riders and we’ll see everyone at Sand Del Lee.
