Betty Blog – Keep Getting Better

By BrettLeemx

The first two weeks of the Monster Energy Motocross Nationals have answered a lot of questions and opened up an entire new set; questions about the series, the racers and where we all stand in the crazy little world we call Canadian motocross. As the saying goes, the bullshit stops when the gate drops. It has been a whirl wind for myself.

I work for the CMRC, not news to many people but I thought I should qualify what I write by saying it out front. Round one for us, as the group running the series, was not our best moment. It started with the rain, which drained a lot of emotion from the day before the gate dropped. However, many of our mistakes were simply not being as prepared in some areas as we could have been, and stretched thin in others. It was a D effort in my own opinion, but I am happy to say if Nanaimo was a D, last weekend was a solid B. There is always room to improve and many things go differently on race day than predicted. If Kamloops was like Nanaimo, I would have checked myself in. Fortunately, it was a rebound weekend and I believe everyone is still hard at work not to repeat mistakes.

 

Matt Goerke. He has been the series’ big surprise. Matt is known as a strong mud rider and a very strong sand rider, which lends to his early success. There is more to it. He is a much easier going guy in the pits and seems more comfortable at the track. He knows the people, the series and you can see he is feeling much more at home than last season. He is healthy and has said on many occasion that has been big factor for him. He is getting great starts, and when you package it all up this is what you get, a perfect season…so far.

 

While Goerke has surprised me with how good he has been, I have expected more from Dusty Klatt and Colton Facciotti. They are both remarkable riders who have essentially dominated the race scene here in Canada for the past 5-6 years. They are both very fast, both look great but bad luck, a lack of confidence or whatever it may be, they have produced results well below what they have come to expect. Calgary is shaping up to be the point in the series that these riders need to send a message.They have been the top dogs for good reason, and this weekend there needs to be a message sent.

 

Canadian motocross tracks are tough to measure and the two completed rounds are near impossible to evaluate. Nanaimo was the type of rainy quagmire that you only see in Canadian Motocross. Sure you see other races get hit by a bit of rain, but in Nanaimo  it rained for 10 hours straight. It was a mess, and the reality was little could be done short of tarping the entire park. Kamloops was the first Saturday event in the history of the sport. It made track preparation easier and in my opinion better. The track was in great condition. However, it was rough, extremely rough. It was punishing. Few riders were as enthusiastic at the end of the day about Kamloops as they were in the morning and most just laid motionless at the end of the day whimpering. For anyone anywhere in the world, this is a mean little track. Calgary is a trickier track to manage with its big valleys, vast size and unpredictable weather.

 

Injuries that have plagued the US tour reached out last weekend to the Canadian series. Tyler Villopoto injured his hand but is ready to tough it out. Kyle Keast broke his femur and is done for the season. Kyle McGlynn crashed and effectively ended his season. Shawn  Maffenbeier is sore everywhere and his teammate, Shawn Robinson, injured his hand. Both are set to race but they are far from 100%.  Jared Allison and Colton Facciotti suffered shoulder injuries and the list goes on. It wasn’t one spot or one type of crash. There was no consistency or pattern to where riders went down. It was motocross, and it hurts the series when those great athletes get injured. Hopefully the majority are good for Calgary.

The MX2 class has been more of a Teddy Maier show than I expected. I felt, coming into round one, Jeremy Medaglia would be the rider to watch. He has been up there but not on pace with Maier. I do think, as the series moves east, Jeremy will get stronger, but Teddy’s confidence is building and Calgary would be the place to put a stop to that. Kyle Beaton is another rider I thought would be a pace setter, and although he has been out front, he has the speed third or fourth place rider. Beaton seems to be in a place that  it appears no matter where he starts,third or fourth is his place. Calgary is more to his liking so we will see this weekend.

 

I always liked the fact that Canadian equipment is relatively equal. Mom and Pop efforts can hold their own, and they are in  2012. Dylan Kaelin, Topher Ingalls, and Brad Nauditt are consistently holding pace at the front of the MX2 pack. They are all riding out of small cargo vans, and showing big heart. Brock Hoyer, Morgan Burger, and Gavin Grayck in the MX1 class are doing the same. All are simple race programs that are getting great results.

Women’s racing moved to Amateur day. No one knew how it would be received by riders, fans or industry. It was a weekend highlight in my opinion. A record number of women lined up, took control and ownership of the series in a way men should look at, and produced a great product on the track. They were the well deserved stars of the race day. Much credit goes to Denaye Giroux and Camille Baker. It is amazing to see women develop as great riders and then as great leaders in their community. It was the way it should be.

 

Calgary is setting up to be a big race in the series. For many riders it’s the time to stop their confidence from exploding. For others, it is the opportunity to move up in the results and take advantage of the fact so many riders are hurt. It also round three of nine; a third of the series will be behind us come Sunday night and time cannot be wasted. It will be an interesting weekend and the goal of everyone is the same  – keep getting better.