Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
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Once again friends, welcome aboard to this week’s ‘Friday Flight.’ First off I would like to thank you all for climbing aboard again while having absolutely no idea where we are headed. If you are assuming that I have an idea of where this week’s Flight may be going, okay, let’s just go with that. In all seriousness, Fall is already here and there has been no letting off the throttle on the many things I have my hands on all year long. I am not sure if it is an age related thing or being a stickler for detail but I find myself playing the tape back in my head in an effort to relive all of the great things that have happened in Canadian Motocross in 2015. I feel very fortunate that Motocross Performance Magazine thinks enough of my perception of the sport and literary skills to contribute to this blog as well as the top shelf, trophy-like printed publication. The newest issue has just gone to print and if you are lucky enough to be on the mailing list, you are in for a real treat. In the most recent issue I had an opportunity to write a sequel to last year’s 2014 MX1 title recap called 665 minutes. The 2015 version, ‘The 700 Minute Battle,’ is an indepth chronological recount of the epic battle to the 2015 MX1 title on Canadian soil. Yes, it is hard to believe it is now history but let me tell you, this article was a lot of fun to write. If you are not on the mailing list contact us or pick it up at your local newsstand.
The latest issue of MXP Magazine with cover boy Matt Goerke and my 700 Minutes feature story on the 2015 MX1 battle. photo by James Lissimore
Taking a quick peak down south across the border for this weekend’s USGP action at Glen Helen, I am really not sure what to think or say. Thinking back to my trip south last winter and stopping at Glen Helen and looking in from the outside, I was thinking, “Man, I sure hope I can be here on September 19th.” It is hard to believe how one individual could have such an influential and profound positive impact on a series, or any sport for that matter. There is no doubt in my mind that Ryan Villopoto having all eyes focus on this global marathon was a huge eye opener and a big step forward for the sport in general. Even though the outcome was not what many had hoped, I know his efforts accomplished many things in a forwardly focussed direction for those that will one day inevitably follow. If Ryan was truly the best of the best of the current crop of U.S. riders, notice was served in 2015 that if anyone was to become the first American born rider since Brad Lackey to achieve the top prize in the premier class, it would require an absolutely heroic effort. With the series finale this weekend and many riders at the end of an already long season that are focussed on the following week’s MX of Nations as well as Supercross in the U.S., where does this event now stack up? Being the insatiable race fan that I am, I will follow along, but I must admit it will take something pretty special to top the memory of Carlsbad in 1980 – R.I.P. Marty Moates.
Regarding Supercross, as a Canadian race fan I just got a little more fuel for the 2016 season to begin for more than one reason. No, I did not bone up and get a Direct TV package out of the US that will allow me to watch each week’s action from the comforts of my own living room, (I am too stubborn for that and will not go out of my way and pay extra dollars for something I believe should be part of the extended Canadian package I have with Shaw Cable), I have, however, decided that life is way too short to stay holed up in my moto cave the whole winter. I have convinced my wife that we needed to rent a Condo that looks into Petco Park in San Diego from a top floor with a wrap-around southwest corner balcony. Let’s just say January will be Christmas for this cowboy and I am very much looking forward to five straight weekends of moto bliss and not having to freeze my assets off rolling through snow. I got a little bit more excited about this whole deal; no, not after receiving my credit card bill for the condo, but more so after speaking with Cole Thompson on my Canadian Moto Show on Wednesday night. If everything goes as planned for the KTM rider, he will head south to California after the AX Tour concludes. He once again will be based in Southern California and will prep to make a run at the Supercross Lites West Series. That’s right, back on a 250. Cole sited that he thought this was a good fit to continue on his path towards a career that has a limitless ceiling. This is great news for Canadian Motocross fans.
The build up to Supercross across the country for all Canadian race fans will be the two upcoming Arenacross Series. I really believe that these series are imperative for riders and race fans to support for many reasons. They will both do a lot to not only move our sport forward but to continue to help enhance our already booming crop of future talent. Yes, this Arenacross racing is novel and is as much of a show as it is an indoor Motocross event. Many things have changed over the years but I am very proud and honoured to be able to look back at some fond memories and experiences with indoor racing. My first indoor racing action was just a couple of short years after Canada’s first ever Supercross held in Toronto in 1980. There was a one-off Arenacross scheduled for the Cowichan Vallery Arena on Vancouver Island and I showed up with my Abbotsford Kawasaki sponsored KX125. I do not remember a lot about it other than the air quality was terrible, and I got to rail some tight corners in a hockey rink and leave some rubber marks on the boards. I also remember the huge smile on my sponsor’s face, Ken Enns from Abbottsford Kawasaki, after I had won Pro main event that night.
I would not race another indoor event until the Fall of 1983 after enduring a season of a broken wrist pre-nationals at Hannegan Speedway a few weeks before the series started in Ulverton. I would eventually make the trek back East only to suffer a broken ankle at RD-2. I managed to finish up the outdoor season from the Thunder Bay round and West after my father cut my cast off and sent me on an airplane back into the fray. Finishing up the season was tough as for the first time ever I struggled to have fun at the races. I had reached a point where I was not enjoying the way things were going week in and week out, but don’t get me wrong, I still loved to ride my bike. By this point in my career I was already pretty burnt out and just felt I needed a break. After the Nationals concluded at the end of August, I do not think I rode my motorcycle for six weeks, or even looked at it for that matter. I was more interested in hanging out with my friends at the river Sturgeon, fishing and doing some of the finer things in life that I thought I was missing out on. In early October I remember my Dad saying there was going to be a Supercross race at BC Place. I honestly can’t remember if I knew about this upcoming race or if I just didn’t want anything to do with it. I had raced the Calgary Supercross that summer and was just kind of over the racing thing for the time being. As we inched towards the first ever BC Place Stadium date, I came home from school one day and looked at my bike and decided I wanted to do it. Just as spontaneously as I had decided, I threw on my R&M Motocross Specialties jersey and matching Answer pants on and then buckled up my blue Gaerne boots, Arai helmet and off I went. We lived a couple of short miles from the Fraser River and early October meant river riding season was just getting underway. The riding was more about play and I would always map out jumps and obstacles that were pretty sketchy.
We headed into BC Place Stadium not knowing what to expect on many levels as this was all knew and on a very different playing field. I do remember seeing the payout sheet at sign up and my Dad grabbed a copy, which I still have. The money was like nothing we had ever seen for a Canadian event and once again I was suddenly excited about the prospect of racing at the top level. That night, in front of roughly 30,000 spectators, I did not feel nervous, in fact quite the contrary. I had always liked tight racing and the kind of obstacles Supercross and indoor racing provided. That night I struggled in the qualifier as I had a pretty good get off and would have to head to the semi. In that race, while in a top 5 and a transfer spot, I crashed hard again. Confronted with going to the line for the LCQ and only one rider in those days transferring to the main, I knew what I had to do. When the gate dropped from an against-the-grain outside line, I holeshotted and won the moto.
I was pretty pumped. While I was being interviewed on the big screen, many of my high school buddies and family members were cheering me on. After this brief celebration and the realization that I was going to the main event, I had all of about ten minutes before the gate would drop on the main event. I lined up from the last and very outside gate pick, you know, the one that gets you that TV-time cameo, I surprisingly got a decent start on my R&M Motocross Specialties 250 and was about mid pack. I did not go down in the main event and rode solid. I remember breathing a sigh of relief seeing the white flag just after getting lapped by Chuck Sun. Chuck would get passed on the last lap by Phil Larson who would get the victory. I would finish 13th and was pretty happy with the effort considering the year it had been up to that point. Unfortunately for me, this would be my last motorcycle race of any kind for many, many years as I alienated the sport that had given me my identity. My befriending of John Barleycorn would take me as far from reality as one could ever hope to be for many years. I will not go into details but I can honestly say without the unconditional love of many around me and without the form of divine intervention that I have no reasonable explanation for, I would not be here.
It was great having Mark Stallybrass in the booth last year in Chilliwack. I can’t wait for the 2015 AX season to begin.
I have had many positive and upbeat life experiences and consider myself to this day one of the luckiest individuals alive. Motocross may have caused me some temporary grief at times, but in the grand scheme of things, without it I would be a lost soul. I am very much looking forward to the two upcoming Arenacross Series and will be broadcasting from my Canadian Moto Show platform ‘Live’ at each of the Future West races. More details can be found at futurewestmoto.ca. The series kicks off on Oct 2nd and 3rd in Armstrong, BC, and it is great family fun for all. The AX Tour has many very cool things planned as well and they are locked and loaded for Sept. 25th and 26th in London, Ontario. All of their 411 is at www.arenacrosstour.com. I have been texting and messaging riders across the continent to get a who’s who of who will be where when these series start. This is not an easy task as in true Canadian Moto fashion the common thread seems to be “We will see what we see when we see it.” Whatever you get up to this weekend friends, keep that passion pinned and Let’s Go Racing.
Until next Friday Flight, ‘Airmail’ out………………….
