Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
As we get ready to watch Round 2 of the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross Series from Houston, one rider that won’t be lining is our own Jess Pettis. As we reported on Saturday, Pettis tweaked his already injured knee during practice at the opening round and was forced to sit out the remainder of the day. Now we’re hearing that Pettis will not only sit out Round 2 but that he may be done for the remainder of the 250SX East Series. However, we don’t want to speculate too much on that and we’ll let Jess and his team release something in the coming days.
This is extremely sad news for both Jess as well as the large group of Canadian fans that have been watching his every move for the past few months. We all love watching the sport of Supercross and it’s very exciting that the 2021 Series has begun, but let’s face it, the Series is always better when we have a top Canadian rider to cheer for. On the bright side, we still have Quebec rider Guillaume St-Cyr to cheer for tonight as he will be lining up again in the 250SX East class. Even though St-Cyr is young, he’s already proving to be a very talented rider who appears to enjoy riding SX. At the opening round, St-Cyr qualified for the night show but came up short of making the 250SX East main event. Without the added nerves of an opening-round to deal with, St-Cyr should finish better tonight.
With the news of Pettis being out for tonight and the foreseeable future, we’re sure that many of you are disappointed and perhaps even angry. Why do things like always happen to Canadian riders when they try and race Supercross in the USA? Well, I don’t believe it’s bad luck or some sort of jinx. I think it’s more like when any rider attempts to race the most challenging series on the planet, things can go sideways pretty quick. I remember Bobby Kiniry telling me once that racing the SX Series is so difficult for multiple reasons. Not only are you racing against the best riders in tight and technical conditions, but you’re also pushing the limits during the week when you’re training on other technical SX tracks. There is very little room for error and Kiniry also mentioned that during most SX seasons, a lot of riders get injured early in the Series, and then have to deal with those little nagging injuries for the rest of the year. Racing this Series is tough and that’s why we should be extremely proud of any Canadian rider who even attempts it. I don’t think this is the last we’ve seen of Jess Pettis racing SX in the USA. He’s still young and or so talented, so when he heals up it wouldn’t surprise me to see him take one more shot at it in the future.
With all of this in mind let me leave you with a Jess Pettis story that hopefully will bring a smile to your face. At the opening round on Saturday when Pettis didn’t come out for the third and final practice session I had numerous people texting me wondering why he wasn’t on the track. Did he crash? Was he hurt? Would he be racing that night? Understandably my phone was blowing up and at the time I didn’t have any answers as I wasn’t in Houston. At that point, I texted Matt Wellumson who was in Houston and taking photos and videos for MXP. Matt was on the floor and replied to me that as soon as he could he would walk out to the paddock to check on Pettis. Now, this year is a little different in SX as with the Covid-19 restrictions media people have been instructed to try and avoid contact with the riders. However, as long as social distancing is practiced and everyone is wearing a mask, conversations from ten feet apart are acceptable.
With this in mind, Matt walked out to the paddock and located Pettis and his pit area. There he found Jess sitting in a chair in pain and obviously very dejected. Now, Matt and Jess don’t know each other and you can imagine the frame of mind that Pettis was in sitting there in excruciating pain, knowing that his two months of work at the Baker’s Factory might have been for nothing. However, in true Jess Pettis and good Canadian fashion, when Matt asked him how he was doing and if he was going to try and ride the night show? Well, Pettis was as nice and respectful as if he’d just won practice. So much so that Matt was floored at how courteous Pettis was to him as he laid out the bad news. Now, I cannot speak for all riders but I’m quite sure that most wouldn’t have been so nice, not even close! I guess what I’m trying to say is that Pettis (and almost all of our Canadian riders) is a class act and a great example of how you should act when things go wrong. Reacting to a win or a good finish is easy, but how you react to adversity and the bad moments is what defines you as an athlete and as a person. Regardless of how devastating this news is to everyone, I think we should be proud of what type of person Jess Pettis is. As should his parents, sponsors, fans, and of course the people of the city he grew up in, Prince George, BC. Heal up Jess and we can’t wait to see you back on the track.
