Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
I am checking in this Tuesday morning to share a few of my thoughts on what had become one of the most successful indoor motocross series this country has seen. When asked by Future West’s Jamie Hellam to be the series announcer I jumped at the opportunity as it would give me an outlet to share my passion for the sport I love other than watching televised Supercross feeds on Saturday evenings. What I witnessed on and off the track has solidified a belief that I have had for a couple of years now. The sport of motocross is alive and well and on the West Coast we are in the midst of a mini growth spurt. It was so cool to be a part of The Future West team and experience the efforts made by the whole team to provide entertainment on and off the track for the whole family. The series was well supported by its sponsors, riders that signed up and lined up, as well as those that lined up to fill the seats.
Even though Tyler Medaglia came up a little short in the chase for the championship, the Ontario native had a great time riding his Maple Ridge Motorsports KTM 250 Two-Stroke.
Yes, as with any series that is scheduled in the winter and racing off season, most had to deal with and overcome certain adversities and variables that the discipline of indoor racing dictates. Consistency is needed to win any championship and in a 12 round arenacross series, the fact is a reality that all lined up would have to dig deep to find and grasp tightly if they were to play it as their trump card. At this point the results have been tabulated and it is to the point now where within a few short hours the series will be yesterday’s news. What I was fortunate enough to be a part of will leave me with a lot of memories that you will not see on any result sheets so I am going to share a few of the things I will remember the most from this great series.
1. The atmosphere was very similar to what I remember as a kid going to the Fair, there was something for everyone. The live entertainment put a great vibe in the air, there were kids doing what kids do best; playing with their friends and having fun, most of which had gear on and were between or before races ripping around on their striders, big wheels, BMX bikes, playing with their RC Cars or sitting trackside watching the Pro Practice with a painted face eating a pre-race meal of cotton candy or popcorn. As the racing at each round got underway I would get to see the progression in confidence and ability on the track. As the series progressed I found myself from my trackside announcer’s perch cheering for them as if they were my own kin.
2. The quality of the Pro fields were deep, and in each and every main if you made an error you were going to pay for it in position. If you won two mains on a weekend you did something pretty cool and we had a couple of multiple winners. The first weekend watching Williams Lake’s RMR Suspensions Brock Hoyer come from seventh to take a win to say was impressive is a gross understatement. To watch Tyler Medaglia use what, in my opinion, is nothing short of a Philosopher’s Stone-type talent to perform his own personal alchemy in transforming that Maple Ridge Motorsports 250 two-stroke into Bags of Gold was mind blowing. Yes, Tyler was one of those multiple weekend winners I speak of as was his brother, Cycle North Honda’s Jeremy Medaglia. The fact that they did it on the same weekend gave the fans and parents of the number three and four bikes a little something extra to be proud of.
After winning his first MX1 National last summer, Jeremy Medaglia had alot of momentum heading into the 2013/2014 Kawasaki Canadian AX Series. After twelve rounds of bar banging racing, Jeremy took home the overall Championship.
3. I want to give a special note to our defending Champ, Spencer Knowles. Spencer battled hard every weekend and did not always have Lady Luck in his corner and paid a hefty price early in the series sidelining him temporarily. As the series wound down into the final weekend, Spencer looked great and was the victim of an inside pass which took him and his combatant down. I couldn’t help but note the words of defeat spoken in his body language as he climbed back aboard his GA Checkpoint Yamaha. But I give Spencer full marks for his comeback effort in the Dash for Cash on Saturday night after losing in a chess match-type dash the night before to Ryan Lockhart. He did not give up and I can honestly say when they approached the last turn I thought I was going to be congratulating Lockhart. Spenny pocketed that Dash for Cash into a helmet full of confidence which he took to the line and parlayed into a gate-to-checkers score in the final Pro moto of the series.
4. Ryan ‘The People’s Favourite’ Lockhart: Man for a guy who had to overcome one of the worst knee injuries and the aftermath of what it entailed I am pretty stoked for Ryan. He worked his tail off round in and round out. Not only on the track but off it as well. Many in the industry and at the race track look up to Ryan and I can say the reasons they do is valid. His character is top shelf and he gives back more than anyone I have seen. I guess if you believe in Karma, Ryan, this series was taken care of as his hard work bore fruit in the form of the Kal-Gard Lubricants Dash for Cash overall title for the series coupled with edging out a hard charging Brock Hoyer for the last podium and Ryan’s “Bucket List Goal” of occupying a step on the Future West Pro podium. Great work Ryan.
5. The Cycle North Team. Yes, first off, congratulations to ‘Den Mother’ Kourtney Lloyd on her team’s victory as well as keeping her teammates focussed on the chapters of this great story each member would write. Ross Johnson was money on the track, and as a man off the track is the kind of person that anyone would be proud to call a friend. He gave it everything he had week in and week out and was rewarded with the Open Class title and second overall in the championship.
As far as the man who will go down in the history books as the 2013/2014 Future West Canadian Kawaski Arenacross Champ, he will be the first to tell you he earned it. I fortunately got to talk to Jeremy quite a bit throughout the series. The thing that makes being a part of a series like this unique and special is that you get to learn something about an individual who is learning about himself. Jeremy is a talented, dedicated individual who got a taste of success outdoors this past year at the top level. I truly believe that what he accomplished inside this winter inside by fighting through some of the things that he had not overcome so easily in the past has put him on a new level. I am not sure exactly yet where Jeremy will end up but wherever it is they are getting a true champion, a fighter and someone who knows what it takes to win a championship! Good luck this year to our 2014 Arenacross Champ and everyone else who participated.
Congratulations to Jeremy and Brent on a great series!
