Canadian Arenacross Championship: Rounds 3 and 4: Heavy Metal Warfare

Yeah, I chopped my peter pointer off last weekend, but I wasn’t going to let an ‘icky bitty’ thing like that prevent me from hauling my arse over to Chilliwack to catch the arenacross buzz for my friends at MXP. Sure, it affected me. I was high all weekend: high on gas fumes in a poorly ventilated barn, high on a pleasant cocktail of Percocet and T-3’s, but mostly I was high on the adrenaline of all out moto warfare. If outdoor motocross is a bush party, then supercross is a rave. And arenacross? Well,  arenacross is the mosh pit at a heavy metal concert. I saw more metal on metal action this weekend than I would at a Metalica/Motley Crue double bill! I witnessed more motocross machines trying to occupy the same piece of real-estate in one race than I normally would in a whole weekend of outdoor motocross. Arenacross is a thundering rush of adrenaline, a blur of hyper-activity, a feeding frenzy in shark infested water. It’s a buzz alright!

 

 

 

An arenacross race is over almost before it begins. I swear I held my breath all the way through each of the four Pro mains this weekend! This was partly due to the intense action on the track, and partly out of fear. I was permanently bracing myself to be struck in the back of the head by a cart wheeling bike! Such is the nature of arenacross.

In the thick of all the racing commotion I found myself thinking, maybe this could be ‘our thing’. As Canadian motocrossers I mean. It pains me to think of all those Yanks down in California and Florida racing all winter, while our Canadian MX pro’s play ‘Mortal Combat’ and eat Cheezies on the couch…or whatever they do to keep warm between October and April. Maybe arenacross cold be our claim to fame, and put us on the MX map in a big way. Lord knows we have more arenas per capita than any country in the world, and the foundation has already been laid. I’m sure most people reading this know that the very building and race series I attended this weekend has already produced one of the greatest Arenacross racers of all time. Darcy Lange sharpened his fangs right here in B.C., then went south of the border and bit off a sizable chunk of AMA Arenacross glory. He remains one of the undisputed historic masters in the art of arenacross warfare. Then there was Kyle Beaton. They don’t call this place ‘Beat’s Barn’ for nothing. Beaton’s aggressive, no-holds-barred, all-or-nothing, take-no-prisoners racing style made him a nearly unstoppable force in arenacross. Unfortunately, what made Beaton so special was also the source of his imminent demise. The nature of his being, all those catch phrases I described him with, produced blinding speed…and one bone-crushing accident after another. He was in attendance this weekend, hobbling around on crutches, and I had to hear it from his own mouth. “Yes,” he assured me, “I’m done. I’m not going to risk my life for nothing anymore.”

So the career of one of the ‘special ones’ has ended, and he has passed the torch to his pupil… literally. Beaton said to me that there were many young bucks ready to rush in to fill his Gaernes, but so far this AX season it looks like one young buck in particular is stepping up to the challenge. When I saw Spencer Knowles pass Kyle straight up in a recent National’s broadcast, I turned to my wife, put on my best ‘Yoda’ voice, and said, “Aaah, the student has become the Master!”  I’m sure Kyle couldn’t be happier about who appears to have picked up his arenacross torch. He took Spencer Knowles under his wing when Spenny was on an 85, and has travelled and trained with him pretty much ever since. From my distance I think I can safely say that Beats took Spenny on not only has a racing protégée, but also as a surrogate little brother. Spenny is proving that Beats’ career wasn’t ‘for nothing’. Kyle Beaton affected everyone in Canadian MX, but probably no one more than Spencer Knowles.

I’m sure most of you know by now that Spenny won all four mains at the opening round of this AX series. He wasn’t quite so fortunate this weekend, but I saw nothing to discourage me from thinking he could be ‘the next one”. If Beaton’s own career didn’t quite have the happy ending we all wished for, maybe Spenny’s will.

The program at the Future West Arenacross series includes 24 pro and amateur races each night. You get a lot of action for your money! I wish I could mention each and every racer by name, and commend them on their courage. Rolling into that arena must make you feel like a gladiator stepping into the ring; you know somebody’s going to get hurt, you just hope it isn’t going to be you! Alas, I cannot mention each brave soul, but must focus my attention on the riders who rose above…or, more succinctly in this instance, those who jumped higher!

 

In the 65cc class it was Jacob Piccolo who leaped out. In fact, he leaped everything! Piccolo made short work of the 65cc class, which is one thing, but he also battled for wins against 85 and Supemini bikes on his little 65, which is something else entirely! In fact, only the presence of another mini stand-out, Tyler Gibbs, prevented Piccolo from winning all three classes Friday night… on his 65! A friend put a stop-watch on him and says his lap times beat several Intermediates. The kid is hard to believe, even when you’re seeing it with your own two eyes. I’m still not sure I actually saw him air out the Kong jump one lap, but others say they saw it too…plus I have the photograph to prove it! Unfortunately, Piccolo took a nasty during qualifiers Saturday, and was unable to compete in Saturday’s feature program.

 

Tyler Gibbs, for his part, was the only 85cc rider jumping the King-Kong jump in the middle of the track. To be clear, this is a massive double with a very short run-up…and he didn’t need to jump it to win. The corner speed he carried through the corner preceding the jump was all he really needed. Take note kids, Gibbs isn’t fast because he jumps big…he jumps big because he’s fast. It’s all about corner speed!

 

 

In the Junior ranks it was all Wyatt Waddell. Waddell is fresh out of the mini ranks, and like many mini stars he already  rides like a Pro. He won every race he started with apparent (and I’m sure deceptive) ease, was smoothly seat-bouncing obstacles that rocked every other Jr. rider (and a lot of Intermediates), and did it all with a hacking cough that would have put many people in bed for the day!  Riley Paulik was a solid and consistent second, but on this track, on this weekend, he had nothing for Waddell. I do have to mention Rachel Springman though. This girl is tough and talented. Arenacross is a testosterone tank of hostile young men, but Springman did better than hold her own. She made the A Main in both Junior classes Friday night, jumped all the big jumps, and finished just about dead center. Unfortunately, (that word again), Springman suffered nearly the identical crash that ended Piccolo’s weekend, in exactly the same spot, with the same result; she didn’t race Saturday night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Intermediate class had the same story line as the Junior class. Recently graduated mini sensation, Jesse Pettis, rode like a Pro and won all four of the Intermediate mains he competed in. Pettis pretty much doubles his weight when he puts his helmet on. I’m sure he’s tired of hearing how small he is, but he’s teeny-weeny on that big bike. He got every holeshot and never looked back. I think I can imagine the result if Ethan Ladd or Skylar Archer ever got close enough to put a wheel in on him, but this weekend they never got the chance; Pettis was gone from the get-go.

 

 

 

 

So we come to what we all really came for; the Pros. The entry list for the weekend was impressive. Eighteen pros showed up to compete for the ten gates in each of the two Pro classes (Lites and Open). Notables included Brad Nauditt, Ryan Abrigo, and Jake Anstett up from the States, and Spencer Knowles, Broc Hoyer, Ryan Lockhart, and Dylan Kaelin representing some of the top talent in this country. Unfortunately, (yeah, that word…and you know what comes next), Kaelin was injured in qualifying Friday,  and never lined up for a main.

 

There were essentially two battles going on all weekend: Knowles vs. Nauditt, and Yanks vs. Canucks.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful these American boys choose to come up here to compete; they raise the credibility of the series and the quality of racing immensely. I’d shake every one of their hands and thank them personally for showing up, and I’m sure they’re all great guys, but I’m still always secretly hoping Knowles, Hoyer, or Lockhart will spank them for their efforts! Yes, I cringed just a little when Nauditt, Anstett, and Abrigo swept the podium in the Lites Main Saturday night and I heard one of them say, “YEAH, TEAM U.S.A.!” You know the old saying, ‘Patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings!’ In the end though, I have to concede the Americans won the imaginary team event this weekend. In fact, only Knowles (three times) and Hoyer (once) prevented them from just taking the podium box home with them!

I wasn’t at the first round, but I was tickled to read that Spencer Knowles won all four Pro mains that weekend. Spenny’s win streak was brought to a screeching halt by Brad Nauditt this weekend though. Nauditt won all four Pro mains, but it wasn’t without a fight. Beating Spencer Knowles must have felt like trying to pull a rotten tooth out of a Pit Bull’s mouth! Spenny dogged Nauditt from beginning to end in all but one moto. He was running his wheel in on him corner after corner, race after race, but he couldn’t quite make it stick. Spenny showed incredible patience, but eventually it wore thin and he came in a bit too hard and ate it in Saturday’s Lites main. You could see the frustration on his face by the end of the weekend. This is a kid who’s used to winning, likes to win, and I’m sure, felt like he could win…but he couldn’t buy a start. When a guy wins all four motos you can’t really say he wasn’t the best rider, but my biased mind can’t help but feel like the second best rider with the best starts won. Nauditt came out of the first corner ahead of Knowles in every race. Then Knowles spent the whole race, race after race, trying to find a way by him. It was painful to watch; maybe not as painful as chopping your finger off, but surely as painful as seeing someone else lose theirs! I should have offered Spenny some of my Percocet’s, I know they made me feel better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m sure the only person more anxious than me for next weekend’s races is Spencer Knowles. Spenny still has a healthy lead in the points standings, but if he wants to win the Arenacross #1 plate, he’s going to have to find a way to beat Nauditt. It’s a twelve round series. Rounds one and two went to Knowles, rounds three and four go to Nauditt. Any racer knows how psychological motocross is. Knowles can’t afford to let Nauditt start to believe he can beat him. He has to put the world right next weekend; our country’s pride is in his hands…and after all, Arenacross is ‘our thing’! Right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And on that note, see you there!