Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Well, after months of patiently waiting the for the 2020 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown to begin, this morning (yes I said this morning) the gate finally dropped. And it dropped with the vigour you’d expect from the first moto of the year. With a more condensed schedule this summer and three motos in each class per weekend, the opening 450MX and 250MX motos were all done before the clock stuck noon. It was kind of a cool way to start this unique season and with a more normal schedule tomorrow, riders can take tonight to assess their performances, make adjustments, and come out swinging on Sunday. So who looked good today and who did not?
The first moto up was the 450MX class and they took to Gopher Dunes circuit only after a total of six practices had been on it. Basically, the track was fairly smooth and the speeds of the big 450’s were high. Cole Thompson grabbed the opening holeshot of the year on his KTM and he was followed closely by Dylan Wright and Tyler Medaglia. Phil Nicoletti and Matt Goerke were also up front, however Nicoletti would stuff the front wheel of his Yamaha in a soft sand berm and go down on Lap 3. At the front of the pack Dylan Wright made quick work of Thompson and by Lap 5 the GDR Honda rider was enjoying a 5 second lead. A few laps later it was 8 seconds, and then 10 seconds, I think you get the picture by now. By the end of the moto Wright was ahead by 15 seconds and just like that he won his first ever 450MX moto in dominating fashion. Behind him, was a solid and stubborn Tyler Medaglia who for 35 minutes wouldn’t let anyone by. His teammate Matt Goerke tried numerous times but couldn’t find a way around him, Goerke would hold onto third until the final few corners when a hard charging Nicoletti passed him and took the final podium position. And what happened to Thompson you ask? I’m not completely sure. During the moto he slowly faded back until he was in a secure 5th place, and then on the final lap he went off the track, didn’t reenter where he was supposed to and ended up getting docked positions. Cole couldn’t have written a worse script for his opening of 2020 and now he’s way back in points. Cole’s mistake would hand 5th place to one of the hardest working riders on the track, Sam Gaynor. Behind Gaynor was Shawn Maffenbeier who came back strong after a first turn crash. It was an entertaining moto to watch and I’m sure both races will be just as fun tomorrow.
In the 250 class, Jess Pettis grabbed the early lead and never looked back. Marshal Weltin came close to passing Pettis on a few occasions, but the KTM rider wouldn’t not give an inch and by the 20 minute mark Weltin had dropped back. Pettis won, Weltin was a strong second and all alone in third was Marco Cannella. I was impressed with Cannella as he rode strong for the entire moto and his lap times weren’t that far off of the leaders. Behind Cannella was Tanner Ward, who was up front early but made a mistake and crashed. Once he got back going Ward looked strong and I would expect him to battle for a moto win tomorrow. In 5th place was Ryan Surratt, who looked fast early in the moto but faded mid-way through the race. It was hot and humid today and like I said the track was on the smooth side for both motos. Tomorrow is a normal schedule with the gate dropping on the opening moto at noon. Once again it’s supposed to be hot and sticky with a chance of some late afternoon showers. Well finally out National Series has begun and as they say, it’s all downhill from here.
