Well, we have arrived to September and also the final long weekend of our glorious summer. Now, obviously, summer isn’t over but mentally things always feel different after Labour Day weekend. So far my weekend has been going great as it has mostly been spent on the grounds of one of our most famous riding facilities Gopher Dunes. On Saturday and Sunday, Gopher Dunes hosted not only the opening round of the Triple Crown Series SXTour but also on the other side of the property, AMO Racing held Round 10 of the True North Fleet Ontario Provincial Series. Supercross racing under the lights on Saturday and amateur motocross racing all day on Sunday, the weather was great and the racing was even better.
Let’s begin with the SX racing on Saturday. I’m fully aware of what a tough sell SX is in this part of the country for both the pros as well as the amateur racers. For the pro riders, many didn’t grow up riding SX, so to start doing it now when it really matters is challenging to say the least. Also, with the way the bikes are these days, it’s really difficult for pro-level riders to just show up at a SX and ride without making changes to their suspension and chassis. Someone asked me why I thought entries were low on Saturday night. My answer to that comes down to bike prep, practice and of course money. You could ride around the Gopher Dunes SX track all day on outdoor suspension without causing too much harm however, the moment you start ‘racing’ and you’re unable to put the bike exactly where you want, this is when you need good suspension or you can get yourself in a heap of trouble. Basically, you don’t need SX suspension until you really need it. Also, like riding in any other type of condition you need to practice it if you want to be good at it. It’s no different than riding sand or mud or deep ruts, the only way to get better at it is to ride. So when you factor all of that into the equation as well as the costs of travelling and racing, I understand why the entries were low on Saturday night in the pro classes. But on the other side of it if you are a pro racer and there’s a pro race near you then you should be there unless you’re either injured or have another valid reason. If you want to improve at racing then you need to race as much as you can. So for the pro and amateur riders that did show up on Saturday to race SX, I applaud you and I hope you had fun.
One rider that we know had fun on Saturday night was Cole Thompson. It was nice to see Cole back riding SX and in his natural habitat. I don’t care what bike Cole is riding I could sit back and watch him navigate a SX track all day long. On Saturday night he finished second behind Mitchell Harrison in the 250 main event but won the 450 main event as well as the Superfinal. Cole was fast all day long and Harrison was really the only rider who was able to match his speed. Speaking of Harrison, just as we all thought he is very good at SX and it’s great that he’s racing this series. During the night he experienced a little bit of everything, including standing on top of the podium and trading paint with a few other riders. His win however in the 250 main event was well earned and he’s going to be a title contender all series long. Another rider that was solid all night was Westen Wrozyna who was all over the podium in the main events. Quinn Amyotte was also fast, Preston Masciangelo was solid on his new PRMX Kawasaki, and rookie pro rider TJ Scott looked smooth and loose all night. As I said, it was a great night of racing under the lights at Gopher Dunes and there was even a decent crowd on hand to watch.
Another thing we got to see on Saturday night that we don’t see too much of in the MXTour Series was some very aggressive riding. Everyone in attendance witnessed just about everything from block passes to full take-outs. Wrozyna’s take out on Amyotte as well as Harrison’s, putting Tyler Gibbs to the ground were probably the two that stood out to me as the most deliberate and nasty, but that is part of racing indoors. Sometimes you have to walk the fine line between aggressive and dirty if you want to make a pass on a rider that is going close to the same speed as you. Also, as a rider, you have to accept the fact that if you’re going to give it then chances are good that you’re going to get it back. In SX or AX if you make an aggressive pass then you’re next few laps better be your fastest of the race. Chances are good that the rider you just took high on a berm is fired up and is coming back at you. We saw that a few times on Saturday night. Anyway, it was a fun night of racing on Saturday and then as always the AMO Racing event yesterday was awesome. The rain somehow held off all day and everything was wrapped up by 3:30-4:00 pm. The Gopher Dunes crew had the backtrack in perfect condition and Ryan Gauld and his AMO Racing crew ran a tight and fun program all day long. Thank you to everyone including the Gopher Dunes crew, the Triple Crown Series staff, as well as the AMO Racing family for helping to make our Labour Day weekend of racing a memorable one.
So who did you have picked to win the 450 title on Saturday at Fox Raceway in California? Did you have the young gun Chase Sexton who entered the final round just one point behind Eli Tomac? Or, did you have Tomac taking the title and making 2022 a double championship season? Well, I said last week that usually in these situations you have to go with experience as the pressure is just so high for both riders involved. As we all know and have felt at certain times in our lives, the presence of pressure changes how we operate and our minds and bodies need something to draw from for us to get through it. That something is almost always ‘experience’ as our minds search for a path through the stress of performing under pressure. In the end, Tomac was able to persevere and take the title with incredible rides in both motos. For Sexton, as good as he was all summer long Tomac was just a little better when it mattered the most. It was a great season for the young Honda rider and heading into 2023 he’s no doubt the favourite to win both the SX title as well as the outdoor title. The failure and adversity he experienced on Saturday will make him mentally stronger and that much better next year. What a great series it was in the USA this year and congratulations to Tomac and to Jett Lawrence on winning their championships. Also, let’s raise our hats to Dean Wilson who raced his final outdoor national this past weekend as 2023 will see him race SX only and then head into retirement. I know I speak for so many Canadian race fans when I say that I’d love to see Deano come to Canada next summer and race the Triple Crown Series before he rides off into the sunset. He would no doubt be battling for the 450 title with Dylan Wright and the boys and considering his pro career started here in when he raced a few CMRC Nationals before heading to the USA, it would be a great bookend to his long career.
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great first week of September and good luck to all of the kids who are headed back to school tomorrow. It’s been a great summer and since September is one of the best months weather-wise in Canada, I’m sure the next few weeks will produce some ideal riding conditions. Finally, Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife as she either turns 28 or 48 today, I can’t quite remember. Also, today is Heidi Cooke’s birthday so Happy Birthday to Tyler Medaglia’s better half. Please have a safe week and thank you for reading!