Good morning and welcome to another edition of the Monday Gate Drop presented by DeCal Works. As I’ve said many times if you need a brand new awesome set of custom graphics then DeCal Works is the place to go. Just log onto www.decalmx.com and in minutes you can design any type of graphics that you want. It’s that easy, you design it and they will ship it right to your door with detailed installation instructions.
I hope everyone had a great week during what is called ‘the dog days of winter’. This is the time of year in most parts of Canada where although the days are getting longer, winter starts to really drag on. I guess in a perfect world, the people who love winter will have another month of fun and then spring will arrive for the rest of us warm weather loving people.
So from cold Ontario to beautiful San Diego, California, let’s talk for a moment about round seven of the 2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. Unlike last weekend when I was spoiled rotten by being at Anaheim and watching the race live, I was forced to watch the San Diego main events via YouTube on Sunday morning. I’m absolutely positive that I speak for everyone in Canada when I say that every Saturday night it drives me crazy that we aren’t able to watch Supercross live on television. I know some of you have figured out how to live stream but for some reason it doesn’t work for me.
This winter Canadians are definitely getting the short end of the stick when it comes to watching Supercross, especially with the Toronto round being taken off the schedule for this year. In fact I heard a rumour last weekend while I was in Anaheim that the Toronto round is most likely done for not just 2015 but beyond that. My source told me that if the series continues with it’s FIM partnership in 2016 then the series may be going to Tokyo, Japan next year. After that they want to take the series to Australia so more than likely the Toronto Supercross will once again be MIA. It would be very interesting to see how the series promoters could pull off a true international round like Tokyo, especially where the 250SX class is concerned? I’m guessing to keep it fair Feld would have to fly certain teams over to Japan to compete, like maybe the top 20 in each class or something? It definitely wouldn’t be cheap that’s for sure, certainly not as cheap as crossing the border and driving to Toronto. Hopefully what I heard was just speculation and in 2016 we’ll all be gathering at the Roger’s Centre to watch Supercross.
Alright, back to San Diego. Although it was great to watch Trey Canard and Ken Roczen go almost twenty laps without making a mistake, I thought the main event was a little on the dull side. From the right hand first turn to the tight track the racing seemed awkward at best inside Petco Park. As the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross Series moves east this weekend to big D, I hope the tracks get a little better. This should be the case as for the next two months as the races will be taking place inside football stadiums where the tracks are mostly made up of 180 degree bowl corners. These types of tracks usually allow for better racing. As I said though, to watch Canard and Roczen race for twenty laps that close and hardly make one mistake was sheer excellence.
I thought the most impressive thing we saw in San Diego was Cooper Webb and how he bounced back from that awful practice crash. Webb’s get off could’ve been career ending as he really hit the ground hard, however the kid dug deep (probably took a few pain meds) and came back out for the night program. Then to add to this amazing story, Webb went out and won the main event and extended his points lead in the West 250SX class. What a night for Cooper and his team as you don’t crash that hard very often and then come back to win, adrenaline is an amazing pain blocker. My guess is that Webb woke up Sunday morning one very sore kid and probably very happy that he doesn’t have to race again for a few months. Once again Brent ‘Airmail’ Worrall was front and centre in San Diego so here is his take on what went down inside Petco Park:
“Once again another round of the 2015 edition of the Monster Energy Supercross has come and gone and for the second consecutive week I had the privilege of covering the event first hand. Being a Gemini wearing two hats is second nature and I thoroughly have enjoyed the experiences the Canadian Moto Show and my duties here at MXP have afforded me. I just want to touch on a few things briefly as I am wrapping up what has been a stellar road trip here to Southern California which has had many highlights which I will elaborate a little more on in this week’s edition of ‘Friday Flight’
The first ever Supercross at Petco Park had a real Mardis Gras open air feel to it as the park is right in the middle of the vibrant downtown core situated directly across the street from San Diego Harbor. The sun was out and the track that looked a little loose and dry on press day by night show Saturday was very fast and classic California Blue Groove. I am always amazed at how quickly these events go by live, even though I had a great vantage point in the press box rubbing elbows with and chatting with the likes of Adam Cianciarulo, Jim Holley and David Bailey I always wish I had an extra set of eyes.
I watched all of timed qualifying and will note first off that Ken Roczen looked a lot better on Saturday than he did the previous week in Anaheim and his second place effort in the main event to Trey Canard did not surprise me. I don’t know how many of you race fans out there put a lot of stock into the timed qualifying but watching those guys shoulder check the finish line double in the direction of the scoring tower after throwing down a hot lap validates that it means more than some give it credit for. Trey Canard the eventual 450 main event winner was full value for his win his second of this series. Ken Roczen got the holeshot but Trey’s aggressive pass early solidified him as the front runner and the man to beat on a track that did not permit much in the way of passing opportunities. Ryan Dungey pressed hard to keep up with the two front runners early, on the very speed biased layout but looked about midway to be content to take third knowing he would still retain the red plate.
The rider that I felt for the second week in a row that was the smoothest and fastest man on the race track was Eli Tomac. He did not get a great start in the main and went down early making contact with Chad Reed. Tomac made up more ground than any other rider all night against the bias and finished not far behind Chad Reed who rode great. On the note of Reed I spent some time under his tent on Friday speaking with one of his bike set up crew our own Canadian Motocross Legend Shane Drew. The Thunder Bay native is a big part of Chad’s effort working with his set up and many other technical aspects of the on and off scene duties for the Two Two Motorsports team. Shane claimed that they had made some notable changes heading into San Diego and Chad Reed proved their value with a great fourth place effort. Chad rode with attitude and swagger all day and proof of that was in putting a wheel in on his own teammate Josh Grant in a qualifier sending Josh off the track and reciprocating that move with a similar pass on Brett Metcalfe which tossed him off his Dirt Candy Graphics Suzuki early in the main event. Brett rebounded nicely and was rewarded with a solid 11th place effort and is starting to look very comfortable and confident once again in Supercross. Brett beamed with excitement and anticipation about the upcoming Canadian Rockstar Nationals in a Press Day interview I conducted with him.
The Lites class WOW. Quite simply put that is the best way I can describe what I witnessed on Saturday night in San Diego. If the old cliché’ that champions win titles on their worst day is true than this was that day for Cooper Webb! Just like a day this past July at Gopher Dunes when in disbelief out of the corner of my eye I caught Kaven Benoit’s endo the Webb Crash was every bit as nasty. I honestly thought I had had just witnessed something that would greatly impact Cooper’s title hopes. This sudden change in fortune had the what if scenarios in overdrive and when Cooper did not show up for the next segment of timed qualifying the prognosis in my opinion anyway was bleak.
I was happy to get word that he would make an effort to line up for the main event and salvage as many championship points as possible with the series taking a hiatus until it resumes in Northern California. When the gate dropped Tyler Bowers made some early moves and established himself as the front runner and looked to cash in on Webb’s what appeared to be damage control effort. Bowers lead the 15 lap main event through the first 9 laps and looked to be on his way to a sure and certain victory. I watched Webb closely and even though he looked tight and sore early having problems with the three and three section he eventually loosened up. Making his way around Shane Mcelrath and Tyler Bowers he won the main event in convincing fashion and has a leg up on the title. Tyler Bowers appeared to tighten up or run out of steam as he would succumb to the pursuing Troy Lee Designs Mcelrath and finish third .
I would like to add that I made my first acquaintance with Strikt Slayton rider Cole Martinez and Strikt Clothing (which is a Canadian company from Golden B.C.) Dan Rachmel prior to the main events on Saturday. Cole’s name has been mentioned in rumours to our series for the summer and I am not one to pry for information so I kept things light and was stoked to see Cole get a great result in the Main event of 11th. He has improved immensely throughout the first 6 rounds of this series and is with a great team. If these rumours of Cole Martinez who’s mother lives in Saskatchewan come to fruition our series will not only get a great rider but also a 22 year old who I perceive as a genuine, humble, talented individual raising an already lofty 250 class bar another notch.
Cole and Dan thank you both for the time and top shelf treatment and time at a time when you had many other things to focus on. Good luck to you both moving forward.
Brent ‘Airmail’ Worrall
Although it hasn’t been confirmed officially it sounds as though Cole Martinez will be riding the MX2 class for the Monster Energy Thor Kawasaki Team alongside Brett Metcalfe and Teddy Maier this summer in Canada. While Cole says he still can’t talk about it to the media the deal seems to make perfect sense. The kid is fast, his mom is Canadian so he may just be the perfect fit for Team Manager Jason Hughes. I think it would be great to get a new rider like Cole Martinez up here this summer to battle it out with Kaven Benoit, Jeremy Medaglia and Jesse Wentland in the MX2 class. Getting new blood into the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals is always a good thing and I would expect a few more ‘new’ names to get announced soon of riders who might also be coming north.
One of the huge benefits of social media these days is that we get to keep with what all of our followers are doing. As we approach the mid way point of the February almost all of our top riders are now down south training for the summer. With the date May 31st circle on their calendars our boys are riding, training and testing their new bikes in hopes of getting everything dialed in sooner than later. Now it’s been years since I headed down to Florida to train for a national series, however I do remember the first few weeks being not that much fun. As much as it was great to get out of the cold and into the nice weather, going from not riding for a few months to riding under the hot Florida sun was tough on the body and the hands! Blisters and treating blisters were the name of the game for the first ten days until your hands toughen up.
It’s kind of funny, back in the 1990’s it seemed like only a selected few riders and their families went south to ride during the winter. Now almost everyone I know is heading south, even if it’s just for a week or two. This year it’s definitely a catch 22 as for the first time in a long time gas is cheap enough to make a long drive south not break your bank, however with the cheap gas comes a US Dollar that isn’t too easy for us Canadians to get. I guess we have just have to take the good with the bad as some riding right now in Florida does sound really appealing.
Although there’s been no official press release yet, young Ontario rider Tanner Ward has joined the Orange Brigade and is currently down south riding his brand new KTM 85. In the videos he posted on his Facebook page, Tanner looks great on his new KTM and from what I hear KTM Canada is really trying to step up this year with their Orange Brigade program. This type of program has worked in the USA for years so it’s no surprise that companies like KTM Canada (Orange Brigade) and Kawasaki Canada (Team Green) are bringing these successful programs north. Congratulations to Tanner on his new ride and we certainly hope that he has a healthy and successful 2015 season.
Well that is it for me this week, I hope everyone has a terrific week ahead of them. For those of you that live in Ontario, by the looks of the weather forecast this week it’s going to be very cold so do your best to stay warm. More cold is just what we needed!. Finally, congratulations to Iain Hayden on his big Snocross win this past weekend. Once again Hayden is having a great winter on his Rockstar Energy Drink OTSFF Polaris sled. Again, have a good week and Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone this coming weekend.