Decal Works Presents Monday Gate Drop

This week’s Monday Gate Drop is brought to you by the wonderful people at Decal Works. It’s never too late to update the graphics on your dirt bike. Whether you have a big event coming up or, like most riders recently, you’ve just competed in a nasty mud race and you’re in need of a fresh set of graphics, all you have to do in visit www.decalmx.com and within minutes you’re able to design the exact custom set you need.

I hope everyone had a great weekend doing whatever it was you did during this final weekend of June. Can you believe it’s almost July and now school is out for everyone? I don’t know about you but the last two months especially have just flown by. While the West coast is sweltering under some pretty extreme heat, we in the East have been suffering through some of the wettest weather we’ve ever seen. Every few days it seems a storm of some sort rolls through and drenches everyone and the tracks that we race on. As with the Budds Creek National on Saturday and the final Loretta Lynn’s qualifier in Ohio, the rain hit the East coast hard this weekend and mud was the name of the game. I know racing in the mud can produce some pretty good stories and some cool memories, but racing a very meaningful race like a National or a LL qualifier can be a very stressful endeavour. Usually it ends up being a black or white situation as your day can either be very good, or very bad!

Justin Barcia battled through the mud in Budds Creek to take his first win of 2015. photo by Frank Hoppen

The rain also hit Moto Park this past weekend as it was time for rounds 3 and 4 of the 2015 New Era Moto Park Cup. Now, in case you don’t know, the Moto Park track sits just south of Owen Sound, Ontario and for years there’s been a running joke that the track is situated in a bubble. There has been many times over the years that it’s been raining everywhere else in Ontario except Moto Park. With having said that, at around 3pm on Saturday afternoon the bubble finally burst and the rains came. For the first half of the day on Saturday the track was in perfect condition, but you could just feel the moisture in the air and you just knew that once it started raining it wasn’t going to stop!

Although it started as light rain it didn’t take long for the MP track to become a slippery mess as the riders tried to get their final round 3 motos in. By the time the final chequered flag flew on Saturday afternoon it was clear that Sunday’s final round was going to be a full on mudder. It was definitely too bad as the rain not only affected the track but it also put a damper on the off track festivities. No one likes to walk around in the pouring rain. The pits were still full and everyone in attendance tried to make the best of it, however it just wasn’t the same vibe as when the weather is nice.

The track at Moto Park started off the weekend in great shape for the final two rounds of the 2015 New Era Moto Park Cup.

When Sunday morning came the rain hadn’t stopped. Although the gate still dropped on the final round, very few riders lined up. I must say, however, that for the riders that did decide to brave the conditions yesterday, they did look like they had a lot of fun. As I stated earlier, sometimes a mud race can produce some of the best racing memories, I know they have for me over the years. For the riders on the track, a mud race can give them a real sense of accomplishment as the conditions are never easy. As you ride around the track searching for traction and praying that your forward momentum isn‘t going to stop, the slower pace allows you to really become at one with your machine. When you cross the finish line covered in mud and your machine is still running, you almost want to reach down and give it a pat for a job well done, just like a jockey reaches down after a race to tell his horse that they did a good job.

For the parents and mechanics, a mud race can also be a fun adventure. I’ve always felt like there’s very few things that bond motocross families together like standing in the rain with a rain coat on and big rubber boots trying to stay somewhat dry. As their kids are slopping through mud on the track, the parents cheer them on while occasionally glancing over at each other to give that “I can’t believe we’re doing this” look. It’s all fun, isn’t it? Even though the conditions were awful yesterday, I didn’t see too many sad faces as afterall we were still all hanging out at a motocross track.

Who is excited for round 5 at Gopher Dunes in less than two weeks? photo by James Lissimore

So the 2015 New Era Moto Park Cup is now history for yet another year. Over the last two seasons this event has taken on a life of its own as it’s increased in popularity. With things like holeshot awards, free New Era hats for all the riders and its timing on the schedule, it has given people a lot of reasons to mark the MP Cups on their calendars. It’s also become a great precursor to the summer as now we move into July and the hot summer racing schedule. In the East we have the Sand Del Lee Cups beginning this weekend, we also have the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals heading this way in two weeks, then there’s the ECAN in Quebec and of course the 2015 Part Canada TransCan in August. Yes, the New Era Moto Park Cups have provided a perfect segway into our exciting summer ahead. Thanks to the entire Moto Park crew, Mikey Walker and New Era hats, AMO, Dave Bell, head referee Ryan Gauld and everyone else involved for making the this short series so awesome. Finally, congratulations to all of the riders who competed in these events. Again it’s hard to believe that they’ve come and gone for yet another year.

That is it for me this week as the time has come again to begin putting together another issue of MXP Magazine. This coming weekend will also mark the first weekend in over a month where I don’t have anything going on. No races, no travel and hopefully no worries as it’s my only weekend off until after the TransCan. I hope everyone who lives in Ontario is planning on attending either the Gopher Dunes National or the Sand Del Lee National in the next few weeks. I can tell you that the racing was amazing out West, and with so many great sand riders in the series, the level of riding is going to be very high. Remember, both Matt Goerke and Brett Metcalfe have beaten the world’s best and have won the Southwick National in the past. The battle in the coming weeks is going to be incredible in both the MX2 and MX1 classes. I hope to see you at either Gopher Dunes or SDL, or maybe both. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a great Canada Day on Wednesday as we celebrate this country’s birthday! Have a great week and safe riding.