Decal Works Presents Monday Gate Drop

As always, this week’s Monday Gate Drop is brought to you by the awesome folks at DeCal Works. It’s never a bad time to order a brand new set of custom graphics for your bike, and there’s no better people to order them from than DeCal Works. Just log onto www.decalmx.com and within minutes you can fully design your own set of graphics, it’s that easy!

Due to the fact that I arrived home very late last night from Round 8 of the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan, this week’s Monday Gate Drop might be on the short side. Flying home Sunday night after the race is never a bad idea as it allows you to sleep in your own bed after a long day at the track. Well, trying to get home last night proved to be very difficult due to the massive storms that rolled through Ontario. After being delayed for a while before we even took off in Moncton, we finally landed in Toronto just before the second huge storm hit. Moments after landing as we were taxiing to the gate, we had to stop and wait for about an hour as the grounds crew wasn’t able to work while there is lightening in the area. Between that and then having to wait for my bag, it was a very long, long night; I didn’t get home until 1:30am. But, I guess it’s better than having to drive home from the East coast. I’ve done that drive a few times in my life and it’s not fun!

The Riverglade track was in fine form on Sunday for round 8 of the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals. photo by James Lissimore

So on to what happened in Moncton yesterday at Round 8. I’m not sure why but heading into Moncton I had a feeling that it was going to be a pivotal round as far as where the MX1 championship is concerned. With only a few motos remaining, and the fact that the riders were back on a hard packed track after three weeks of playing in the sand, it just felt as though something was going to happen. The battle for the points lead in the MX1 class has been a fierce one since the opening round in Kamloops. For the first seven rounds of this series, Matt Goerke, Brett Metcalfe, Colton Facciotti, Cole Thompson and at times Tyler Medaglia have all been battling tooth and nail. Although it’s been incredible to watch, it definitely has been trying on these riders as at each round they’ve left everything on the track.

Pro rider, all around nice guy and a mechanic. Matt Goerke was all three yesterday, and in a few weeks he could be the 2015 MX1 Champion. photo by James Lissimore

Yesterday during the first MX1 moto things appeared to be getting even closer as for the first time this summer Matt Goerke ran into some trouble. On lap three Goerke was forced to slow as his chain derailed from both of his Yamaha sprockets. As his competitors (including Metcalfe) roared by, Goerke had to call upon all of his mechanical skills to try and get his chain back on. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Goerke managed to get his YZ back on the track to begin his charge from dead last. Up front, Thompson and Facciotti were leading and slowly pulling away, Metcalfe was in fourth and eating the hurtful Moncton roost from Tyler Medaglia. After a few laps Metcalfe finally got by Medaglia and within two laps had reeled in the leaders. Knowing that this was the break he was looking for in the title chase, Metcalfe was riding faster than ever. Then, just prior to the halfway point of moto 1 as Metty landed from the massive finish line tabletop, his Kawasaki made a noise, exhaled a large amount of white smoke and slowed considerably. Sadly, for the second time this summer, Metcalfe would DNF a moto. With Metcalfe parked on the side of the track with his head buried in his arms, Goerke, who was still in the middle of his hair raising charge, flew by and in the process all but eliminated Metcalfe from the 2015 MX1 title chase.

With two DNF’s so far this season, Brett Metcalfe will no doubt look back on 2015 as the summer that could’ve been. photo by James Lissimore

Yes, strange things happen in this sport, even to the best riders. After Metcalfe’s dominance at round one in Kamloops, and his superior speed at Nanaimo and then again in Calgary, I thought for sure that he would win this Championship. However, after two DNFs and some spirited riding from Matt Goerke and Colton Facciotti, the Australian now sits in third place in the MX1 points standings. Even though Metty’s problems were the big news of the day, we must not overlook Colton Facciotti as he won his first overall of the 2015 season. After beginning the series in recovery mode from his off-season injury, Colton has hung in there and battled in every single moto. Over the last few weeks he’s been leading and winning motos, and yesterday all of that hard work paid off as he won the overall. Congratulations Colton, we’re sure it’s been a tough road back.

I’m sure Colton wishes there was a few more rounds to go as he’s just getting warmed up in the MX1 class. Yesterday, Colton was able to get his first overall win of 2015. photo by James Lissimore

So that is what went on yesterday in the MX1 class. For everything else that went down in Moncton, including the MX2 class and Eve Brodeur’s great day racing with the boys, here are a few James Lissimore photos to help tell the story. This weekend the 2015 series heads back to Quebec for Round 9 and then it’s the week we’ve all been waiting for, the 2015 Parts Canada TransCan. These next two weeks are going to be very exciting in Canadian motocross, and I can’t wait to be in the middle of it and telling you everything that happens. Before that I have to travel to Washington, DC this week for the 2016 Husqvarna 450FC press launch. On Thursday we will be taking to the famous Budds Creek track to test ride the new Husqvarna; I can’t wait. It’s going to be a great day of riding so please check back soon for a detailed web report on mxpmag.com. I hope everyone has a great week and congratulations to all of our kids that did Canada proud at last week’s Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National! Everyone rode awesome and it was great too see Marco Cannella bring home a championship with a late race pass to secure his very first Loretta’s title. Great job. I can’t wait to watch all of these fast kids next week at Walton Raceway.

After missing the entire series so far, Nathan Bles was back in action yesterday in the MX2 class. Nathan rode very smart and finished 9th overall. photo by James Lissimore