Decal Works Presents Monday Gate Drop

I hope and trust that everyone had a great weekend in this awesome Country of ours. With so much to see and do and just a few weeks left in the summer of 2015, now is the time to get out and do those things that you haven’t done yet. For the riders, teams and pretty much everyone involved in the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals, this past weekend was the first time since early July that there wasn’t a race to travel to. This means that for the most part, it was a weekend to sit back, relax and reflect on the summer that was. Of course, for a few of our pro riders, this weekend was an opportunity to postpone the relaxation and throw their legs over a dirt bike just one more time. Up in beautiful Prince George, BC, Jess Pettis and his family obviously made it home from Walton safely as he competed at the awesome Blackwater track. In Ontario, top Nationals riders Cole Thompson and Dylan Wright added some money to their bank accounts by racing the MMRS National in Madoc, Ontario. Then their was the fearless group of Canadian riders that had this Country’s utmost attention as they made their way south to Crawfordsville, Indiana for the final round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Outdoor National Series. However, before we talk about how our riders made out in Indiana, I’d like to touch on a situation that happened yesterday at a club race in Ontario.

Without going into too many details (simply because I wasn’t there to see things for myself), apparently in the 50 class a couple of kids ended up going down together and one of the kids involved was accused of causing the incident. Well, it escalated from there and pretty soon it all blew up on Social Media. Now, bare in mind, this happened in the 50 class, in the sand at Gopher Dunes where kids and their bikes can change direction in a heart beat. Like I said, I didn’t see it and maybe the one kid did take out the other kid, I don’t know. However, even if it was slightly intentional, we’re dealing with kids who are racing tiny little rocketships on two wheels. Contact, accidental or otherwise, is and always will be part of this sport. If it’s intentional then let the referee or the powers at be handle it. I fully realize that in this day and age it’s easy and sometimes a natural reflex to immediately grab your phone and voice your opinion via Social Media. We’ve all done it or at least we’ve all thought about doing it, but to go to the lengths that we saw yesterday is absolutely ridiculous. We’re dealing with kids playing in a sport. Although it costs a great deal of money and is at times dangerous, it’s still, at the end of the day, just a sport. I understand that at times tempers flare and we do stuff that we end up regretting, however, there isn’t room in this sport or any sport for what happened yesterday. You know we are always asking and wanting our kids to learn from our top pro riders. Well, over the course of this summer’s ten round National series there was more than one incident that could’ve been deemed dirty or just not cool. But, I never read one Social Media post condemning or threatening another rider. Maybe some of this sport’s parents should take some of their own advice and try to act like our pro riders, the same way they expect their kids to.

So on to to Indiana and how our boys made out at Ironman Raceway. Out of the fairly large group of Canadian riders that made their way to America’s Heartland on Saturday, four of them qualified for the motos in the 450 class. I think a lot of us tuned in to see how Colton Facciotti, Tyler Medaglia, Kaven Benoit and Kyle Keast would fair against their USA counterparts on a track certainly more suited to the hometown riders. While it’s never easy at anytime to jump into a series, heading to Crawfordville for the final round might have been the best idea this group of crazy Canucks have had all summer. There is always strength in numbers in whatever you do, and to go there together and to be able to draw energy and confidence from each other was a great thing to see. It was kind of like watching Team Canada at the MXON. Yes, they’re all there racing for themselves, but more importantly they’re there as a team. I got the similar feeling from watching and seeing all the Social Media posts from Saturday. While each rider was racing for themselves, their was definitely a ‘Team Canada’ feel to the entire day. So which of our riders did the best? Let’s take a look at the four riders that made the show and you can decide.

Colton Facciotti- 13-11 (11th Overall)

It was great to hear that Colton and his Honda Canada GDR Team were heading down to Crawfordsville after our series wrapped up last weekend in Walton. Since July, Colton has definitely been on his A game, and when Colton is riding this well, I believe he’s as good as any rider in the World. The only hurdle that top Canadian riders like Colton have is that sometimes in this situation there is such a mental letdown after the Canadian series is over that it’s tough to head south and really care deep down how you do. You’ve used up so much ‘fight’ in the Canadian series that the tank is really empty when the gate drops down south for this one-off race. However, this is where I think the Team Canada atmosphere really helped a rider like Colton. He is afterall a born leader, and I’m sure as the top Canadian rider he felt like he was the team leader in Indiana.

I think by all accounts Colton rode amazing in Indiana, despite not feeling 100%; he soldiered through to finish 11th overall. His effortless style and his quiet determination was no doubt something to be marvelled at on the rutted and technical Ironman track. Well done Colton!

Tyler Medaglia: 20-13 (16th Overall)

There is something about Tyler Medaglia that just makes you want to stand up and cheer. He almost always rises to the occasion, and if you ever need a clutch performance on a big stage, you can always count on Tyler Medaglia. After riding his you know what off all summer long to finish an impressive 5th overall in the MX1 class, Tyler could’ve retreated home to his happy place to see his family and put his feet up. However, like most champions do, Tyler no doubt sensed an opportunity to make himself a better rider and show the World just how good he is.

After qualifying 5th in practice (yes I just said 5th), Tyler rode great all day. When it counted most in the second moto, Tyler had perhaps his best ride of the season on a track that looked disgustingly rough. Tyler is what we all should be, he’s the determined little engine that could and he showed that on Saturday as he raced to a very impressive 16th overall.

Kaven Benoit 19-18 (20th Overall)

Out of all the riders that headed down I-69 to Indiana, Kaven Benoit was perhaps the one with the biggest question mark surrounding him. Oh sure, he just came off an incredible 2015 MX2 Championship in which he dominated almost every weekend. However, when you line up against the some of the World’s top riders, that can sometimes mean very little. Saturday also marked Kaven’s first race on the bike he’ll be racing in 2016. Yes, his 250 two-stroke is now part of Canadian motocross history as Kaven is now riding a 450 full time.

For his first race on the big 450 machine against a class of riders that he’s never raced against before, I thought Kaven did amazing. To finish 20th overall in a very tough 450 class was a pretty good accomplishment considering he’s only been on the bike a couple of weeks. Kaven will no doubt be a title contender in 2016 as he moves to the MX1 class full time and races against the likes of Facciotti, Goerke and Metcalfe every weekend.

Kyle Keast 27-25 (28th Overall)

After riding the Ironman track myself back in June for the 2016 KTM press launch, in no way did I think that this track would suit Kyle Keast. With its harder packed soil and massive jumps, this circuit appeared so far away from Kyle’s comfort zone that the track might as well have been on the Moon. However, this is Kyle Keast we’re talking about, the man who this Country has nicknamed ‘The Dozer’. No, they didn’t name him this because he’s always falling asleep at the track, they named him this because regardless of what obstacle or obstacles are in front of him, he simply ploughs right throw them!

On paper Kyle’s 27-25 finish on Saturday may not look spectacular to some, however I believe this may well have been one of the best races of Kyle’s long and admired career. To race on that track, against that competition and to finish where Kyle did is amazing. If Colton was the unofficial captain of the Team Canada contingent that headed to Indiana, then Keast was the dependable heavy lifter that every good team needs if they want to be successful. Well done Kyle, I hope we see you next summer racing the Nationals.

So that’s my Gate Drop for another week. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it and I hope everyone has a great week. I know the Indiana National was just one race, but it was sure great to see such a large group of Canadian riders there and congratulations to all of them. Please ride safe and enjoy the final few weeks of the summer of 2015.