Decal Works Presents Monday Gate Drop

Once again, this week‘s Monday Gate Drop is brought to you by the fine people at DeCal Works. As we move into the month of November, there are only 52 days left until Christmas, so now is the perfect time to order your very own set of custom graphics. All you have to do is log onto www.decalmx.com and within minutes you can chose and design a set of the best graphics in the business.

Although we received a number of awesome Halloween photos on Saturday, I think I have to give the best costume award to one of our newest trick or treater’s, Meston Lockhart.

 I hope everyone had a great weekend! I‘m not sure if it‘s just me or has Halloween just taken off in the last few years? Maybe it‘s because of Social Media that we‘re getting to see and hear about what everyone is wearing and what they‘re doing. Who knows? All I know is that everyone seems to be taking Halloween pretty darn serious, both children and adults! On Saturday, we travelled up to Moto Park to take part in their Halloween festivities and it ended up being a pretty fun day. Not only was the weather decent, but the track was in great shape, and there were lots of activities for the kids to participate in throughout the day. It was also great to catch up with Moto Park owner Iain Hayden, who had just returned from marrying his longtime girlfriend Michelle Sullivan in beautiful Jamaica. In just a few short weeks Hayden will be begin testing for the upcoming snocross season, a season that he‘s very excited about. With races planned in the USA, the X-Games, an FIM race in Europe and of course the Canadian series, the next five months will be very busy for Iain. Of course, these days every conversation Iain and I have always seems to come back to flying airplanes as we both have our pilot‘s licenses and a love for flying. Anyway, we had fun on Halloween and I hope you did as well.

To see what the SX tracks are like in Australia, here a video from the opening round of Jimmy Decotis during press day:

 This past weekend in Australia, both Jimmy Decotis and Brett Metcalfe had great finishes at the Adelaide SX. With yet another win on Saturday night, Jimmy D has gone 3 for 3 so far in the series and it seems like there‘s no stopping him in the MX2 class. I really hope Jimmy is able to return to Canada in 2016, I think he was a great fit this past season with the MX101 Yamaha Team. If he does come back, he has to be one of the title favourites. I‘ll never forget watching moto two of the MX2 class this summer at Gopher Dunes. Jimmy D lost his goggles so his face was full of sand, yet he wouldn‘t let Kaven Benoit get away. For 25 minutes Jimmy D stayed right behind Benoit, waiting for the slightest mistake by the KTM rider. While Benoit was smooth and precise on the extremely rough track, Decotis was hitting almost every bump on the track, swapping side to side, while still going forward with the utmost determination. In the end, Jimmy came up just short of the victory, however he left very little doubt that day as to what type of warrior he is. Obviously, he‘s taken this frame of mind down under as he‘s been the dominant rider in the MX2 class.

Brett Metcalfe looked pretty comfortable on the new Husqvarna and finished second in front of his hometown crowd.

 As for Metty, he was back racing in front of his hometown fans for the first time since he was seven-years-old. Having grown up a short distance from the where the Adalaide SX was being held, it must have been a sweet homecoming for one of Australia‘s favourite sons. Even though he‘s signed on to ride Yamahas in 2016, Metty was racing a brand new Husqvarna FC450, and by the looks of it, he felt pretty comfortable on it. After getting a mid-pack start in the main event, Metty picked off riders one by one until he found himself in second place and right behind eventual winner Daniel Readon. After only a few days of testing on the Husqvarna, Metty‘s second place was a very impressive finish and one that was sure to put a huge smile on his face. This series appears to be going well for all involved; the racing has been great and the fan turnout looks to be solid. Of course, everyone is waiting for the final round in Sydney on December 5th when both James Stewart and Chad Reed travel down under to continue their 15-year-old rivalry. With James Stewart looking to regain the awesome speed he once had, and this more than likely being Chad Reed‘s final SX in Australia, all of the World‘s eyes will certainly be on Sydney that weekend.

 So from Australia, we move north to our Country and the excitement building for this coming weekend. Not only is it the final round of the 2016 Canadian National AX Tour in Calgary, but it‘s also Rounds 3 and 4 of the Future West Moto Arenacross Series in Cloverdale, BC. Both of these series have been exciting so far and both have provided great racing in all classes.

Let’s hope fans don’t see any if this at the final round in Calgary. I’m all for aggressive racing, but lets try and not knock each other down gentlemen. photo by James Lissimore

 While we don‘t exactly know what will happen this weekend in Calgary, we do know that Cole Thompson and Jacob Hayes will not be exchanging Christmas cards next month. These two riders have been at each other since the opening round in London, and even after a scolding talk in Sarnia to both riders, it appears the only thing that will put this feud to rest is the conclusion of the series. I guess it‘s all great theatre for everyone as we just don‘t know what is going to happen next. Hopefully they keep the racing somewhat clean this weekend and the best man will win! I personally can‘t wait to witness firsthand what happens as I‘m heading out to Calgary on Thursday.

 So with indoor racing this weekend in Alberta and BC, there will be a lot of action for Canadian race fans to keep their eyes on. I will be tweeting and posting photos and updates on Instagram all weekend in Calgary. So if you want to know what‘s going on then follow @mxpmagazine (Twitter) and @mxpmag (Instagram) beginning Friday morning in Calgary. Until then, stay warm and hopefully you‘re able to get one or two more rides in before the cold sets in. Have a great week and please enjoy this first week of November.

Congratulations to the Iain Hayden and his beautiful bride Michelle who tied the knot last week in Jamaica.