Decal Works Presents Monday Gate Drop

With the month of March now officially upon us and everyone’s 2016 riding season beginning, now is the perfect time to hit up DeCal Works and order yourself a set of custom graphics. With the best quality and customer service in the industry, DeCal Works is not only a proud supporter of this Monday Gate Drop, but they’re also a huge supporter of Canadian motocross. All you have to do is visit www.decalmx.com and within minutes you can design and order your very own set of custom graphics.

As we sit on the eve of the 2016 Toronto Supercross, I’m almost positive that I’m not the only race fan excited about this weekend’s supercross at the Rogers Center. With the race taking a short hiatus last year, there was definitely a void left both from a racing standpoint and a social standpoint as well. Over the past few years the Toronto SX has become more than just a race, it has become a chance for many of us to get together after the long winter for some good old race banter. Anytime that all of us motocross loving folks can hang out at a fun event like the Toronto SX is a very good thing and it always seems to produce some very entertaining stories.

The last time the Monster Energy Supercross Series visited the Roger’s Center in Toronto, James Stewart put on a show that no one will ever forget. Hopefully James will be able to race this weekend as his took yet another nasty crash in Daytona on Saturday nigth. As of right now, James is very sore but nothing is broken. Photo by James Lissimore

So, regardless of who wins on Saturday in Toronto, I think it’s pretty clear that we’re in store for some pretty good racing. I know that Daytona isn’t always a good barometer of what might happen on a real SX track, but it was still good to see Eli Tomac finally get a win. Even though he’s struggled so far in 2016 on his new Monster Energy Kawasaki (by his standards), I think more of his finishes in the first eight rounds have been about him taking it easy and trying not to get injured again. If I was Tomac this season, I would have one thing in mind and that would be this summer’s outdoor series. With him coming back from double shoulder surgery and moving to a new bike and new team, there was bound to be some growing pains. And the Monster Energy SX Series is definitely not the place to push the envelope when you’re not completely comfortable. However, we certainly saw what can happen when Tomac gets on a quasi-outdoor track like Daytona; all of the sudden he’s back where he belongs. Tomac’s riding style, his fitness and obviously his true confidence seems to cater to outdoor tracks, and if I’m Ryan Dungey right now, Saturday’s race was a big wake up call for me.

I think Ryan Dungey is sort of in a tough spot right now as he first and foremost has to worry about Supercross and getting this 2016 title under wraps. His last concern right now is the opening round of the outdoor series at Hangtown in May. He’s leading the SX points and he definitely can’t look too far ahead. A rider like Tomac, however, who is current;y pretty far out of the SX title chase, can begin getting his Kawasaki and his body ready for the rigors of outdoor motocross, and that gives him a big advantage heading into the summer. I wonder if Saturday’s results in Daytona will speed up some of Dungey’s outdoor testing; he will certainly have his hands full this summer with Tomac.

After struggling through the first half of the 2016 Monster Energy Supercross Series, Eli Tomac looked to be right at home on the more outdoorish Daytona track. Photo by Frank Hoppen

Also, I know that I might be jumping on the band wagon here, but there was definitely something not right with that track in Daytona this weekend. Yes, the racing was entertaining in the 250SX main event, but only because Malcolm Stewart seemed to be holding everyone up. I think if Jeremy Martin (another outdoor MX specialist) was able to get by him sooner he would have pulled away fairly quickly. Maybe it’s time to look for a few other former champions to design tracks like Daytona and the Monster Cup.

Nothing against RC, but his imagination in regards to track design seems to be disappearing these days. I know his footprint is all over Daytona now with the amateur portion as well, but when you see a rider like Chad Reed have to go through the LCQ, simply because there’s no room to make passes, is definitely cause for alarm. I did love RC’s politically correct response to Ralph Sheheen’s question about Reed stating that he hated Saturday’s track. In case you missed it, RC basically said that Reed is a former champion and he should just focus on riding and not complaining.

Even before his dismal 12th place finish in the main event, Chad Reed was visible frustrated with the track in Daytona and it’s lack of passing options. With a massive fan base in Canada, I’m sure everyone in Toronto this weekend would love to see this legend win just one more main event. Photo by Frank Hoppen

I think one of the things they could’ve done was leave the track alone throughout the evening. Yes, the jump faces maybe needed some cleaning up, but every time they came back from commercial it appeared like the bulldozers were out on the track grooming the corners. Daytona is Daytona and it’s supposed to be incredibly miserable and no fun. Anyone who’s said that they loved racing on the Daytona track is either lying or crazy, or is named Mike Treadwell (he’s the only one I’ve heard say this). I’ve been lucky enough to have raced Daytona on four separate occasions and each year the track was zero fun to ride. Back then, you honestly felt like you were going so slow due to it being very rough. While maybe I was going slow compared to the leaders, I just could never find any flow. Just when you thought you had found a good line and had a section dialed in, the next lap you hit a sand whoop wrong and ended up on the other side of the track. For some reason, the track over the past few years has been tamed down slightly and I think it hit an all-time low on Saturday. I vote for letting someone like multi-time Daytona winner Jeff Stanton design the track in 2017, just for a change!

As the pro riders said goodbye to Daytona for another year, some of North American top amateur riders took to the track on Sunday for the RC Daytona Amateur SX. A few of our fast kids are down there as this event has become one of the largest amateur races on the calendar. Marco Cannella, Jake Tricco, the Scott Brothers, Austin Watling and Eve Brodeur (just to name a few) are all inside the Daytona International Speedway gates looking for success at their first race of 2016. With more and more Canadian riders heading South every day, this time of year is always very exciting. Good luck to everyone and please ride safe.

Marco Cannella is one of the host of young Canadian riders competing today at the Ricky Carmichael Amateur SX in Daytona. Photo by James Lissimore

As for everyone that is staying around Ontario and is heading to the Toronto SX this weekend, I shall see you there. The weather looks great for Saturday so walking around Toronto should be a lot of fun. The forecast actually looks good for the next few weeks in Ontario, so with any luck those who don’t have the luxury of heading South will still be able to begin riding around here. Have a great week and we’ll see you at the Rogers Center.