Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good morning and welcome to the official beginning of the spring of 2015. Yes, according to the calendar, winter is finally over and once again we all made it to the other side. Although, in some parts of Canada, it looks as though winter is still hanging tough as the temperatures are chilly and there’s still snow on the ground. Today is also the day that most of our kids head back to school after their weeklong March break; actually a few of our Canadian kids took an extra-long break as they were down south riding and preparing for the start of the season. As I said, winter is officially over and the 2015 race season is almost upon us.
Let’s start off this week with some very disappointing news coming out of GPF. It seems as though our 2014 MX1 Champion, Colton Facciotti, had a bad crash that resulted in a fractured bone in his pelvis. By all accounts the crash was spectacular and could’ve been a lot worse for Colton, however he’s going to be okay. Hopefully he will only be off the bike for a few weeks. His team manager, Dereck Schuster, had this to say about Colton’s condition. “Colton did have a huge crash at GPF on Saturday, and after getting a CT Scan he was found to have a fractured bone in his pelvis. While he obviously is sore and will have to be off the bike for a few weeks, this won’t be affecting his preparation for the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals. He’s going to come home to Ontario for a few weeks to recover and then head back to GPF in early April to continue his training.” That is great news and it appears that Colton definitely dodged a bullet. Hopefully that’s his last crash of 2015.
Heal up quick Colton!! photo by Lissimore
Colton’s crash comes at a tough time in motocross as the entire sport is grieving the loss of yet another young and talented rider. As many of you heard, 14-year-old Tyler Hoeft passed away last week after suffering a hard crash at the Freestone Amateur National in Texas. By all accounts Tyler sustained very serious head injuries in that crash and was not able to recover. This is an extremely sad story and one that appears to be happening way too often these days. I’m not sure why this scenario is happening more. Are we just hearing about these tragic events more than say 20 years ago? Has the sport changed that much where kids are more susceptible to these types of catastrophic injuries? Is there anything the sport as a whole can do to keep this type of thing from happening in the future?
Everyone knows the dangers of motocross. Every time anyone throws their leg over a dirt bike they’re taking on the inherent risks associated with it. This is a given, however there is no doubt that, like many sports, our kids are getting quicker, more aggressive and the technology is getting better also. In the past, if a rider Tyler’s age would’ve have been riding a really fast 250F four-stroke, he most likely would’ve been on a 125 two-stroke, and we all know the differences in those machines. While it’s impossible to go backwards in a sport, and in this case that would mean returning to the two-stroke era, there must be some areas where the sport, especially at the amateur level, can be altered so that events like last week in Texas might be avoided. If you look at hockey, for instance, this sport has done a good job of adapting to the ever changing youth that they encourage to play the game. I’m talking about their decision a few years ago to remove body checking from the lower age groups where there is a big difference in the size of kids. Also, you can look at the stiffer penalties for any type of shot to another player’s head as a way to help make that sport safer. Anyway, these are just a few examples from our Canadian game. I hope the sport of motocross can sit down as a group and come up with ways to make it a little safer.
What was about the track in Detroit that caused so many problems?
Well, with no Toronto SX to speak of, many of us who live in Ontario headed to Detroit this past weekend for round 12 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. This was my first time attending the Michigan round of the series since it moved from the Pontiac Silverdome to the beautiful Ford Field. Actually, before Saturday I’d never been to downtown Detroit before. While Ford is a really nice building with a lot of really cool features inside, I can’t imagine a worst place to hold a SX or spend time than downtown Detroit. However, despite the less than ideal surroundings, the racing inside Ford Field was pretty good, although there was an unusual amount of big crashes by a few of the top riders.
Jason Anderson had a big crash, Weston Peick crashed while running in 4th in the main event, and of course there was the nasty chain reaction crash between Trey Canard and Jake Weimer. I know all of the fans have a soft spot for Trey Canard and all that he’s been through in his life and career, but seriously, how many poor racing decisions has this guy made in the last five years or just in this season alone? First he lands on Chad Reed and it’s overshadowed by what Reed did after the fact, and now this where he successfully ended both his own and Jake Weimer’s SX seasons. I know it was a racing incident and it could’ve happened to anyone, however it always seems to happen to him. I saw it live and I’ve watched the replay a few times. I don’t care who you are and how good of a rider you are, when you have a bad start and have to jump through a section in heavy traffic, it’s up to you to be aware and to anticipate what the riders around you are going to do. It’s like when you’re driving a car, if you rear end someone, it’s your fault, regardless of the reason. The “oh, that car stopped so quick that I couldn’t avoid it” excuse is probably bang on, but the police and your insurance company don’t care. In that situation you’re at fault and that’s why on Saturday night Trey Canard is once again at fault. And remember, he was only in the semi because he made another dumb mistake and crashed himself out a qualifying position in his heat race. Anyway, that incident shouldn’t overshadow the great rides by Eli Tomac and Justin Bogle who were clearly the fastest riders in the Motor City.
That is it for me this week as it’s time to finally put the first issue of MXP to bed for 2015. I know everyone is happy to hear that Colton is going to be okay, his GDR Honda Team needs him healthy, the 2015 national series needs him healthy and most importantly his family needs him healthy. Heal up quick Colton and I hope everyone stays safe this week as we all participate in the greatest sport on earth. One more thing, I have a feeling that Canadian fans will get to see a Toronto SX in 2016. I don’t have anything to base this opinion on, just a feeling that Feld Motorsports will give Toronto at least one more attempt. After going to Detroit this past weekend it became even more apparent that this series misses and needs Toronto. So cross your fingers!!
