As always, this week’s Monday Gate Drop is brought to you by one of the coolest companies in motocross, Decal Works. With the 2015 riding season just days away, now is the perfect time to order a new set of custom graphics for your bike. Just go to www.decalmx.com and in minutes you can order your very own set with anything you want on them. Decal Works now offers seat covers to complete your new graphic package and help make your bike look the best in the pit area.
Before we dive into this week’s Gate Drop, let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Whatever you do tomorrow, try and add a little green in your day and celebrate with all of our Irish friends. I love that this day is all about just going out and enjoying yourself regardless of what you’re doing.
Speaking of green, the fine time of year that we like to call “Spring” is almost here. With the exception of our poor east coast, which was nailed by yet another snowstorm over the weekend. Mother Nature finally seems to be letting up a little and giving us motocross loving people what we want. In Ontario, Moto Park announced last week that they’re aiming to open on the first weekend of April, and I’m sure Gopher will open a little before that. Out west they’re already riding outdoors, so folks, it appears that the 2015 season is now upon us.
The supercross track at Club MX is pretty awesome, as is the rest of the facility in Chesterfield, SC
After a week down south, my mini moto vacation is now over as I’m back in my office this morning ready to put the finishing touches on our first issue of 2015. I spent the past week in South Carolina watching not only my boy, but also Zach Osborne, Kyle Peters, Phil Nicoletti and our own Nathan Bles ride at the beautiful ClubMX. Although this facility is in the middle of nowhere (isn’t every great moto place?), once you’re there you’ve definitely entered something of a moto heaven. If you want to go somewhere and just focus on riding and getting better, ClubMX is a great place to do it.
This is exactly what Nathan Bles is doing as he’s been down there all winter training hard. Since he arrived at ClubMX, Nathan has been on a workman-like schedule that includes waking up at 6:30 every day and hitting the gym with everyone. After that it’s moto time on one of the three tracks there, then it’s lunch and more motos. When that is done they break out their road bicycles and hit the local SC highways for some cardio training. Once that is done, it’s dinner time (the healthy food is prepared daily by an in-house chef), bike maintenance and then bed time. Other than maybe stopping to watch a bird fly by, there are no distractions at ClubMX so the riders are certainly getting their money’s worth. Nathan will be there until the end of April before he comes home to begin his Canadian season aboard his brand new Redemption Racing KTM. If you want to be successful in this day and age then this is the type of work you have to do. Whether you’re at ClubMX, GPF, or any of the training facilities down south, they all provide the structure that any rider could use.
With the opening round of the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals just a little over two months away, all of the riders are in full preparation mode. Last week it was officially announced that Brett Metcalfe will be returning to the MX1 class to ride for the Monster Energy Thor Kawasaki Team alongside Teddy Maier and Cole Martinez. After a very tough season in 2014, I think this team will come out swinging in Kamloops as we all know what Metcalfe did in 2013. His focus and determination were unmatched two years ago, and he certainly deserved to win the MX1 title that year. I also believe that Teddy Maier will be much better in 2015 as I know he’s been training harder than ever to improve his number 5 ranking. The unknown on the team is Cole Martinez as he’ll be the newcomer to the team in the MX2 class. However, kids like Martinez are always fast and confident when they arrive on Canadian soil so look for him to be a frontrunner right from the first gate drop. Here is the team’s official press release.
It seems our Canadian iron man, Tyler Medaglia, was on the track again this past weekend. Racing in the second round of the 2015 Amsoil GNCC Series in Georgia, Tyler once again had to do it the hard way (I think every race in the GNCC is hard), however he soldiered through to take a well-deserved 8th on his Husqvarna. I’m guessing that after two rounds Tyler is starting to feel like he belongs with these top GNCC racers, and he’s also probably enjoying it. One thing is for sure, he’s definitely going to be ready for the long motos of the upcoming nationals this summer. There is also a good lesson to be learned here for all riders. If you can prove yourself as a versatile rider then you can have a very long career racing motorcycles. Look at Mike Brown in the USA, he can do it all and he’s still doing it! I can see Tyler being just like Brownie as he gets older and wants to keep racing.
Finally, my week in the USA ended with a trip to the Indianapolis SX on Saturday night. Not only were we there to watch the SX but we were also there for my son to compete in the KTM Junior SX program. Although I’ve seen this program from afar, I obviously didn’t know what to expect. Well, I can tell you that the entire experience was incredible from start to finish. All of the kids in Indy were treated like little factory KTM riders, complete with autograph signings, a meet and greet with Ryan Dungey, a special part in the opening ceremonies and of course a three lap main event in front of the packed Lucas Oil stadium. The day also featured a number of guest speakers that took the time to talk to the kids and give them insight on not only how to be better riders, but also on how to be better individuals. As I said, it was an awesome experience. Even though the actual race didn’t go as Ayrton envisioned it to go, no one seemed to mind one bit. He rode hard, had fun, and had a Monster girl smile at him. I don’t think it gets any better for a seven-year-old moto boy. Thanks to KTM and to everyone for all your support. It was definitely felt throughout the day in Indy.
In the Pro classes at Indy, it was another KTM runaway as Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin both rode away to victory. Along the way they both had to deal with a little resistance from the likes of Cole Seely and Justin Bogle, but in the end it didn’t matter, they both inched closer to their respective championships. Another big winner on Saturday night was Cycle North Honda rider Adam Enticknap who, after many attempts, finally made the main event in the 450SX class. I watched the 722 right from the first practice and he looked great on his red Honda. He was able to carry those great practice times into the main event. To look down from the stands and see this hard working guy on the gate for the main event was pretty cool. Congratulations to Adam and his Cycle North Team. Hopefully he can keep it going this weekend in Detroit.
Speaking of Detroit, we’re only a few days away from our closest round of the 2015 Monster Energy AMA SX Series. As you know we’ve been running a contest the last two weeks in which we were able to give away some tickets to the Detroit SX. So far, our lucky winners have been Mike McDowall and Dereeck Staadegaard who have each won two tickets for Saturday night. We still have two tickets to give away so if you still want to go here is the final trivia question. Name the last Canadian rider to make a Monster Energy SX main event in either the 250SX class or the 450SX class. Please email me your answer to chris@mxpmag.com and the first person to do so will win the tickets. Good luck and I will leave you with the very best wishes for a great March break. Whatever you’re doing, please do it safe and we’ll talk next week!