Fox Racing Canada Presents Behind The Lens- Gopher Dunes Supercross
After what seemed like a long wait since the final round of the outdoor series at Walton Raceway, the 2023 Triple Crown Series SXTour finally got underway this past weekend at Gopher Dunes. Facing a challenging track with real SX obstacles, the riders had to figure things out quickly in order to find any type of success. In the end, defending SXTour Champion Mitchell Harrison stood atop both podiums, with Cole Thompson and Jacob Piccolo joining him. It was an entertaining day of racing to kick off the Canadian SX season, and now the riders and teams will take a few weeks off before heading west to Round 2 in Medicine Hat, AB, on October 21st. As he’s been all summer, James Lissimore was at Gopher Dunes and sent these incredible photos for this week’s Fox Racing Canada’s Behind the Lens.
Quinn Amyotte has really raised the level of his racing in 2023, and on the weekend, he once again rode very strong aboard his Manluk Yamaha.Even though he’s been out with injuries all summer, Ayrton Pomeroy has found a way to be part of the action by being a fill-in mechanic. On Saturday, he spun the wrenches for Tyler Gibbs.Not counting his pieced-together, man-made numbers, Julien Benek rode strong at Round 1 and showed everyone why he’s one of our best SX riders.
After breaking his collarbone at the Walton TransCan back in August, Blake Davies only had a little seat time coming into Gopher Dunes SX.Daniel Elmore is relatively new to SX, and his inexperience sometimes showed on Saturday. However, this kid works hard, and we bet he’ll be much better in the final two rounds.Tyler Gibbs came into the weekend with high expectations, as he’s one of Canada’s best SX riders. Unfortunately, he couldn’t ride to his potential, and his results suffered.Mitchell Harrison came into the opening with a limited amount of SX preparation. But it didn’t seem to matter as he dominated both main events and made the challenging track look easy.Harrison is a seasoned SX rider, and at Gopher Dunes, he looked very comfortable.Preston Masciangelo is a good SX rider, and he came into the opening round with a solid few weeks of preparation. Sadly, a heat race crash detuned him for the rest of the afternoon.Leave it to the MX101 Yamaha Team to enter the opening round with a new graphic package and the best-looking bikes.Jacob Piccolo rode well on Saturday, and it was great to see this talented kid back on the track.As you can see, the front-side triple was massive, and watching the riders jump it was fun.The Blu Cru had a strong presence at the opening round of SX, and they all rode very well.Tanner Scott has a limited amount of SX experience, and at times, he struggled at the opening round. However, he’s talented and fast; if he sticks with it, he could be a very good indoor rider.Regional races, pro nationals, off-road events, Supercross, and even a tough mudder event last weekend. This iconic Canadian track does it all.They’re off!! The gate has now dropped on the Triple Crown Series SXTour.We knew that Cole Thompson would end up racing the opening round of SX at Gopher Dunes. We just didn’t know he’d be racing for the Thor/GASGAS/Race Team.The Gopher Dunes track was fun but challenging. The riders were definitely tested, but they all rode great.The Triple Crown Series sure knows how to make a track look good.In Supercross, rubbin is racing, and the fans loved all of the action at the opening round.
Zach Ufimzeff rode a little tight at the opening round, but he kept improving with each lap, and sometimes that is all that matters.It’s great to see Tanner Ward signing again with the WLTN/Kawasaki/Seven Team for 2024.The whoops were big and far apart at the opening round, and only a few top riders could blitz them.Back to Tanner Ward for a moment. His bike also looked good on Saturday!Both podiums featured the same riders in the opening round. See everyone at Round 2 in Alberta.
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