Are you sure this is December? I don’t know what it’s like in your neck of the woods but global warming sure is happening here in the east. I have been able to hit the trails the last few weeks without even having to put on a winter jacket. I am not complaining one bit and I hope it continues. There is a ton of racing still going on around the world, but first let’s focus on the big news that just broke about Cole Thompson. After a long lull we will finally have a Canadian to cheer for at A1! Yes, Cole will be racing the Lites class in the west, and I hear that he is already down in Southern California testing away. The PR that was sent out mentioned that this is a joint partnership between Slaton Racing and KTM Canada. That’s pretty cool! I also heard that if everything goes well he will ride his 450 in Toronto. That west coast class is stacked with the some of the best Lites riders in the world. Most teams focus on racing the west coast series as it’s the start to the season, plus the media is usually much stronger. From the team’s point of view this really helps when trying to promote their new title sponsors. I’m not saying the east is easier but I feel most of the teams put their big guns in the west.
It was made official this week, Cole Thompson will be lining up at Anaheim 1 as part of the Slaton Racing KTM Team. Photo by Tom Bax
I had a chance to watch the Red Bull Knockout from Holland on the weekend. This is one crazy sand track that seems to never end. 1500 riders show up and go through qualifiers until they weed the numbers down to a simple 350 riders. Can you imagine battling with 350 riders? Belgian Axel Van De Sande schooled everyone on just how to ride sand. I noticed his last name has the word “sand” in it; perhaps a mere coincidence. The leaders were lapping the slower guys by the midway point through lap two. Remember, these 350 are the ones that qualified out of the 1500. The track was littered with fallen riders and blown up machines everywhere; I think it would have been really cool to see Kornel Nemeth out there in the sand. I brought him over from Hungary back in 2011 and Kornel went 2-2 at The Dunes that day. He also had the worst starts in both motos that weekend. Some guys are just sand masters and he was one of them.
Nothing like a nice ride on the beach! There definitely wasn’t a lack of entries for last weekends Red Bull Knockout event. Photo courtesy of the Red Bull Photo Files.
I was impressed that the BC Arenacross series attracted 26 pro riders for the doubleheader, and it was good to see lots of new faces out there. It’s too bad that Dylan Kaelin went down hard and ended up in hospital. Dylan has spent way too much time sitting around injured the past year or so. Get well soon Dylan. Ross Johnson looks like he is on a repeat performance to capture another championship. This weekend is the last round of the series at the barn. I read Ryan Lockhart’s interview today; the older Ryan gets the better he gets. Kind of like how the wine industry works. Ryan has been on the podium most weekends in the Pro class, not the Vet class where you would think he would be given his vintage.
I think the only rider that we are still waiting to hear where he will land is Chad Reed. It sounds like he will be on a Yamaha, but what team will he be connected to? I have heard that Joe Gibbs JGR team was in talks with Chad but it sounds like that has fizzled out. Then there was talk of Chad joining up with the Star Yamaha team but they are supported by Rockstar and Reed is a full-on Monster rider. There are only 5 weeks until A1. Usually most teams would have their testing done by now and are focusing on the small items. One thing is for sure, I hope James Stewart will be ready to go for Round 1.
While it’s not clear yet what team Chad Reed will be on at Anaheim 1, in Australian last weekend he was part of the Yamaha Factory Team.
Jimmy Decotis was on fire last week in Australia and I am really happy for the Rippa. I hope he remembered to pack his confidence and speed he had in Oz for A1. Jimmy looks like he is flowing really well and ready for this next challenge. As you can see by the photo, those tracks in Australia are the real deal. The stadiums were sold out for the last round and it’s nice to see that supercross is so strong on the other side of the world.