FXR Presents The Mid-Week Report With Andy White

I’ve always thought that fall is the best time to ride. Humidity is finally breaking, temperatures get a little cooler, and the bonus is not breaking out in a sweat just buckling up your boots. It seemed for a while, every weekend there was a National we were faced with record setting high temperatures and gasping for a breath of a fresh breeze. Before you know it our long, hot summer will be gone and we will be missing that layer of grit caked to our skin and longing for the smell of race gas. We are gluttons for punishment. Now that the CMRC Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals are over, there are a few local races left and the two fall arenacross series. Still lots of racing to go depending on what your remaining budget is like. The word “budget”… yikes! Just remember that you will have the whole winter to save for the following season of riding. So get out and enjoy the last few weeks before you miss out.

Davi Millsaps will make his KTM debut at the MXGP at Glen Helen in a few weeks. photo by Frank Hoppen

This is the time of year we call “silly season.” Lots of rumours floating around about teams and riders looking for new rides. I thought I would share a few that I have heard from the past few weeks. I think one of the biggest rumours has to be Davi Millsaps signing with BTO KTM for the supercross series. I didn’t see it coming at all. I thought he had his own program set up and he was still waiting for UPS to find those parts that went missing months ago. Kidding aside, I think Davi is one of the best riders out there on a supercross track when everything lines up perfectly. How awesome would it be to be given a factory Monster Kawasaki contract as the number #1 rider on the team? It’s awesome until the results don’t happen, then the pressure kicks in. I believe Davi will fit in nicely. No real pressure as he has two other teammates that are capable of top 5 results. Time will tell as Millsaps is signed in for the Monster Million in October.

The next big story is Chad Reed, going from factory rider to team owner, now back to a factory ride only. I believe the stress of owning and managing your own team finally got to him. When Chad made the move to run his own team he had lots of momentum and had large corporations offering big money to join his program. Now that Chad has done it, I feel he is at the point where it’s time to enjoy the last few years and let someone else foot the bill. I believe you will see him on a NEW Factory Yamaha team supported by Monster and some of Chad’s personal sponsors. I hope we see the old Chad again!

Will we see Chad Reed riding blue again in 2016? And will we see him celebrating like this again? photo by Frank Hoppen

One of the biggest stories we will all hear about soon is Eli Tomac signing with Factory Kawasaki/Monster. We have heard that talks started months ago before the supercross season ended. Why would Tomac leave Honda? There is lots of talk that Kawasaki and Monster need a winner. The supercross series is sponsored by Monster, and of course they would like to see one of their riders on the top of the box. Who is one of the fastest guys out there with a contract that expires on October 1st? Not that many. It will be interesting to see Tomac on a green bike.

There has been a lot of talk about US Suzuki getting back into the Lites class. This would be a big step for the yellow brand. They invest a ton of cash with RCH and the factory Suzuki team for James Stewart and Blake Baggett. How about the news that Pro Circuit will be working with a new clothing sponsor after partnering with THOR for the past 10 years plus? I am sure we will see a PR shortly from them soon. Like I said, there will be lots of riders moving around and sponsors partnering with new teams.

There’s no reason to think that Colton Facciotti will be on anything other than a red bike in 2016. photo by James Lissimore

In Canada, however, nothing unfolds quickly after the season is finished so it’s a bit too early to predict what’s going to happen. The current series is stronger than ever with lots of top riders competing in Canada. I can only imagine that there will be no major changes in teams or riders jumping from team to team. Colton Facciotti’s contract is up with GDR Honda. I hope Colt stays with the Red guys as he looks very comfortable and it seems to be a good fit. Jeremy Medaglia has another year on his GDR Honda contract as well. I know Matt Goerke has a two year deal with Yamaha OTSFF. We will see Matt with a BIG #1 on his Yamaha next year. Shawn Maffenbeier and Bobby Kiniry have contracts that are up and they will be hoping for new contracts to show up. MX2 Champion Kaven Benoit will now move to the MX1 class with teammate Cole Thompson who has another year on his contract. Who will fill the spot in the MX2 class now that Benoit has moved to the MX1 program? I know they only want Canadian riders, so there are lots to choose from. Looking at the list of top Canadians that could fill that spot: Jesse Pettis, Liam O’Farrell, Shawn Maffenbeier, Nathan Bles. I was speaking recently to Brett Metcalfe who really hopes to come back in 2016. He said if it wasn’t for some bad luck he felt he had a good shot of winning the series.

Dylan Wright will be going into his third year of his contract with the MX101 guys, plus I know they are working on re-signing Jimmy Decotis for 2016. That’s the rumour mill news from my corner. Get out and enjoy some fall riding, and I hope to see some of you out at the travelling AX series coming to a town near you!