FXR Racing Presents Andy White’s Mid- Week Report

The CMRC’s Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals stopped in at Ulverton, Quebec for Round 6 and it didn’t disappoint. That track, in my opinion, is one of the best we have in Canada. The elevation is awesome, the dirt is also really good except for one corner where there are lots of small rocks. It’s really something to behold in person and the racing in Quebec is like no other province. The fans love their racing and go nuts for their local riders. Kaven Benoit was the rider that the fans came out to cheer for. He has won a few motos here in the past, so you know there is going to be a bit of a fanfare when this guy rolls into the track. The weather started off a little wet in the morning but by mid-morning the sun came out and the track conditions went from okay to perfect. The 450 guys put on a really good show. Davi Millsaps led most of the first moto until the two lap board came out, and by then Matt Goerke was right on his rear fender. Davi looked to have it under control until a lapper kind of got in his way a little. This threw Millsaps off the main line. Davi got cross-rutted and went down, which handed the lead to Matt for the win. Moto 2, Matt was off to a good start right behind his teammate Brett Metcalfe. The two OTSFF riders were on a crazy fast pace for the entire moto. Matt knew he only had to finish second to get the overall which he did. Finishing second overall for the day was Brett Metcalfe with a strong ride for the weekend with a 3-1. Metty looks like he is starting to get some confidence going into the east coast rounds. Local hero Kaven Benoit looked really strong right out of the gate in Moto 1. Two laps into the moto, Benoit put down the fastest lap of the race while chasing down Millsaps. While on his charge, Kaven had a tip over which allowed the two OTSFF riders by. Moto 2 went a little better by finishing third for the moto and third for the day which gave Kaven his first podium finish for the year. I believe you will see much more from Kaven as the series continues. Just off the podium this weekend was Davi Millsaps on his Factory KTM. Davi looked like the guy to beat from the minute the gate dropped in moto one but with a get off late in the first moto and an unusual eighth in the second moto, it left Millsaps fourth for the day. Davi looked like he was struggling in the second moto and it wasn’t until after the race did we find out that his hands are full of blisters. ”I couldn’t hang on,” said Millsaps. Rounding fifth for the day was the Honda factory rider Colton Facciotti by going 6-4 . I thought this weekend we would see the Colton that was on fire last year at this track but I guess we will have to wait. Missing from the weekend was the Monster Alpinestars Kawasaki rider Vince Friese. Apparently he is still feeling the effects of his crash earlier in the series.

The MX2 class was really exciting, and once again there was a protest that changed the results. Near the end of the second moto, Cole Thompson jumped off the track while in second place. He reentered in an area that the officials say was too far from where he exited the track. The penalty for something of this degree is 3-5 positions, so Cole was penalized 3. That gave Dylan Wright on his MX101 Yamaha the overall for the day. This would be Dylan’s first overall for his pro career. What I thought was really amazing was the Ottawa schooled Dylan Wright chose to speak french on the podium and the french Canadians loved it. Finishing second was Shawn Maffenbeier on his KTM 250. Shawn rode really well by going 2-2. Finishing third for the day is the red plate holder Cole Thompson on his Factory KTM. Thompson looked fast and confident all day, with great starts and really smooth riding. Dakota Alix was up for the second time this summer and looked really strong on his KTM, finishing a solid 4-3 for the day. Brad Nauditt, who recently just signed to finish the year with the GDR Honda program, had a pretty good day by going 7-5. Brad said at the end of the day, ”I felt okay until I almost died going down that steep hill and overshooting the berm. That was when I said, okay, slow down!” With a great ride in the first moto was Jesse Pettis on his MX101 Yamaha. Moto 2 didn’t go so well while battling for 5th ;his front end washed out and Pettis went down hard. Davey Fraser had his best weekend so far by finishing 10-6 for 7th overall. Cracking the top ten was Hayden Halstead with a solid weekend going 11-7 . Missing this weekend was Jeremy Medaglia. It sounds like we will see him at Round 8 in Truro, NS.

The series now moves to a new location for the 2016 series, Truro, Nova Scotia. This track is owned by Mitch Cooke, and apparently we will see him racing the MX1 class this weekend. See you at the races.