FXR Racing Presents Andy White’s Mid-Week Report

The long wait is finally over and CMRC’s Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan is here. It has been a long winter waiting for the outdoor series to arrive and the first round went down in Kamloops, BC this past weekend. I’m sure we all have had discussions about the series at some point over the off-season. The number one topic has to be, “Who is going to win the series?” I know I was asked a million times about who my picks would be. It’s not that easy to just throw names out there. You need to know who did their homework in the off-season or who is injured and not telling anyone, just to name a couple of twists. I can go on and on about this subject and we probably have an idea who we want to win the series. So now that round one is in the books, were you surprised at the results? I have to say I was a little surprised at some of the results but overall it kind of makes sense. Before we talk about the riders and teams, I can tell you it was probably the hottest day in BC history on Sunday. The heat was blistering and there was no real breeze. The day started off well with the track crew putting enough water down to fill a lake or two. The dirt was super dry and the track needed a good soaking. The layout of the track was the same as last year but the direction was reversed. I was not a big fan of this direction because the flow was not really there. Despite the heat, the entry numbers were very impressive; 71 MX2 riders and just over 54 MX1 entries. That’s a solid list of riders for the first round and I was especially impressed with the local turn out; it takes big stones to sign up and race against the best.

Let’s start with the Women’s class, with just over 34 entries for the day. I was impressed with the speed and how hard they were riding. Shelby Turner from Alberta, who is known as an off-road rider, showed everyone that she has been working on her MX skills over the winter. Turner, on her KTM 250 Factory edition, nailed the starts and got the overall with a 2-1 for the day. Not far behind was last year’s champion Sara King on her Cycle North Honda. Sara has the speed and the style. In moto one while leading she had a crash that put her back in 3rd place. Moto 2, King started off well but was not able to move up and battle with Turner and eventually had to settle for 2nd overall for the day. Finishing in third for the day was Lexi Pechout from Calgary on her Blackfoot Direct Husky 250.

Pro race day on Sunday saw the MX2 class stacked with lots of potential winners. Shawn Maffenbeier on his KTM 250, riding for a new team, really looked great. The Redemption team did their homework over the winter months with Shawn. Right out of the gate you could tell that he had the Lites bike set up perfectly for the rough track conditions. With a consistent 2-2, it gave Shawn the overall and the team’s first overall. Second overall with a 4-1 was Cole Thompson. It wasn’t an easy day for the Ontario resident. In the first moto Cole was laying in the dirt after a first corner crash. Thompson picked himself up and charged for the 25 minutes plus to laps up to 4th for the moto. The second moto it was much easier as Cole jumped out front early and never looked back. Third place went to a rider that I have never heard of before, Brandon Leith from Salt Lake, Utah. He put on an impressive ride to finish 6-3 for the day. Finishing fourth was Jeremy Medaglia with an 8-4 for the day, not what Jeremy was expecting but a good start to the series. One rider that wishes he could have started the second moto again was Dylan Wright on his MX101 Yamaha. Dylan dominated moto one with a killer holeshot and checked out. The second started with a false start and a red flag as Dylan jumped the gate. After the restart Dylan was back in 7th when he collided with a fallen rider, which put him way back because he had to stop in the mechanics’ area for repairs. Another rider that had a good first moto was Jesse Pettis with a solid 3rd in the first. The second moto Jesse was up front and leading until he slipped back to third. With two laps to go Jesse had a mechanical issue that ended his day.

The MX1 class seems to be the one with all the heavy hitters. Who will end up on top for the day? Well, it was Davi Millsaps on his Factory KTM 450. I was really impressed with Millsaps’ speed and endurance. I knew he could twist the throttle but I wasn’t sure if he would finish on the top of the box at Round 1.

On the podium Davi was grateful to have the opportunity to come up and race in Canada and he took time to thank the fans for sticking around on such a hot day. The one rider that challenged Millsaps was last year’s Champion Matt Goerke on his Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha. This guy is made of steel. Matt checked out in moto one for the win. Moto two didn’t start that well with a crash early in the race. Later in the race Matt had worked his way to third and not too far off of Colton Facciotti. On the podium Matt showed his left hand to the fans. It was raw, stripped of skin and beat up. Third overall goes to Facciotti; solid weekend with 3-2 on his GDR Fox Honda. Great start for the 4-time champion. The next guy on the list is Kaven Benoit. The two-time MX2 Champ and rookie to the MX1 class put on a show. Benoit looks like he has been riding a 450 for years. Watch for Kaven in the east coast. There were a few riders that were a little off the pace this weekend. Alessi and teammate Friese didn’t have the weekend they were looking for. Brett Metcalfe struggled on the rough track, but don’t count these guys out, I expect to see a new winner on the top of the box pretty well every weekend.