FXR Racing Presents the Mid-Week Report With Andy White

This past weekend was pretty strange for me because for once I didn’t have to hop on a long flight to attend a race. The event was practically in my backyard. Yes, the Montreal Supercross was back! The larger question would be, is it back to stay? I heard that there’s a three-year deal in place, so we will see where it goes from that point. There was plenty of talk leading up to the event. The Montreal SX was an event that we all have been to at some point. I think the first time I attended this special event was in 1981. I actually raced the supercross from 1985 to around 1991…it was a long time ago. Anyway, the event went well, in my opinion. The attendance was lower than in the past, the track was smaller and there were no ATVs or buggies, but the event went well. 

The Jetwerx built track in Montreal was short but very challenging for the riders. Photo by James Lissimore

 The track was a proper supercross track. It was not like in the past where the layout seemed pretty mellow. The riders were commenting that it looked a bit sketchy at first but the Jetwerx guys did a great job of fixing it up to the approval of the riders. The promoter brought in a few top US riders to help pump up the event. I am okay with this idea. I don’t think the current riders that race the Triple Crown Series would have been a big draw. If you plan to fill the Olympic stadium, you better bring some big names. Should Montreal be part of the Triple Crown Series? Well, that’s another question that we can talk about in another story.  

Our Canadian riders, Thompson and Facciotti, rode pretty good for riders that are not full time supercross riders. I can’t believe the luck that Benoit has had over the past few years. We knew going in that he was one of the main draws for the event. I think he lasted one lap before he fractured his thumb; that’s it for him this year. With that incident shaking down this weekend, Team Canada MXON decided to replace Benoit with Medaglia. I think that’s a good move because Tyler has been riding really well the past few months.

Malcolm Stewart was the biggest name who made his way to Montreal. Mookie was fast all day and easily won all three main events. Photo by James Lissimore

As I mentioned before, the promoter paid a few US and French Canadian riders to help fill the gate. Malcolm Stewart, Colt Nichols, Alex Martin, RJ Hampshire, Phil Nicoletti and Josh Hansen put on a good show. Stewart was the guy to beat and he looked pretty darn solid on his Honda. It seemed to be the whoops section where you made time or not. The riders were all about the same speed on the track except for that one area. If you could nail them each lap you had a good chance of being on the podium.

 In the Lites class, Jess Pettis was the guy to beat. Come to think of it, Jess is the only one with real supercross experience. The rest of the riders have some skills in AX but this track was a full-on technical US level track. I was impressed with Dylan Wright’s speed, but with a crash in practice, it didn’t help the Honda rider. Tanner Ward also looked good for a rookie. Marco Cannella told me this was the first time he has raced on a real supercross track. For a guy’s first go at this I think he did very well, too. Lap times were around the 45 second mark. Yes, the lap times were low but there was plenty of room to pass on this track.

With the amount of success that Jess Pettis has had this season, he left arm must be getting tired by now. Photo by James Lissimore

Overall the weekend went well and it was good to see lots of my old friends in the stands. In my view it’s a great start to rebuilding this event back to what it once was. Yes, it will take some time to get it back to the 50,000 plus fans that used to attend this event 10 years ago, but with some good planning and a few extra bucks I think they can be right back up there again. 

Next on the schedule for the big stage is something I am looking forward to – the MXON at Red Bud on October 6-7. This track is fair for all riders around the world. I think Red Bud will be equal for the top guys. Yes, the US team just raced it but it’s not like Glen Helen where you can ride the track any day you want. Red Bud is a technical track with some good size jumps and a sand section where Herlings will be on a different level to everyone else. I have heard the Larocco’s leap will be cut out, unfortunately. It is apparently in the rulebook of the FIM that a jump like that is not permitted. My predictions are the following: Team USA will finally win the event but Herlings will be the guy to beat. Team France will finish second and the Netherlands will be third. Team Canada will have a solid weekend, and I feel they can finish somewhere around 8^th overall if there is no bad luck. I also have a feeling there will be 60,000 in attendance for this race. If you’re going, you better get there early and be prepared for patriotism oozing from every fence row. Let’s go Team Canada!