Even with a weekend off for the 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals, there still was a lot of great racing right across this great country to coincide with Canada’s 150th birthday. While there were many great performances in the races this past weekend, including some photos I saw of Tyler Medaglia’s son lining up on a PW50 in Nova Scotia, I can tell you that seeing that sure brought back memories of my son’s first race. Anyway, I hope that everyone had a fun and a safe weekend riding and Happy belated Canada Day to you all.
For this week’s FXR Racing Tuesday Top Performers, I want to go back to Moto Park and the final two rounds of the 2017 New Era Moto Park Cup. With over 400 entries on Saturday and Sunday, there were obviously a lot of fast racers and more than a few entertaining battles to watch. Young riders in this country are more talented and better prepared than ever befor; the way they jump, corner and attack the race track is so much fun to watch these days. I also like the way that most young riders are sticking with two-strokes as long as they possibly can as they transition from 85s and Super Minis up to 125s. With a child’s height usually outgrowing his strength through his or her mid-teens, a 125 is much easier to handle while they work on their race craft. Not to mention that learning how to find speed; to carry that speed on a 125 is so very important for their long term riding goals.
This is a photo from last year of Jake Tricco when he was still riding a supermini. Now he is racing a 125 and 250 two stroke and he is flying!
One such rider who is following this program is Yamaha mounted Jake Tricco. This past weekend at Moto Park, Tricco rode his Yamaha YZ125 and his new YZ250 two-stroke incredibly, taking wins in all of his classes. We’ve watched Tricco ride a 125 for some time now and it’s obvious that he really has this bike dialed in. For this weekend, Tricco also borrowed a YZ250 two-stroke to race and within a few laps he looked as though he’s been riding that bike for months. I love that he’s getting on a 250 quickly as even back in my day one of the best pieces of advice I ever got was to learn how to ride a 250 as soon as possible. For a fast 85 rider, moving up to a 125 is one of the easiest transitions a young rider will ever make, but learning how to ride a more powerful 250 two-stroke can be a daunting task for some. Jake Tricco looked great on the bigger Yamaha and he hopes to race one later this summer at the Deschambault ECAN. For his entertaining riding this past weekend, as well as how smooth he rode his new 250 two-stroke, Jake Tricco is one of FXR Racing’s Tuesday Top Performers.
Also this past weekend, those in attendance at MP witnessed two future pro riders demonstrate that they’re ready for the next step. Both Sam Gaynor and Marco Cannella were very smooth and fast in all of their motos. I haven’t seen Gaynor race for a few weeks, but this past weekend was the best that I have ever seen him ride. Not only was his speed impressive, but he also looked very comfortable racing at a pace that was just shy of what Cannella was riding. Young Gaynor looked a little taller and a lot stronger as he muscled his YZ250F around the high speed MP track. This hard working and down to earth guy will be one to watch as he moves closer to the pro class and beyond.
Marco Cannella is riding better than ever and is well on his way to a successful pro career. Photo by Krystyn Slack
Finally, what can you say about Marco Cannella that we haven’t said before? As he prepares for his final few months as an amateur rider, I believe he’s one of the best prepared kids this country has ever produced to make the jump to the pro class. His speed and style obviously speaks for itself as currently he is running top five MX2 pro speed. But, it’s his focus, determination and calm demeanour that I think will be his biggest assets when he turns pro later this summer. In between his mulitple moto wins this weekend, Marco told me that his plan is to finish off the B class at Loretta Lynn’s this summer, and then hopefully line up at the final round of the 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals in Barrie, he knows it will be tough to jump right into the MX2 class at the last race, but Marco feels that regardless of how he finishes, it would give him a clear indication of where he stands heading into 2018. Congratulations to these three Yamaha riders on being this week’s FXR Racing’s Tuesday Top Performers. It was so much fun to just sit back and watch you ride this past weekend.