Honda Canada Racing Presents the Monday Gate Drop

In recent issues of MXP Magazine, we not only featured 2014 Canadian MX1 Motocross Champion Colton Facciotti on the cover, but we also looked back to Mike Harden’s unbelievable 1984 500cc Canadian MX Championship. These two championships for Honda Canada are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Honda and winning titles in Canadian motocross. In the 1990s it was Carl Vaillancourt and Marco Dubé who rode Hondas to their respective Championships. From 2001 to 2006, it was Blackfoot Honda’s Jean Sebastien Roy and Dusty Klatt who reaped the rewards of riding red. Fast forward to 2016 and it’s the Honda Canada Fox GDR Racing Team of Colton Facciotti and Jeremy Medaglia looking to add to Honda’s rich history of success on the track. We would like to welcome Honda Canada as a proud new supporter of this Monday Gate Drop column. If you want to see all of Honda’s line up for 2016, just log onto www.motorcycle.honda.ca.

This coming weekend is the big day for all of the Mom’s out there. So Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at MXP Magazine.

Welcome to what I think is the best month of the year. Why do I think the month of May is the best? Well, not only is it the time of year when the weather really begins to get consistently nice, but it’s also the month when we get to be a part of some cool events like the final round of the Monster Energy Supercross Series, the beginning of the US Outdoor Nationals, and here in Ontario the first weekend of the Moto Park Cups. Finally, it’s also the month that we celebrate Mother’s Day, and my birthday! Last year, May was even more special as the first round of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals took place on May 31st, but this year we’ll have to wait until June 5th for that to happen. Either way, it’s the most wonderful time of the year…for me anyway!

So we’re now into May and on Saturday night I’m sure most of you tuned in to watch Ryan Dungey clinch the 2016 Monster Energy Supercross Championship. After missing out by a few points last weekend in Boston, Dungey did exactly what he needed to do in New Jersey to win the title. With his arch rival Ken Roczen riding carefree out front, Dungey battled his way into 4th on the tough East Rutherford track and stayed there until the chequered flag flew. What a season it has been for Dungey and his Red Bull KTM Team as they more or less dominated the SX series right from Round 1 in Anaheim. When most figured that Dungey would come into 2016 relaxed and ready to ease into the series, he did the exact opposite and went after as many wins as he could early. The ‘new’ Ryan Dungey caught all of his competition by surprise and it was sure fun to watch for the past four months.

Congratulations to Ryan Dungey and his Red Bull KTM Team on all of their well earned success. Photo by Frank Hoppen.

This was Dungey’s third SX title, which certainly puts him in elite company with legends like Stanton, McGrath, Carmichael and Villopoto. To make this success even more special for Dungey is that he’s now won two SX championships on a non-Japanese brand. Ten years ago this achievement was thought to be utterly impossible as the big four manufacturers were in full command of our sport. However, little by little with big dreams and a massive effort , the KTM brand simply decided as a company that they wanted to win, not just races but Championships in the USA. Today, the Red Bull KTM Team sits with back to back SX titles in the USA, and KTM Group globally will surpass over 185,000 units sold in 2016. Yes, it has been quite the success for the orange brand and it certainly lends credence to the old saying, ‘win on Sunday and sell on Monday.’ Congratulations to KTM for all of their success, not just in 2016 but in recent years worldwide. We can’t wait to see what the KTM Canada Thor Race Team is going to do this summer at the Canadian Nationals.

As I mentioned earlier, Ryan Dungey now moves into the legend category with his three SX titles. Since 1998 there has been only six supercross champions in our sport, and only nine if you want to go back 26 years to 1990. Of all of these incredible champions, could Dungey now be considered the best all-around rider? I mean, if you look back to some of these riders, Jeff Stanton was good but he heavily relied on his fitness to get the job done, Jeremy McGrath, who is considered the King of Supercross, was full of natural talent and he sort of trained hard, however as soon as the ultra-fit Ricky Carmichael came into the picture, that was it for McGrath. Now in all fairness to McGrath, he was 30-years-old at that time and had already cemented himself as the rider who single handily changed the sport of supercross forever. So Carmichael then took over and made everyone else wake up and train hard, however, by the time RC‘s fellow riders figured out just how hard they had to work off the bike, he had won five SX titles, numerous outdoor titles and became known as ‘The GOAT.’ From there, Chad Reed and James Stewart came along and won two SX titles each and then gave way to hard working beast Ryan Villopoto, who dominated SX until he retired at the end of 2014.

Ken Roczen might have a won a few of the battles in 2016, but he couldn’t win the war against his former teammate. Photo by Frank Hoppen

All of these riders were and still are incredible athletes and they all knew how to win, and they each brought something unique to the sport. But when you factor in Ryan Dungey’s incredible riding ability, his work ethic, his off the bike popularity, and his seemingly innate ability to race at the highest level week in and week out without crashing, in my opinion Dungey could be the best ever in our sport. I know this is a debate that could go on and on forever as everyone has their own opinions, so maybe with all of that said the best thing to do is just sit back and enjoy what we’re getting to watch every weekend in our sport. Dungey is definitely setting the bar right now for every rider in motocross.

So with the Monster Energy Supercross entering its final round this coming weekend in Las Vegas, we can now officially turn our attention to the outdoor series both in the USA and in Canada. In fact, part of the job as Editor of MXP Magazine is to put together the Official Program for the 2016 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals. With the approaching deadline coming up in a few weeks, right now I’m getting all of the information and photos in from the teams that will be participating in the series. This is always an exciting time of year as the high level of racing that we’re going to get to witness this summer slowly becomes clearer and clearer as I look at the teams. Goerke, Metcalfe, Facciotti, Alessi, Friese, Medaglia, Thompson, Benoit, Hayes, Wright, Maffenbeier, the list goes on and on and on. From what I’ve seen so far, our Canadian teams are ready to go racing, their riders are fit and ready, and their bikes look amazing. I know the opening round is still a month away, but the excitement is definitely starting to build with each day.

With one series down and still one remaining in 2016, so far it’s been quite a season for the Mr. and Mrs. Dungey. Photo by Frank Hoppen

That is it for me this week and the new Monday Gate Drop presented by Honda Canada. I hope everyone has a great week and a safe week riding. In closing I’d like to give a little get well to young Ontario rider Evan Stewart who injured himself in Michigan this past weekend. While the injury doesn’t sound serious, it’s still very unfortunate for this very likeable and talented 65cc and 85cc rider. Heal up Evan and hopefully we’ll see you soon on the track!