Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
This weeks Monday Gate Drop is once again brought to you by the fine people at Honda Canada Racing. With their lead rider Colton Facciotti already training for the 2017 season, Honda Canada and the GDR Fox Racing Team is very excited for what lies ahead. We at MXP Magazine are very proud to have the backing of Honda Canada and we wish them luck on the race track in the future.
The all-new intake and engine from the 2017 CRF450R. Canadian dealers should be getting these new bikes very soon.
Here we are on the final Monday of one of the dullest months of our calendar year, November. If you have your birthday in November then you probably love this month, but for everyone else, it’s always been such a grey and blah 30 days. Anyway, it’s almost over, and then it’s on to December and the month that brings us Christmas. I’m sure it’s the same in most motocross houses throughout the Country, with so much money spent on riding and racing during the entire year, how many of our dirt bike kids really need a lot of gifts under the tree? I know at our house we do a few gifts from mom and dad, whatever Santa and the grandparents decided to give, and then we pick one special gift, hide it, and then do a series of notes with clues to find it. This is what my parents did for me, so the traditional has continued.
Preston Masciangelo was one of the many fast Canadians who travelled to Florida last week to compete against some of the best riders in North America. Photo by Krystyn Slack
So, while racing in Canada during November always means AX racing, in the USA they obviously have their massive Thanksgiving Holiday, and for decades that has always brought with it the Mini Olympics in Gainesville, FL. It seems like each year more and more Canadians make the trek down south to Gatorback Cycle Park for this end of the season extravaganza. While I personally have never been, it feels like one of these years it will be time to go to this awesome event. I have, however, raced on the Gatorback track, and I can tell you that it has the strangest dirt I think I’ve ever raced on. The start and its surrounding upper level is loamy sand, while the remaining 80% is hard packed with tiny little rocks mixed in with the dirt. Maybe it’s changed a little since I last raced a pro national there in 1998 (what hasn’t changed since then?), but back then I remember thinking that I couldn’t believe how rough and choppy that track got for a hard packed track. I also recall how much the roost hurt, so you can imagine how miserable a 35 minute moto was when you were battling for a top 25 position. Anyway, we want to send out a big congratulations to all the Canadians that battled all week in the Florida sun and made us all proud. Here is a recap that Eve Brodeur sent out today.
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Last weekend was the last race of 2016 at Gatorback cycle park Florida. It was the final race of a long and tiring 10 rounds US WMX championship taking place all over the US. It all started early March at the Daytona Supercross and ended last weekend all the way in Florida again. Having been off the bike since the last race, Eve spent the week down in Florida and hit a couple of tracks on the way to Gatorback for the MiniOs.
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‘’ I am really happy with my season, clinching my 4th and 5th Canadian title (3x WMX and 2x Amateur National). Travelling all over the US to Race the WMX series is something I had been dreaming of since I was a little girl. I made many new friends and met some awesome people. Racing on tracks I had never seen before is a learning experience I will never forget, Can’t wait to do it all again next with a full year of experience under my helmet. New season , new goals |
All of this wouldn’t be possible with the support of her great group of partners
‘’I got to realized how expensive and demanding a season like 2016 is and that my family wouldn’t be able to help me make it to this level, even with all the sacrifice in the world, without the awesome people supporting me.
First and foremost, the people at Motovan/MTA and the Black rider program, David’s been awesome with us and made sure we had what we needed to elevate our Program to a multinational adventure. Also the KTM Canada support from JSR and his whole crew, thanks so much. Marco and Kevin at Axxel Suspension, Billy at BoutiqueVR.com, Brian at Dunlop in making sure I was equipped with fresh tires at every major races we attended, Jake at Oakley, Donny at FMF, Jeff at DuroyKTM, Jimmy at JWTF and all the Motovan affiliated sponsors: TCX, ZOX, Torc1, Shot gear, Kutvek, Xtown.ca, Five Gloves, Motul, Bolt hardware, Rockwell, Ogio and more. THANK YOU’’
Eve would also like to welcome a couple of new partners for 2017:
- Mirco at KB5 Canada who will tune her engine and suspensions
- Brad at Club57MX where Eve will train over the winter
- Arnaud at Group Contant KTM will be her associated dealer for her KTM motorcycles
Jess Pettis was one of the riders to watch this past weekend in Chilliwack. Photo by James Lissimore
Also taking place this past weekend were Rounds 4 and 5 of the Future West AX Championships in Chilliwack, BC. Brent Worrall is currently working on a recap for us so I won’t go into too many details about the race. By the looks of the results and the current points standings, Jess Pettis is a rider on a mission right now. With Dylan Wright jumping ship to Honda for 2017, Pettis is now the main rider at the Rockstar Energy MX101 FXR Yamaha Team, and so far in the AX series, he’s proving his worth. We all remember how many injuries Jess has had to battle throughout his career thus far, so to see him riding with so much confidence is very impressive. I’ve always been a fan of Jess and his family, I remember when I accompanied Jess and Tim Chandler from Canadian Kawasaki to California for the press launch for the newly designed KX85 and KX100. Although Jess was racing a KX250F already, with his shorter stature, he was the perfect size for the mini Kawasakis. I couldn’t believe how fast he was that day. Team Green had all of their fast amateur 85 and Super Mini riders there and Jess was equal to their speed. Obviously, he’s come along way and now appears ready to take his riding to an even higher level. If Jess can continue to remain healthy, I believe he will be one of the riders battling for the MX2 title in 2017. The final two rounds of the Future West AX Series is this coming weekend in Chilliwack again, so look for a new Kyle Beaton track design, and all of the riders looking to try to get one more win in before 2016 concludes.
Tiger Woods will make his long awaited return to competitive golf this weekend. Photo courtesy of Newsweek
In other non moto sporting news, Tiger Woods is set to make his long awaited return to golf this coming weekend. I know there is a lot of people out there who don’t like Tiger Woods, the same way there are people who don’t like Sidney Crosby. I don’t mind when one person dominates a sport the way Tiger used to, he was simply the best golfer in the world for a long time and everyone, including himself, believed it. It’s been almost nine years since he won a ‘Major’ tournament and who knows if he’ll ever win one again? He’s not a young man anymore, and for all of you older people out there who have suffered from severe back trouble, we all know what he’s up against. However, watching Tiger in his prime made me want to play golf a decade ago, the way he attacked a course, the way he went about trying to be the best, just everything, it was exciting to watch and it was fun to go and try to duplicate it. In 2006, I was in Orlando and went to see Tiger play a round at the Bay Hill Invitational. When Tiger came walking up the fairway and then stood not ten feet from me, I must admit it was pretty cool. He honestly appeared larger than life as I was able to follow him for a few holes. As I said, he may never win again, just as Chad Reed may never win again. However, we need these once great athletes in our sports for as long as possible.
Well, that’s it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week, and for those who are lucky enough to get out riding, be safe and have fun! Look for a complete 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink MX National Schedule this week as the planning has already begun on next year’s series. Thank you for reading and thanks again to Honda Canada Racing for their continued support.
