Honda Canada Racing Presents Monday Gate Drop

As the summer of 2016 rolls on, Honda Canada Racing has been tearing up the race tracks right across Canada. Whether it’s young Austin Watling in the amateur ranks, or Colton Facciotti in the pro class, Honda has been at the front of the pack. In the 1990’s it was Carl Vaillancourt and Marco Dube who rode a Honda to their 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

Even though Cole Thompson struggled in moto one, he came back with a vengeance in moto two and took the win. Photo by James Lissimore

Happy Monday everyone! I hope this August long weekend is going well for you. This holiday Monday always creeps in on me as I always forget that we get a Monday off in August. Yes, it’s finally the month of August, the final month of summer for all Canadians, young and old. So before I go and enjoy this holiday Monday, here is a quick recap of what went on this past weekend, and also what’s to come this week

After taking two weekends off to stay at home with my ailing family, I was definitely excited to jump on an airplane and head to Round 8 of the 2016 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals presented by Motovan in Moncton, NB. Riverglade MX Park in Moncton has always held a special place in my motocross memory bank, because back in 1990 it was my first national I raced as a pro outside of Ontario. Back then, Moncton was Round 2 of the series, and believe it or not, Sunday’s race was preceded by an arenacross in Moncton on the Friday night. In those days having an AX two nights before you had to race four long national motos on Sunday was fairly common as it was a good way to entice riders to the area with a chance to make some extra money. In 1990, the Riverglade National was a 250/500 round, and because I didn’t have a 500, I only rode the 250 class and thus just two of the four motos. Travelling to that race was also a great father/son trip as my Dad and I were excited to hit the road together while my adventures as a new pro rider were unfolding. I ended up having a great day in Moncton, going 4-4 for fourth overall behind established pros Pederson, Vaillancourt and Dyck. Unfortunately, the following weekend I broke my femur at a local race in Ontario, however some 26 years later, as I stood at Riverglade MX Park yesterday, I could still fondly remember exactly where we parked and in some ways the track is still the same. With such a storied history, I’m sure Riverglade holds many special memories for so many people in our sport.

Heading into Round 8, the KTM Thor Racing Team definitely had a stranglehold on both the MX2 class as well as the MX1 class. So far this summer, Cole Thompson and his teammate, Davi Millsaps, have been the dominant riders. At last weekend’s race in Pleasant Valley, these two crushed the field and made the slippery Pleasant Valley track look like it was a walk in the park. In Moncton yesterday, Thompson was only able to win his second moto after running into some troubles in Moto 1, however, Millsaps continued his winning ways by cruising to both moto wins. I actually rode to the airport last night with Cole and his girlfriend and he was not happy at all with his first moto result. Not only did he get off to a bad start, but he also was a victim of a slightly over watered track and went down hard. He was able to remount quickly and had a good chance at a podium finish, which would’ve set him up perfectly for the overall after Moto 2. But, once he got to the back wheel of Brad Nauditt’s new Honda Canada GDR Fox CRF250, Cole was unable to make the pass and had to settle for a disappointing 6th in the opening moto. He did come back to win Moto 2, but his 6-1 moto score only gave him third for the day. With a current 79 point lead over Shawn Maffenbeier in the MX2 class, I don’t think too many people were concerned with Cole’s Round 8 results.

Davi Millsaps took full advantage of his fondness for the Riverglade track and dominated both MX1 motos. Photos James Lissimore

Standing above Thompson on the podium was Dylan Wright, who missed out on the MX2 class win by just one point to the overall winner on the day, KTM rider Dakota Alix. Both of these riders fought tooth and nail for every inch on the Riverglade track and both deserved their results. Alix has been a nice addition to this class since he joined it at Gopher Dunes. He’s fast, he’s stylish and he appreciates every result he gets. If he’s trying to audition for a ride in 2017, so far he’s been doing a great job. As for Dylan Wright, since the eastern rounds began he’s been on fire! With multiple podium finishes and an overall win a few weeks back in Ulverton, this kid is really figuring things out. Shawn Maffenbeier, who had a string of second place finishes going before Round 8, had a rough day in Moncton. In Moto 1, Maff really should’ve won but he used up all of his tear-offs trying to pass Alix. Once he wasn’t able to have clear vision, Maff had to settle for second. In Moto 2, he had some bike trouble on the starting line and started almost dead last. He put on an incredible charge to finish in 8th, but he lost even more points to Thompson. Unless a miracle happens in the next few weeks, it looks as though Maff will finish up the MX2 series in second.

In the MX1 class, it was once again the Davi Millsaps show as he got out front early in both MX1 motos and never looked back. His teammate, Kaven Benoit, kept him close for a few laps in both motos but couldn’t match Davi’s early pace. Millsaps turned his best lap times right away in both motos and his speed was impossible to duplicate for anyone in the MX1 class. In talking to Millsaps after his motos, he said after injuring his ribs after Regina, he wasn’t able to ride at all during the week. This lack of riding made him suffer at Gopher Dunes and Ulverton, however, before Pleasant Valley he started practicing again, and judging by his finishes in the last four motos, everything is now okay in the Millsaps camp. Please trust me when I say this, with just four motos remaining in the 2016 MX1 series, if you haven’t seen Millsaps ride yet then you have to try and make it out to one of the final rounds. By the sounds of it he will not be back next year (which I find surprising), so now is your final chance to watch him live. With his factory KTM underneath him, Millsaps has felt completely comfortable all summer long and he’s demonstrated that with his raw speed. Even though he’s been way out front on quite a few occasions in 2016, Millsaps has really made the racing exciting to watch as he’s just been that good.

For the first time since he joined the MX2 series at Gopher Dunes, Dakota Alix stood on top of the podium in Moncton. Photo by James Lissimore

Behind Millsaps yesterday was an absolute dog fight between Kaven Benoit, Mike Alessi, Matt Goerke, Brett Metcalfe and at times Tyler Medaglia. Of this group, I’d say that Metcalfe was probably the fastest, but he wasn’t able to get good starts in Moncton and was forced to play catch up in both motos. Benoit started behind Millsaps in both motos and was able to hold on to finish second overall, his best of the season. Matt Goerke made an absolute mess of his first moto as he finished way back in 7th, but in Moto 2 he found something and charged all way to second with a final lap pass on Benoit. Even though Millsaps is taking a 51 point lead into Deschambault this weekend, the fight for second between Goerke and Metcalfe is worth the price of admission right now as only one point separates to two teammates with four motos remaining.

So as the pro riders get ready for Round 9 in Deschambault, some of this country’s top amateurs are getting ready to descend on the sandy circuit in Deschambault for a week of the Motovan Grand National Amateur Championships. This event has steadily grown for the past few years and for 2016 it looks like it will be the best ever. Sadly, it will be missing a few of Canada’s top kids as they as getting ready to compete at the Loretta

Lynn’s National in Tennessee this week, but for the riders there, the Deschambault Grand National is going to be awesome. So sit back and get ready for a crazy few weeks in Canadian motocross as both our top pro riders as well as our top amateur riders will be on center stage as they decide their respective national championships. Good luck to everyone, and of course, check back here for daily results from all of the events. I hope you enjoy your holiday Monday, and to everyone out there, please have a safe week riding and racing!

The 2016 Motovan Grand National Amateur Championships begin this week in Quebec. Photo by James Lissimore

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