Honda Canada Racing Presents the Monday Gate Drop

Good day and welcome to another edition of the Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop. With the final round of the 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals taking place yesterday at the RJ’s Motorsports track in Midhurst, ON. The Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing Team were very excited to try and finish this season off in style. With GDR team riders Dylan Wright and Colton Facciotti both winning motos yesterday at Round 10, the red riders did exactly what they set out to do. It was a great way to cap off the series and the team now looks forward to next year.

So as I said above, the gate dropped on the final round of the 2017 Rockstar Enegy Drink MX Nationals yesterday just outside of Barrie, ON. This was the second year in a row that the RJ’s Motorsports track hosted Round 10 and boy did the facility look good yesterday. The track was in good shape, the paddock looked good, and judging by all of the people walking around, the attendance was good. With both the MX2 and MX1 titles up for grabs on Sunday, I’m everyone wanted to see which riders would prevail on the rough RJ’s track.

Without going in too many of the small details from yesterday, I will just say that it was a glorious day for both factory supported Yamaha teams as Shawn Maffenbeier and Matt Goerke were both able to hold on to their points leads. For Maffenbeier, his day went exactly how he envisioned it as he not only won the first moto, but also was able to cruise to third in Moto 2 to secure his first ever Outdoor Pro Championship. The talented and humble Maffenbeier has been at it for a long time and to see him standing on top on the podium yesterday with the big #1 plate was very emotional. The workman way he goes about this sport, the humility he always shows regardless of his results, and of course the talent he’s displayed on the track for so many years has been incredible. Maffenbeier is the type of person and the type of rider that parents want their kids to be like, and no one deserved to win this MX2 title more than he. As they say, Maffenbeier is just a good pro, and a good person. This championship is also incredible for Yamaha and for the entire crew at the MX101 FXR Racing Yamaha Team, as they have worked so hard for so long. It has not been an easy path for Maffenbeier to get to where is now, but I have to think that all of the adversity that he’s faced over the years most certainly helped prepare him to handle the pressure as well as he did yesterday. Congratulations to Shawn, Yamaha Motor Canada, and the entire MX101 Team, you’re all well deserved champions.

Moving on to the MX1 class, which in recent weeks has been absolutely jammed pack with drama. From the aggressive pass that Mike Alessi put on Dillan Epstein in Moncton, to the final lap love tap that Christophe Pourcel gave to Matt Goerke last weekend, the big boys in the MX1 class have had a lot of trouble getting along. Coming into yesterday with a comfortable 15 point lead over Pourcel, all Goerke had to do was stay out of trouble and keep Pourcel in sight. However, in the opening laps of Moto 1, Goerke’s plan must have turned to sheer panic as he not only crashed once, but also stalled his Yamaha once and dropped back to outside the top 20. With Pourcel out front, Goerke was forced to put on the charge of his life. At that point it was a good thing that throughout his career Matt Goerke has been best known for his hard charging style. By moto’s end, he had caught up all the way to sixth place, and with Pourcel getting passed by Colton Facciotti for the moto win, Goerke’s lead was cut down to just eight points heading into the final race of 2017.

In what was most likely the biggest holeshot of his career, Matt Goerke rocketed to the lead right from the start of Moto 2. This great start allowed Goerke to race the final moto on his terms and to keep an eye on Pourcel. When Pourcel showed him a wheel, Goerke did the wise thing and moved out of the way and let him go. With Pourcel way out front, Goerke rode to a very safe third place and would take the 2017 MX1 Championship by just three points over Pourcel. I’m sure it was not the way Goerke envisioned his championship winning day going, however he got the job done and that is all that matters. As for Pourcel, with five overall wins on the season, he has to be wondering what could’ve been this summer. He had plenty of chances to take control of the MX1 series and failed to. You think back to his bad motos in Calgary, Gopher, and then his penalty in Truro and that is a lot of points given up. When Pourcel was on he was definitely on and I don’t think anyone will ever dispute that. But, as they say it’s not always the fastest rider that wins the championships, it is sometimes the most consistent. If you look at Goerke’s season his worst moto was actually yesterday in Barrie where he finished in sixth, other than that he was crazy consistent and that is what matters most in the end. This is Matt Goerke’s third MX1 title in Canada and that definitely puts him in very elite company. Congratulations to him and to the entire Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha Team!

Other stand outs yesterday were Marco Cannella who in his very first pro race finished in a solid fifth overall in the MX2 class. Cannella looked extremely smooth out there and appeared to fit right in with the pro riders. Another rider who was making his pro debut was Austin Watling who rode well at RJ’s to finish in 14^th overall in the MX2 class. I’m not sure where Austin thought he’d finish yesterday, but I feel like he rode amazing against the more experience pro riders. Both of these riders now have the winter to prepare for 2018 and their first full year of pro racing. I’m sure yesterday was a day they will never forget.

Once the day was finished and all of the good-byes were said, all of the riders and teams made their way to the year end banquet for some laughs, a few well deserved cocktails and to see who might win the year end awards. I won’t talk about what happened after the laughs and cocktails, but here are the list of who won the 2017 awards. Awesome job to all of the winners and to everyone who made this season possible.

Rookie of the Year: Casey Keast

Mechanic of the Year: Robert ‘Gibby’ Pollack

Most Improved Rider: Brock Leitner

Manager of the Year: Adam Robinson

Team of the Year: MX101 FXR Yamaha

Well, that it is for me this week. Sadly, my family will not be heading over to Walton Raceway this week the TransCan. I was hoping to attempt to tie Matt Crown’s record of five +40 titles in a row this week, but that incredible feat is now safe for eternity. And for that record, it couldn’t be held by a better person. I’ve known Matt for a long time and he deserves it for sure. But, with my own racing aside, I’m most sad for the families (including my own) and for the good times that will not be had this week. I understand and agree as to why the Transcan is not happening this summer, but it’s still very disappointing.

However, there are still some big races going on this week for amateurs in Ontario and for the talented group out west. First, there’s the new Huckabucka Slam at Moto Park which begins on Friday. Then out in Kamloops there’s the GNAC at Whispering Pines Raceway. This race promises to be massive with all of the top western riders competing at the same event. Hopefully the forest fires don’t hamper this awesome race which kicks off on Thursday with practice. Good luck to everyone and please ride safe!

Finally, I must mention the big press conference that was held this morning in Barrie, ON. I’m not going to go into to many details right now as I believe today should be more about celebrating our new champions then talking about next year. However, in this press conference Justin Thompson and his JetWerx crew announced this plans for 2018 with regards to Arenacross, Supercross and Outdoor Nationals, all with support from Rockstar Energy. We are definitely living in very interesting times and this was never more evident than this morning’s announcements. We’ll see what unfolds in the next few months as this will no doubt continue to be big news. I hope everyone has a great week and good luck racing this coming weekend.