Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good day and welcome to another Holiday edition of the Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop. We are now just two weeks away from Christmas Day and the annual visit from Santa Claus. If you haven’t finished your shopping then you should head on out to your nearest Honda dealership and load up on some last minute gifts.
So before we get into my news from the past week, I first want to send my condolences to Kevin Tyler and his family on the passing of his mother, Daphne. Like any decade, each one produces endless memories and when we look back on that period of time, there are a group of people that always stand out – sort of like a sorority or a special club. During the 1990s, Kevin and his parents travelled to all of the big races regardless of where they were located. At both indoor or outdoors races, it really didn’t matter, the Tyler family was there with smiles on their faces. Kevin’s mom and dad were also so supportive of not just their son but to all of the riders. In the mornings prior to the beginning of the long and stressful race day, they could always be seen and heard wishing all of their son’s competition good luck. To hear that Kevin’s mom has passed away is truly sad and we wish his entire family all the best. I’m so glad that she was able to see her son fulfill his dream of winning a championship this past summer with Shawn Maffenbeier. Those memories will never fade away!
We’re all thinking of you and your family KT.
Whenever things like this happen to people close to us, it definitely makes everyone pause and take stock in what we have. Growing up, my Mom certainly didn’t have it easy. With my Dad being an airline pilot, his job obviously involved a lot of travel and time spent away from home. With three kids to look after, I’m sure my Mom struggled at times to keep her sanity. Throw in stressful activities like farming, motocross, and also the fact that her husband was doing his job 37,000 feet above the earth, you can imagine that it wasn’t all fun times at the Pomeroy household while I was growing up. However, when I look back and think about my childhood, my Mom (and my Dad) did the absolute best with what they had and I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today without them. I actually remember one time back when I was in the Junior class looking over to where my Mom was standing prior to the start of one of my motos. The look of absolute fear in her face was surprising to me as to me the moment didn’t feel that scary. After the race I asked why she looked so scared before my start, did she think I was going to get hurt? Her reply was in true parental style, as she said, “I cannot put it into words Christopher, it’s only a feeling that you feel when you’re a parent.” I shrugged it off at the time and thought she was just being over protective of her first born son. I’m sure you know where this story is going now. It happened to me at Gopher Dunes just prior to the gate dropping for my son’s first ever race. While I don’t think I looked as scared as my Mom used to look those years ago, inside it was like my entire life was passing before my eyes. So to all of the moms and the dads out there, thank-you for helping your kids get to where they are today, and sorry that us kids sometimes put the fear of God in you.
Blake Baggett was absolutely flying last week on the KTM test track. Photo by James Lissimore
As I mentioned in my last week’s Gate Drop, my week was spent in sunny and windy California hanging with both the fine people from KTM and also Husqvarna. It was a great few days and a trip that I won’t soon forget. On Monday, we spent the morning at KTM’s newest creation, their recently constructed Supercross test track, located a stone’s throw from their headquarters in Murrieta. This new track has been named “RD Field” in honour of course of newly retired Ryan Dungey. The multi-time champion was also in attendance and actually helped unveil the new 2018 Factory Edition KTM 450SX-F model. After going over all of the features on this new bike, all three factory supported teams took to the track for an entertaining 45-minute practice session. All of the North American motocross media was there, including a large group from Europe. It was a great day and a great opportunity to just sit back and study the way these top riders attack a SX track.
Not the greatest photo, but the Canadian crew of JSR, Claudie Lapointe, James Lissimore, Billy Rainford, Steve Beattie and myself were making the most of our time in California.
From there, we moved to Cahuilla Creek Raceway on Tuesday for a KTM ride day. Now, I’ve heard people talk about how windy it can be in California, and we all saw on the news this past week the wild fires that engulfed more than one neighbourhood. However, to feel this wind in person while trying to ride a dirt bike over jumps was pretty insane. Also, you always hear about the Santa Ana winds being warm. Well, with the Cahuilla Creek track being situated above 3500 feet, these winds were not warm at all and the phrase ‘Wind Chill” came to mind the moment we stepped out of the car. Anyway, as annoying as the winds and the cool temperatures were, to be out riding in December in California was something that I’m sure every rider dreams about, so please don’t take this as complaining. We all had a great few hours of riding, and once you were on the track, the strong winds actually weren’t too bad.
The view from the 70th floor of the US Bank building in downtown Los Angeles was pretty awesome.
After riding on Tuesday, it was time to make our way to downtown Los Angeles for the Husqvarna media launch of their newest bike, the 2018 Rockstar Edition FC450. This media launch and party definitely had more of an urban feel to it as it was on top of the US Bank building in downtown LA. This skyscraper sits at just over 1,000 feet above Los Angeles and is the tallest building in California. Actually, according to my research, it’s the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. On the top floor is where the Husqvarna party was located and again it was the place to be in the motocross world. With the help of Jeff Emig on the mic, this new Rockstar Edition 2018 FC450 was unveiled to the media. This awesome bike is Husqvarna’s version of the KTM Factory Edition 450 (with a few subtle changes) and it sure does look cool. I also had a chance to speak with Dean Wilson about his recent around the world SX trip, as well as his upcoming season. All of the Husqvarna riders were super laid back and they all made themselves accessible to the media. This building was so tall that from the outside observation deck you could see the glow of the fires that were burning just north of LA in Bel Air. It was definitely scary to see those devastating fires so close to such a large city.
I had a great chat with Dean Wilson during the media launch of the 2018 Rockstar Edition Husqvarna FC450.
With the media events wrapped up, it was time to make my way home and back to cold Canada. Other than the obvious excitement with the new bikes, last week really got me excited for the 2018 Monster Energy SX Series to begin next month. After watch Blake Baggett and Marvin Musquin ride, and then listening to Dean Wilson and Jason Anderson talk about how they’re feeling, I cannot wait for the gate to drop. Also, last week Feld Entertainment released the track maps for the 2018 season. Here is the map of the track the riders will be racing on at the opening round in Anaheim.
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week and an enjoyable few weeks prior to Christmas. Please be safe and stay warm! Finally, to all of our Canadian riders that are heading south to ride in the near future, safe travels and have fun riding.
