Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good day and welcome to another edition of the Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop. With the opening round of the 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals presented by Motovan just six sleeps away, the Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing Team is on the road to Kamloops and ready to challenge for both the MX1 and MX2 Championships. The talented duo of Colton Facciotti and Dylan Wright have been preparing for 2017 national series since the beginning of the year, so they’re more than ready for the gate to drop. We want to wish the GDR Team good luck this summer and we also would like to thank Honda Canada for their continued support.
The first turn at Glen Helen is one of the coolest sights in our sport. Photo by Krystyn Slack
Before I talk about this weekend and what is going down in Kamloops, BC, let me first talk about what happened on Saturday at one of the roughest tracks in the USA. Round two of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships took place at the famous Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California. With this track being a test track for almost all of the pro teams in the series, you would think that every rider would have it dialed in. However, like we’ve seen so many times in our sport, just because a track is in a certain condition for weekly practice, doesn’t mean it’s that way when a national comes to town. I remember back in the 1990s, a few of us Ontario riders used to practice at RJ’s in Barrie on Wednesdays. Because of this, you would think that we would’ve had the track figured out come race day. Well, as you can imagine, the track was always different whenever a national would take place and it felt like we were riding on a completely different track. Not that the layout was different, it was just the extra time that went into the preparation of the track. Anyway, it must have been like that for Glen Helen as on Saturday the track look rutted and very difficult. I will put the results below so you can see for yourself, but Glen Helen has to be one of the most brutal rounds of the series as so many riders were inconsistent at Round two. I actually don’t ever remember seeing anything like this before, whether it was because of a crash or a mechanical failure, a lot of riders had trouble putting two good motos together. If Round one in Hangtown didn’t do it, then Saturday at Glen Helen proved that this series is going to be a dog fight in both classes as so many riders are going fast! After two rounds in California, the series now moves East to the mile-high city for Round three in Colorado.
Results from Glen Helen:
450MX Class
1. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 1-3
2. Jason Anderson (Husqvarna) 5-1
3. Blake Baggett (KTM) 8-2
4. Dean Wilson (Husqvarna) 6-7
5. Weston Peick (Suzuki) 9-6
6. Cole Seely (Honda) 7-8
7. Broc Tickle (Suzuki) 14-4
8. Justin Bogle (Suzuki) 12-5
9. Eli Tomac (Kawasaki) 2-19
10. Josh Grant (Kawasaki) 3-28
11. Justin Barcia (Suzuki) 13-10
12. Christian Craig (Honda) 4-29
13. Martin Davalos (Husqvarna) 16-9
14. Justin Hoeft (Yamaha) 11-14
15. Fredrik Noren (Honda) 15-11
16. Dillan Epstein (Kawasaki) 18-12
17. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) 10-34
18. Heath Harrison (Yamaha) 21-13
19. Dakota Alix (KTM) 19-15
20. Josh Mosiman (Husqvarna) 24-16
21. Toshika Tomita (Honda) 25-17
22. Cody Cooper (Honda) 17-31
23. Ronnie Stewart (Suzuki) 26-18
24. Dakota Tedder (Kawasaki) 38-20
25. Zach Bell (Honda) 20-37
26. Austin Kouba (Kawasaki) 29-22
27. Alex Ray (Yamaha) 28-25
28. Brandon Scharer (Yamaha) 23-33
29. Thales Vilardi (Husqvarna) 33-24
30. Morgan Burger (Honda) 37-23
31. KJ McKenzie (Yamaha) 34-26
32. Connor Pearson (KTM) 40-21
33. Rhys Carter (Kawasaki) 22-39
34. Bryce Stewart (Honda) 35-27
35. Deven Raper (Kawasaki) 31-32
36. Dylan Schmoke (KTM) 27-36
37. Cheyenne Harmon (Suzuki) 36-30
38. Zach Williams (Honda) 32-35
39. Dylan Merriam (Yamaha) 30-38
40. Nick Schmidt (Suzuki) 39-40
250MX Class
1. Zach Osborne (Husqvarna) 4-2
2. Jeremy Martin (Honda) 1-7
3. Dylan Ferrandis (Yamaha) 9-1
4. Adam Cianciarulo (Kawasaki) 7-3
5. Colt Nichols (Yamaha) 5-4
6. Alex Martin (KTM) 6-5
7. Aaron Plessinger (Yamaha) 3-13
8. Michael Mosiman (Husqvarna) 8-10
9. Joey Savatgy (Kawasaki) 2-29
10. Mitchell Harrison (Yamaha) 13-8
11. Shane McElrath (KTM) 12-9
12. Sean Cantrell (KTM) 10-11
13. Austin Forkner (Kawasaki) 38-6
14. Nick Gaines (Yamaha) 15-15
15. Lorenzo Locurcio (Yamaha) 17-14
16. Bradley Taft (Yamaha) 14-17
17. Jimmy DeCotis (Honda) 11=34
18. Justin Hill (Kawasaki) 40-12
19. Gustavo Souza (Honda) 20-16
20. Mark Worth (Yamaha) 18-18
21. Luke Renzland (Yamaha) 16-33
22. Jerry Robin (Yamaha) 19-19
23. Bradley Lionnet (Kawasaki) 21-20
24. Cody Williams (Yamaha) 22-22
25. Stone Edler (Yamaha) 26-21
26. Nico Izzi (Yamaha) 23-24
27. McCoy Brough (Honda) 28-23
28. Vann Martin (Honda) 27-27
29. Mason Wharton (Kawasaki) 30-25
30. Deegan Vonlossberg (Yamaha) 29-26
31. Josiah Hempen (Yamaha) 24-32
32. Cole Zitterkopf (Yamaha) 32-28
33. Joachim Falden (Yamaha) 25-35
34. Garret Ioppolo (Yamaha) 31-30
35. Cameron McAdoo (Honda) 33-31
36. Jon Ames (Yamaha) 35-36
37. Branden Leith (Kawasaki) 34-38
38. Ravis Bell (Honda) 37-37
39. Kyle Cunningham (Suzuki) 36-40
40. Mitchell Oldenburg (KTM) 39-39
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory rider Jason Anderson went 5-1 for second overall at Glen Helen. Photo by Krystyn Slack
With the AMA pro nationals underway, we turn our attention to the series that everyone in Canada has been waiting for. Round one of the 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals get underway this weekend in beautiful Kamloops, BC. The weather forecast for this coming weekend in the Kamloops area looks to be perfect for racing. If you remember last year, it was very hot at Whispering Pines Raceway and the rider’s fitness was put to the test right away. The forecast definitely doesn’t appear to be as hot as last year so the racing should be that much better. For 2017, the track is also back to running in its normal direction so that should make all the riders happy. Last year, they ran the track backwards and it didn’t really seem to flow properly, especially turns two and three right off the start. Anyway, that is a thing of the past as this weekend we’re back to the way it’s supposed to be. I have never personally ridden on the Whispering Pines track, but I can tell you that it looks like a very challenging track to ride on. It’s made up of mostly sand so it gets very rough. It doesn’t get rough like Gopher Dunes as the Whispering Pines tracks has a harder base, but it definitely does get rough. I remember asking Davi Millsaps last year during my post race interview what he thought of the track. He told me that it was one of the roughest tracks he has ever raced on. He also mentioned that during the second moto there was almost zero smooth lines on the race track. With this in mind, I think we’re in for a great weekend of racing to kick this series off in 2017.
Davi Millsaps was one of the riders to beat last year at the opening round in Kamloops. Photo by James Lissimore
With a very difficult track in front of them, which riders do you think will come out swinging on Sunday and will try to make an early statement in this series. Last year we saw Dylan Wright and Matt Goerke win the opening motos of the year in the MX2 and MX1 classes, however, when the day was over it was Shawn Maffenbeier and Davi Millsaps who stood on top of the podiums. Obviously, you cannot win the title at the opening round, but you sure can serve notice that you’re fit and ready to win. In 2016, I think Millsaps really impressed everyone with the speed and aggression he showed in the opening rounds of the series. To his credit, Millsaps had done his homework and he knew that since the tracks and the conditions get a little more challenging in the East, he knew he had to win early and build up a points cushion in the early rounds. Will any of the 2017 series top riders follow in Millsaps’ footsteps and take this approach in the first four West rounds? Back in the early 2000s, this is the exactly what JSR used to do when he won his five MX1 titles in a row. So, with that in mind, I would expect JSR’s KTM Team riders Cole Thompson and Kaven Benoit to try and do exactly this in Kamloops. With so many fast riders in both classes, this summer is no doubt going to produce some incredible racing, and it all gets underway this weekend in Kamloops. Also, don’t forget the 2017 CMRC Western Canadian Women’s Nationals has their first gate drop on Saturday, so that will be exciting also. The opening round of any series is always very exciting. So many questions and so many new things to see, I can’t wait to arrive at the track early on Saturday morning and take my first walk through the paddock. As I said, only a few more sleeps until the 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals gets underway!
RIP Nicky Hayden
I hope everyone has a great week and also a safe week riding. In some sad news, the racing world will get to say good-bye to Nicky Hayden today as the legend’s funeral will be held in his hometown in Kentucky. It has been hard to miss the outpouring of emotions this past week to the news of Hayden’s death. He had most certainly touched so many people on and off the race track, from MX to NASCAR, fellow racers have sent their condolences via social media to Hayden’s family. Nicky Hayden will be missed so much by everyone who knew him, and by everyone who followed his career. The best quote I heard regarding Nicky Hayden during the past week was one that stated that not only was Nicky a great racer, but more importantly he was just a great human. RIP Nicky Hayden!!
