Honda Canada Racing Presents the Monday Gate Drop

Good day and welcome to another edition of the Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop. Everyone at Honda Canada Racing hopes that this Canada Day weekend has been a special one for you. In most parts of this great country the weather has been absolutely stunning, so hopefully you were able to get outside and enjoy it. With the summer of 2018 now upon us, it’s time to grab your Honda motorcycle and get out riding!

As I mentioned above, I hope everyone out there had a great weekend doing whatever it was you did. After a wet and cool spring and then a mediocre start to the summer, this weekend in Southern Ontario it finally felt like Mother Nature turned the oven on. I recall that for the past few Canada Day long weekends there was at least one day of rain that dominated the weather forecast, but not so this year. Right from Friday through to today the sun has been out and the temperatures have risen to nearly 35c, even higher if you factor in the humidity. It was definitely a hot and challenging weekend to be doing anything that involved physical exertion.

For my family, as well as many others in Ontario, our weekend was spent at Moto Park for the final two rounds of the ever popular 2018 New Era MPCup. Everyone this weekend, whether it be the riders, pit crew, families, the track crew, or the flaggers, were put to the test as we all did our best to deal with the heat and try to stay cool. Between myself, my wife, and our son, who raced eight motos over the two days, we drank roughly 20 Litres of water (and two slushies). It was definitely a tough weekend to be racing a dirt bike and every rider who lined up in the heat this weekend had my respect. Anytime the conditions are abnormal it adds a different element to the racing. Last year at this race it was rain and mud, this year it was the heat. I do remember from my racing days, and then I saw it again in my son’s eyes after his final hot moto yesterday, it was the look and feeling of true satisfaction. Knowing that you did a great job despite some very extreme conditions. I know that my son, although he was pretty tired, felt great about himself last night as he went to bed; I hope that every other rider did also. Thanks again to the entire crew at Moto Park for another great race weekend.

Seth Hughes was one of the fast riders this past weekend at Moto Park. I love listening to these kids ripping on their two-strokes. Photo by Austin Watling

With no racing licences required for these MPCup events, they always seem to bring out a few riders and families that normally don’t race. There were numerous times this weekend when I was walking through the paddock and noticed kids and their families (sometimes their bikes barely had numbers on them) hanging out and enjoying all that a race weekend has to offer. We’ve all been there as we all had to start somewhere. I remember my first race like it was yesterday, coincidentally it was at Moto Park. I recall the feeling of sitting there with my dad, not really knowing anyone or having any idea what to expect. Even back then the racing world appeared to be so large and any type of success seemed completely unobtainable. I wouldn’t say it was quite like Christopher Columbus setting out for the new world without really knowing if the world was flat or not, but in my mind at least, the feeling was pretty darn close. At the time, all I could rely on was my dad’s comforting words, “Just go and do it and see what happens”. Well, I did it and obviously survived! What followed has been four decades of building some pretty incredible memories. I’ve had some great times, some okay times, and I’ve had my share moments that I wish I didn’t remember. But my love and respect for this sport, as well as for most of the people in it, has always remained my guiding light. And it all came from just taking my dad’s advice and lining up behind the gate (it was a frontwards falling gate in those days). This past weekend I stopped to talk to a few of these families who were just starting out, and while I didn’t bore them with the long version of my story, I did echo my dad’s advice to them to just go out and give it a try.

Look for the calm, cool and very fast Jake Tricco making his pro debut this weekend at Sand Del Lee. Photo by Austin Watling

So with the Canada Day long weekend almost history, we now turn our attention to Round 5 of the 2018 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown MXTour Series this coming at Sand Del Lee. Our national series hasn’t visited this great track for a few years so it should be exciting to return. With two weeks off to prepare for these next two very difficult rounds, the riders and the teams should be ready to battle. Not that it needs it as the racing has been incredible during the first four rounds, but the 250 Pro/Am class is getting a new rider for the east. Young Jake Tricco, who has been tearing up the Intermediate class here in Ontario in 2018 will be lining up this weekend. For those of you who haven’t seen him ride I can tell you that Tricco is very fast and very fit. For the past five years he’s been very well trained by the folks at Moto Park, and under the watchful eye of Iain Hayden and Drew Robertson his racecraft has excelled. Jake also comes from a great racing family who has supported him through the good times as well as the bad times. Tricco certainly doesn’t lack speed, talent, fitness or confidence as he gets ready for this first ever pro national. At this stage in his career, he’s exactly where he should be at. I think it’s great that he’s decided to get his feet wet in these upcoming eastern nationals. Experience is something that you cannot buy or lease, you simply have to earn it. These next two weekends without doubt are going to be the most difficult races that Jake Tricco has ever faced. He will be racing against mostly men who count on good results to help make a living. They’re fast, tough, and they have very little time for a kid attempting to race his first few pro nationals. Whether it’s lap one or the final lap, Tricco will be battling for survival. However, I honestly see him doing okay as the one thing he has in spades is pure talent. When you’re going to be in the position that Tricco will be in this coming Saturday at SDL, pure talent can be like an ace up your sleeve. With the good raw speed that Tricco has, he should qualify well on Saturday. This will lead to a good gate pick for a start that really favours the riders on the inside. From there, a good gate pick could lead to a good start, then if a good start is followed by 20 minutes of good strong riding; you just never know what could happen. It should be interesting and will no doubt be another great story line for the eastern half of the Triple Crown MXTour Series. Good luck to Jake and all of the riders this weekend.

Heal up soon Mike Alessi and we hope to see you back on the track real soon. Photo by James Lissimore

In other news, sadly it was announced late last week that Mike Alessi will not be racing in the east. The new father suffered a bad shoulder injury in a practice crash and will now be off of the bike for a few months. At times during the first four rounds, Alessi showed some very good speed in the 450 class, but was it enough to get him a ride in 2019? Does Alessi even want to race again next year? Both are very interesting questions that will no doubt get answered by the end of the year. I guess on the bright side Mike is now able to spend some time at home while he and his wife guide their first child through the first few months of her life. Heal up Mike and we hope that we haven’t seen the last of you racing in Canada.

Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week and I hope our young kids enjoy their first week of summer holidays. I will be packing up the family on Friday morning to travel east to Ottawa for Round 5 at Sand Del Lee. The weather looks absolutely perfect for this coming weekend so all should be great at SDL. Have a good week and I will see you at Round 5. In closing, I also want to wish my wonderful mother a very happy birthday tomorrow. I’m sure I’ve taken a few years off of her life with some of my antics, but she’s remained healthy and happy and I hope she has a great birthday!

Happy Birthday Mom!!