Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good day and welcome to another edition of the Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop. With summer weather still blanketing much of Canada, our 2018 riding season is still full steam ahead. With the tracks now in excellent condition, getting out to ride now is an absolute must. Also, with all of the 2019 Hondas released, now is the perfect time to head out to your local Honda dealer to pick up a new Honda. Before I get into the news of the week, here is a very cool Austin Watling video that he made for the GDR Honda Fox Racing Team to celebrate Colton Facciotti’s 5th 450 Championship.
As I mentioned last week, this Gate Drop is coming to you all the way from Osaka, Japan. I flew over yesterday for the Global Media Launch of the all-new 2019 RMZ250. For the past few years Suzuki Canada has been a little off of the radar (to say the least) as far as their presence in Canadian motocross. However, with some new leadership and a bright new vision, Suzuki Canada wants to slowly get back into racing. With a new RMZ450 introduced this year and a new RMZ250 for 2019, the RM Army is ready to go. Today we will be introduced to this new Suzuki and then tomorrow we head out to the test track to go for a ride. It’s always exciting testing out new bikes, and to be able to do it on another Continent is pretty cool. It was definitely a long 13-hour flight to get here, but once I landed and saw Japan for the first time, the reality of just how exciting this adventure is really hit home. Look for a complete rundown on this new 2019 RM-Z250 later in the week.
Introducing the new 2019 RM-Z250
Prior to leaving for Japan I was able to spend the day at Moto Park riding the complete 2019 Yamaha MX line-up. Under blue skies and with perfect track conditions, a few members of the Canadian motocross media had a great day of riding. I was very impressed with the new blue bikes as all the changes Yamaha have made for 2019 seem to work very well. For the past couple of years Yamaha has been making subtle refinements to the YZ450F. Well, I can say this new YZ450F is just a joy to ride. It felt balanced, light and had a very smooth, easy-to-use power output. I’ve always enjoyed riding the updated versions of the YZ450F, but for whatever reason I just never felt completely comfortable on them. With this new Yamaha 450, that negative feeling is a thing of the past. Right from my opening lap I felt really good because this bike now has a predictable feel to it that allows you to feel connected to the track. For the second half of the day I rode the new YZ250F and all I can say is WOW! After riding the 2019 YZ250F it quickly became clear as to why Yamaha is winning a ton of Championships in the 250 class. I will do a write up on this bike later in the week as the 2019 model has a lot of changes and some very cool new features.
Everyone had a great day at Moto Park on Friday riding the 2019 YZ’s. Photo by Peter Marcelli
Later this week, after returning from Japan, I will be heading to Montreal for the long-awaited return of what used to be the biggest race in Canada. This Saturday night is not only the return of the Montreal SX, but it’s also the opening round of the 2018 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown SXTour. This is third and final stage of the Triple Crown and this four-round series will decide which 450 rider will win the big prize of $100,000. Currently, Cole Thompson is leading the Triple Crown points, but Colton Facciotti isn’t too far behind. With indoor racing being Thompson’s specialty, he’s definitely going to be hard to beat. Facciotti, though, is on a roll and you can bet that he also wants to put more money into his bank account after his MXTour championship last month. The gate drops this Saturday evening at one of the oldest stadiums in North America.
The Montreal SX has always held a special place in my motocross sole as it was the first SX I ever raced. Back in 1989, I was a young and super confident 16-year-old who was just one month into his pro career when this race came up on the calendar. Even though it was 29 years ago I can still remember it like it was yesterday. Leading up to the 1989 Montreal SX all of the stars were aligned for me to go and have a good result. At the time I was one of the only riders in Canada who had a SX track to practice on during the week. After winning the 250 Intermediate Championship that July I didn’t really have any big races for the rest of the summer. I knew I was going to turn pro at the end of August and I was so excited to race the Montreal SX in late September, so I took my Dad’s tractor and built myself what was considered to be a ‘good’ SX track by 1989 standards. For most of August and September all I did was ride my SX track until I had it dialed. When I got bored I would build a new section or make a certain section more difficult. At the time I felt like I couldn’t do anything wrong on a dirt bike. Then with just a few days to go before the event my Dad got a call from Dave Gowland asking if he could bring Ross Pederson out to ride with me for a day. Thankfully, my Dad welcomed the idea of me riding with the top Canadian rider at the time, so the next day Davey G and Ross drove up my driveway in their Suzuki box van. Riding with Ross that day was the final piece of the puzzle for my success in Montreal that year as I quickly realized that on a SX track at least, I was faster than Ross. He was a beast and he certainly knew how to muscle a dirt bike around a tight track, but as far as timing and pure SX technique, he was pretty old school. Riding with Ross that day gave me that little extra boost that I needed to go to my first SX, put the rookie nerves in the back of my mind and ride the way I wanted. I would go on to win my semi-final in 1989, and then finish 6th in the main event. Jim Holley won that race and Ross finished right behind me in 7th. After the race I went to say ‘good ride’ to Ross but he wouldn’t even talk to me, he was so mad at his result, and I’m sure the huge smile on my face just pissed him off even more. In the seasons that followed, Ross and I became good friends and we would always joke about how much he hated riding my track that day. Unfortunately, I could never recreate the same success again in Montreal and my best result was an 11th in 1993 and again in 2001.
Supercross racing heads back to Montreal this weekend.
Over the years there have been many memorable moments at the Big O’ in Montreal. Who can forget JSR’s first ever win there in 1996 or his last in 2008? There were a few very popular JSR wins in between, but those stand out as the best, for sure. Dusty Klatt in 2006 was one of the most dominating wins by a Canadian that I ever saw in Montreal as he was incredible that night. I was also there as a 13-year-old in 1986 when there was no roof and it rained. Guy Cooper was so fast in the mud that night as he was still jumping everything.
On a sad note, this year will mark a decade since Blair Morgan’s life changing accident in Montreal. The track that year was set up a little differently, and the way you approached some of the sections just wasn’t right. Had the track been more like it normally was over the years, I don’t think Blair would’ve crashed. That night was such a mix of emotions as on one hand we had to deal with one of the most iconic riders in Canadian moto history getting injured, like Blair did, and then later in the evening JSR unexpectedly won his final main event. I think that was the first ever SX that I cried and cheered all in the same day! Oh, there have been many moments over the history of the Montreal SX, but will its return this weekend be enough to build new ones? Only time will tell I guess.
Well, that is it for me this week. As I write this I’m suffering from a bad case of jet lag and I need to get some rest. I hope everyone has a great week, and trust me when I say this, get out and ride while you still can! Thanks for reading and wish me luck in Japan.
