Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of the Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and I hope that as you read this you’re stuffed with turkey and sitting with family. If you’re not then you’re probably one of the hundreds of Canadians travelling home today from Red Bud with the biggest MXoN hangover ever.
Another USA based MXoN is now in the books and by all accounts it was the biggest party race ever. I think everyone coming into this historic event knew that it was going to be one of the most memorable motocross events to ever be held on USA soil. I’m not sure what the exact attendance numbers were from Friday to Sunday, but even with the rain all weekend I’m sure it was huge. Of course, most people came to watch their team of Eli Tomac, Justin Barcia and Aaron Plessinger end the drought and take home the MXoN title on a track that they obviously knew very well.
For Team Canada, despite losing Kaven Benoit a few weeks ago to injury, we came into this weekend with a great shot at having one of our best International races ever. Our team of Colton Facciotti, Tyler Medaglia and Jess Pettis all came in riding as good or better than they ever have in their lives. All three riders arrived at Red Bud feeling confident about their chances to finish well against the world’s best riders. Also, our team would be racing this event without the added hindrance of jetlag or being in an unfamiliar country. Team Manager Kourtney Lloyd once again had a spacious house rented near the track, and Team Canada enjoyed the support from the large amount of their faithful fans who made the trek to Red Bud for this monumental event.
I know that all of our riders are great mud riders and have proven it time and time again during their careers. With that in mind, you’d think the adverse weather conditions that fell over Red Bud this weekend would ‘ve presented our team with a big advantage. However, the problem with that thinking is that as good as our riders are in the mud, the GP riders are even better. Also, for some strange reason, the track crew at Red Bud set up the circuit in a way that I believe favoured the GP riders. Some of the sections were tamed down a bit, and truck loads of sand were brought in to mix with the clay. As much as the paddock and the atmosphere was still classic Red Bud, I’m sure to the American riders they felt like it was anything but.
Jess Pettis rode great yesterday and finished up in 9th overall in the 250 class. This photo also shows just how sandy the Red Bud track was yesterday. Photo by James Lissimore
Without going into every little, juicy detail about how Team Canada faired on both Saturday and Sunday, let’s just say that our team did this country proud. After a qualifying crash on Saturday injured his shoulder, Colton Facciotti had it taped up and then went out in Moto 1 yesterday, gritted his teeth and had the best International performance of his career. Racing in those conditions, against the best riders on the planet, Colton’s 9th place finish was incredible. Who knows if this was Colton’s final MXoN of his career? If yesterday was his final performance on the world stage then he can ride off into the sunset with his head held high.
For Jess Pettis and Tyler Medaglia, they both rode great all day after getting mid-pack starts in their motos. If you were there or saw highlights, you know that any start outside of the Top 10 meant that you were in for a long and visually impaired moto. With rain falling on and off all day, the Red Bud track wasn’t able to dry into anything that was good for racing. When the track did dry a little for the final moto, only the main line did, which meant it quickly turned one lined. There were a few riders who were able to come through the pack to finish well, but they had to really let it all hang out. Racing in his first ever MXoN event, Jess Pettis soldiered through in the MX2 class to also finish 9th overall. The 250 riders are always in tough in this event as they have to always race against the more powerful 450 machines, but Pettis held his own. To show you how stiff the competition was in the 250 class, Aaron Plessinger, the 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross 250 Champion, finished 8th overall in the MX2 class.
Another glorious weekend that made all of us proud to be Canadian. Photo by James Lissimore
In the end, Team Canada’s 11th overall was very good considering the conditions and some of the bad luck they suffered. As for the home team, well their 6th overall was a difficult pill to swallow, for sure. If the conditions would’ve been dry and the track not altered from its normal state, then yes, I do believe the USA would’ve won or at least had a better shot at victory. However, the conditions were what they were and the other teams and riders were just better. I also think that it hurt the USA riders, and maybe our riders a little too, that there was a Grand Prix just last weekend, so all of those top riders came to Red Bud race ready. The North American riders haven’t raced an outdoor event for over a month. I think our riders did okay with that, but it really seemed to hurt the American riders as they were just off the pace.
So, the 2018 MXoN’s is now part of motocross history. It definitely was an event for the ages and one that will have people telling stories for a long time. Congratulations to Team Canada on their gutty performance yesterday. The entire team should be proud of their finish and how they handled themselves in the face of such adversity. Now it’s back to indoor racing with the Monster Cup this coming weekend in Las Vegas, as well as the next SXTour event on November 3rd in Quebec City. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and thanks for the incredible memories Team Canada.