Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good day and welcome to this week’s edition of the Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop. I hope everyone had a great weekend regardless of what it was that you did. Whether it was just hanging out with family, working, or maybe even getting that final ride of the season in, I hope the second to last weekend in October was good to you and your family.
After spending all of last week in Calgary visiting my brother, I made it back home just in time for the weekend. My time in Calgary was great as the weather was spectacular. After some early October snow that made headlines across Canada, last week the skies were clear and the temperatures hovered around 18c for the days that I was there. I also had my son with me so we had a good time hanging and seeing a few of the cool things that Calgary has to offer. On Tuesday, we met up with young 65cc rider Dexter Seitz and headed to the B-Line indoor bicycle park. This place is a slightly smaller version of the Joyride150 indoor bicycle park in Markham, ON, and if you ever get a chance to go, I highly recommend it. For three hours Dexter and my son shredded out some sessions (that is how you have to talk when you’re at one of these indoor parks) and they had the time of their lives. It was definitely money well spent and it’s cool that Calgary has something like this for riders of all ages. With the weather being so nice in Calgary last week, the Wild Rose track was able to open for the locals to do some riding. So, on Wednesday evening we headed out to this famous track to watch Dexter, Keylan Meston and Rylan Bly pound out some laps on the Wild Rose hill track. I must admit it was a little strange being there during this time of the year as I’ve only ever been to that track during the national. To see the paddock almost empty and the main track not groomed was different, for sure. The hill track was in decent condition, however with the early evening October sun pretty much eye level it made riding difficult.
The boys had a great time last week at the B-Line Indoor bicycle park in Calgary.
I also ran into Dave McGregor who was out riding his Husqvarna and we had a good chat about the Wild Rose track and how much it obviously means to the local riding scene in the Calgary area. Dave was letting me know that the City of Calgary’s interest in once again having another Olympic Games is bad news for the Wild Rose motocross facility. If they decide to proceed with their Olympic bid and actually get the 2026 winter games, the city wants to turn the Wild Rose MX track property into bus parking for the games. This would obviously be the end to one of the most unique MX tracks in the world and bad news for Canadian motocross. Hosting an Olympic Games is very cool, and the last time the event came to Calgary in 1988 it was very well received. But these days it seems like the massive costs outweigh the benefits to the host city and the host country. I suppose that little piece of land that the Wild Rose MX track sits on will eventually be gobbled up by the city at some point in the future, but let’s just hope that it’s later instead of sooner.
So that was my week in beautiful Calgary. After arriving home on Friday evening my son then had a hockey game in our home town on Saturday afternoon. After his game we stayed to watch the following Bantam level game. Ontario rider Luke Tricco was playing for the opposing team from Collingwood. During Luke’s game I was talking to his mom, Wendy, who informed me that this is Luke’s first ever season playing hockey. I thought it was very cool that he’d decided to play organized hockey at this point in his teenage years as it’s not easy to just pick up a new sport. While I was watching Luke play you could see his motocross skills shining through as he was aggressive and his reflexes were lightening quick. He seems to be a quick learner because he improved with each shift that he was on the ice. When the game was over, Luke’s team came up just short on the scoreboard, but he had scored two goals and made a lot of great plays. It always impresses me when you see talented young motocross riders participating in other sports. Regardless of how much you love the sport of motocross and how good you are at it, I think it’s imperative that you play at least one other sport. Maybe make it a team sport so you end of getting the best of both worlds? It doesn’t matter what other sport it is or how serious you are at it, just get out and try something other than motocross. My son, for instance, obviously loves motocross more than anything and nothing gives him the same thrills as motocross. However, he also plays hockey and high-level baseball during the summer and enjoys each sport thoroughly. Each sport requires a different skill set and demands different focus and preparation. As I saw with Luke Tricco on Saturday, even though he’s new to hockey, the skills he has from motocross have already made him a threat on the ice. With our MX season winding down, now is the perfect time to find another sport or two that you enjoy and sign up. You will most likely find that most other sports at the entry level at least are much cheaper than motocross, so finding the means to participate will hopefully be no issue.
Jess Pettis graces the latest cover of MXP Magazine. This issue hits the news stands this week across Canada. Image by James Lissimore
So, what is happening right now in the world of Canadian motocross? Well, we are almost ready to resume the 2018 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series in Quebec City on November 3rd. I think this event is going to be the most successful indoor event of the year for the Jetwerx crew as Quebec has always embraced the sport of AX. I would need hours to tell you all my indoor racing stories from Quebec back in the 1990s. Twenty-five years ago, Quebec City was the centre piece of indoor racing in the Province and I’m sure they’re very excited for next weekend. As far as the riders go, since I can remember, this time of the year has previously been for relaxing and looking ahead to the following season. Not this year as everyone is still practicing and training for the final two rounds of the Triple Crown Series. Even though the riders, who have been at it now for nine months, are running low on energy, and our teams are running low on funds, it’s certainly exciting to still have two big events remaining on our race calendar.
Ryan Dungey was all smiles at the 2018 Red Bull Straight Rhythm event.
This extended 2018 season has also delayed some contract negotiations as teams are waiting for the SXTour to be completed before they figure out which riders to either re-sign or approach. This time around it appears everyone is waiting to see what our two champions from this summer are planning to do in 2019. Both Jess Pettis and Colton Facciotti’s contracts are up, so that has pretty much put everything on hold for other teams to see what riders will be available. For Pettis and Colton, things are pretty clear cut: Pettis wants to stay with the MX101 Yamaha Team for 2019. I mean, why wouldn’t he? However, he wants and deserves a slight raise for his past efforts as well as for how bright his future appears to be. For Facciotti, the ball is in his court as he decides on whether or not he wants to race next year. I think for the most part he does and I’m sure that if he hasn’t already told his GDR Team Manager and close friend Derek Schuster about his feelings, he will be doing so very soon. Right now, I just can’t picture a 2019 series without Colton Facciotti on the starting line. Much like Chad Reed in the USA, I think the Canadian series needs Colton to race at least one more season. Anyway, I’ve heard a bunch of rumours just in the last week of riders possibly switching teams and classes. I guess that’s why they call this the silly season.
We’re sure that everyone in attendance at the 2018 Red Bull Straight Rhythm loved the sound of the two-strokes.
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope most of you caught the Red Bull Straight Rhythm on Saturday evening from California. This two-stroke only Red Bull event was pretty cool, and to see riders like Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey back out there racing each other was awesome. I’m not sure what two-strokes Dungey and the KTM guys were riding, but they sounded like the best two-strokes I’ve ever heard. It was also fun to see those guys riding two-strokes so well on that jump-filled track. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ryan Dungey even ride a two-stroke before. Anyway, as always, this event was entertaining to watch and hopefully next year we can see one of our talented Canadian riders compete for Straight Rhythm glory. I hope everyone has a great week and a safe week!
