Honda Canada Racing Presents the Monday Gate Drop

Good day and welcome to this week’s edition of the Honda Canada Racing Monday Gate Drop. Last week the exciting news finally dropped that five-time Canadian National Champion Colton Facciotti will be returning to the race track in 2019 for one more season of racing. The Honda Canada Racing GDR Fox Team rider will be heading south in a few weeks to begin training for the 2019 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series.

Before I get into the news of the week, let me ask everyone this question: Is there a worst month on the calendar than January? I mean, other than the beginning of the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross Series, this time of year is just boring. So far in Ontario at least, there has been very little snow so all of my snowmobile friends are depressed because they cannot ride their expensive sleds. Of course, during this time of the year we could have a major snowstorm at any time and then I’m sure everyone would complain about how much snow is on the ground. I honestly hate winter, but when there is very little snow and it’s just cold, there is really nothing to do.

This past weekend, the Supercross Series made its way to Glendale for Round 2. After a rainy and muddy opening round, the riders were excited to travel to the dry desert of Arizona. The track in Glendale was the complete opposite of the opening round as it was very fast, not really that technical, and very dry. The design was night and day from Anaheim 1 as State Farm Stadium is mostly used for football, which allowed the track builders to have long straights that filled the floor. I watched the race on television, and as good as the coverage was, I’m sure it didn’t do justice to how fast the riders were actually travelling around the track. With a long whoop section that went almost the entire length of the stadium floor, this was definitely the most pivotal part of the Glendale track. Getting through a long, fast and slippery whoop section with any kind of consistency and speed is the toughest part of racing SX. As we saw on Saturday night, the riders who mastered this section quickly found their way to the front.

Over the past few years there has been a lot of talk about Marvin Musquin and his struggles with these types of sections. Back in December of 2017, the media was invited out to the new KTM SX test track for their 2018 team intros. While we there, we were able to watch all of the KTM Team riders spin some laps on the new track. Of course, one of the sections on the track was a medium length whoop section that none of the riders had ridden through before. The media was allowed to stand about ten feet from this section so we got a clear view of the riders as they came around each lap. These whoops were about three feet deep and very intimidating to look at. As all of the factory KTM riders hit the track for the first rider, who came around was Blake Baggett, who simply grabbed a few gears and blitzed across the top of them with no issues at all. Baggett’s technique was perfect and you could tell he was supremely confident in them. Marvin Musquin, on the other hand, tried to go through them once, almost crashed, and then rode around them for the remainder of the day. At the time, Marvin had just returned from an overseas SX, so I think he was jet lagged and riding a little cautiously that day. However, since that day I’ve watched his technique through whoop sections and he definitely does struggle with them. As we saw in Glendale on Saturday evening, Musquin was okay through the long whoop section, but he was still slower than his competition.

There are a few things that go into a rider getting through a SX whoop section smooth and fast. Bike set-up, proper technique, and a little courage are all a must if you want to get through them like Blake Baggett. If you look at all of the best riders through SX whoop sections, their techniques are quite similar. They all enter the section with speed, a lot of speed, and their body position is fairly neutral with weight distributed evenly over the front and back of their bikes. Also, their knees are slightly bent and squeezing the bike are hard as they can. Then, if you watch Musquin go through a set of whoops, he always appears a little hesitant as he enters them, leaning back a little, thus putting more weight towards the rear of the bike, and his knees are rarely gripping the back the same way his competition is. But this is the way that Musquin rides on most of the track as he has a unique style that not very many top riders have. I don’t think it’s simply a case of just working on this particular section with him, I believe it would take a complete style change for Musquin to be consistently better in the whoops. Next time you’re watching a SX race, try to pay close attention to the body position and knee placement with Musquin compared to say Baggett, or even Chad Reed. There’s s night and day difference.

As Jess Pettis rolled into Glendale for Round 2 of the 250SX West Series, I think it’s pretty safe to say that all of Canada was interested in seeing how he would do. Last weekend in Anaheim, Pettis fought hard to finish inside the Top 10 and that is exactly where he wanted to be at Round 2. After having to qualify for the main event via the stressful LCQ, Pettis got off to an okay start and proceeded to battle with numerous riders. With this track being drier and faster than last weekend, the racing was much different as it was hard to both pass and make up time on other riders. However, like last weekend, or every weekend in SX, it was easy to make mistakes and lose time. With all things considered, I think Pettis rode another strong race in Glendale and his 12^th place finish was decent. The Top 12 riders in the 250SX class are all riding fast and there is simply zero room for error. With Pettis being a good starter, and this coming weekend being the first triple crown event of 2019, he should have another good weekend. Perhaps his best ever!

So, after Blake Baggett’s big win on Saturday night, he moves up to 4^th in the series standings. Ken Roczen, who finished third in Glendale, will carry the red plate into Anaheim 2 as the 450SX points leader. As I mentioned, this weekend is the first triple crown event of 2019, so the shorter main events should provide a lot of action in both classes. I will be flying to Anaheim on Thursday evening so I will be lucky enough to see Pettis and all of the other riders race in person this weekend. Obviously, I’m very excited, and as of now the weather looks great for racing on Saturday.

Well, that is it for me this week. Before I say good-bye, though, I’d like to send my best wishes to Mitch Cooke who had a very bad crash last week down in Florida. Mitch suffered multiple injuries including 12 broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a broken humerus. He also had a long hospital stay as he began his recovery from these serious injuries. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that I hope Mitch heals up quickly and makes a full recovery. That’s it for me this week, thanks for reading and have a great week!

Here is a statement from Malcolm Stewarts team regarding his crash in Glendale:

January 14, 2019 (Spokane, Wash) – “As most of you know, Saturday night in Glendale, while going Mach speed through the whoops pushing to catch the front runners, Malcolm had a big get off.“

“While I am super bummed and disappointed for Malcolm, his family and our group, I am equally grateful and happy that Malcolm’s injury is limited to strictly a broken femur of which the doctors performed surgery on Sunday morning. My gratitude and happiness stems from the experience of having one of my guys lying virtually motionless for some twenty minutes, thirty feet away from me (I was in the managers tower) having no idea the extent of the injury, thinking the worst and having no way to be by Malcolm’s side to support and comfort him. Followed up by Tony and I going to the hospital after the race, only to find Malcolm alert and upbeat, (pain meds may have been working) preparing to eat an In and Out burger, insisting on how he will be back in no time, stronger and better than ever.“

“Unfortunately for Malcolm, his family, MCR, the fans and the whole race community, we are all going to have to patiently wait for Malcolm to recover from his injury and further pursue the excellence he displayed during the first two races of the 2019 season. I wanted to publicly acknowledge how proud I am of Malcolm for the level of commitment and work ethic he has invested into this years SX series.  When looking for a ride this past September he gave Tony and I his word that he was ready to do whatever was required to be prepared to compete at the highest level in the 2019 SX series, all of which he has done to perfection – both on and off the track. To improve his overall fitness and endurance levels, Malcom hired a personal trainer, never missing a training session and constantly pushed himself to reach new fitness levels. Alongside focusing on improved fitness, Malcolm modified his diet and quickly dropped 25 pounds that improved his results on the bike. When it came to testing and riding days, Malcolm was often the first one to the track and handled the rigorous demands the team put on him with a positive and cooperative attitude. Malcolm has been very respectful to work with and brought a lift in our team.“

“So Malcolm won’t get the chance to show the world how hard he worked and the results of his efforts, but I feel it’s only fair to Malcolm to let the world know how proud I am of him on how he chose to become a better racer, role model and man.“

Mike Genova