Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Welcome to another edition of the Monday Gate Drop brought to you once again by Honda Canada Racing. This past weekend it was red as far as the eye could see right across this vast country as we all celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday. This coming weekend at Gopher Dunes, Honda Canada’s big red team, the GDR Fox Racing Team, will be lining up for Round 5 of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals. The team’s talented duo of Dylan Wright and Colton Facciotti are ready to put their red Hondas on top of the podium in the MX2 and MX1 classes.
As I mentioned above, this coming weekend the 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals will resume at what is considered to be the roughest and toughest track in Canada, Gopher Dunes Raceway. With massive amounts of rain falling right across Ontario for the past few months, the Gopher Dunes track should be extra gnarly for Round 5. I remember coming out of retirement in 2009 to race the Gopher Dunes National, because leading up to the race that year we also had a lot of moisture fall. The track that year was absolutely insane with not just its normal roughness, but with the saturated sand; there were deep ruts everywhere. One straight in particular was just a sea of ruts. You had to enter one coming out of a corner and then you were in that rut for the entire straight. It was without a doubt the most difficult track I had ever ridden, and the two motos that day felt like they were an hour long. With more rain expected later this week, I’m expecting the conditions this weekend to be very reminiscent of 2009.
Over the years Kyle Keast has been one of the all time greats at Gopher Dunes with more than a few memorable rides there. Photo by James Lissimore
The good news is, though, that the weekend weather looks great and we’re talking about some of the best sand riders on the planet, so it really doesn’t matter what the track is like, we know that the racing, as always, is going to be incredible. On Saturday, the CMRC Women’s East Series kicks off with what will no doubt be an exciting two motos. There is also a full amateur day on Saturday, so this will be a great opportunity for some of the fast Ontario riders to compete while the factory teams are watching. Then on Sunday at noon, the gate will drop on the first MX2 moto.
Like most people in the industry, I always get excited when the nationals switch coasts at the midway part of the series. With a week off in between Rounds 4 and 5, it gives everyone an opportunity to catch their breath and regroup. With the eastern tracks presenting an entirely different set of challenges to the series riders, the racing is always great. Over the years, Gopher Dunes has always been one of my favourite rounds to attend. I know the track isn’t as exciting to look at as say Calgary or Moncton are, and yes practice is always a little anti-climatic as the riders are just wide open on the relatively smooth track, however, as the first motos get underway and the track begins to transform itself into the beast that it’s famous for, the riders have to quickly figure out the best way around the track. With multiple lines on every section of the track, riders cannot attack Gopher Dunes the same way they do other tracks. When you hear people say that this rider or that rider are good at riding sand, it’s not just about their technique, it’s also about how they see the track and how quickly they figure out where the best lines are.
This is what your bike and body look like after a moto at Gopher Dunes. Photo by James Lissimore
On a sand track like Gopher Dunes, it’s impossible to go fast everywhere. You have to pick your spots and always think ahead to the next section and set yourself up for it. This is the part I love about watching the racing at Gopher Dunes, to sit back and watch the riders dissect the difficult track as they battle each other. Also, I love watching the different techniques that the top riders use to get around a track like we’ll see on Sunday. Matt Goerke, who is one of the world’s best sand riders, will use his long legs to stand up and carry his front wheel over just about every large bump. As we saw last year with Brett Metcalfe, for instance, he was able to keep Goerke close by keeping the bike more level and hopping over as many bumps as possible. On the tighter and more technical sections of the track, Metcalfe’s technique was a little faster, however, on the straights and faster sections, Goerke was superior and was able to hold on for the win. For this year, it will be very interesting to watch Christopher Pourcel and how he attacks the Gopher track. While not quite as tall as Goerke, Pourcel is still pretty lanky so I think he will be comfortable with keeping the front wheel light, standing up everywhere and carrying the front wheel over the large bumps. I will get more into the riders’ contrasting styles later this week in my Gopher Dunes preview, but I can tell you right now that this weekend is going to be one of the best of the series. With a rough track and a line-up of very talented riders, Round 5 is going to be one for the ages.
Young Luke Tricco won this very cool Paint Werx painted Fox helmet for winning the Supermini class at this year’s New Era Moto Park Cup. Photo by Randy Wiebe
This past weekend was not only Canada Day, but it was also the final two rounds of the 2017 New Era Moto Park Cup at the legendary Moto Park track in Williamsford, Ontario. Over the years, MP has hosted just about every type of motocross event from Amateur nationals, Provincials, large media events, moto camps, and even a few MXGPs back in the 1980s. The only event that MP has never hosted (to my knowledge anyway) is a pro national, and that seems very odd to me. Back in the mid-1980s when the track was transformed for the MXGP events, and with such a close connection to the CMA in those days, it’s very surprising that there wasn’t a pro national then. Since then there has been a number of changes to the track and also with the landscape of Canadian motocross, so MP and our pro national series have never really been able to come together for an event. However, fast forward to now and I believe that this facility is primed and ready to host its first pro national. The dirt is better than its ever been, the facility itself is top notch, and the MP crew know how to hold a large event. To make a national work at MP, I think the start has to be altered a little just to make it more fair from the outside gates, and it also needs to be about 15-20 seconds longer, but other than that it’s ready to go!
As you can tell in this Randy Wiebe photo from Saturday at Moto Park, the rain started falling hard during my first Vet +35 moto. Thankfully I was still able to keep my new red Shift gear clean.
Anyway, despite a major rain storm on Saturday morning that turned the track to mud, the final weekend of the MP Cup was awesome. The rain actually came during my first moto on Lap 2. It started as just a light mist, but within a lap the skies opened up and the rains came down. It was raining so hard that even though I was leading, I quickly went through 14 tear-offs and then had to throw my goggles. After that I could barely see as the water was just pouring into my eyes. I must admit, that even though my new Shift gear was drenched, the track remained pretty good and I was having fun. Thankfully, the rain stopped, and after a few hours the track was back to being in mint condition. Actually, during my second moto, the track was rough, rutted and tacky, and that was when I was thinking that it could be a great pro national track in the near future. Other than that one storm, the weather was decent all weekend long and the track was great. With great racing and a ton of fun had by all, I would say that once again the 2017 New Era MP Cups were a success. Thanks to Iain Hayden and the MP crew for putting together another cool event and for thinking outside of the box.
Well, that is it for me this week. Today is a national holiday and finally the sun is shining in Ontario. I hope everyone had a safe weekend and a great Canada Day. Enjoy your week and I will see you all at Gopher Dunes this weekend. As I mentioned earlier, the racing is going to be incredible and it’s going to be fun to hang out with all of the die hard Ontario moto fans! See you at the track and ride safe.
