FXR Racing Presents Inside Line With Andy White

Round two in Nanaimo, BC is in the books and I don’t think anyone would have predicted how things went down. Who would have guessed it would be that stinking hot on the island? The locals said it never gets this hot. Global warming I guess. This round is known for hard pack and rocks, and then you add the dust due to the hot, dry weather to the equation, I don’t think too many riders really enjoy this track due to the terrain, but “hey” it’s on the schedule!

Let’s start with the Women’s class; another strong turnout for Round two. I think I counted approximately 30 bikes on the line this year and that is up from last year. Denaye Giroux and her crew did a great job securing sponsors for the 2015 CMRC Western Canadian Women’s Nationals. They have Holeshot Hard Charger awards, and pay out as well. FXR Racing kicked in some swag for the ladies to pick from as well. It sounds like this class is getting stronger. Kennedy Lutz, Sara King and Rachel Springman are the girls to watch up front. Not far behind is the next group of Brittany Danyluk, Jamie Munro and Dominque Daffe. These girls are hauling and we saw great battles going on from start to finish.

We move on to the MX2 class. Most riders say said they hope to come out of Nanaimo with as many points as possible, or at least survive the weekend to make it to Round 3. When you talk to Royal Distributing/Fox/KTM rider Kaven Benoit, he tells you a different story. He looks forward to this event and will tell you that he has always done well on this track. The results speak for themselves. Two years in a row Kaven has been the overall winner. If you asked most riders if they had a choice of riding a two-stroke or four-stroke at Nanaimo, 99% would pick the four-stroke any day of the week. Kaven showed them that he was ready for the Wastelands. Kaven basically ran away with both moto wins.

Not too far behind him was Mr. Consistent, Jeremy Medaglia, on his GDR/ Honda/ TLD. Jeremy looks really comfortable on his new ride. He got great starts and pushed right through to the last lap. If Jeremy is smiling at the end of the day you know he is happy with his results. Rounding out the top three was Shawn Maffenbeier on his Rockstar/OTSFF/ Yamaha. I’m sure Shawn was feeling much better this weekend than his time in Kamloops. Shawn has the speed and he showed it in moto one, finishing not far off Jeremy. Moto two was not that good, but with a 2-7 for a 3rd overall, who is complaining? Rounding out the top five were Brad Nauditt going 6-5 and Morgan Burger with a 7-6. Other quick notes: great weekend for BC rider Jesse Pettis on his Vernon Yamaha going 5-8 for a 6th overall.

Points leader Jimmy Decotis was blazing fast in practice but had a few issues with some engine problems. He had dropped out and DNF’d moto 1. With a DNF you get last gate pick so he had his work cut out for him. The Rippa put his head down and charged to the front and was able to finish 4th to get some valuable points to keep him in the hunt for the championship.

I would have to say the first 450 moto was one of the best races I have seen in years. I had no idea who was going to cross the line first, between Cole Thompson, Matt Georke and Colton Facciotti. These three riders were swapping positions the whole day. The rider that impressed me most was Matt Goerke. This guy broke his collarbone only six weeks ago. Matt was on a mission and he wanted it bad. Moto one he almost won except he stalled his Yamaha while trying to pass the leader, Cole Thompson. Cole got the lead because Colton stalled his Honda while leading. This usually doesn’t happen but today it did. Moto 2 while Cole Thompson was leading, he stalled his bike and handed the lead to Matt. I was a little surprised that Brett Metcalfe, last week’s winner, wasn’t on pace with the leaders. I think it was just due to bad starts. His speed was there but it’s really hard to win a race when you start back in 20th. I am happy to see Cole Thompson rebound from his mediocre weekend in Kamloops and take the overall win in Nanaimo. Cole did say he hurt his back after hitting Brett’s Kawasaki last week in moto 1, but feels way better after resting this past week. How about Tyler Medaglia, our Canadian Mike Brown, had his Husky working really well. I was impressed that he kept the leaders in sight all weekend; not his favourite track. I am sure he can’t wait to get to the east coast. Good job Tyler!

Next weekend will be interesting as Mike Alessi and his teammate Vince Freise will be making an appearance at Calgary. This will surely add some more spark to the MX1 class. See you at the races.