Greetings! Welcome to another edition of the Monday Gate Drop Column, which is once again sponsored by the fine people at Yamaha Motor Canada. This past weekend in Vancouver, Star Racing Yamaha rider Justin Cooper rode well to qualify second in the SX1 class, he took the win in the Superpole, and then went 5-16-3 in the three main events. An unfortunate crash in the second main event cost him any chance of getting on the SX1 class podium, but he looked great on his new 2026 YZ450F.
So, as I mentioned last Monday, this week I am embarking on my first Western adventure in a long time. First off, it’s been six years I believe, since I’ve spent anytime in the Lower Mainland of BC, almost thirty years since I’ve spent over five days here, and the first time that I have ever planned to spend over a week here; this week, I’m planning on spending eight glorious days in BC. I’m going to take in the WSX race in Vancouver, as well as the opening round of the 2025 West Coast AX Series in Chilliwack and who better to spend the week in BC with, than my longtime friend Ryan Lockhart and his family. Newf has teamed up with Kyle Beaton this year, to run the four rounds of the West Coast AX Series. As I write this I’m relaxing at Casa De Lockhart, enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon as we recover from attending the exciting WSX race in Vancouver. The real work begins tomorrow as Newf and I are heading to Matrix Concepts Canada HQ, to meet up and have lunch with everyone there. Rick Sheren said that he is coming into the office to see me as it’s been years since we have seen each other. After that, Newf and I are heading to the Chilliwack Arena to begin preparing for the opening weekend of Indoor racing in BC. Monday is also known as, “track build day” inside Heritage Arena, so I’ll be able to get my first look at how the track is coming together for Round 1 on Friday. I know from talking to some riders out here that a lot of people are excited for the West Coast AX Series to begin this coming weekend. I expect a solid Amateur turnout as usual, as well as a good Pro rider turnout. Look for names like Rempel, Amyotte, Gibbs, Jurin, Davies, Carroll, and Benek to all be ready to battle when the gate drops on Friday evening.
The first order of business on this trip to the West Coast was the second round of the 2025 WSX Championships at BC Place in downtown Vancouver. Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to attend several different types of SX races. From right here in Canada to the USA, over to Germany, and even in Mexico, but Saturday evening was my first WSX event. I flew out to Vancouver early on Saturday morning and then took the City Train from the Airport to BC Place Stadium. Overall, it was a pretty seamless journey. Once I arrived at the Stadium, I picked up my fancy looking media credential, and proceeded to enter the stadium. The first person I ran into was Caden Lee, who is the mechanic for Ryan Breece of the Moto Concepts Honda Team. Caden filled me in on his previous weekend down in Argentina, as well as his hellish week of travel. Being a factory mechanic at times sounds glamorous, but when you hear certain travel stories and how little sleep they get sometimes, it certainly makes you cringe. Anyway, Caden is living his best life right now, and he wasn’t talking like he was struggling at all, more like it was just a byproduct of his current job. From here, Caden was heading back to California to get everything ready for another trip to Australia, then to Sweden, and finally down to South Africa. Not bad for kid from Walton, ON.
After speaking with Caden and finding my bearings inside the stadium, I made my way up to the lavish press box. I say lavish simply because it had a great view of the track, and all the food and water you could ever want. It was such a great viewing spot that I ended up watching the entire evening of racing from there. Also, before I get into how the racing was, I have to say how great the track looked. I know that several of the top riders were complaining (a little), by the end of the evening, that the track had broken down quite a bit. However, what SX track doesn’t break down throughout the day? Considering the soil (it’s called Glacier Till), that Justin Thompson and the Vision Built crew had to work with, the track was solid all night and provided some great racing and unforgettable moments. First, let’s talk about that great racing.
I thought all six main events were entertaining to watch. In the opening SX2 Sprint Race, Cole Thompson ran fourth, for most of the eight lap race. Cullen Park ended up taking a big run at Cole in the final corner, hitting him so hard that I’m shocked Cole not only remained on two wheels, but also held on for an impressive fourth place. The two riders exchanged some words after the race, I don’t think Cole liked Park’s move. From there, Cole would go 6-8 in the final two SX2 races, and after the racing was done, he told me that he’s struggling right now with the lack of overall power that his KX250 has. He loves the chassis and handling of the green machine, but he wants more torque and horsepower. Cole also mentioned that he’s looking forward to heading Down Under again this week, as he will be racing both the AUS-X Open this coming weekend in Melbourne and then the third round of the WSX Series on the Gold Coast in two weeks. Cole has definitely learned how to manage racing at a high level while suffering through severe jet lag. Max Anstie ended up dominating the SX2 class, winning all three races in Vancouver.
It was great to be in person to watch Eli Tomac debut his new Red Bull Factory KTM in the SX1 class. With a lot of tickets sold in the last two weeks leading up to this race, I don’t think I was the only one that was excited to watch ET3. Well, I’m happy to report that Eli did not disappoint, he looked great right from his first lap on the track. I honestly can’t recall a rider of Eli’s talent and experience, jump on a brand new bike and look this good. It certainly wasn’t the case when he switched from Kawasaki to Yamaha several years ago. It is a great sign for 2026 that with just three weeks on a new bike, suspension that he’s never used before, a steel frame that he’s never rode with before, a new mechanic and new team personal, he can look this comfortable. Even on Saturday night, while on route to winning the overall in the SX1 class, Tomac was jumping things that no other rider, including Ken Roczen-who looked pretty darn good also, was jumping. It was an impressive performance by ET3, and overall a very good night of racing to watch. I mean, it’s not Anaheim 1 or any of the rounds of the Monster Energy Supercross Series, but the WSX events aren’t far off. One thing that I do love about the WSX events are the Superpole races; they take the top four qualifiers from both classes, and have them go out on the track one at a time to see who can do the fastest lap time. I wish the Monster Energy Supercross Series could find a way to add this spectacle to their evening program, it’s very exciting to watch. Now, I’m not sure why the WSX runs the Superpole right after qualifying when the stands are still fairly empty? But, it was still fun to watch the best riders hang it out for one lap.
As I said, I thought it was a great night of racing, and now I’m looking forward to another exciting weekend of indoor racing in Chilliwack. I’m not only excited to watch the racing live, but I’m also excited to line up and race the Vet Class. I’ve always loved riding and racing indoors, and at this stage of my career and life, who knows how many more opportunities I’m going to get to race on cool tracks like this. In all honesty, I haven’t been this excited to race in a long time. Hopefully I’m as excited to talk about it in a weeks time (laughs). Today and tomorrow are track and paddock set up days, and then track rentals begin on Wednesday, and open practice on Thursday. Something tells me that my West Coast adventure is going to go by fast!
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week as we move into the second half of November. My pick for the Motovan Canada Rider of the Week is none other than Eli Tomac! He certainly earned this award on Saturday night as he brought the crowd to its feet on more than one occasion. Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments, please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.
