Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
It’s always an exciting time when we welcome in a new year as it always provides us with new opportunities as well as a fresh start. Well, here we are in the early part of 2022 and we’re back with some more weekly questions for Ryan Lockhart. As you probably know, Ryan has been in the industry for over two decades and during that time he’s worn many hats. We believe it’s this experience as well as his fun-loving nature that makes his insight so valuable and so entertaining. So as we all guide our way through the first part of 2022 here is this week’s Matrix Concepts Canada 3 Q’s with Ryan Lockhart.
MXP: Hey Newf, let’s start with Cole Thompson. In San Diego, he finally cracked the Top 10 in 250SX West main event. What did you think of Cole’s finish as well as his great ride in his heat race?
RL: It’s been cool to watch him get better each round that’s for sure. He had to work to get into a transfer position in that heat race so it was nice to see him dig deep as I feel this ride was one that typically we would see Cole maybe just write it off and get ready for the LCQ. Nope, he made it happen. Watching him there is no question that he is riding well within his limits out there and he has said that in a roundabout way but a Top 10 is good. Can he do better? Well, he is going to have to hang it out and I’m not really sure if he is willing to do that in his position. I don’t personally see anything better than an 8th or 9th coming out of him with the risk he is willing to take, but smooth and consistent will always help him as far as being in the mix when the other guys make mistakes. If I’m Cole I’m shooting for another Top 10 at A2 but trying not to go a lap down to the leaders.
MXP: In the 450 class Chase Sexton finally got it done and took the win. He made it look easy. Do you think that he and Anderson have a little speed on the rest of the pack right now?
He did make it look easy, didn’t he? Anderson was coming but the bike issue changed that plan real quick and props to Jason for limping the bike to the finish cause a DNF would have been tragic. Yes, it would seem that Sexton and Anderson have a little more speed right now but I’m still sticking to what I said before about Tomac. He keeps getting better every week and his time is coming. I felt like he was going to make a run early on Sexton at San Diego but he seemed to settle. With eight guys all being so good right now the start has never been more important. But for me, if Sexton or Anderson get out front early they will be hard to impossible to catch with the raw speed they’re both showing.
MXP: Seeing as you’re a former rider and now an industry person. What type of things could our pro riders do to promote themselves better and build their brand awareness up. In the USA we’re seeing a few of the top riders doing weekly Vlogs that are very entertaining.
I really like the Vlogs, to be honest, but to do them properly costs some money and they are a lot of work. For our guys up here, I have said over and over again that these guys need to race. Now when I say that I’m leaning towards more of our privateer guys who are trying to get more support from companies or noticed from teams. You’re not doing yourself any favours by just racing the Triple Crown Series and then going into hibernation until the series starts up again. It’s frustrating to hear the bitching and complaining from some of these guys yet they’re not out there racing and staying relevant. Go and be a hero at the local level, it will go a long way and you will not convince me otherwise. Also, you need to build relationships with local dealers and local tracks, it’s so important in the big picture. I know we come from a different era Palms but back then every riders program went through a dealer. Maybe people don’t realize it yet but look around at our sport right now in Canada, times are tough and we’re pretty much back to how things used to be.
