Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s almost time to sit back, relax, and in this case, ask some of our industry people a few interesting questions. This week we reached out to our readers to see if anyone had a few questions for Ryan Lockhart. As you know, Ryan has been in this industry for over twenty years and during that time he’s been a rider, a mechanic, a riding coach, and most recently the Brand Manager over at Matrix Concepts Canada. Ryan knows a lot about a lot of things and he’s always a great guy to talk to. Here are this week’s 3 Q’s with Ryan Lockhart presented by Matrix Concepts Canada.
MXP: Hey Newf! I actually have two questions for you. First, who do you think wins the opening round in Houston? Also, who do you think ends up winning the 450SX Championship?
RL: Well these are tough questions Palms. History has proven that usually, the winner of the first round doesn’t necessarily mean that they will win the Championship does it? Can Barcia go for three in a row at the opener on the new bike and team? Literally, eight guys have won or could win, not to mention the fast rookies. I’m going to go with a past champion and a guy that is a bit under the radar coming into 2021, Jason Anderson. Not really sure why I’m picking him, but that’s just my gut feeling. As far as the championship goes, man, there are going to be so many factors with Covid testing and the riders trying to remain healthy. Usually, injuries are the biggest factor in these championships, but I believe this year we are going to see top guys miss races because they end up catching the Covid-19 Virus. This would be horrible if a negative Covid test puts a top rider out for a few weeks. However, that is the world we’re currently living in. My pick is Cooper Webb for the 2021 Championship.
Do you like the 2021 Supercross Schedule with the three races in each city on Saturday, Tuesday, and again on Saturday? Also, do you think the riders like it?
I do like it!! Let’s be honest, things are weird and different these days and I think running a schedule like this gives the series the best chance of getting in all 17 rounds. From what I read and listen to, it seems like the riders are okay with this. I mean if they want to keep their job there they don’t have a choice. I believe this type of schedule brings out some different strengths in the riders as far as making quick changes and being able to rebound from let’s say a bad race. They don’t have time to go back to the test track and search for answers. They need to regroup and make it happen a few short days later.
The 250SX East Series is pretty stacked with riders like Jett Lawrence, Austin Forkner, and Christian Craig. Where do you think Jess Pettis will fit into this fast group of 250SX riders at Houston and in the series final results?
First of all, I will start by saying how proud I am of Jess for investing in himself and stepping out of his comfort zone, and taking his career to the next level. The field is stacked no question, but I feel that he will fit into that 8-12 group without any problem. That might be on the conservative side, but man that class is tough. He has all of the tools though so perhaps he can be a consistent Top 5 guy? He’s a good bike, he’s on an awesome program, and he has good people around him, so he could be really, really good in this series. He’s been riding at the Baker’s Factory with the world’s best riders so you know he’s as ready as he can be. The goal for him should be Top 10 in all of the mains and that would give him a good overall finish in the championship. Regardless, I’m a member of the Jess Pettis fan and can wait to cheer him on come Saturday.
