What a great week of weather we just had in Southern Ontario; sunshine and mild temperatures were with us all week. On Saturday we celebrated my son Ayrton’s 6th birthday and we did it at one of his favourite places – Moto Park. As they’ve done all year, Iain Hayden and his crew put on a great weekend of racing and festivities for everyone to enjoy. When the weather cooperates, there are few things better than fall riding. With only a month or so of decent weather left I hope everyone has a chance to get out and enjoy it.
On Saturday morning I was chatting with Iain when he broke the news to me that Team Canada was headed to the B final on Sunday. The mood was like someone had died as we just sat there in silence processing the info. I guess, like everyone, we had high hopes for the team we sent over. Leading up to the event it looked as though the stars were aligned for Team Canada to do well. Everyone can bench race all they want about why the team didn’t do well again, but in looking at the event as a whole, it really does seem like a bit of a crap shoot. If you draw a poor gate pick for your team’s qualifiers then it’s possible that your bad luck could snowball from there. You’re up against the very best riders that the world has to offer and if you’re stuck on the outside of the gate then a good start is almost impossible. This puts you back in the pack off the start where all the trouble happens. From there anything can happen.
Even though we didn’t do as well as we would have like, it was still great to see our riders flying high in Germany.
Obviously, it would’ve been great if we’d finished in the top ten or even made the A final, but in all reality we as a country should be proud on a number of levels. First off, it was a feat in itself to even get a team over to Germany, second, it was amazing the level of support that the team had over there whether it was the Sarholz team helping out or even the daily Wasp videos, and finally, I don’t think for a second that each member of Team Canada didn’t give their absolute best on Saturday and Sunday. This year it was a huge accomplishment to just be there and be part of it. As a country that produces some pretty good riders, there’s no reason we shouldn’t go to the MXON every year regardless of how we end up on the results page. I mean, going back to my six year-old son, what kind of lessons would we be teaching our kids if we didn’t instill in them that it’s better to try something and fail, than to not try at all.
After a great day at Moto Park on Saturday it was on to London, Ontario for the Parts Canada Dealer Showcase. This event is where Parts Canada invites all of its dealers and the Canadian Media to their Eastern HQ in London to come in for the weekend, set up displays, have meetings and generally do some valuable networking. From the motocross side of our industry there were a lot of people there so it was cool to catch up and see them one last time before the long Canadian off season.
The Monster Energy Leading Edge Thor Kawasaki Team was there in full force. They had almost all of their team personnel there including the race truck and all their bikes. Teddy Maier was there who confirmed that he has re-signed for 2014. That is great news as I thought Teddy was one of the fastest riders this summer but suffered from some really bad luck. The MX101 boys were there, and along with Machine Racing’s John Nelson we did some very entertaining bench racing yesterday. GDR’s Derek Schuster was also there enjoying his last few months of freedom as he is about to tie the knot in November. Actually, his buck and doe is coming up on October 19th in Tillsonburg. There will be a Monster Cup viewing party, great food, a lot of prizes up for grabs and probably a lot of nerdy RC Car talk if Colton Facciotti and Derek are hanging out. There was also a freestyle show, a trials demonstration by Jordan Szoke, and Monster girls so it was a pretty good time. Thank you to Parts Canada for your excellent hospitality yesterday.
So that was what happened this weekend in Ontario and in Germany. If you follow any of our Team Canada riders on Twitter, please send them some well wishes as I’m sure they’re more bummed than any of us. Also, happy belated birthday to one of the fastest kids in Ontario, Luke Tricco, who also had a birthday this weekend. The NHL season starts this week, and Sandstorm is next weekend at Gopher Dunes. I hope everyone has a safe week right across this great country. Go Canada Go!!