Monday Gate Drop

I know I comment on how fast time goes by, but I really can’t believe we’re into December with only a few weeks until Christmas and of course the New Year. I remember when we were all waiting for the year 2000 to come. Everyone was paranoid that computers weren’t going to work and things might shut down. When the world woke up on January 1, 2000, everything was just as it was the previous day. Here we are 14 years later and everything is not only still running strong, but the advancements we’ve made in almost every area of our lives are amazing. Heck, we even have cars now that can park themselves although I think if you can’t park your car by yourself maybe you shouldn’t be driving.

South of the border, our American friends celebrated their Thanksgiving this past weekend, and with it was the running of the Mini Olympics down in sunny and warm Florida. From what I hear, Gatorback Cycle Park was anything but sunny and warm for the first couple of days as rain hampered the beginning of the event. Although I’ve never been to the Mini Olympics, Gatorback has always had a special place in my heart. Not only have I raced a few outdoor Nationals there back in the 1990s but when I was a kid, my Dad took me there to watch the National. He actually took me a few times, the first time being in 1984 and as an eleven year old kid. To be able to sit on the sidelines and watch the likes of Rick Johnson, David Bailey and Johnny O’Mara battle it out was just amazing. I remember sitting there and thinking that one day I wanted to race on that track as a Pro. In 1994 when I actually got to line up as a Pro I felt very lucky.

Thomas Rendall lines up on the famous GatorBack start.

As usual, a number of Canadians made the trek down to Gainesville to race in this year’s Mini Olympics: Riders like Jean Christophe Bujold, Thomas Rendall, Jeremy McKie, Kennedy Lutz and Alexandre Morin to name a few. Over the weekend I started to receive updates from these riders. As a long time Canadian rider, it sure makes me proud to hear about my fellow Canadians having success in the USA. Let’s take a look at a few specific results.

Jeremy McKie, who is hot off his 2013 Parts Canada TransCan title, had a great time in Florida finishing as high as 20th overall on the motocross track in the 65 7-9 class. On the supercross track Jeremy finished an incredible 5th in one 65 moto and 13th overall in the 65 7-9. This fast kid from Quebec has a really bright future ahead of him, for sure.

Ontario 65 rider Thomas Rendall also had a great week with his best finish being 21st overall on the motocross track in the 65 Limited Class. Thomas’ best moto finishes were a couple of 10th place finishes on both the motocross track and the supercross track.

Kennedy Lutz and Alexandre Morin also did Canada proud in the Ladies and 250A classes. Kennedy finished an amazing 5th overall on the motocross track in the Women’s 14+ class proving that she is one of the fastest Ladies rider in the world. Morin, who competed in one of the fastest classes of the week – the 250A class, finished a very credible 7th overall on the motocross track and 24th overall on the motocross track.

When you have a good race like Thomas Rendall did at the Mini O’s, people always want to talk to you.

Finally, Eric Bujold sent me this update from Florida about how Jean Christophe Bujold made out. “Finally some news from the Mini O’s. It was our first time there and our first time racing our Suzuki 250F in the USA! Jean-Christophe was registered in two classes in SX. He made the main in 250C to finish 21st.

In MX he was in three classes: 250C, 250C Limited and Schoolboy. Being 14 years old with such a big group of talented riders was pretty impressive. In 250C Limited, he finished 11th in his division but they only took the first nine to go to the main…..and he crashed in the LCQ.

In Schoolboy with more than 75 entries of B and C riders, he qualified for the main, but a bad start gave him a finish of 33rd. In 250C with his stock bike, he finished 7th in his division. In the main, he almost got the holeshot and finished an impressive 13th.”

Jean Christophe bujold had a great time in Florida on his new Suzuki’s.

Well done to all the Canadian riders that competed at Gatorback. We’re all proud of you and please have a safe drive home. In other news this past weekend, all of our hearts are with BC rider Braydon Stuart who had a nasty crash at an arenacross in Washington State. For a while Braydon was in very bad shape at the hospital, but as of last night he is doing a lot better and it looks like he will make a full recovery. Since Braydon crashed in the US and is in a US hospital, there are costs involved so a fundraiser has been set up for he and his family. If you want to help out, you can go to Brent Worrall’s BC Moto Show website at www.bcmotoshow.com/#!news/cfvg and make a donation.

That is all for me this week. With the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross Series just over a month away, look for a story this week on our 2014 series predictions. I hope everyone has a great week, and with the winter weather that is with us now, please drive safe whenever you’re on the roads.