Monday Gate Drop

Cycle North Honda rider Jeremy Medaglia spent alot of time this weekend on the top step of the podium in Cloverdale. Darin Marr photo

There was definitely a lot going on in the moto industry this past weekend. If you’re a die-hard fan you certainly got your money’s worth for a number of reasons. Out in BC the Kawasaki Canadian Arenacross Series started up again after a long break. Rounds five and six in the series moved down the Trans Canada Highway to the much tighter confines in Cloverdale. In California the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross Series was back at Angel Stadium for round three that included the celebration of 40 years of Supercross with a retro track and all of the past series champions in attendance. The current stars of SX put on one heck of a show. As we enter the second half of our cold winter, the racing is just starting to heat up.

The Kawasaki Canadian Arenacross Series got back at it this past weekend in BC. The series moved into its second home in Cloverdale for this past weekend’s race. With the exception of Chris Howell (who was racing in Anaheim) all of the series stars were in attendance including Tyler Medaglia who took rounds three and four off to attend Derek Schuster’s wedding. With the Cloverdale track being half the size of the Chilliwack track, the racing was tighter than ever and a good start was more important than ever. While riders like Ross Johnson, Brock Hoyer and Spencer Knowles all had good a weekend in Cloverdale, Cycle North Honda rider Jeremy Medaglia was on fire and was the rider to beat. Jeremy took two out of four main event wins and finished second in the other two. After being a little inconsistent in the first two weekends of the series, Jeremy definitely was a rider on a mission in Cloverdale, proving that he is one of this country’s best MX2 riders. This series now takes a weekend off before moving back into the larger Chilliwack arena for rounds seven and eight. Look for a complete report from Brent Worrall this week on mxpmag.com, as well as on his BC Moto Show this Wednesday night.

What a night it was for Chad Reed and his team in Anaheim.

Now on to the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross Series: Heading into round three, we had already witnessed two different winners so far in this series. If history was any type of indicator we would more than likely see a third winner on Saturday night, as was the case in the last few SX seasons when there were multiple winners. Well, history was dead on in Anaheim this past weekend as we saw a different rider light the candles in front of the champions of the past 40 years.

If supercross legend and fan favourite Chad Reed was going to pick a night to get back into the winners circle, this was definitely it. Over Chad’s career there has sometimes been the accusation that some of his wins have come because his competition suffered from bad luck. However, on this night he earned it as he came from behind and one by one passed the best riders in the world, setting up his old nemesis James Stewart with three laps to go. It was an amazing race to watch and certainly one of Chad’s biggest wins of his career. I’m a huge Chad Reed fan but if you had told me that Chad would get a win in this series before James Stewart or Ryan Dungey would, I flat out wouldn’t believe you. Now the biggest question is can Reed maintain this speed for the rest of the series? In the last two series in which he’s been a championship contender, he has unfortunately crashed out of in spectacular fashion. Whatever happens, these next few weeks are going to be fun to watch as Reed’s confidence is back to where it was heading into the 2012 Dallas SX.

Everyone loves a comeback story. Every rider who has had to come back from injuries or from a bad season knows just how motivating proving yourself can be. Some athletes like Reed go their entire career suffering from these ups and downs. For whatever reason, things happen to knock them down only to have them come back stronger again. I hope Reed can maintain this return to success because at his age, I’m not sure how many comebacks he has left in him. For now, we get to sit back and enjoy every second of it.

Another comeback we’re going to get to witness in 2014 is that of Colton Facciotti. After crashing and getting injured in Kamloops last year, Colton is now back riding and looking forward to a new year. With his new GDR Troy Lee Designs Honda Team, Colton returned to racing this past weekend at an Arenacross in Mississippi. Although Colton didn’t win, he did tweet that although he was rusty, he had a lot of fun getting back on the track. After a few off seasons of not racing at all, it’s great to see Colton racing in these winter months as he has a lot of catching up to do. I think it would be amazing to see Colton line up at the Daytona SX in March. On that type of track Colton would be right at home and would battle for a top ten finish.

So that’s it for this week’s Gate Drop. It looks as though some very cold weather is in store for much of the country this week so hopefully everyone gets through it okay. This Saturday, the Chesterman’s Indoor Series returns to the track in Tillsonburg, Ontario. If you want to get a little racing in and you’re a mini or 85cc rider, get out to Chesterman’s as the track is so much fun right now. Until next week, everyone please be safe and stay warm!

Sometime’s a son can be a father’s biggest motivator.