Monday Gate Drop

Good afternoon and welcome to the March 17th edition of MXP’s Monday Gate Drop. Also, to all of our Irish readers, and those of you who pretend to be Irish on this day, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Although I’ve never been to Ireland (the closest I’ve been to the country was in Grade 3 when our class studied the Blarney Stone), I do know a few Irishmen and Irishwomen, and even though they live and breath Canadian air everyday, they’re hearts remain in the homeland. So this week’s blog is dedicated to our Irish friends!

First off I want to talk about the Detroit Supercross and how much the series is missing Chad Reed. With no disrespect to the other riders who are still battling every weekend, when Reed crashed over a month ago in San Diego, the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross Series, in my mind, lost a lot of steam. Reed’s riding in the early part of the season was such a great story line; his age, his team, and his determination to get back to the top of the sport had everyone on the edge of their seat, whether they were in a stadium or watching from home. With Reed’s presence gone from the racetrack, we’ve had a few less than exciting weeks. Even though the battle for the SX Championship is still relatively close, it sure doesn’t feel that way. It also hasn’t helped Canadians to have Roger’s pull Speed Channel from our cable packages as it’s certainly changed the way most of us have spent our Saturday nights.

The racing at Ford Field was okay. As most know by now, James Stewart put it all together and took home the win. Ryan Villopoto did what the points leader is supposed to do: he rode smart and extended his points lead over Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen (who had some bad luck). Dean Wilson once again showed incredible practice speed but struggled in the main event. I really hope Dean can put it all together one night on the 450 and really show he has what it takes to run up front for a full 20 laps. In the Lites class, our only Canadian hope, Cole Thompson, had a great qualifier but like Dean Wilson, couldn’t put it all together in the main event. In talking to his team manager Dave Gowland, he feels like each week Cole is getting better and the teams feels like one of these weekends he will put it all together, but time is running out. As I’ve said a few times now, maybe next weekend will be Cole’s weekend.

James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto will no doubt put on a show this weekend in Toronto.

Having said all of that, this Saturday night everything may change as many of us will pack into the SkyDome (I’m not calling it the Roger’s Centre to protest them pulling Speed Channel) to watch round 12 of the series. After just an awful winter here in Ontario, I will go out on a limb and say that we’re over the top excited for this weekend. Regardless of what happens on the track it will be nice to hear and smell dirt bikes again. The Toronto Supercross has come a long way from its modest beginnings in 2004 to one of the biggest races of the series. For us locals it’s become one of the weekends we mark on our calendars as a “Can‘t miss.” Not only is the racing usually good, but it’s a chance for the Canadian motocross community to get together before the race season begins in a few short weeks. For the Pomeroy Family, the Toronto SX is more than just a race, especially with a six-year-old. It means a stay in a downtown hotel, some indoor swimming and a chance to walk around one of the coolest cities in the World. Can you tell I’m excited?

One of the things that will be new this weekend in Toronto is the KTM Junior Supercross Challenge. This three-lap race features a few of this country’s top mini riders including 2013 Parts Canada TransCan Champion, Preston Masciangelo, East Coast speedster Malcolm Ferris, and Ty Cyr from Port Alberni, BC. The KJSC race is sometimes the most exciting race of the night and since this one consists of mostly Canadians, these kids will no doubt give us lots to cheer about.

Get to ready to watch a lot of talented young KTM riders battle this weekend!

Moving from Supercross to the outdoors. There has been a lot of talk lately about whether Mike Alessi and his Moto Concept Suzuki Team are making the trek north to race the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals in Canada. The longer it gets talked about, the less likely we’ll see them up here. In fact, from what I heard on Friday, it’s not going to happen. For them to come to Canada, the team needs a ton of support from Suzuki Canada, and although Suzuki does support the National Series, for them to jump back in with both feet and fully sponsor a team, it really seems like a stretch. We hope it happens, but with such a strong line up already in both the MX1 class and MX2 classes, the presence of the Moto Concepts Team isn’t going to make or break the Series this summer. However, stay tuned as this story seems to be changing by the day.

So after three tough questions (well, two tough ones and one not so tough) we’re ready to announce the winners of the Parts Canada/ MXP Toronto Supercross Ticket giveaway. All three winners will be receiving emails tomorrow with the instructions of where and when they will be able to pick their tickets up on Saturday. Again, each winner will receive two very good tickets. On behalf of Parts Canada we want to thank everyone who sent in their answers, we hope everyone enjoys the race. The lucky winners are Warren Wilkinson, Darren Breadner and Frank Watts. Congratulations!

I hope everyone enjoys St Patrick’s Day. Please remember that we’re only five sleeps away from the Toronto SX festivities so save the partying until this weekend. Also, if you’re looking for another Canadian connection to cheer for this weekend, please give it up to Chris Blose as his new mechanic in Toronto will be Erin, Ontario’s favourite son Josh Cox. Good luck to Chris and Josh as they team up for the first time. I can’t wait to see everyone this weekend, all we need is a little nice weather and all the stars will be aligned in Toronto on Saturday. Have a great week everyone!.