Monday Gate Drop

Well, I hope everyone is having a great long weekend is this great country we live in. I will warn you beforehand that this week’s Gate Drop might be on the short side as I’m writing this on Sunday night with my eyes half opened. Or half shut depending on how you look at it. It is so awesome that motocross is in full swing right now across the country, this time of year is perfect for racing as the temperatures haven’t really heated up yet and there still is a little moisture in the ground.

Speaking of good racing, my weekend was spent at Moto Park for the New Era Hats Moto Park Cup. With over 450 entries each day, this event was a huge success and everyone I spoke to had a great time. All the classes had great racing and the 50 GP class even had to run qualifiers on Saturday (keep in mind there was only 15 gates), but still that is pretty good for a mini class. I think almost everyone stayed over on Saturday so there was a steak dinner, fireworks and a camping atmosphere that was reminiscent of the Parts Canada TransCan. At events like this, it is as much about what goes on off the track as it is on the track.

One class that seems to be going through a rebirth right now in Ontario is the Pro-Am class. Thanks to the efforts of its founders Ryan Gauld and Kyle Keast, PRG or Pro Riders Group has basically banded all the pro riders together to attend these races. PRG then takes the numbers to the race promoter and makes a deal that if PRG can produce enough pro riders to put on a show, then the promoter will come up with a decent purse. I personally think this is a great idea and probably long overdue, but timing is everything in this sport and maybe the time is right now for this to work.

One thing is for sure, the pro class in Ontario hasn’t been this competitive for awhile now. Lets look at who was racing at Moto Park this past weekend. Kyle Keast (he is still one of Canada’s best), Liam O’Farrell (another top ten guy), Nathan Bles (this kid could surprise a lot of people this summer) Richard Grey (super fast and only 18 years old), Zeb Dennis (finished in the top ten in Edmonton in 2012) and Ryan Gauld (who could still be a top ten guy if the CMRC would shorten the National moto’s by a couple laps). There was also a few other kids like Ryan Derry, Daymon Goold and Drew Roberts who are all trying to make a name for themselves. The fans at Moto Park were treated to some great battles all weekend and to prove how competitive it was, there were four different winners in the four pro motos. Richard Grey, Liam O’Farrell, Nathan Bles and Zeb Dennis all took their turns on the top step of the podium. Congratulations to all the riders who raced on the weekend, I hope everyone had a safe weekend. If anyone has any cool weekend racing stories, please email me at palms@motocrosscanada.ca and I’ll share them with all of our readers. Here are a few tweets that were sent out on Twitter on Sunday night.

Kyle Keast4:

What a great weekend @motoparkracing !! Awesome job all weekend long! Great fun, great prizes and great Money put out for the Pro’s.

Gauldy107:

One more time. Thanks, thanks, thanks 2 @motoparkracing 4 the amazing weekend. Lots of smiling families, friends and racers of all levels.

ZebDennis:

Great weekend at @motoparkracing. Too many good people to name, if you were there an raced or helped out.thanks. 2 many people to name.

So we’re officially less than two weeks from the start of the 2013 Monster Energy Motocross Nationals and this is when the hype really builds. I spoke to OTSFF Yamaha rider Richard Grey on the weekend about his upcoming summer so look for that interview this week, we’re going to touch base with a number of top riders in the next two weeks to see how they feel heading into round one. I am really excited for the first gate drop in Nanaimo as I think both classes in 2013 are going to provide some great racing. Lets hope that Mother Nature co-operates this year and doesn’t turn Nanaimo into a mud race, the riders and the teams don’t need that kind of start to the series again.

It was interesting looking at the results of round one of the US Nationals at Hangtown. Although the class winners (Ryan Villopoto and Ken Roczen) were predictable, to see some guys struggle was a bit surprising. I did read that a few said afterwards that while they thought they were prepared to race, the pace and the intensity surprised them. Could this be the case at the first few Canadian rounds for the guys who haven’t been racing much? That was one of my points earlier with regards to the pro racing in Ontario the last month. For a rider like Richard Grey, he has been racing hard for the last few weeks and is no doubt prepared for the Nationals.

Well, this is it for me and this week’s gate drop. My eyes are closing and the Sens/Penguins game is going into overtime, this is turning into a great series. After two long days of racing and being a full blown 50 dad, the final day of this Victoria Day long weekend is going to be spent relaxing and recharging. I hope everyone has a great weekend and here’s to the sport of motocross, the best Family sport in the world!