Good day and Happy Monday to everyone. I hope all of you had a great weekend and I really hope that all the moto moms out there had a terrific Mother’s Day! Although we mostly see moto dads in the forefront at the track working on bikes and going to the starting line, what we don’t see are the moms in the background doing just about everything else. Sometimes, they’re the unsung heroes in this sport and for that reason I want to pass along a huge Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom, Ayrton’s Mom and all the awesome moms out there!
In true motocross fashion, Ayrton and I made both our mothers spend all of their special day at a motocross track. Yesterday was the SWO ANQ at Moto Park; the track isn’t too far from where I grew up and where I currently live, my parents decided to make the drive up to watch. After spending so many years watching me race, I think my Mom is pretty much over it, but she loves going to Moto Park because of two things. First, she doesn’t have to use a porta- john as Moto Park has pretty nice bathrooms, and two, she considers the breakfast sandwiches there – “Moto Muffins” – a delicacy. To show our gratitude to our moms yesterday, Ayrton and I won all of our motos so I know they were very proud.
I know race pictures might be better but this one was just too good. After winning four motos yesterday at Moto Park Ayrton got to indulged in some well earned chocolate.
With 433 entries yesterday at Moto Park the turnout was very good and the by all accounts everyone had a great day. My final moto was late in the day and I can honestly say that the track was rougher than I’ve ever seen it. However, as usual, the Moto Park crew kept the big track and the mini track well watered all day, and even with the bright sunshine, there was zero dust and the conditions were great. Even with the amount of entries, the day ran smooth and the motos concluded by 6pm. I hope everyone had a safe day and are closer to qualifying for the 2014 Parts Canada TransCan. Next weekend, everyone in Ontario is back at Moto Park for Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2014 Moto Park Cup. With a list of Pro riders like Bobby Kiniry, Dylan Wright, Shawn Maffenbeier, Liam O’Farrell and Colton Facciotti expected to be there, the racing will no doubt be off the charts. It all begins on Saturday morning.
After a little rocky start in April, the racing in Southwestern Ontario is definitely back on track. With last week’s hiring of Bill Wallin as the new CMRC Regional Representative for Southwestern Ontario the future is very bright. I’ve known Bill Wallin for 25 years as he’s been a fixture in Canadian motocross forever. With his experience, he obviously brings a wealth of knowledge to this position, but I think Bill has two more very important qualities that are going to make him perfect for the job. First, his eagerness to do it! I spoke to Bill at length yesterday and he’s very excited to have finally found a place in Ontario motocross other than on the track. Secondly, I think his demeanour is perfect for this sometimes high stress job. Bill’s resting heart rate is around 35 beats per minute; when he gets excited it probably rises to 45. If you ever get Bill mad then you know you’ve done something pretty outrageous, but this doesn’t mean he’s a push over. With his great understanding about how racing is supposed to work, there’s no fooling Bill Wallin. When you factor in everything that I just mentioned, he’s a tailored fit for this position and everyone involved should be very thankful. Also, I will mention that Steve Anderson did a great job running things on the mini track yesterday and Paul Kinsley handled everything like a pro as the Head Referee.
Word is that Ontario fans will get to see Canada’s number 2 rider this weekend at the Moto Park Cup.
So as I write this we’re less than three weeks away from the start of the 2014 Rockstar Energy Motocross Nationals. It’s definitely “crunch time” as they say for riders, teams and media to get all the final details taken care of. A few teams had their team photo shoots last week and a few more are scheduled for this week, everything is slowly coming together for round one in beautiful Nanaimo, BC. This week at MXP it’s program time as we’re building the national series program for the western rounds. This is always an exciting time as you get to see all the team photos, plus you finally get to see who’s confirmed as riders. Even with the departure of last year’s MX1 Champion Brett Metcalfe, I think the 2014 series is going to be incredible. On a side note, I read an interview this morning with Metcalfe and he gives full credit to racing in Canada last summer for his rebound with speed and confidence. I for one will be cheering for Metty this summer in the US Outdoor Series.
Also, we’re hearing that there might be some issues regarding Canada’s #4 rider, Jeremy Medaglia, and the Moto Concepts Racing Team. It sounds as though the team’s decision to come to Canada is resting solely on Mike Alessi’s results at Glen Helen in two weeks. If Mike does well (which he probably will as he rides very well at that track) then it would seem foolish to not continue on to Hangtown for round two. If this happens then what does Jeremy do? Results in Canada mean as much to Jeremy as results in the USA mean to Alessi, but since this is Alessi’s team, what Jeremy wants might be an after thought. With both series set to begin, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. You’d think that most spots in Canada are already taken, but with Jeremy’s pedigree, a team might make some room for him if needed. After all, he is a title contender in either class he rides in Canada.
That is it for me this week. As I mentioned before, I hope everyone had a great weekend and a special Mother’s Day. In closing, I would like to send a big congratulations to Chuck and Jana Mesley on the birth of their new son Ty Mesley. Is it me or does there seem to be a mini baby boom going on in Canadian motocross? Have a great week and we’ll see you at the track.
