Monday Maniac #2

I really enjoy this time of year. Like most of us, I like watching more than just Supercross as a hobby. I really like playoff football and obviously hockey (now that it’s back, my smile is even bigger). As I was watching this weekend I witnessed something that never really happens in Supercross or Motocross. There are not a lot of times in racing when you think “man was that ever a mistake.” I mean, there are not many instances like what happened on Sunday afternoon to Seattle Seahawks’ coach Pete Carroll. There are times in racing that are very embarrassing or when you make big mistakes, like getting the white flag and pulling off, celebrating on the last lap and crashing, or taking someone out for no reason (see the Josh Hansen saga from A1 on that one). I may have missed others but this sport has a small window when you really have an opportunity to make a crucial mistake. Coach Pete Carroll may be under the knife come Monday morning even though it’s something a coach does whenever the opportunity arises. He called a time out to ice the kicker with 14 seconds to go in the playoff game against #1 seeded Atlanta Falcons just before the kick went off. The kicker missed the punt just as Carroll called the time out. If Carroll hadn’t have made that call Seattle would have won the game. You may say, “How did he know he would miss that”, right? Did the kicker miss on purpose knowing the coach would do what he did? The kicker got another shot and Seattle’s comeback from 20 points down at the start of the fourth quarter was all for nothing. The kicker split the up rights and put the Falcons through to the next round. It was a crazy game and that one single time out cost Seattle the game. You don’t get that kind of pressure in motocross. Crazy really!!

Round two of the Monster Energy Supercross went off the gate this weekend in Phoenix. The hype is over after A1 and now it’s time to go racing. After the first race each racer finds what they have, what they need, and where they want to be. It’s that fine line you don’t know you can cross or not cross until RD1 is over and you find your spot. I know lots of people had Justin Barcia on the radar for some wins after what we saw at the Monster Cup. I didn’t think he would already have a win only two rounds in. He didn’t just win on Saturday night, he crushed the field. He holeshot the race and led all 20 laps extending his lead to nearly 10 seconds at one point. It was very impressive for such a young star in a class that has so much competition. This kid is not intimidated at all. If he wasn’t so on the edge, but yet still in control, I would compare his attitude to a young Jeremy McGrath back in 1993. I could be giving him a little too much credit but he was awesome in Phoenix. He did make the main a little dull but behind him it was like A1 all over again with Millsaps, Canard, Reed and Villopoto swapping spots right down to the last lap for the podium. The action was awesome and Poto was the man that came out on top of all those names finishing 2^nd. Millsaps showed that A1 was no fluke; hit the box, and hangs on to the red plate heading into Anaheim this weekend. I do have to give credit to Chad Reed. The guy just looks off the pace but so far a 4-4 to start the season has him in a great position. With 15 races to go, the two-time champion knows how to win and right now can’t find that, but the veteran is coming out in him and he’s getting the job done. He will most likely get better each week. What’s up with Dungey? Last year he won Phoenix but on Saturday he may as well have sat in the stands with the fans because it was like he wasn’t even on the track in the main event. Hopefully he can get back on track along with James Stewart. Both riders are searching for answers this week to get to the front of the 450 class, which is unreal right now.

This coming weekend is the KTM Canada Arenacross series in Chilliwack. GA Checkpoint Yamaha rider Spencer Knowles sits on top of the point standings at the mid-way point. With six rounds left there is still lots of time for 2^nd spot Brock Hoyer and 3^rd spot Ryan Lockhart to close that gap and make this series come down to the wire. Also, don’t forget that MXP is offering the first cover of 2013 to the overall champion after the final round. Here are the points heading into rounds 7-8 this weekend:

1	28	Spencer Knowles	244
2	1	Brock Hoyer	219
3	2	Ryan Lockhart	209
4	402	Ryan Abrigo	157
5	96	Jake Anstett	137
6	620	Brad Nauditt	122
7	33	Eric Jeffery	118
8	476	Colin Jurrin	117
9	54	Josh Allen	78
10	22	Dylan Kaelin	70
11	12	Kaven Benoit	70
12	96	Kirk Hawes	64
13	380	Kevin Lepp	63
14	8	Dylan Delaplace	62
15	15	Jeremy Medaglia	42
16	4	Brayden Stuart	40
17	621	Kyle Springman	14
18	491	Ethan Ladd	13
19	777	Jake Barker	12

 

It will get a little more interesting this weekend as 4-time Canadian Champion Dusty Klatt will bring his #3 KTM Royal Distributing Red Bull Fox ride into the barn. Here is the PR for Klatt:

Hi everyone,

KTM Canada is happy to report that Factory motocross racer, Dusty Klatt, is healthy and ready to attack the track at next weekend’s Canadian Arenacross in Chilliwack, BC! The event takes place next Friday and Saturday inside the historic Chilliwack Heritage Park. KTM Red Bull Royal Distributing Fox Racing’s Klatt is manning a KTM 250 SX-F over both nights, and is also hosting a riding school Friday morning of the event. Go team go!

I believe both Dusty (HERE)  and Ryan Lockhart have schools for next week! Ryan Lockhart is confirmed for Saturday 8am – 10am $60. Send us an email or Facebook message and let us know if you are in and I will put your name down. Still working on the Friday rider but if you are in regardless please also let me know and I will put your name down. jamiefwp@telus.net

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This is a sick Mountain bike video from Fox. Always on top of making sports gear better.

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Check out Nicky Beatty getting in shape for the 250 East SX class. This kid is making fans because he’s the only Canadian (outside of Cole Thompson) taking a chance.

Gopher Dunes has brought in an amateur racer. Check this out:

GDR welcomes Konnor Long to the Amateur Team

Courtland, ON – Gopher Dunes Racing recently announced a new initiative for the 2013 race season,

which will see riders from across Canada join the GDR organization as amateur support riders. We are

proud to announce the first rider to join our new GDR amateur program: 18 year old Konnor Long from

Saint John, New Brunswick! Konnor is an up and coming Intermediate rider who experienced great

success in 2012 with the highlights being a 6th place finish at Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National in the C

class, followed by a 10th place in Intermediate at the Walton Trans-Can Canadian

Amateur National. Konnor also finished off the year strong competing in Montreal Supercross as an

amateur finishing 14th in the MX2 main event. With the additional support from GDR, and guidance of

pro rider Tyler Medaglia, Konnor is determined to have a breakout season in 2013 and has set a goal to

win all of his Intermediate classes at the Walton Trans-Can as he prepares himself for the jump into the

Pro ranks! Welcome aboard Konnor!

Stay tuned for more GDR announcements in the weeks to come!

The Blackfoot East crew go big during the holiday season. Enjoy these pics from Danean Healey during the Christmas Parade. The boys do for the kids.

What great people on the Island. Sometimes though weather can be an issue as you see in this pic below:

Here’s a couple funny pics I saw online that made me chuckle.

I saw Jared stock is up to something very cool:

Now to end this off, Jim Muir wrote this very worthy article about Parental Pressure. Click the photo below to read:

Enjoy your week folks.