Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
By Gauldy 107
This is the time of year, especially in Canada, when everything slows down a little. The Monster Energy Motocross Nationals are over, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Series in the US wrapped up this past weekend, and finally the World FIM GPs will come to a close with only one race to go in two weeks. We still have the Monster Energy Cup, the Motocross of Nations, the Monster Energy Montreal Supermotocross for us crazy moto fans, but those races have no championship titles to chase, just plain old bragging rights. Even though the GPs do have one more race to go, the MX1 and MX2 Champions have been crowned and both riders are on the Austrian KTM squad: Jeffery Herlings MX2, and Antonio Cairoli MX1. The list of the championship racers from 2012 is now complete. These names all have a bull’s eye painted on their backs for 2013.
What everyone strives for in this sport but only few achieve.
In Canada, we saw four names dominate in their respective classes. In the Women’s Western Nationals it was Hailey Larson. She will dawn the 1W if she decides to come back next year. Hailey won all but one moto on her way to taking the Western Championship. In the East it was all Heidi Cooke from the drop of the first gate. Her return to racing after giving birth to her first child was not just dominant, but she inspired any young lady racer that has a goal of becoming a champion. She won every moto on her way to her fourth National title. The big bikes in Canada saw the Monster Energy Leading Edge Kawasaki team take both the MX1 and MX2 titles with their riders Matt Goerke and Teddy Maier. Both riders did this is dominating fashion. Teddy Maier grabbed his second Canadian title in the MX2 thus ensuring a new champion in 2013 as he has pointed out, so to speak, in that class. This was Matt Goerke’s first major title as a professional racer and he did it with ease by never finishing worse than 3rd in a moto and taking 7 of 9 overalls. As I mentioned above, Cairoli and Herlings won the MX1 and MX2 GP titles. Both riders proved their worth week in and week out.
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MX GP 2012 Europe in Faenza, Italy – News from the GP
The best riders, no matter where you’re from, always want to race on the grand stage of our sport which is the Lucas Oil AMA series south of the border. This year was pretty crazy in the Women’s class and the Lites class too. The big bike class was a super yawner after all the main contenders got hurt while racing SX. This left one man standing and once again that name was Ryan Dungey on his new KTM team. He brought home their very first major title for the company in the US. He won all but two rounds. In the Women’s class it came right down to the wire. Jessica Patterson, a multi-time champion, had the lead coming into the final round but got injured and handed the title to Ashley Fiolek in dramatic fashion. The last major title that was claimed in 2012 was in the Lites class and the name that topped the list was Blake Baggett. I’m not a fan of this kid one bit, but when you see a racer win a huge championship like this with the type of competition he fought off, he earned my respect. So congrats to all the 2013 Champions!
CMRC Canadian Women’s Nationals
Hailey Larson – West
Heidi Cooke – East
CMRC Monster Energy MX Nationals
Teddy Maier – MX2
Matt Goerke – MX1
FIM World Championships
Jeffery Herlings – MX2
Antonio Cairoli – MX1
AMA Nationals
Ashley Fiolek – Women’s
Blake Baggett – 250
Ryan Dungey – 450
For all you racers gunning for your goals or Championships in 2013, if you are going to race these series or plan to, these are the names you have to chase and beat to become a champ!!
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Red Bull Lake Elsinore National Race Highlights
For people in Canada or the US wishing to purchase the Monster Energy Motocross Nationals on DVD, here is the info you need to make that happen:
2012 Monster Energy Motocross Nationals
Complete DVD sets available from:
Hill’s Production Services
Attention: Wendy Taylor
905-335-1146
Cost: $69.00 (complete set of 9 DVDs)
Shipping: $30 (approx.)
All complete season series and individual races are also available from 1998-2011. Makes a great Christmas gift for the Motocross lover in your house!
Now to all our American friends that love our series and the production value it delivers, here is the link to www.speeed2.com to watch our series online. Click HERE
The Newf is back…again…for this winter in Canadian AX.
To close this out with some silly season rumours and the first signing for the 2012/2013 season, it seems that Ryan “Newf” Lockhart has not lost the bug for racing. He had planned to race the 2012/2013 Canadian AX series in BC but was unsure of what bike he would be riding. Well, it looks like Cycle North has stepped up and will supply Newf with Kawasakis for the series. Whether that will keep him racing throughout the summer is another story of the ongoing saga of “Newf Beginnings.”
Looks like Cole Thompson could be riding his third different bike brand of 2012 in Montreal.
Now to the first silly season rumour: I received a BBM message from a good friend saying that Cole Thompson will be riding a Monster Energy Leading Edge Kawasaki at the Montreal SX for a one race deal in the all-Canadian MX2 class. He will only race the little bike as Matt Goerke and Teddy Maier will be on the big 450s. How’s that for a little tid bit of info for all you worldwide web bench racers.
Kaven Benoit sent us this letter about his Steel City experience:
This year again I had the chance to sign up for one AMA National event. It’s always tough to make that fit into our season up here in Canada. This year Steel City was the perfect fit for me so I decided to sign up. Last year I tried to race at Southwick but I had a pretty bad ankle injury coming in and didn’t make it through practice because it was hurting too much. So this year I felt pretty healthy for Steel City so I was excited to give it a shot. First of all, the track was awesome; a kind of track you can’t find in our country – huge jumps and hills, off-cambers all around. Of course it took me a few laps to figure out the track. Qualifying straight to the main motos took a lot of pressure off my back because I didn’t want to race the LCQ. In both motos I didn’t get a good start. It was so tough to get out front on that start from the outside. I wasn’t very happy with my first moto because I rode tight and got tired at the end. My second moto was better. I started near the end and was making my way up. I was up to 21st but crashed in the turning double section. I finished 28-24 for 26th overall. It’s not where I thought I was going to be but it was my first experience and I learned a lot from it. The next one should be better. At the same time I’d like to thank the Houle family from Quebec for taking me down there and a special thank to MXP magazine for helping out with the $500 start money.
Kaven
Photo by Alan Gavin
So that’s it, that’s all for this Monday. Thanks for tuning in!!
