MXP Rankings: Kyle Keast #5
Ontario rider Kyle Keast has been around for a long time. Fans have witnessed Kyle ride from a very young age to the established pro he is now. Kyle’s no-quit attitude has served as a benchmark for young Ontario riders. Whenever he races, fans line the fences to watch Kyle’s determined riding style.
Growing up near Lindsay, Ontario, Kyle is part of a motocross family. Both his Dad and Uncle raced so Kyle was at the track nearly every weekend. This allowed him to not only see how much fun racing is, but also to absorb just how much effort is needed if a rider wanted to be successful. Piece by piece and year by year, Kyle honed his racing skills. What he lacked in pure natural talent, he made up in hard work. In every race he entered, he proved early on that you could never count him out because he would just never quit.
Under the guidance of his father and Machine Racing’s John Nelson, Kyle picked away at the Pro class until 2011 when he had the best results of his career, finishing an incredible fourth overall in the MX1 class. John Nelson had this to say about Kyle, “ The thing I admire about Kyle is that he is a throwback to everything that is pure about motocross. He hates to lose and he knows that rubbing is racing, I really like that.” Finishing fourth in the standings was an excellent accomplishment for Kyle so heading into 2012 expectations were very high.
Armed with a new deal from Yamaha Motor Canada and mechanic Ryan Lockhart, Kyle came into last year’s Monster Energy MX Nationals in the best shape of his life. Determine to win a few motos and break into the top three, Kyle started the series strong only to have it end before it really began. At round two in Kamloops, BC, he suffered a hard crash resulting in a broken leg and a premature end to his 2012 season.
With his injuries all healed, Kyle is taking a much more tempered approach to 2013. He has decided not to go out West for the start of the Nationals, opting to enter the series once it comes east in July. Although he will be behind in points, it may turn out to be a good decision for Kyle as he is a proven contender on almost all of the eastern tracks.
At 28 years of age, Kyle knows that he won’t be on top forever so he has already started giving back to the sport he loves. Each year Kyle teaches motocross schools, spends hours at local tracks helping kids and most recently, Kyle has attended an elementary school to speak about the sport and its benefits. When we asked Kyle to reflect on his latest venture, he had this to say, “ Obviously I’ve been in this a long time and motocross is what I love to do, if I can go to places like schools and talk about the sport and help people understand it better, than I think that is a good thing. This sport is so awesome, I want everyone to know about it.” Kyle is not only one of this country’s top riders, but he has become an ambassador to the sport. All reasons above are why Kyle Keast is number five in our MXP Rankings.