Georke, Metcalfe, Facciotti? Wow, 2015 could be interesting!
By Danny Brault
Hi gang and welcome to Northern Notes! It’s been a busy, productive and creative week at MXP as we’re in the final stages of putting together the next print issue. There are plenty of great reads and photos in this issue, including coverage of the Eastern Nationals, Kaven Benoit’s battle with Vince Friese and James Lissimore’s best pics from the Parts Canada Walton TransCan.
I’ll give you a sneak peak here but you’ll have wait at your mailbox for the full version! Okay, what’s on Danny’s mind this week…
ONE LAST HURRAH
While the Walton TransCan signals an end to the Canadian Pro and Amateur National Championships, there is still a lot of racing to go. Of course, things undoubtedly slow down this time of year with kids going back to school, and mom and dad don’t have much left in the piggybank. Well, time to raid grandma’s petty cash and get out for one more gate drop before the snow falls!
Considering the wacky weather we’ve been having this summer, I’m betting we see snow arrive much quicker than normal. Good for dealerships selling sleds, bad for those who still want to rail ruts and blow out berms.
If you’re in Ontario, show how tough you are at MX101’s final ‘IRONMAN’ series race of the season at Sand Del Lee. The “Ottawa Motocross” gang has their grand finale of the IRONMAN Series next Saturday, September 6th and the next day there’s an open practice. This is your chance to race (and/ or ride) on one of Canada’ best national tracks! Find details for Sand Del Lee’s final race weekend at mx101life.com. Kyle Keast is going down, so you should too!
Sand Del Lee isn’t the only national track offering one final moto of the season. The last round of the British Columbia (BCMA) mainland series goes off on September 20th-21st at Whispering Pines Raceway (with a prior event in Quesnel on September 6th); Gopher Dunes wraps things up on Sunday October 5th and Atlantic Canada calls it a year on September 13th-14th at River Glade in Moncton, NB.
Fall is the best time to ride! To see all of the final races going on across Canada, visit cmrcracing.com and click on ‘Event Calendar.’
MEDAGLIA ROCKING THE SIX-NINE
Team Canada MX may be running #67 (Facciotti), #68 (Benoit) and #69 (T. Medaglia) at the 2014 Motocross of Nations in Kegums, Latvia but they’ll always be #1 in Canadian fans’ hearts. This week, the FIM released official digits for all countries entered into Latvia, and Canada’s numbers fall right in between that of Ireland and Japan. I checked in with Team Canada’s Open class rider Tyler Medaglia on his training progress so far and as usual he’s on a strict training regimen.
“I’ve been growing dope and pulling the package out,” says Medaglia. When I replied if I should quote him on that, he offered another puzzling response. “”What do you mean? Is your rig on the right road?”
Team Canada 2014 (Medaglia, Benoit and Facciotti), ready to take on the world on September 27-28th in Kegums, Latvia.
In all seriousness, Medaglia is looking forward to representing Canada for the fourth time at the MXoN; first in 2008 with Dusty Klatt and Colton Facciotti, in 2009 with Mitch Cooke and Dean Wilson, and then last year with his younger brother, Jeremy, and Cole Thompson. The first three tries didn’t go as planned but they say “Fourth time’s a charm?” Hopefully we see a breakout MXoN performance from Tyler – and Colton and Kaven – in Latvia on September 27-28th.
What’s the battlefield looking like for the 2014 MXoN in Kegums, Latvia? MXP correspondant Brent Worrall shared this cool POV look at the course:
You’re not going to hear any crazy predictions from me on Team Canada this year. No way. It’s easy to get excited with the talent we have representing our country – we could do very well – but every year I’m guilty of telling people “This is the year! This is the year!” and then it all blows up in my face. Whoa, how selfish is that? My face – what about the riders and team? Of course Tyler, Colton and Kaven want to do the best they can for their homeland, but as we’ve seen before, anything can happen at the world’s biggest motocross race (in fact, didn’t one of our own riders take out his teammate last year?). With that, I say good luck and bonne chance!
WE’RE BACK FROM UTAH
A 21st overall isn’t what he wanted but it wasn’t for lack of effort by Colton Facciotti who flew down to Tooele, Utah last Saturday for the final round of the AMA Motocross Championships. With his new MX1 crown in hand, Facciotti was provided real estate under the Troy Lee Designs Honda tent in Utah along with a fresh CRF450R (which he bolted some of his own goodies onto) and Malcolm Stewart’s mechanic, Shawn.
Considering Facciotti’s top-10 results the last time that he raced AMA outdoors (fall 2011, Southwick on a Blackfoot Yamaha, Steel City and Pala Raceway on a TLD Honda) and his performance against Mike Alessi this summer, Canadian fans had high hopes once again with a Canadian going south. Sadly, a mid-pack start and off-track excursion on the first lap put a halt on the hype.
“I’m pretty pissed about the weekend and result,” said Colton Facciotti following his weekend at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah where he went 16-DNS in the 450 class. “Speed-wise everything was good but that crash on the first lap (of the first moto) slowed things down. It was over this dragon-back section where you could go triple-double or double-triple. I had to go double-double and then singled out, but I landed into a soft, muddy section and rode the front wheel for about 30 feet before the back end kicked up and the bike came crashing down on me.”
I’m not sure why the motocross gods hate Canada so much, but to read more about Facciotti’s weekend in Utah, click here.
But really, who cares what I think … what does Ryan Lockhart have to say about Colton’s results in Utah?
“Glad he went, but I wish the outcome Colt had at Walton was the same outcome in Utah.”
You can watch full TV coverage of the 450 action from Utah in the video below, which includes a few shots of our four-time Canadian champ, Colton Facciotti.
SILLY SEASON CHATTER
Even though we just wrapped up the 2014 Canadian Nationals, it’s never too early to start predicting who will be riding for who next summer. I did a little digging this week and here are some juicy tidbits I’ve been hearing:
Will 2015 be the ‘Summer of Champions?’ GDR TLD Honda signed Facciotti to a two-year deal so he’s back in Canada defending his title next year, and while it’s too early to say anything definitely, a few teams are talking to 2012 MX1 champ, Matt Goerke – and 2013 title holder, Brett Metcalfe. At the moment, Goerke is talking with his former team, Monster Energy Leading Edge Kawasaki, and also Redemption Racing KTM and Rockstar Energy Drink OTSFF Yamaha.
There’s a lot of interest in Goerke who rode awesome in 2012 but never got a chance to race against Facciotti for a full series. Which team will he end up with in 2015? Again, too early to tell, but my guess is he goes where the money is. Racers got bills, too!
The Australian Metcalfe enjoyed his time in Canada and was supposed to defend his MX1 title this summer until he got a last minute invitation to join Monster Energy Kawasaki in the AMA Outdoors. Metcalfe is very open in returning to Canada, but like Goerke, money talks and it will be a question of which team’s budget can afford these guys. Goerke and Metcalfe on Leading Edge? That could be a thick combo!
I spoke with Josh Snider from Redemption Racing KTM and it looks like Seth Rarick is committed to coming back in 2015. “Seth is working at a nuclear power plant in January and then staying at Cooper Webb’s house in California from February to April,” says Snider. “He had a great time in Canada this summer; he’s only 22 so he learned a lot racing a full, 10 round series. By staying and riding in California, Seth hopes to improve his hard pack skills because he struggled on the western tracks in Canada this summer.”
Rarick proved to be a top-5/10 MX2 rider, and Redemption will also have the Jeffrey clan back on their team. “Chad (Goodwin) talked to Goerke right before Walton and he’s interested in riding for us,” adds Snider. “We want to make it happen; we’re also in good talks with FLY Racing and it sounds like they’re going to increase our budget in 2015. They like what we’re doing and see potential in the program.”
I sent KTM Canada Team Manager, Andy White, a quick note, asking “So … Tyler, Kaven and Cole for Royal Distributing KTM Fox Racing in 2015?”
“Maybe,” he replied. Let’s hope that turns into a ‘Yes’!
I will be seeing White next week during KTM’s Orange Crush Adventure Rally Ride, in which I’ll be competing on a KTM 1190cc Adventure Bike. What was KTM thinking, letting the “It’s not my fault” guy ride a full-size adventure bike through forests of Quebec? They weren’t and I’m okay with that because I was part of the first Orange Crush in 2012, but didn’t get to ride.
The 3rd Annual KTM Orange Crush Adventure Rally Ride takes place September 5-8. Starts in Montreal, then north to Parent before wrapping up in La Tuque, Quebec. Photo courtesy of Orange Crush Adventure
Working at Orange Crush wasn’t fun but riding it sure will be. For three days and covering 1,000 kms, more than 100 dual sport riders will be blasting their way from Montreal to Parent to La Tuque. It’s like a mini “Dakar Rally” with Special Tests, bivouacs and all kinds of different roads and adventure along the way. Fortunately for me, this is a “fun competition” rally race so no need for me to complain about how out of shape I am. I’ll be sure to share some photos and videos from the Crush on Instagram and Twitter – follow @mxpmag to see what the Orange Crush is all about!
Okay – another Labour Day Long Weekend is upon us … be safe, have fun and remember: “Jump for show, corner for dough!