Pre Race Report- Round 3 of the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown AXTour Series in Sarnia

After a weekend off to regroup and catch our breath, it’s time to resume the first leg of the 2019 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series in Sarnia. After two rounds of this year’s AXTour, a few things have become clear as we get ready to embark on another exciting round of indoor racing in Canada. As we get ready for tomorrow in Sarnia, let’s take a look at a few things we need to look out for.

The Dirt

In case you’re not aware of the following fact, all of the soil in Sarnia and surrounding area is made up of thick clay. I actually believe the locals refer to it as ‘Oil Clay’ or something like that. Anyway, building anything with this dirt at the best of times has to be a real challenge. With this race being held in early April last year, the dirt was still wet as the Jetwerx crew brought it into Progressive Auto Sales Arena. Because of this added moisture in the soil, the track was soft, sticky and rutted up very quickly. However, even with these less-than-perfect conditions, the racing was still very entertaining and the capacity crowd loved watching their hometown boy Cole Thompson take the win. With this race being three weeks later on the calendar in 2019, hopefully the dirt will be a little dryer for Round 3.

The 450 Class

At the previous round in Calgary, we witnessed something that we haven’t seen in a long time, and that was someone beating Cole Thompson indoors. It was announced late last year that former JGRMX Suzuki and Husqvarna factory rider Phil Nicoletti was joining the Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha Team on a two year deal. Phil is no stranger to indoor racing and during his career he’s been even more familiar with aggressive racing. With these skills on his resume, it came as no surprise that he was able to win Round 2 in Calgary, thus ending Thompson’s Canadian indoor win streak. The big question now as we head into Sarnia is can Nicoletti carry his momentum into Round 3 and will he be able to beat Thompson once again? My feeling is that if Phil Nicoletti has figured out the set-up on his OTSFF Yamaha, and if he’s starting to feel really confident, then this is very bad news for the rest of the 450 field.

The 250 Class

As it’s been for each and every year, the 250 Pro Class has been very exciting and inherently unpredictable throughout the first two rounds. At Round 2 in Calgary, GDR Honda rider Dylan Wright ended his long indoor dry spell and took home not only the main event win, but he also climbed to the top spot in the point standings and will carry the red plate into Sarnia. Like Nicoletti, Wright holds nothing back on the race track and sometimes if another rider in his way, he’s not afraid to move them out of the way. Couple this with Wright’s deep self belief in his own riding skills and you have a very good AX rider. However, behind Wright is a host of young and fast riders who are just chopping at the bit to replace the Honda pilot on the top step of the podium. This class is so competitive that we could see a different winner at all four rounds in 2019.

Drop the Gate

With so much rain falling during the past few weeks in Southern Ontario, it will be good to get indoors and race some dirt bikes. Round 3 in Sarnia will get underway early tomorrow, Saturday,  as the first riders to take to the track will be a host of our talented amateur’s. After lunch it will be time for our pro riders to hit the track for their first practice sessions. In 2018, the Progressive Auto Sales Arena in Sarnia was sold out so hopefully we will see the same crowd this time around. And even though the weather forecast is calling for cool and overcast temperatures outside, the action inside will be hot as our top riders take on Round 3 of the 2019 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown AXTour Series. See you all there tomorrow!