Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
MXP: Newf, you made it back from Red Bud in one piece. We spoke last week about your lack of pit bike experience and you could be the weak link on the team. That wasn’t the case, but you did have some mechanical issues. Overall, how was your weekend?
RL: Yes you’re right it’s been a long time since I rode a pit bike at any type of intensity but I was able to borrow a Honda 110 and get a day of practice leading up to the event. When practice came around on Friday I actually felt pretty good on the bike and got the track dialed in right away and did the jumps that needed to be done. Saturday for the race I was actually nervous as 30000 people were going absolutely crazy as they lined the fences. I have never raced in front of anything like that before in my life. I had never done a start on a 110 before and it was weird for me as you have to hold up on the shifter to jam it in 2nd gear. My start was decent and I was holding a strong 5th in my moto till about four laps to go and my sparkplug cap fell off and that’s pretty much it. It took me a while to figure out what happened. I was pissed off to say the least but overall it was a really cool experience. Quinn Amyotte killed it and it was unfortunate that Gauldy hurt his shoulder so he couldn’t ride. Caden Lee stepped in but had some bad luck as well. Big thanks to Steve Matthes for making it happen. It was an opportunity I will never forget.
MXP: You were in the trenches with Team Canada all weekend long. The boys gave it everything they had but once again luck was not on their side. Can you take us through some of the highlights and lowlights?
RL: A combination of bad luck and just the way the cards fell was really the big picture. Myself and anyone else who was there cheering on Team Canada had much higher expectations for the team. The highlight was the way Dylan was able to come through the pack on both days proving he is a world-class rider and can battle with the best in the world. Even though his results were good, I think he’s even better than what he showed. The crash in moto 1 messed him up and he was hurting so bad for moto 2 that he could barely get on the bike before the start. The other highlight was how the team worked together. We brought in T-dags and his crew and everyone worked well together and it didn’t feel like the same team that we just battled for both Canadian championships all season.
The lows were, of course, the overall results, and that was caused by Tyler hurting his hand again on Saturday and McNabb’s bike failure on the sight lap of Moto 2. The bike should have had a motor swap but there were only 25min between moto 1 and 2 so it would have been impossible. We did whatever we could with the time that we had but it didn’t work and there wasn’t anything anyone could do.
MXP: A few years ago, you raced the Ontario rounds of the Triple Crown Series AXTour and we even have cool photo of you from Sarnia. This weekend our indoor series kicks off with Sarnia and then in the coming weeks the Future West AX Series begins as does the LRX Series in Alberta. Throw in the Calgary round of the Triple Crown Series and if you’re a pro rider and were willing to do some travelling you could get some great racing in during the next six weeks.
RL: Yes your right, lots of off-season races coming up and I hope to see all those series well attended. It’s a good time of year as riders are still riding a lot and there is some money to be made. I know as well as you know that these guys need to invest a little in themselves to chase the money. The money is a bonus but these races will also allow you to gain experience and make you a better rider. They are all AX races so you can get away with riding your outdoor setup and still be competitive. Sometimes you have to get creative to make it happen but there is a way trust me. I guess we will see who comes but for myself at 38 years old, full-time job, and a family at home I will try to make it to all of them.
