MXP Chatter With Mark Stallybrass

While it’s the off-season for almost all riders in Canadian MX, for CMRC President Mark Stallybrass there is no off-season, as this time of year is spent planning and getting organized for 2015. With the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink MX National schedule almost complete, in recent weeks the CMRC has focused it’s efforts on Regional MX in Canada. One of the results of this effort for the CMRC is a brand new deal with Future West Moto to help improve motocross in BC. This past weekend Mark traveled to BC to not only meet with Future West but to also take in Rounds 5 and 6 of their Canadian Arenacross Championships. We caught up Mark as he was back home and trying to warm up after a few cold days in Chilliwack.

MXP: Hey Mark, you just got home from attending rounds five and six of the Future West Canadian Arenacross Championships. I heard it was unseasonably cold out there. Have you warmed up yet?

MS: I’m good now. I didn’t prepare very well for the cold. I was really cold. On Friday night after the racing was over I went back to my hotel room and I was shivering for about a half hour. I’ll prepare better next time.

With this series being far away from your home in Ontario, you haven’t been there before to see one of these races. What was your impression of everything in Chilliwack?

I haven’t been to Chilliwack before but I did go to arenacrosses in Abbottsford. The facility in Chilliwack is amazing and perfect for arenacross. They use two buildings for the track and one for indoor pits. For an arenacross, the track is long so there’s not as much lapping that goes on, and it’s good for the spectators because they can see the majority of the track. It would be nice to have a set up like that in every province.

Did any one rider impress you or was everyone on the gas?

There were a lot of guys on the gas, it was impressive. Teddy Maier and Ross Johnson impressed me the most, and I noticed Shawn Maffenbeier is getting a lot faster.

You went out there to not only see the racing but also to solidify the deal with Future West to reunite them with the CMRC for BC motocross. It sounds like a very exciting deal for everyone involved. How did this deal come about for 2015?

Once the ownership of Future West transferred a couple of months ago, Stu McQueen contacted me to discuss working together for outdoor racing in the Lower Mainland. We’ve talked quite a number of times and have discussed details and ways of improving the outdoor program in BC. We came to an agreement a few weeks ago. Not only will there be one sanctioning organization in Lower Mainland BC, but BCMA in the north and VIMX on Vancouver Island all want to work together to make some positive changes. This has been a long time coming. Unfortunately, racing in BC has been splintered for quite a while and it was going downhill. Now with everyone working together, it will be really good for the riders, the individual clubs, the regional organizations and CMRC. Everybody wins! Motocross racing in BC next year is going to be a lot better.

A vast province like BC has many hurdles when it comes to getting all the riders to attend the same races. With the great distances that riders and families have to travel, it’s sometimes just easier to stay close to home. Will this new deal bring more riders together and reunite the province, so to speak?

The way they’re structuring the schedule is to have Regional races within each respective region then have a three-race Provincial series – one in the north, one in the Lower Mainland and one on the island. This will reduce the travel costs for riders and their families to compete in a series, plus with the provincials, there will be one common series that will be the feature of the year. On the mainland, they’re talking about having a race in Williams Lake which is the dividing line between the north and the south that will be included in each respective series. That’s a direct benefit of this new arrangement. They’re also working on scheduling together to avoid conflicts as much as possible. So, for example, if a rider in the north wanted to race in the south, they will have a good opportunity to do the majority of both series.

Let’s back track for a minute to this past summer. The series had a new title sponsor with Rockstar Energy Drink and it all seemed to be amazing, other than maybe the weather at Regina and some of the unforeseen drama at times. Were you generally happy with how the 2014 series went?

I thought the series reached a new level in 2014. The level of competition was the highest it has ever been, each championship wasn’t decided until the final round, the attendance was up for motocross at every event, and the inner workings of the series was really smooth. The music didn’t work out the way I had hoped, but you never know until you try.

The New Year is just around the corner and with names like Brett Metcalfe, Matt Goerke, Colton Facciotti, Cole Thompson, Bobby Kiniry and many more all set to line up, are you excited about what’s to come in 2015?

When there’s five or six guys in each class that have a legitimate shot at winning a moto, how could you not be pumped? Both classes are going to be stacked like never before. When I was in BC this past weekend, I heard of even more riders that are going to be racing the series so I’m really looking forward to getting going.

Everyone seemed happy with the series being ten rounds. I think when the racing is as good as it was this past summer, the series could be twenty rounds and no one would mind. What can we expect for 2015, ten rounds, same venues as this year?

We will continue to go with ten rounds. As for the venues, I hope to be releasing the schedule next week so you’ll find out then.

You just had a birthday last week and while I won’t ask you how old you are, I do want to ask what you think is the biggest change in this sport since your days of battling for wins in the Open Junior class. I believe that was 1984-85 correct?

Yes, you got the years right. I miss the days of my air cooled YZ490 vibrating down the track, and it’s no secret, I’m now 51 and I started CMRC when I was 25.

There have been many changes in the sport, but I think the first big change that led to many others was television coverage. Once TV happened, that’s when manufacturers and teams started to step up their programs. Plus, back in the ‘80s and most of the ‘90s there weren’t any magazines that were dedicated to motocross and the internet was non-existent. Now, with social media, magazines, websites, and television coverage, the exposure and publicity of motocross is incredible. That is why teams and manufacturers are making huge investments into riders. People have to realize that Canadian motocross at the professional level is now a business. They want their riders at the front of the pack and on the podium because that’s who gets the exposure for them. This exposure is great for the sport at the amateur level too because more people know what motocross is, and there’s more people that want to try it out.

Finally Mark, since I asked this question to everyone at this time of year, what is at the top of your Christmas list this year?

Socks and underwear is always at the top of my list. What I’m wishing for is lots of snow for snowmobiling and dry, warm weekends next summer.