MXP: What are your thoughts on how the Triple Crown Series 250 Pro/Am Championship turned out last week at the final round at Walton Raceway?
CP: Right from the opening lap of the first moto, the battle ended up being a little anti-climatic as Dylan Rempel had his best weekend of the summer. I think everyone will agree that for the most part Ryder Malinoski was the faster of the two riders at almost every round of the 2026 Triple Crown Series. Rempel has always been really good on the Walton track, even going back to his 85cc days, so to see him get out front in both motos and control the day wasn’t much of a surprise. What was surprising was to see Malinoski struggle so much in the opening laps of both motos. Perhaps he was a little nervous about the situation? I’m not sure, but he definitely wasn’t himself all day long. Finally, when I saw Rempel eating Chicken Parm out of a styrofoam container at 9 pm on Saturday with a smile on his face, I assumed the kid was in a great spot mentally.
MXP: Looking at the 450 class from Walton Raceway. Preston Kilroy was obviously good, Dylan Wright rode smart and got back the #1 plate, but what happened to Harri Kullas?
CP: After what Kullas did at the final few rounds of the 450 class series, it was a little surprising to see him struggle with pace on the Walton Raceway track. I, like probably most people, thought he’d pick up right where he left off at Round 7 and go out and holeshot both motos to make life miserable for Dylan Wright. But, right from the first qualifying session he wasn’t able to find the speed that both Kilroy and Wright had. He told me after qualifying that he found it hard to pick which lines worked the best and where to go in the corners that had multiple ruts. From there, other than a few laps in the middle of moto one when he reeled in Wright and Kilroy before making a big mistake and dropping back, Kullas just wasn’t a factor all day. In fairness to him, he most likely would’ve been better in the final moto had he not lost his rear brake. I think the two weekends off might have hurt him as he did have a ton of momentum after Round 7 in Quebec. Hopefully, Kullas is back next year as he was a great addition to the 450 Series. I heard he’s talked to most of the teams about coming back in 2026, so it sounds as though some teams will have to decide between he and Jess Pettis as their top 450 rider next year.
MXP: This past week you travelled down to the ClubMX Training Facility to ride the new 2027 YZ250F. How was ClubMX and the new Yamaha?
CP: As much as I’d love to tell you about the new bike right now, there is an embargo on all information until August 26th. However, I can tell you that it was an excellent day of riding and touring around ClubMX. What they’ve been able to achieve at that facility over the past few years is truly amazing. While there, we got a tour of everything, including their brand new state-of-art fitness facility. It was very cool, and of course the riding was also a lot of fun. All of the ClubMX riders were there, including Ryder Malinoski, as was Chad Reed and his son Tate. So, stay tuned until Wednesday next week when I can tell you all about the new 2027 YZ250F.
