Editor’s Note: Newf has been very busy, so Palms will be answering your questions this week.
MXP: Spring is obviously fast approaching and riding season in Canada will be in full swing soon. Can you talk a little about how the 2026 Future West MX season is looking?
CP: I did reach out to Newf on this question as he is the man in BC MX right now. Here is what he texted me back. “For 2026, there aren’t too many changes, but we do have a couple of exciting things planned. We’re doing a BC/Alberta Shootout in Revelstoke on the May long weekend, so that should be good for everyone who attends. It will be a points paying event for both regions. Also, we’re going back to Prince George, so there will be 9 rounds in total this season.”
MXP: Let’s talk about some of the team signings from last week. What are your thoughts on the two new KTM Canada riders, as well as the GDR Honda Team adding WMX rider Hannah Cole?
CP: Honestly, the KTM Canada signings didn’t really come as a surprise, as both names have been out there for sometime. I think Harri Kulas will be very good in the 450 class for a few reasons. First, he’s used to having to adapt quickly to new tracks and that will certainly help him this summer. Also, I’m assuming that he’s very good on tracks that aren’t big wide USA type National tracks. In the past, visiting riders have struggled with our tight and unique Triple Crown Series tracks. Finally, Harri will have as close to a works bike as there is in Canada, so he will have a slight advantage in that regard, and I heard that he works very hard off of the bike, so fitness will not be an issue.
As for his teammate Crayden Dillon? I think the sky is the limit for this kid in the 250 class this summer. In the past few years, he’s been fast when he’s raced various rounds of the Triple Crown Series. Also, Crayden will be fit, confident, and like Kulas, he will have a very good bike under him. Can he win motos? Honestly, I’d be surprised if he did this summer, but I won’t be surprised if he’s a consistent Top 3-5 rider in the 250 class.
Finally, it came as no surprise that the GDR Honda Team went out and signed a WMX rider for 2026, as that is the current trend in our sport. Hannah Cole is a very well-deserving choice, as she’s coming off a successful 2026 WMX Series. I’m not privy to the exact details of Hannah’s deal for 2026, but it will be good to see her under the GDR Honda Tent with the two Dylan’s and Braxton Zeitner at all of the Triple Crown Series rounds.
MXP: One of the big topics this week is about lapped riders in SX and how the series can deal with them better. As a former Privateer rider yourself in SX, how challenging is it when you’re getting lapped by the top riders, and can they do anything different to address the problem?
CP: Oh man, has this been a big topic this week in our sport. First, we had Eli Tomac speaking about it during the post-race press conference after the three main events in Indy. I believe Eli’s suggestion that they should cut the number of riders in the main events when the track is short came mostly out of the frustration he was feeling in the moment. After all, he did have one main event win (and the overall win) taken away from him by a stubborn Kevin Moranz and he was almost taken out in mid-air by Vince “I love racing with the leaders” Friese in one of the other main events, so you can understand that at the time Eli would be happy if only five riders lined up for each main event. Then there was poor Cole Thompson who qualified for the 450SX main event, while working out of small van with his wife as his mechanic, caught in no man’s land, and getting landed on and taken off of the track by race leader Hunter Lawrence. I don’t think that incident was Thompson’s fault, but I could be a biased Canadian. Of course, who was only feet away from that incident, Vince Friese. Are you seeing a pattern here? Getting rid of privateer riders is a terrible idea in my opinion.
It’s time the AMA got serious about this problem and handed out some ‘real’ punishment to REPEAT offenders. I mentioned two (Friese/ Moranz), but there are probably a few more that the top riders can name right off the top of their heads. Since racing began, there has been lapped riders and it’s fact that some are easier than others to get by. Whether certain riders are so focused on their own battle that they simply don’t see the blue flag, or perhaps they just don’t care. It’s hard to believe that any lapper holds the leaders up intentionally, especially at that level. Anyway, if you do it once, it should be a warning, twice and it’s a small fine, and three times get you black flagged and last place finish.
Second, maybe it’s time to change the colour of the blue flag to something more noticeable. Blue is such an unassuming colour (my favourite by the way) at the best of times, throw in the everything that is in the sight line of an SX rider during a main event and maybe it gets missed sometimes. Maybe a pink flag, or bright purple, or put a red strip across the blue flag? Maybe that will be enough to catch the riders eyes better during an intense SX main event.
Finally, and this one is kind of in two parts. First, why in 2026 can’t the Indy dirt be stored inside somewhere either all winter, or in the weeks leading up to the race so it’s the track is not a rutted mess every single year. The winters in Detroit are more severe than in Indy and the dirt inside Ford Field is okay, regardless of when they have that round. Ten years ago when the Toronto SX was on the Monster Energy Supercross Series Schedule (I miss this race so much) they found a way to bring in dry dirt and we know what Toronto winters are like. Every year, it’s the same thing in Indy. The city is great, the stadium is amazing, it’s well attended every year, can we give the fans and riders some decent dirt.
Also, when the series knows that the dirt is going to be like it is in Indy, why make it a Triple Crown format race? With three main events in each class, you’re only asking for trouble. Short lap times, ruts everywhere, three main events, I mean, it doesn’t take a SX expert to figure out that there are going to be issues with lapped riders. I guess every round has issues, but the conditions in Indy certainly didn’t help. However, it did give everyone something to talk about during this off-week in the series.
