MXP: Hey Newf! You are now two rounds into the 2026 Future West MX Championships; how did things go on the weekend?
RL: Weekend was good. Really good turnout for one of our northern races. Quesnel usually attracts riders that don’t do the full Future West series for the pure fact that it’s a long way away from the core of BC. It’s been really dry and hot here in BC so far this spring and the track ended up being good. It’s a 90% sand track, so the track got super rough and tough. Overall, a positive weekend for all and we are off to a great start in 2026. Next up is Revelstoke which is going to be a BC/AB shootout and we are expecting a huge turnout.
MXP: There was some minor controversy created on the weekend when Ryder McNabb showed up at Auburn Hills Raceway, rode Saturday practice, but then decided not to race on Sunday. He said the reasoning was that the track was too fast and that he didn’t feel comfortable. We won’t go into all of the comments made regarding his decision, but they were fairly one-sided to put it mildly. You know Ryder as well as anyone, was he right not to line-up on Sunday, or should he have at least tried it?
RL: Not a great look for Ryder and a past two-time champion, but I did a little more digging on this. I reached out to the McNabb camp and asked if the real reason was that the track is to fast, and of course the answer I got was not that reason. What I got told was that he had just driven all the way from Texas to Ontario and then to hop in a car and drive all the way to Wawa Ontario to pick up his truck that broke down on his way to Texas WAY BACK IN January, to then drive from Wawa, back to where the team was based just outside of Auburn. He was feeling a bit run down, just an overall busy 10 or so days, which makes full sense. I have no reason to think that isn’t true so yes, I can wrap my head around that. Now with saying that, not sure why he wouldn’t have elaborated on his story with Billy from DMX, from just saying the track is too fast. To that comment he made, I just shrug my shoulders.
MXP: Okay, one more main event to go in the Monster Energy Supercross Series 450SX Series. Ken Roczen leads Hunter Lawrence by just one-point. One-point Newf! This is going to be an amazing finale to the 2026 450SX Series. Who do you think wins this title?
RL: This is short and sweet. I want Kenny to win, but I really think deep down Hunter will and I’m purely basing that off of what we’ve seen at Denver. SLC is very close to Denver and Hunter was just plain better on the hard pact and elevation. Both really cool stories and may the best man win. I’m 60% Hunter Lawerance and 40% Ken Roczen for the title. Can’t wait to watch.
