Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
MXP: You raced the Big Kahuna race at Whispering Pines Raceway last weekend. We heard it was a fantastic event. How was it from your perspective?
RL: It was an incredible event with 580 individual riders, which is the biggest turnout they have ever had. In 2022 they had 460 riders, and I’m not going to lie, in 2022, it was a bit of a gong show. They were overwhelmed, but I will say they tightened things up for 2023 and killed it. It was very well organized and made it fun for the kids to the pros. I’m not sure who has fun at the two-hour mark of riding a dirt bike, but people keep coming back. Overall they did a good job. The course got really tough, and the best rose to the top. It was great to see Tyler Medaglia killing it out there and the rest of the Moto guys doing well, such as Parker Eales, Blake Davies, Davey Fraser, Brock Hoyer, etc.
MXP: The Glendale SX was another great race with three exciting main events in the 450SX class. In the end, Eli Tomac grabbed the overall win and took sole possession of the red plates. What are your thoughts on Tomac’s performance in Arizona?
RL: Yes, I mean Eli pulls through when the pressure is on. What else can you say? Honestly, I think this race was a big statement for Eli to hold onto this thing. Cooper Webb seems to struggle with the harder-packed track, and if you look at what rounds are left, the tracks will be more in Eli’s favour. Anything can happen, but Tomac has seemed to shake the neck injury he claimed to have and is back to his early-season self. If you had asked me three weeks ago, I felt like Webb had momentum on his side, but that changed this past weekend.
MXP: The Future West MX Championships opening round is next weekend in Kelowna. It’s still over a week away, but how are things looking for Round 1?
RL: Well, it was a huge bummer that we had to cancel our event at Mission Raceway, which was supposed to be our Round 1, but in hindsight, it was 100% the right thing to do. The weather they were calling for actually happened, and it would have been a complete disaster. As far as Kelowna goes, we are all excited as most of the riders love this track. It’s fun and fast, and the jumps make it exciting. The weather is always good, and the extra two weeks gave some riders more time to prepare. It will be a great event and a solid way to kick off our 2023 outdoor season.
