MXP: Hey Newf! Happy New Year! How was your holiday season, and are you ready to tackle 2024?
RL: The holidays were great. I had a little time off between Christmas and the New Year, which was nice. The weather has been awesome here in BC, so Meston and I have been able to get some riding in. As far as 2024 goes, coming into a new year with new Challenges and opportunities is always exciting. We have some AX stuff in Rimbey, Alberta on February 9/10 and February 16/17. I hope to do a Loretta Lynn’s Qualifier in Washington in April now that I’m eligible for the plus 40 class. Then, before you know it, it will be time to start the Nationals. I’m looking forward to 2024; it should be a good year.
MXP: Well, we made it to the eve of Anaheim 1, and I know you’re excited. Who do you have winning the 450SX and 250SX West main events tomorrow evening, and why are you picking these two riders?
RL: Oh, this is always tough, but I will start with 250SX West class. I’m going with RJ Hampshire, and the reason why is simple. He is the favorite coming in, and if you look at last year’s SX results, he finished second to Jett in every round except two. As far as 450SX class goes, even though I don’t like saying it, how do you bet against Jett Lawrence? Sexton is on a new bike, Webb is on a new bike, and Eli Tomac still has a big question mark on him for me, so you have to think Jett is the favorite. A1 is always a weird one, as we have seen some unlikely winners in the past. I think we are in for a good Saturday night.
MXP: We have three Canadians racing in the 250SX West class, which is pretty cool. Where do you see Thompson, Benek, and St-Cyr fitting in at the opening round?
RL: So all three guys will be in 250SX West, which is really cool for sure, and even though there are some really good guys, the 250SX East class looks to be a little deeper. This should give our riders a great chance to have some solid finishes.
Cole Thompson – This is his second year on the Heartbeat Hot Sauce Solitaire Yamaha team. He has a ton of SX experience and has been racing a lot in WSX Series and the Australian SX Series, so I don’t see why he won’t be inside the top ten.
Julien Benek – He’s going into his second year of Supercross and has been riding really well. He is doing his own thing this year with just him and his dad. He made one main event last year with an LCQ win, so I can’t see why he can’t make a handful of main events this year. If he wants to make a go of this, he needs to be in the mains week in and week out. I heard he might be fighting a sickness right now, so I guess that might hurt his chances this weekend.
Guillaume St-Cyr – I love his story and that he loves riding SX, plain and simple. He has the skill and will be in the night show for sure. Main events will be tough, but not out of the question.