Greetings! Welcome to this late June edition of the Monday Gate Drop Column, presented as always by the fine people at Yamaha Motor Canada. As we reported several weeks ago, Yamaha is set to release an all-new YZ250F for 2027. This new 250F features a new chassis, Hydraulic clutch, as well as major engine changes. It won’t be easy to improve upon what is already a very successful YZ250F platform, but if anyone can accomplish this it’s Yamaha. Please stay tuned for a complete test story on this new and exciting 2027 YZ250F.
Well, where do I begin on this glorious post-Father’s Day Monday? With the Triple Crown Series having its first weekend off before a challenging five consecutive rounds, my family and I headed up to the ‘New’ Walton Raceway for the AMO Racing OPC event. With all of the changes that have happened at Walton Raceway over the past six months, I (like so many) was eagerly anticipating seeing it with my own eyes for the first time. The first thing we noticed when we arrived on Saturday morning for practice was that we certainly weren’t the only people who were excited to witness the changes at Walton Raceway. The paddock was jammed packed with riders, trailers, motor homes, and just about everything else for this Father’s Day weekend edition of the 2027 AMO Racing Series. It was great to see as racing right now is more expensive than ever. After unloading, I made my way to the infield area to see how everything looked, and I was instantly impressed with how clean things were, as well as how fresh the new fencing and of course, the new Dave Bell Tower looked. It’s been sometime since a few of these upgrades were made, so it was great to see. As they say, first impressions are everything and from what I saw on Saturday morning, everything looked good. One thing however that hasn’t changed at Walton Raceway is the incredible family connection you feel from the moment you drive into the gate. With the weather being nice this past weekend in Ontario, you could see and hear kids swimming and playing in the ‘Walton Pool”, the pro shop was busy selling coffee, drinks, and treats. Over the years, the Lee Family created such a great family atmosphere at Walton, and now to see Kyle Keast and his family continuing that is amazing.
So, with multiple changes and upgrades made to the Walton Raceway facility, let’s now talk about the most important thing, the track! I’ve said this a few times but I was a big proponent of the direction the track has ran for past several years. The big reason I like that direction was since the track ran in a counter-clockwise direction, it naturally had more left hand corners than right hand corners. I was actually speaking to Nick Wey about this last weekend in Manitoba where the Prairie Hill MX track had two fast right hand sweepers. Nick and I both agreed that those two high-speed turns were crucial in the riders finding success, not just because they were fast sweepers, but because they were turning to the right. Anyway, I could go on and on about this, but it won’t change anything, the Walton Raceway track is now back to running in a clock-wise direction and 9 out of the 16 corners are back to being right-hand corners. However, I do like what Kyle and his crew have done with opening some of the turns up, adding a few more sections, as well as several small and fun jumps. I haven’t ridden the track yet, but from what I saw and heard, the new layout is fun to ride and should set-up well for bigger races like the Walton TransCan and the final round of the Triple Crown Series in August. Oh, and let’s not forget that Walton Raceway now features grates for the riders to start on. This is a very cool upgrade, and one that every rider loved this weekend.
Now, with that said. There are a few tasks that are challenging in this world. Climbing Mt. Everest sounds really tough, going to Mars doesn’t sound easy, and keeping the Walton Raceway track in good riding-condition during an Ontario Provincial event has always been next to impossible when the sun is shinning. For years, the Walton track crew, regardless or who they are, has always been in a tough spot when it comes to how deep to rip it, and how much water to add at the start of the day. Too much of both, result in muddy and rutted conditions to start the day (this also makes for some pissed off parents), but with a little patience from everyone, it can make for solid conditions later in the day. Like we saw yesterday, if the track crew doesn’t rip it too deep, or add an abundance of water to the track overnight, you have ideal conditions for practice, and the early motos, but dry, hard-packed, and sometimes dusty conditions for the later motos. Sadly, with the type of soil that Walton Raceway has, I’m not sure there is even a happy median when it comes to track preparation. It’s either one or the other and yesterday we saw the latter. The morning and early motos saw the track smooth, moist, and only a few deep ruts, but by the time the opening Pro moto hit the track, it had ‘gone away’ as they say. The track crew did do some incredible work during the intermission and brought it back off life support, but with the sun shinning and so many riders, the conditions were again challenging for the late motos. But, like I said, this isn’t Gopher Dunes where you can just add water, drag an I-Beam around, and instantly improve things, the Walton soil is a high maintenance beast that needs constant attention. You’re never going to make every rider in the paddock happy as each one sees a track differently. After the races yesterday I spoke to at least ten pro riders and every single one had something different to say about how the track was. Some weren’t happy, a few didn’t care either way, and one rider said that he loved it (and full disclosure that wasn’t Cole Pranger-who won both motos yesterday). But, knowing Kyle Keast and his family, they will make the necessary adjustments and when we all arrive at Walton Raceway for the TransCan in August we will be be greeted by solid track conditions. As I was driving home last night I was thinking about the evolution and all the changes to Walton Raceway, both as a track and facility that I’ve seen over the years. Regardless of who has owned it or ran it, it’s been an amazing journey for this property. I also thought about the first time I ever went to Walton Raceway back in the late 1970s when my Dad and I went to watch a local CMA race there. A lot has obviously changed, but I can still picture standing track side with my Dad by the trees in the valley section. It was a perfect memory to end what was an amazing Father’s Day spent at Walton Raceway!
As I mentioned above, the Triple Crown Series enjoyed a weekend off before resuming at the Motocross Saint Julie track this coming weekend. Unfortunately, the 450 class will continue without Jess Pettis who suffered a torn ACL last weekend in Manitoba. Pettis had a Jett Lawrence type incident on the opening lap of moto two (while leading) when he dabbed his foot on the hard ground. Jess had an MRI last week to confirm the extent of the injury and by all accounts he will have surgery in a few months. I don’t even know what to say about this as it’s just such a tough situation for Jess and his team. Even in moto one, while leading by a few seconds Jess slid out and handed the lead and moto win to Dylan Wright. It was a strange mistake by the multi-time champion, but I guess they do happen when you’re pushing the limit each and every moto. So, Pettis is now out until 2027 and that is sad news for the series as everyone was looking forward to the Wright/Pettis battle in the east. Now, we will have to wait to see if there will be a Wright/Racine battle, or a Wright/Kullas battle, or hopefully a Wright/Racine/Kullas/Ward/Amyotte etc battle in the next few rounds. Also, it doesn’t sound like Ryder McNabb is coming back anytime soon. I spoke to Chris Egan (Guaranteed Comfort Honda Team owner) yesterday at Walton Raceway, and he said there is currently no timeline for Ryder’s return. He has been officially diagnosed with Mono, so it’s really just a wait and see game for Ryder and his health. Finally, the Red Bull KTM Factory Team Manager and KTM Canada’s Marketing Manager Matt Deroy has confirmed that he’s leaving KTM in a few weeks to take a job with BRP in Montreal. This weekend in Quebec will be Matt’s final weekend with the team before Kaven Benoit takes over as Team Manager for the remainder of the summer. Matt has been an incredible presence at the races, starting out as a mechanic before transferring over to the management side of things. I’ve always enjoyed talking and hanging out with Matt, and I wish him nothing but the best moving forward. He will be missed at the track, as well as in our industry for sure.
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone had a good weekend, and I hope all of our Moto Dads had a wonderful Father’s Day yesterday. My pick for the Motovan Canada Rider of the Week is Priority Thor GASGAS 250 rider Cole Pranger who dominated yesterday’s Pro/Am class at Walton Raceway. Cole grabbed the holeshot in both motos and never looked back. He took the overall win, the large amount of cash, as well as I’m sure a big boost of confidence heading into the east rounds of the Triple Crown Series. If anyone has any comments or questions, please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.
