Greetings! Welcome to the Christmas week edition of the Monday Gate Drop, which is once again sponsored by the awesome folks at Yamaha Motor Canada. The Blu Cru has been very giving during 2025, whether it’s been with their Amateur program, or with their Pro teams. From young Jonathan Bergeron to Triple Crown Series 250 class champion Preston Kilroy, success was the name of the game for Yamaha riders in 2025. I was speaking with Yamaha last week, and they were filling me in on some of their big plans for 2026, and by the sounds of it, Blu Cru riders are going to have even more support next year. Please look for a big announcement sometime in the early new year!
So, with Christmas just around the corner, the early part of this week is most likely a busy time for everyone. With that in mind, and the fact that later today I have to finish off my Christmas shopping, this edition of the Monday Gate Drop is going to be on the short side. Of course, the big news that everyone was talking about over the weekend was the ankle/foot injury to Jett Lawrence. There hasn’t been too many details released about how Jett was injured, but by the type of injury he suffered, it sounds as though he came up short on a jump section and landed hard. Regardless of how he crashed, Jett ended up fracturing his Talus and Navicular bones in his right foot and ankle. Due to the proximity of the the two bones in your body, blood supply is limited, and that makes the healing time quite a bit longer than you would think. Jett underwent surgery right away to have pins inserted, and I’m sure that will speed things up as far as the bones healing. Also, Jett will have access to the best doctors and physiotherapists out there, so just as he did with his knee injury last year, I don’t have any doubts that he will return 100%. However, even with Jett healing faster than most people, this injury still requires at least three months to heal properly, and make sure he doesn’t have any issues moving forward. This timeline takes him to late March at best (until he can even ride), so I suspect we won’t see Jett on a starting gate until the opening round of the Pro Motocross Championships in May. This is just terrible news for everyone involved in the Monster Energy Supercross Series. Whether it’s Jett himself, Team Honda, or the fans, having the 2026 SX Series take place without the top rider in the sport just doesn’t seem right. Also, considering Jett missed most of the 2025 SX Series with a knee injury, the bigger question moving forward is will this affect Jett’s progress and development when it comes to his riding? At his young age, he’s still getting better, or at least he’s supposed to be still improving, and as any rider will tell you, it’s one thing to miss a big chunk of races once, but to do it two years in a row is very hard. We all sat in awe earlier this year when Jett treated his serious knee injury as almost routine. First there was surgery, then rehab, a little riding, and then back to winning races in the outdoor series like he didn’t skip a beat. Will this one begin to affect his mental state a little bit and be more challenging to comeback from? Especially, given the fact that he’ll most likely be returning to an absolute hornet’s nest in 450 class next summer with riders like Tomac, Sexton, his brother, and Haiden Deegan all most likely at the top of their games. Only time will be able answer these questions!
In the meantime, life goes on, and perhaps with the top rider out of the upcoming Monster Energy Supercross Series, it will make the racing even more exciting. Speaking of excitement, the second bit of news I want to speak about today is the changing of the date of the 2026 Walton TransCan. As of late last week, the Walton TransCan has been pushed back a week, mostly to accommodate the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National, which also got moved to one week later on the calendar. So, to avoid any conflicts next summer, Loretta Lynn’s will now run during the first week of August, and then the TransCan will run during the second week of August, after the final round of the Triple Crown Series at Walton Raceway. Obviously, when schedule changes like this happen there are always going to be people that think it’s a good idea, some that are against it, and then some that don’t really care. As I said last week in this column, 2026 is already going to see a lot of changes when it comes to both Walton Raceway, and the Walton TransCan. There is new ownership is place, so that is the biggest change. We are definitely going to see some changes around the property at Walton Raceway, and perhaps even some track changes. Change and new blood in this sport is always needed as that is part of what makes this sport go-round. However, sometimes too much change too quickly can create fear. Moving the TransCan back a week isn’t the end of the world, and could certainly prove to be a great idea. When you break it down, it does open the possibility to better track conditions for both the pro national on Sunday, and the TransCan the following week. It also might secure a larger crowd for the pro national, as well as allow some of the large pro teams to provide more amateur support during the TransCan (providing they stick around after the pro national). There are definitely some benefits to it, but one thing that will be missing IMO is the part that you don’t see with your eyes, and that’s the vibe and excitement that builds during the TransCan week as we inch close to the pro national. Sunday’s National has always provided a perfect book end to the TransCan, and really the summer in Canadian moto, and for anyone who has been at the TransCan, you know what I mean. As the week goes on and the pro riders begin to arrive at Walton Raceway, there is an energy in the air as you see Dylan Wright and Jess Pettis strolling through the paddock and standing at the fences watching the racing. The Walton TransCan (and the ECAN in recent years) schedule has always been special to Canada and to Canadian MX, as no other event on the planet has a major Amateur race immediately followed by a Pro National.
Also, will some of the riders from the west who in years past have come out early to race the ECAN in Quebec, and then hung out for a week before racing the TransCan. With the previous Walton TransCan schedule a family from the West could travel to the ECAN next summer, stop at SDL and race the AMO event, continue onto the ECAN, and then make their way back to Ontario for the TransCan. Obviously, they could still do that, but it adds an extra week to their adventure. As I said, some people are going to like this change of schedule, some won’t, and some won’t really care one way or the other. I’m sure it will all work out and everyone’s week at Walton Raceway will be an enjoyable one as it always is. Change is never a bad thing, as we have to work to keep things fresh in this sport. But, it will be interesting to see how the masses react to all of these changes in 2026. Here is the 2026 Walton Raceway Schedule:
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, and I hope you are exactly where you want to be this week, and with who you want to be with. I will be back next week with one more Monday Gate Drop for the year. Until then, have a great week, and thank you for reading this weeks column. If you have any questions, or comments, please email me ateditor@mxpmag.com.
