Greetings! Welcome to this wet and cool mid-April edition of the Monday Gate Drop Column. This column is once again brought to you by the awesome people at Yamaha Motor Canada. I’m not sure what the weather has been like in your area, but so far in Southern Ontario, this month has been miserable. Hopefully, as our official outdoor race schedule begins this coming weekend, Mother Nature will bless us with some sustained nice Spring weather.
So, as I mentioned, the gate will drop this coming weekend, both in Ontario as well as out in BC. For Ontario, it will be Gopher Dunes hosting the opening AMO Racing event on their newly designed track. As it has been for the past several years, the paddock at Gopher Dunes will be jammed packed with eager riders from Ontario, Quebec, and possibly nearby States. Heading to Gopher Dunes to race in April has always been a pilgrimage of sorts as riders look to shake the dust off after a long off-season. There will be a lot to celebrate as the AMO Racing Series heads to this famous Ontario circuit to begin the 2026 season. This year marks the 40th Anniversary of Gopher Dunes, a track that has produced so many incredible moments over the year. My first time going there to ride was back in 1988 and I don’t think I’ve missed a year since then. During that time, I’ve witnessed the track and facility change multiple times, I’ve watched Frank Schuster hand the reigns over to his son Derek, who has grown up right before my eyes. I’ve taught schools there, I’ve won races there, I’ve raced a pro national there, I’ve crashed and ate sand there several times, I had the honour of watching my son race his first-ever race there, and late this summer I’ll hopefully get to watch him race his first pro national there. Oh, and I’ve followed a former National Champion for an entire Ontario Provincial moto eating roost from his illegal paddle tire. You could say I’ve experienced everything there is to experience at Gopher Dunes. However, to be perfectly honest, I always feel excited like a little kid again whenever it’s time for the opening race of a new year! Good luck to everyone this weekend at Gopher Dunes, as well as out in BC as the track in Kelowna will be hosting the opening Future West MX race of 2026.
Down in the “Music City”, Round 13 of the 2026 Monster Energy Supercross Series took place and once this exciting series concludes, we could look back to this round as the turning point in the 450SX title fight. Heading into Nashville, both Hunter Lawrence and Eli Tomac were tied atop the points standings, while the feel good story of the year, Ken Roczen was just five points back. With this race taking place during the afternoon under the strong Nashville sun, the track was hard, dry, and slick all day long. These conditions left many of us feeling that the 450SX main event was going to be another Ken Roczen show. The German has always excelled on hard packed and dry tracks, and also, his RMZ450 seems to work well in these conditions. When the gate dropped on the main event, Roczen did exactly what he needed to do on the opening laps and rocketed to the lead. From there, he looked well on his way to yet another main event win. However, Hunter Lawrence, who was feeling much better after his Detroit crash two weeks ago, had other ideas. While Roczen appeared to be dealing with some nerves up front, Lawrence was relaxed and ready to prove why he is still the championship favourite. A few laps later, Lawrence snatched the lead from Roczen when he made a big mistake after the mechanic’s area. Soon after that, Roczen would make another mistake that would end up costing him a second place finish (that honour would go to Cooper Webb). Lawrence would cruise to the win over Webb and Roczen, while the other red plate holder Eli Tomac could only manage a 12th place finish.
After dominating his heat race and announcing that he was back, Tomac had a disastrous main event in Nashville. Using his favourite Dunlop MX14 rear tire again, Tomac got off to a horrible start, and then was unable to advance much on the slippery track, even crashing once while trying to come through the pack. In a way, it was a smart race by Tomac as the track just wasn’t conducive to coming from behind and taking chances. Unfortunately, his fate was sealed when he was unable to get off the gate with his rivals in the points standings. Was his ‘Scoop” tire to blame? I don’t think it was off of the gate as Tomac’s starts haven’t been great since Daytona. However, once the race started, I do believe a harder pack tire would’ve given him more traction, and perhaps a better chance at passing more riders. During the television broadcast, it was stated that Tomac said that he successfully runs the MX14 at his home track in Colorado, and conditions there are even harder and dryer than they were in Nashville. Now, I don’t doubt that the MX14 works great for Tomac at home, and that he feels very comfortable with it in all situations. Had he got off to a good start on Saturday and was able to control the race from the front, or at least near the front, then I do think the tire would’ve worked just fine. But, when you’re stuck in the back, unable to take the lines you want, and having to get creative and take chances in order to make passes, I think Tomac made a costly choice with going back to that tire. Now, with just four races remaining Tomac is a whopping 15 points behind Lawrence in the 450SX points standings. Tomac and Roczen (who is now ten points behind Lawrence) need help as they’re running out of time. They could get that help in the next two races, who knows what April weather the riders will encounter in Cleveland and Philadelphia? But, Lawrence has just been so solid this year that he’s going to be very difficult to catch. Unfortunately, the 450SX main event in Nashville did not have any Canadian’s in it as Cole Thompson had an off-track excursion while in a transfer spot in his heat race, and then suffered a bad start in the LCQ and was unable to finish inside the top four. Cole and the rest of the 450SX riders will regroup this week before heading North to Cleveland this weekend for Round 14.
Finally, going back to the AMO Racing season opener this weekend at Gopher Dunes, as always there should be a solid pro class turnout despite not having a set pro purse anymore. Top pro riders like Dylan Wright, Sebastien Racine, Tanner Ward, and Quinn Amyotte should all be lining up on Sunday, as well as a host of other fast pro riders. For most of these guys, they have been training hard down south for the past several months and now it’s time to get a few gate drops in before the 2026 Triple Crown Series begins in early June. One rider that I’m very anxious to see ride on Sunday is our former multi-time champion Dylan Wright. As you know, Dylan is coming off a couple of rough seasons in the Triple Crown Series and now he’s looking for redemption. During the off-season he and his GDR Honda Team have made a number of changes to their program, including changing their motor and suspension providers. Dylan also changed up his training program, opting to spend the beginning of the winter riding out in Nevada before moving back down to Florida. To say this is an important year for Dylan would be a gross understatement in my opinion, and I don’t even think his success in 2026 can be measured with just wins or a possible title. First and foremost, Dylan has to get comfortable on his motorcycle again and it sounds like he’s made big strides in that department. Second, he needs to make it through these pre-season races and then the Triple Crown Series without any big crashes. Although Dylan is not old by any means, he’s not young either, and as I mentioned, in recent years he’s put his body through hell. Top athletes are great at compartmentalizing and for a rider like Dylan getting back on track started with a solid off-season. With that box checked, it’s now time to go racing and get through this weekend with two solid and safe motos. If you want to know more about what Dylan Wright has been up to, here is his Fox Racing Canada Guest Column from last week: Guest Column With Dylan Wright Presented By Fox Racing Canada- The Off-Season! – Motocross Performance Magazine
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week and if you’re going racing this weekend, good luck and ride safe. Remember, results don’t mean too much in your first race of the season; it’s more about getting in a few drops and mentally and physically adjusting to the intensity of competition again. Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.
