Greetings! Welcome to this late-April edition of the Monday Gate Drop Column, which as always is brought to you by the awesome folks at Yamaha Motor Canada. As I write this, the entire Blu Cru family is celebrating Cole Davies and his 2026 Monster Energy Supercross 250SX East Championship, which he clinched this past weekend in Philadelphia. More on Cole in a moment, but between he and his Star Racing Yamaha teammate Haiden Deegan, the YZ250F bikes have dominated SX in 2026. Of course, Yamaha is never a company who lets grass grow under their feet, so that is why everyone is very excited about the 2027 YZ250F. I don’t know too many exact details about what has changed on the YZ250F for 2027, but from what I’m hearing this new bike will have a new chassis, engine updates, and will visually look different next year. I would also expect the 2027 YZ250F to have a hydraulic clutch, as well as the suspension changes that the YZ450F received for this year. It’s hard to believe that Yamaha is going to make an already great bike even better, but that is what they’re attempting to do, and it’s very exciting.
Now, onto Cole Davies and his big win on Saturday evening in Philly. When Cole burst onto the scene last year it quickly became evident that he had the speed and technique to wins both races and championships. Last year, in the 2025 250SX West Series, Cole went toe-to-toe with Deegan for most of the series until Deegs punted him off of the track in Denver. Unfortunately, a hard crash the next week in SLC put Cole out of action until the Unadilla round of the Pro Motocross Championships. They say that adversity can make you stronger, and that seems to be exactly what has happened to Cole so far this year. After a less-than-stellar opening round of the 250SX East Series, Cole went on a run that brought him the opportunity to clinch his first pro championship in the USA this past weekend. Like Jett Lawrence and Haiden Deegan, Cole is mastering his craft at a very young age, and that brings with it contrasting maturity levels. As human beings, it’s only wishful thinking to believe that we can be everything all the time in life. History as shown us numerous times that even the most genius minds sometimes struggle with everyday life. For young exceptional athletes like Cole, (or Jett and Haiden when they were 18) when the helmet is on, he appears to have the maturity of a seasoned vet. However, when the helmet isn’t on, they can appear awkward when put in adult situations. Pretty much like most teenagers we see. This season, Cole’s podium interviews have sometimes given us the impression that he’s either mad, slightly arrogant, distant, or all of the above. For most fans, other than being in awe while watching him float around a SX track like a ballerina performing on stage, Cole for the most part, has been tough to like off of the bike as he just doesn’t give you much. This of course is in complete contrast to what people from New Zealand, or Kiwi’s as they’re affectionately referred to around the World are known for. They are some of the friendliest and talkative people you could ever meet, but Cole appears to be the exact opposite of that stereotype and I think I know why.
I feel that Cole shares a lot of the same personality traits that we’ve witnessed over the years from riders that travel across the Pacific Ocean from either Australia or New Zealand to compete against the World’s best in America. For most of them, travelling to America is considered to be a one-way trip where they either find success or they don’t. Mentally, there is no plan B and it’s an all or nothing adventure. If we think back to Chad Reed’s early years in the USA, he was sort of the same way as Cole Davies has been this year. Chad had great style, incredible race craft, and away from the track with his closet friends, he was probably an awesome guy to be around, but put a camera in his face and he just didn’t have much to say. At the time it came across to the fans as aloft and disrespectful, but it was just Chad not wanting to say too much and risk appearing soft to his competition. Cole appears to be exactly the same and I think a big part of his persona comes from knowing that he and his family have given up so much to get him to where he’s at, and there is an incredible amount of pressure to remain where he’s at. At his age, other than going home for a few weeks to visit friends or family, a trip back to New Zealand represents failure. With Cole’s technique and his ability to learn things quickly, I cannot wait to see what the next few years hold for him as he transitions to the 450. With most of the top 450 riders being 30 years of age or older, the sport desperately needs riders with abilities like Cole has. Last month, when my son and I were down at GPF in Georgia, we went into nearby Cairo for dinner at the famous First and Broad Pizza joint. This place is pretty cool as it’s filled with motocross memorabilia from almost every top rider. If you’re a motocross fan and you’re ever in the area, this place is a must see. Anyway, we were sitting at a table eating pizza and in walks Cole Davies for dinner. It was the Wednesday evening before the Birmingham SX, a race that Cole would go on to win, and there he was sitting at a table, eating and laughing with some non-moto friends that honestly looked several years younger than him. I thought it was interesting that with a championship battle going on in his professional life, here he was thousands of miles from his home country, just laughing with some buddies while eating pizza. Just like actors or actresses who show up on a set of a movie to play a role, it’s amazing how athletes are able to show up at their game or race, flip a switch and become a different person. Anyway, congratulations to Cole Davies and Yamaha on their 250SX East Championship.
On a completely different subject, on Friday evening my wife and I made the short 20 minute drive from our home to the Mono Centre Brewery. This new brewery is located in the Country and features multiple types of craft beer that is made onsite. The owner is a friend of mine, and so far the the Mono Centre Brewery has been a big success. They have even partnered with a local bicycle shop for what is called “Thirsty Thursday Ride” where a large group of cyclists meet at the brewery for a long ride, before returning for some much needed refreshments. Anyway, for us to get to the Mono Centre Brewery we have to head East out of the small hamlet of Mono Centre and past the property that used to host one of the most unique motocross events that Ontario had ever seen. The Mono Centre MX race took place from the mid-1980s to its final year in 2002, and for the most part it was on everyone’s favourite track list. From its one-off uphill start, to its 100% natural terrain layoff, the track had something for everybody. Although it was sanctioned first by the CMA, and then by the CMRC, the event itself was run and organized by the Halton Off-Road Riders Association and with permission of the property owner Clarence Rutledge, they would arrive the day before the race, to put up banners to mark out the track. I’m sure there was more to it, but from a track perspective that is all they had to do. The track layout for the most part was the same from the first time I raced there in 1995, to the final time in 2002, so bannering it was time consuming, but not complicated. This race was always held in late April or early May, and from an attendance point of view, it was always the largest race of the year in Ontario. It was always a fun race, and the fact that it was so close to my home made it even better. Here are a few interesting facts about the Mono Centre race. As I mentioned, it featured an uphill start, and I do mean a steep uphill start. There were obviously no gates, so it was a flag start every year. With the race being so early in the season, sometimes the section that ran through the woods was still frozen, or at least would start off frozen in the morning before thawing slightly in the afternoon. With it being a once a year race, it would always bring out riders who sometimes only raced once a year. Also, with the final year of this race being in 2002, this track didn’t see too many four-strokes on it. Even though I lived so close, I was only ever allowed to practice there once in 1992 when some local riding buddies got permission from Mr. Rutledge to ride there for a day the week after the race. I can tell you that the track was very rough and dry and not as much fun as I thought it would be. Finally, in 1987 when the ambulance failed to show up in the morning (in those days the rules stated that you couldn’t begin the day until an ambulance was onsite) the race had to be cancelled. To help ease the disappointment that people were feeling, my Dad told anyone who would listen (remember there were no cells phones or social media) that they could come over to our track to ride for the day. Before we knew it, 100 riders showed up and the road in front of our farm was lined with pick-up trucks, trailers, and vans. My track wasn’t exactly the Mono Centre track, but for that day it filled the void quite well. This memory, as well as many more all came back to me on Friday evening as we drove slowly by the property that used to host this iconic race. If you’re reading this and you have some memories of the old Mono Centre race, please email them to me at editor@mxpmag.com. I’d love to read them!
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone enjoys these final few days of April and the first few days of May. The weather for the most part has been terrible this month, so it will be nice to welcome a new month. For this week, my pick for the Motovan Canada rider of the week is Ken Roczen. In just two weeks, Kenny has gone from being 15-points down in the 450SX points standings to one-point ahead with two rounds to go. Can he pull this title off? I’d like to say yes, but I feel like it’s going to be a challenge to stay ahead of Hunter Lawrence in these final two races. Either way, Denver and SLC are going to be exciting races and I cannot wait to watch. Thank you for reading and have a great week!
