Greetings! Welcome to the final Monday Gate Drop of November 2024, and what has been a pretty decent month for riding in most parts of Canada. We rode our home track for the final time a week ago, so we definitely cannot complain about how the weather has been. However, with snow and even freezing rain in the forecast for this week, our two-wheeled fun has certainly come to an end for this year. In a few days it will be December, and soon it will be what many refer to as the most wonderful time of the year.
Out in BC, it’s still racing season as the opening rounds of the 2024 Orion AMO AX Championships kicked off in Chilliwack. This incredible series has been around in some way shape or form for almost 30 years, and during that time pretty much every top Canadian pro has lined up behind the starting gate. Back in 1998/99 when this series took place in Abbotsford, I was fortunate enough to race a few rounds, and I can tell you that it was never boring. Having grown up racing various AX events in the USA and Quebec, I was obviously no stranger to the tight and aggressive style of AX racing. I always enjoyed racing indoors, and the “eat or be eaten” style of racing AX suited me on most nights. During the times I travelled out to BC to race this series, I was by then, the old guy in Canadian pro racing, so it was fun to mix it up with the young, up and coming BC kids. Darcy Lange was the most notable young rider I recall racing against in Abbotsford, as he was fast, aggressive, and a little wild in his early days. We exchanged paint more than once during the three events I raced there, and it even led to his Dad having words with me in the paddock. Being older and slightly grumpy, I had little patience for Darcy at the time. His unpredictable style made him tough to race against as you just didn’t know what he was going to do. Add in the fact that he was lightning fast indoors, and always seemed to get good starts. However, being the older experienced rider my advantage over him was that I didn’t make many mistakes, and when push came to shove I felt like I could muscle Darcy around on the track. Of course, that only worked if I could find him on the track, and in a few main events he would grab the holeshot and be gone. Even though I was only there for couple of weekends, Darcy and I had some epic battles, that like I said, sometimes boiled over to some not so nice words in the paddock. Looking back now, those races were a lot of fun, and thankfully Darcy would become good friends the year after. I even took him flying once after I got my pilots license in 2003.
Anyway, whether it was my battles with Darcy, or the ones that followed between names like Roy, Beaton, Klatt, Lockhart, or numerous others over the years, this BC AX series has been excellent for a long time. By the sounds of it, this past weekend in Chilliwack was no different, as the riders battled hard inside the Heritage Arena. Visiting American Colin Jurin took the overall win on Friday night, while local hero Tyler Gibbs was victorious on Saturday evening. Even though it was just the opening two rounds, this was a big win for Gibbs as he’s been on the losing end of a few opportunities in recent years. At times, Gibbs has simply suffered some bad luck and had to sit out some races with injuries. Other times, he has simply underachieved and not gotten the job done. I’m happy for Gibbs as he certainly earned the win and the points lead this past weekend, but honestly, I’m not surprised Tyler had the type of success he did in Chilliwack. He’s a great AX/SX rider, and with his experience last year racing the GT AX Series in the USA, I fully expected him to win at least one or two main events this past weekend. Hopefully, Tyler can take the success he had this weekend, build on it this week, and have another great two nights of racing this coming weekend. As we saw last year with Quinn Amyotte, these end of the year races in Chilliwack are a big deal as everyone, including sponsors, remember your last few races of the season.
The final two rounds won’t be easy for Tyler Gibbs and his now red plated Yamaha, as defending champion Quinn Amyotte, and teenage sensation Blake Davies will no doubt make adjustments this week, and come out swinging at Round 3 on Friday night. Also, track builder and BC AX legend Kyle Beaton will make some track changes this week, so the riders will get a new design for the final two rounds. There was also a great amateur turnout this weekend as riders from as far away as Ontario made the trek to Chilliwack. As I mentioned above, this series has been so important over the years for the growth of young riders from BC and surrounding provinces. Darcy Lange, who I spoke about earlier is a perfect example. As a young rider, Darcy cut his teeth in this series before going on to become a factory Pro Circuit Team rider, and one of our most successful indoor riders. I love seeing photos from Chilliwack as they always remind how dedicated our Canadian riders are. It can get cold and damp inside the Chilliwack Arena, so it’s not uncommon to see riders racing in hoodies, or even winter coats. It’s just so Canadian that it’s amazing! Like the Tragically Hip, or Tim Horton’s, the BC AX Series has embedded itself into the fabric of our sport in Canada.
Moving from BC to across the Pacific Ocean, and onto Western Australia. Perth, Australia welcomed the 2024 WSX Championships, and in front of a packed stadium Eli Tomac once again showed that he is more than ready to compete for the upcoming 2025 Monster Energy Supercross 450SX title. Tomac dominated the WSX class in Perth, winning all but one main event. Ken Roczen was fast, Joey Savatgy was fast, but all of them were chasing the big #3 Star Racing Yamaha. I’ve said this a few times in recent weeks, but how exciting (and smart), is it that Tomac has chosen to do these off-season races. I think everyone would agree with me when I say that in recent years, there was zero chance of seeing Eli Tomac race in Perth Australia in late November. From his home in Colorado, flying to Perth involves more than 24 hours sitting on an airplane, with most likely three connections. Now, obviously Tomac is travelling in first class with an available bed for sleeping. But still, his body is having to cross multiple time zones, as well as the International line. As we speak, Tomac is probably back over the Pacific Ocean again as he makes his way home. Once back in Cortez, CO, Tomac and his family will only spend a few days before having to jump on a plane to once again fly across the globe for the final WSX round in Abu Dhabi. I’m sure Tomac will need a few extra days off through mid-December to recover from all of this travel, but once the jet lag is gone he is going to be in a very good place entering the new year and the opening round in Anaheim. Tomac also looks like he’s having fun which is just amazing to see.
Cole Thompson had a decent weekend in Perth but could not match his podium finish from the opening round in Vancouver a few weeks ago. Still, with his top-five finishes, Cole sits fourth overall in the WSX SX2 points standings with one round to go. This coming weekend, Cole will race the final round of the Australian SX Championships in Melbourne, before wrapping up his successful 2024 season in Abu Dhabi and the final round of the WSX Series. I watched the opening night of racing this weekend from Perth, and once again, the Jetwerx crew did an awesome job on the track. The dirt looked to be a sandy loam that broke down quite quickly. However, even with those challenges, our trusty Canadian Jetwerx boys continued to do some great work down under, and the riders were happy.
As I mentioned, the final round of the Australian SX Series is this weekend, and over the years, this race has been one of the best off-season events on the planet. As you’ve probably heard, the Lawrence Brothers are going to race in front of their home fans for the first time in five years. Cooper Webb will also be there, but Haiden Deegan will not be in attendance. There has been quite a bit of drama in the past week regarding a story that stated that the Lawrence Brothers maliciously tried to keep Deegan out of the Melbourne SX. The hate messages from both sides over this story have been over the top and really a sad sign of the world we currently live in. Over at VitalMX, Michael Lindsey dug deep into what really happened, and if you get a chance, you should go and read his piece. Deegan Snubbed and Lawrences Blamed? | AUSX Open Facts – Motocross Feature – Vital MX. I love the way Haiden rides, and obviously, he is great for our sport, but history has proven time and time again that the best rivalries in sport are created organically between either two teams or two athletes, not from outside forces! Folks, the drama is sure real in our sport these days.
Anyway, that’s it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great final week of November, and Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American friends. Also, Thanksgiving means that a week-long race in Florida, also known as the Thor Mini O’s, has officially begun at the famous Gatorback Cycle Park. So, good luck to all of our Canadian riders this week in Florida! Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments, please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.
