Greetings! Well, we have finally arrived at one of the biggest weeks of the year. As we speak, Santa is departing the North Pole on his way to the South Pacific where he will make his first stop. From there, he’ll begin his journey west arriving on the east coast of Canada early on Wednesday morning. But, even if you don’t believe in Santa, or you don’t celebrate Christmas, it’s still a big week and a great opportunity to spend time with friends and family.
Honestly, I don’t have a lot to talk about today as it’s definitely a slow news week. Down in the USA, the riders who will be competing at the opening round of the 2025 Monster Energy Supercross Series are busy putting the finishing touches on their preparation for the upcoming season. Obviously, with just over two weeks until the gate drops in Anaheim, the main work is all done and now it’s all about staying healthy. The last thing any of the riders need right now is to suffer any type of injury, or catch some king of sickness that is always going around this time of the year. With any luck, all of the riders will arrive at Angel Stadium healthy, happy, and ready to battle. In talking to a few of our industry insiders, the consensus seems to be that most want Eli Tomac to win A1. However, the same people feel that Jett Lawrence and his raw speed will propel him once again to victory. This year the winner of the opening round will be a hard one to predict as a couple of riders, including Tomac, Roczen, and Hunter Lawrence are coming into 2025 with some solid momentum. Tomac dominated the WSX Championship and looked great doing it, Roczen had a decent WSX series and is always good in the opening rounds of SX. Hunter Lawrence won the final Australian SX round and could be sneaky good early in the 2025 SX Series. Cooper Webb is another rider with a great deal of experience, as well as a rider who can all of sudden find main event winning speed when you least expect it. However, when the gate drops for the 450SX main event in Anaheim, I still think Jett will catapult himself into the lead and never look back. I’m not committing to Jett winning the 2025 450SX Championship just yet, but I feel that the opening round win will be his.
The opening round in Anaheim will also see some Canadians lining up in the 250SX West Series. Cole Thompson will be back with the Heartbeat Hot Sauce Solitaire Yamaha Team for 2025, Blake Davies will be racing his new Triumph, Preston Masciangelo will be making his pro debut in Anaheim, and SX Veteran Guillaume St-Cyr will also be racing the 250SX West Series. These four Canadian riders should be fun to watch as they navigate their way through the opening rounds, all with different goals I’m sure. Thompson is the obvious favourite to get the best results as he is the very best SX rider we have. Also, he’s coming off from a great supercross season with podium series finishes in both the WSX Championships, as well as the Australian SX Championship. Even though the 250SX West Series is always stacked with talented factory riders, I still expect Thompson to be a consistent Top 10 finisher in the opening rounds, and even better in the second half of the series. As for our other three riders, qualifying for main events is definitely possible, but it’s going to be a challenge early on in the series when everyone is fresh and ready. Good luck to all of our riders as they get ready to head to Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
In some Ontario MX news. AMO Racing released their 2025 race schedule last week, and while it looks a lot like the schedule from this past year (minus events at Walton Raceway) the big addition is the long overdue OPC races at both the Gopher Dunes National, as well as the SDL National the following weekend. Finally, the Amateur day will be for double AMO OPC points, so that should increase not only the entries for Saturday, but also the spectators for the National on Sunday. There will also be a Canada Day weekend event at Auburn Raceway, complete with fireworks and a live band. It’s obviously early so we’ll see if there are any changes as we get closer to spring but, as it sits now here is the 2025 AMO race schedule.
2025 True North Fleet AMO Race Schedule:
- OPC – Ontario Provincial Championship x11 (NO DROPS)
- ANQ – Amateur National Qualifier x 5
- Double Points – Not Two Rounds, but doubling the race earned points from that weekend’s event
- West – Western AMO Championship x5
- East – Eastern AMO Championship x5
RD1 – April 19/20 Gopher Dunes OPC – ANQ – WEST
RD2 – May 3/4 Auburn Hills OPC – ANQ – WEST
RD3 – May 17/18 Sand Del Lee OPC – ANQ – EAST
RD4 – May 31/June 1 BTB Riders Club OPC – ANQ – EAST
RD5 – June 7/8 Gopher Dunes GP Track OPC – ANQ – WEST
RD6 – July 4/5 Gopher Dunes Double Points OPC – WEST
RD7 – July 11/12 Sand Del Lee Double Points OPC – EAST
RD8 – Aug 30/31 Sand Del Lee Double Points OPC – EAST
RD9 – Sept 13/14 BTB Riders Club OPC – EAST
RD10 – Sept 27/28 Auburn Hills OPC – WEST
RD11 – October 11/12 Gopher Dunes OPC
2025 RIDEORION.ca AMO AX
RD1/2 – Nov 21-22
RD3/4 – Nov 28-29
ECAN July 22-27 and TransCan August 5-10:
These are the two biggest events in Canada both supported by AMO. These are MX Vacations that you don’t want to miss.
SOME NEW THINGS FOR 2025:
- June 28/29 Auburn Hills Special Event – Lots of info to be worked on but this will be more of a gathering weekend for fun. Things like: Bonfires, Pit Bikes, Golf Cart races, LIVE Bands, Team races, and much more. Stay tuned for info on this but we will make sure we have a KICK-ASS Celebration for Canada Day Long Weekend!!
- July 4/5 at Gopher Dunes and July 11/12 at Sand Del Lee will collaborate with the Triple Crown National Series. There are some details to still be worked out but it will certainly be AMO run, and not a burden on the wallet to come and enjoy AMO family fun and watch the best Canada has to offer with the Pro Racing
THINGS TO COME:
- THIS IS HOPEFUL: There could be an additional weekend added in June. Unfortunately, at this time the info is not available, but if this works out I believe the AMO community will enjoy and be happy about it. It would become an OPC and ANQ
- One class will be getting cut and one will be added. I will be going over this during the holidays and announce it in the New Year. The class looking to be added is Schoolboy 2 13-18 age
- The “KING of ONTARIO” series that gave a $25,000 payday for the Ontario Pro riders is in the works. It would be a 6 round series again with a similar payout. AMO is working on this and will be announced in the New Year.”
Some big news also was released this morning and for 2025 the Triumph Racing Factory Team has partnered up with FXR Racing for the entire SMX Series. This is the first time that a factory team in the USA will be wearing the Canadian born FXR race gear. What a great deal this is for both Triumph and FXR Racing, so congratulations to both amazing companies. Here is the official PR:
Triumph Racing Factory Team has just confirmed a new, multi-year deal with apparel giant FXR Racing for 2025 and beyond. The exciting collaboration will see the team’s riders – Austin Forkner, Jordan Smith, Jalek Swoll, and Stilez Robertson – compete in the brand’s high performance riding gear as they all strive for race wins, podiums, and championships throughout next year.
Now fast approaching 30 years in the powersports industry, FXR Racing was formed in 1996 as a snow rider apparel company. The founder, Milt Reimer, used this expertise to expand into making durable, performing, and distinctive clothing for supercross and motocross athletes just under 10 years ago. Since then, FXR has quickly established itself as a leading global brand in the offroad industry.
The new agreement further elevates the prestige of FXR Racing as Triumph Racing Factory Team is the first full factory squad that the Canadian brand has agreed to terms with. Now, with just weeks to go until the gates drop on the 2025 season inside Angel Stadium, California, on January 11, the team’s racers are enjoying the comfort and performance of their new apparel as they complete the final days of their pre-season preparation.
Milt Reimer – President and Owner, FXR Racing Inc
“We’re extremely honoured and excited to partner with an iconic brand like Triumph. When the opportunity arose to partner with them for 2025, it was a really easy decision to make. This is the first time that FXR has supported a full factory team and with so many eyes on the team and brand, it made perfect sense to join their program. Timing is everything in this industry and we can’t wait to see the team in action at A1 in 2025.”
Jeremy Coker – General Manager, Triumph Racing America
“As a new member of the Triumph Racing program, I am excited to begin a strong and meaningful relationship with FXR as they join the program alongside me. FXR are a great group of people, and their presence in SX/MX racing has taken off. The riders are very happy with the product and it pairs well with our bikes too. Together we look to forward to the future and continue strengthening our partnership with FXR Racing.”
Ian Kimber – Head of Global Racing Programs, Triumph Motorcycles
“Our new relationship with FXR Racing will ensure that our athletes are in gear that will both perform and look great at the races.FXR is a company that proudly supports the motocross community and sport. Their continual drive towards improvement of their products matches Triumph Racing Factory Team’s drive to push our racing success. I can’t wait to see our athletes line up with their new look at Anaheim 1!”
Well, that it is for me this week as it’s time for me to kick back and start wrapping some presents. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, as well as a safe and happy final week of 2024. I will of course be back next week with my final Gate Drop Column of the year. Also, later this week I will be coming out with my year end Golden Elbow Awards! Some of my picks were fairly easy to make, while others were very difficult. Once again, thank you for reading, and if you have any comments or questions, please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.
