Greetings! Welcome to this St Patrick’s Day edition of the Monday Gate Drop Column, once again brought to you by the awesome folks at Yamaha Motor Canada. This is of course the day when we’re all Irish, and we all decide that green is a good colour for us. So if you’re Irish, or you’re just pretending you are today, Happy St Patrick’s Day!
Speaking of all that is green and wonderful today. Late last week the WLTN Kawasaki Team announced that they had signed Phil Nicoletti to race in the 450 class this summer in the 2025 Triple Crown Series. This signing has been a long time coming, and although I cannot recall exactly when I first heard that Phil was on the list of potential riders for the WLTN Kawasaki Team, I know it was several months ago. In fact, I had heard that this deal was not happening, but then last week, while I was in Florida I heard from an industry guy that Phil told him that it was happening. Regardless, I think this is a great deal for both sides as the WLTN Kawasaki was in desperate need of a solid 450 rider to be under the tent alongside Dylan Walsh, and I’m guessing that after a few months of tasting full retirement, Phil felt that he needed to feed his competitive juices one more time. Phil also learned quickly that riders never really retire, they just find a new way of carrying on in the sport they love. When Phil announced his retirement from racing last year, I felt like it was more about removing the weight off of his shoulders. That weight was competing week in and week out in the supercross and outdoor motocross series in the USA. The grind of riding and training every week, the travel to and from the races every week, and of course the risk involved with lining up behind a starting gate 30 times per year. I’m not sure what the exact risk assessment is for a pro rider in the USA who competes in the entire SMX Series, and practices each week, but it has to be higher than any other athlete on the planet. Phil was tired of that and he wanted a much-needed mental and physical break from racing.
Fast forward to now and this ride with the WLTN Kawasaki Team presents a great opportunity for a rider like Phil Nicoletti, as well as a great opportunity for the WLTN Team and the Triple Crown Series. You see, because of his talent on a dirt bike and his dry sense of humour off of the bike, Phil is one of the most popular riders in our sport. People love Filthy Phil because he’s a genuine blue-collar type of guy, and unlike so many people in our society, he says what he wants, and he means what he says. But, there is also a sensitive side to Phil, and that is perhaps what allows him to relate to all types of people so well. Having Phil race our series this summer will bring even more attention to it, as Phil fans from all over the world will tune in to see how he stacks up against the likes of Dylan Wright and Jess Pettis. Can Phil win the 2025 Triple Crown Series 450 Championship? I’m guessing that if he didn’t think he could then he wouldn’t sign up for this adventure. Phil doesn’t strike me as a rider or person who does something strictly for a paycheck. I’m not quite sold on the fact that Phil can beat Wright and Pettis enough times to take a title away from them, but I do believe that he will win motos this summer and put pressure on them each weekend. Phil will have an excellent bike in the 2025 KX450, he will have Steve Simms (his long-time trusted friend) as his mechanic, and he is coming to a situation where he already knows most of the tracks and how things work in Canada. Not to mention, if you look at Phil’s results from as recent as last summer in the Pro Motocross Championships, he finished up the 450 series with five top-ten finishes (including a 7th OA at Ironman Raceway) and 11th overall in the final points standings. So, to go along with his plethora of experience, Phil still has some serious speed on a 450! This is a great signing by the WLTN Kawasaki Team and Phil will be a great addition to the 450 class this summer in the Triple Crown Series. Well done to everyone at Team Green Canada who made this happen. Finally, Phil will begin testing his new KX450 later this week at ClubMX, so we’ll stay tuned to see how that goes.
Last week, while down in Florida my son and I had the opportunity to stop by the Baker’s Factory and watch Aaron Plessinger, Justin Barcia, Malcolm Stewart, RJ Hampshire, and Landon Gibson spins some SX laps. It was very entertaining to sit and watch some of the sport’s best riders go through their weekly training under the watchful eye of Aldon Baker. Even with an off weekend ahead of them, the riders were still going through their routine, which on this particular day was a lot of short motos and sprint laps. In between motos, there was a lot of humorous banter and ‘chirping’ of one another, proving that the top riders are no different than any of us when it comes to passing the time at the practice track. It was a great day and one that my son and I won’t soon forget.
Once we were done at Baker’s Factory we began to make our way home and on Saturday we headed to Gopher Dunes for our first ride of 2025 there. The track was in excellent condition, and with fairly mild temperatures over the weekend, my son had a great day of riding. Since 1988, I’ve always enjoyed heading out to Gopher Dunes in the spring. Usually, it’s the first ride of the season in Ontario so conditions have varied year to year. But regardless of how the track is, it’s always great to go there and see Derek and Frank Schuster and get caught up on how life has been during the cold and snowy past few months. I’ve always felt that if you live in Southern Ontario and ride dirt bikes, heading out to Gopher Dunes in March is like a right of passage. Also, it signifies that spring is finally here, and at the end of the day that is what we all want.
Over the past, I don’t know, 25 years or so, I’ve been told that I don’t deal with change very well. In response to that, I say that it’s kind of an erroneous statement as the truth is, I don’t mind change when something isn’t going well, I just hate it when something good comes to an end. This is how I feel this morning when it comes to my son’s minor hockey career. You see, last night Ayrton played in his final U18 hockey game as his team got eliminated from their playoff series. Now, this isn’t to say that it’s the end of his playing days as next season he can go on to play Junior hockey somewhere, or even for our local U21 team, which is still part of our local association, so I guess it’s still considered minor hockey. However, what will change for all of us is no more tournaments, no more drives to games together, no more driving him to practice and standing around with other parents watching. Like a lot of Canadian kids, my son started playing hockey with he was five in what was then called the ‘Mite” Program. At the time they didn’t have a coach so I was sort of volun-told to be his coach. During games, one of the coaches would have to go on the ice with the kids to help direct them around the ice. It seems like a long time ago now, but I still have such fond memories of that year. Since then, there has been good years and even great years, and while some seasons have proven to be better than others, it has been one hell of a fun ride. Hockey has given my son so much over the years that it’s hard to even put it into words. Each year, he’s always looked forward to stepping on the ice for the first time after a long season of motocross. Hockey has taught him not just the fundamentals of Canada’s game, but also life skills that he will use as he traverses through life. Team skills like how to be a good teammate, and how a great pass or assist, is just as important as a goal. We returned home from Florida early so he could play last night and help his team hopefully extend their playoff series. As I said, the game did not go well from a team perspective or from an individual perspective. Being one of the top players on his team, the other team, in true playoff style, targeted him and did everything they could to make Ayrton’s life miserable. Unfortunately, they succeeded and it was a rough 45 minutes for him. But, he battled through it and really that is all we can ask of our kids. However, when all was said and done, and while his teammates (rightfully so) stormed off the ice is complete frustration, I looked across the ice and saw my son, who I helped teach to skate and play this game over a decade ago was shaking all of the opposing players hands and wishing them good luck in their next series. It was a surreal moment and certainly, one that solidified that the fact that all of the drives to games, all of the practices, all of the hours spent in cold arenas, all of the cheers (and tears) over the years have been well worth it. In fact, I know my wife and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. With that said, I hope Ayrton finds a way to keep playing next season and beyond. He’s been blessed with skills, and few things sadden me more than when kids aren’t able or choose not to use their god given skills. So, back to my original point. I don’t mind change, but sometimes in our lives, time dictates that things must change and it’s out of our control. That is what I don’t always like!
In closing, thank you for reading this week’s Monday Gate Drop. As I mentioned in my opening paragraph, Happy St Patrick’s Day to everyone! Also, for this week my Rider of the Week will be a little different this week. Instead of choosing just one rider, I’m giving to every young Canadian rider who is currently riding and training for the upcoming season. Whether you competed last week in Texas, are training somewhere, or just headed to a local practice track in Canada recently, keep working and ride safe. Have a great week and if you have any questions or comments, please email them to me at editor@mxpmag.com.
