Greetings! Welcome to the final Monday Gate Drop of March 2025. By the looks of the weather in most parts of Canada, Spring is not here yet by any means. In Southern Ontario we’ve received a massive ice storm which caused our power to go out for all of Sunday. Thankfully, we haven’t witnessed freezing rain like that since 2016 when pretty much the same thing happened. With trees and power lines down in some areas, it’s a complete mess and it’s going to take some time to clean everything up.
This past weekend in the Pacific Northwest the Seattle Supercross took under sunny skies and cool temperatures. Thankfully, the rain that fell on the Seattle area throughout Friday and early Saturday morning, moved away just in time for qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Although the track was soft, it wasn’t muddy, and the riders were able to ride their normal pace all day long. We also had a plethora of Canadian’s to cheer for as Cole Thompson, Preston Masciangelo, Julien Benek, Blake Davies, and Tyler Gibbs were all lining up in the 250SX West class. For Gibbs in particular, this was his first Monster Energy Supercross race of 2025, and he was eager to get on the track and see how he stacked up against some of the sport’s best 250SX riders. With Seattle being so close to BC, this race was like a hometown race for Davies, Benek, and Gibbs. I’m sure this gave them a little extra boost as they all no doubt had a lot of friends and family in the stands. Speaking of spectators, the stands looked packed in Seattle and given the uncertainty of the weather each year, this was great to see. All in all, I think the Seattle SX was a massive success, and perhaps one of the most exciting rounds of the series thus far!
Okay, onto the Haiden Deegan situation from a week ago when the Police took exception to him driving like an idiot and placing him under arrest. Now, for most 19 year olds, especially ones that are in any kind of public spotlight, having a run in with the law would be perceived as bad thing. If you compare 19 year old athletes who are at the top of their games, if Conor Bedard got arrested while doing donuts in Chicago, it would all over the news and he would no doubt face some sort of disciplinary action from either the NHL, and or the Chicago Blackhawks. Also, Conor would most likely have to issue an apology to the league, his team, and most importantly to the fans. Regardless of what you do to get in trouble with the law, it is not a good look and young top athletes have an obligation to set good examples for our even younger athletes. However, that does not appear to be the case with Deegan, some of his fans, the series, and even his sponsors, as throughout the day in Seattle the incident was almost glorified. For example, the set of Thor gear Deegan wore in practice had a black and white stripped jersey ( just like the Hamburgalar), and his night show gear was bright orange, complete with a prisoner number on the leg. To me, it’s really beyond words how messed up that is. I mean, I like how Deegan rides, he competes with heart, when he falls down, he gets right back and keeps charging. I’m not a big fan of his overall style on a dirt bike (especially compared to his Star Racing Yamaha teammate Cole Davies), but he gets the job done, and he’s entertaining to watch. I just would like to think that Haiden, his family, and really our sport in general is above glorifying a kid getting arrested, regardless of what that arrest was for. He’s a teenager and sometimes teenagers do stupid things, I get it, I was a teenager once also. I just think that someone in Deegan’s position should be doing things better, and cleaner that other teenagers. Given his status, and the influence he has on the fans, especially the youngest ones, that is his obligation.
Okay, I will get off of my soapbox now. As for the racing at the front of the pack went in Seattle, it was excellent. In the 250SX West class, it was incredible to see Cole Davies take his first win of his young career (now there’s a role model). Watching his style and calmness on the bike, it begs the question, what is it about New Zealand and their race program there that breeds elite SX riders like Cole? Obviously, having the last Kiwi to win a 250SX main event Ben Townley as his mentor, helps a lot. But, it has to be more than that as regardless of what someone is telling you to do, you still have to have the deep self belief to go out and execute those skills under pressure. I’ve been fortunate enough to have spent some time in NZ, and I’ve also ridden several tracks there and got to know a couple of riders. My takeaway is that all of them, regardless of speed or talent, have strong belief in their abilities, and also a drive to want to show those abilities outside of NZ. It’s almost like the feeling of isolation and being surrounded on all sides by water, gives them a deep seated drive to want to escape and be special. For a country of its size (population 5 million) New Zealand has sure turned out some fine riders over the years, and it appears like Cole Davies could be the best yet!
Behind Davies, was a battle for the ages in the closing laps between Haiden Deegan and Julien Beaumer. These two have little time for each other and things really boiled over near the podium after the race. It was like a scene from 1990 when Damon Bradshaw and Jeff Matiasevich would have heated disagreements after almost every main event. I’d would be the biggest hypocrite if I said it was wrong to have words with a fellow rider after a race, and in watching the replay I did notice that Juju put his hand on Deegan’s helmet first, so I don’t even mind Deegan slapping Juju’s helmet after. I mean, once you put your hands on another rider like that, you know things are going to escalate if no one jumps in. In the end, both riders were fined and life goes on. I’m sure it’s not the end of things between these two but, if you’re Beaumer you have to make sure you finish ahead of Deegan before getting all up in his grill after the race. I still cannot believe he didn’t anticipate Deegan attempting that pass after the triple jump. Passes were made in that corner all night long!
So while Davies, Marchbanks, and Deegan rounded out the podium spots in Seattle, Cole Thompson had his season best ride with a solid 9th in the main event. Cole was fast all day on the challenging track, and it was great to see him battling for a top ten finish. Tyler Gibbs was the next best Canadian rider with 7th in the LCQ. As I mentioned above, this was Tyler’s first SX this year and I thought he rode pretty well all things considered. With names like Weltin and Bennett in front of him, and Benek, Thury, and Schwatz behind him, I feel like Gibbs should be happy with his results. Julien Benek also rode well to finish 8th in the LCQ, Preston Masciangelo was 12th, and Blake Davies was 15th. It was great to see all our Canadian riders qualify for the night show in front of a large group of Canadian fans!.
In the 450SX class, it was another battle to the checkered flag as Cooper Webb and Chase Sexton took the race down to the final corner. Webb gave all of us riders a great lesson by hugging the inside in the final corner. If he hadn’t, Sexton was coming in hot and looking for any small amount to leverage Webb out of the way. It was a fantastic main event and honestly, I thought Justin Cooper missed a big opportunity to take his first ever 450SX main event win. After passing Webb to win their heat race, Cooper had some good speed in the main event, but he just wasn’t able to find his way to the front. Then, with a podium spot secured, J-Coop went off the track in one of the rhythm sections and crashed back to 6th OA. It was still a good ride, but with the track suiting his style very well, he had a good shot at the win. Now the series heads to the Boston area for Round 12. I hope things warm up here in the East or it’s going to be a cold race at Gillette Stadium.
Here in Canada, our pro riders are starting to ramp their training up as it’s getting close to race time. Here in Ontario, the first race is just three weeks away, and with AMO once again offering a solid pro purse, I’m sure a lot of fast riders will be at Gopher Dunes on Easter Weekend. Jess Pettis is still down at GPF fine tuning his MX101 FXR Racing Yamaha, Dylan Wright is busy testing his new 2025 CRF450R in Florida, and the Priority MX Thor GASGAS Team released a video last week of them training at Bostwick MX in Northern Florida. Soon all of our riders will be making their way home to continue their preparation for the opening round of the 2025 Triple Crown Series. Finally, newly signed WLTN Kawasaki rider Dylan Walsh finished 15th in Seattle, and his teammate Phil Nicoletti is really enjoying his new KX450 down at ClubMX. It’s an exciting time of the year, and now all we need is real spring to arrive.
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone enjoys the first week of April. It’s nice to get March over with it and welcome in the month when nature begins to bloom again after a long, cold winter. My pick for Rider of the week goes to Tyler Gibbs. With limited preparation I thought he rode great in the LCQ on Saturday, and it was good to see him invest in himself and get rewarded for it. Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments, please email them to me at editor@mxpmag.com.
