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The Monday Gate Drop Presented By Yamaha Motor Canada

“Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds”

We had a great day riding and training at Tyla Rattrey’s track.

I’m sure everyone knows the rest of this poem. Well, here we are, the final Monday before the Christmas of 2022. I hope that all of you are ready for the big day and I hope come Sunday you’re able to celebrate with your loved ones. Our Christmas is most certainly different that it has been lately as for the first time in three years we are back down south celebrating this joyish occasion. Prior to Covid we are on a three year streak of driving down to South Carolina to spend the holidays with some friends of ours. So for this year to celebrate our return to the USA for Christmas we decided to bring Ayrton’s bike and after spending a day in SC we hopped back in the truck and continued on to Ocala, Florida. Josh Bryan (young Ontario pro rider) and his family have recently moved to Ocala so they invited us down to visit and to ride. Ayrton rode today at Tyla Rattrey’s track near Clermont and tomorrow he’ll ride again and then on Thursday we’ll drive back to SC for Christmas. And then we’ll drive home on Boxing Day. In total we’ll only be gone for ten days but when it’s all said and done we’ll most certainly be proud of all that we pack into a short time.

With the holiday season now in full swing there obviously isn’t a lot going in Canadian moto. KTM announced the return of Benoit a week ago with a cool video. This is great news for everyone and I’m happy to see Benoit wanting to return to racing at the highest level in Canada. I was a little surprised honestly that the Benoit news was announced before KTM announced that they have signed Ryder McNabb to race in the 250 class also. I mean, Ryder is the defending 250 Triple Crown Series MXTour Champion so it’s a big deal that he’ll be riding a KTM in 2023. I know Ryder is picking up his bikes as we speak and then heading down to Florida to begin his 2023 preparation. I’m sure there will be a PR right after the holiday’s and hopefully there will be a cool video to go with it.

In other news with Benoit back and McNabb signed KTM wasn’t able to find room to bring Jeremy McKie under the tent full time for next year. It’s too bad as McKie did everything they asked of him last summer when he was brought on as fill-in rider to replace the injured Jacob Piccolo. McKie was very good in the final three rounds and if all was fair and right in the world of motocross then for sure he would’ve been signed. However, as we all know life is not always fair and in motocross business is sometimes just that, business. From what I hear McKie has contacted every Team Manager in hopes of finding support for next year. So while I admire his aggression to go out and find something the problem all of the teams in Canada are either full or they’re looking for a rider who can win this summer, in both classes. Is McKie going to win motos in the either the 250 or 450 claas? I would say maybe he could in the 250 class but the title might be a stretch for him at this point. In the 450 class, I can’t see McKie beating Dylan Wright, Pettis, or Ward to win a moto in 2023. However, what I can see him doing is riding the wheels off a 450 and being a consistent top 5 rider in the west and even a podium guy in the east as his confidence on the big bike grows. I’ve been saying to two years now that McKie’s best days are ahead and they’re going to be on a 450. This kid is fit, strong, and I feel like he has a lot of self belief, he’s also a naturally big kid so a 450 is going to suit him well. As of right now there is still a spot open at the TLD GASGAS SSR Team as well as a spot on the Walton Kawasaki Team. Give McKie a year or two in order learn the 450 class and I believe he has the chance to be Quebec’s next Triple Crown Series Champion.

In some other news Tyler Gibbs has been invited over to Germany to race a round of the ADAC German SX Series. Gibbs will head overseas around January 9th to race a Honda CRF250R at the famous Dortmund round of the series. This three-night race is the biggest one of the series and over the years we’ve seen several Canadian riders fly over to compete in it. I think JSR even won the Dortmund SX back in the late 1990s. Jess Pettis was also supposed to race Dortmund but he told me via text message that he doesn’t think he will go. Pettis had a rough opening round to the German Series last month so you cannot really blame him for not going back. Pettis will instead head to the USA in early January to begin his 2023 season preparation.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Well, I know I’m cutting this short this week but since I’m in Florida on vacation I think it’s okay. As I mentioned in my opening paragraph I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Next week we’ll look at the opening round of Supercross in Anaheim and who is in and who is looking good. As Cole Thompson told us last week in an interview he’s in California now and getting ready for the opening round aboard his new Solitaire Yamaha. Cole is happy with his bike and he’s extremely thankful to have Factory Connection back again for 2023. Thank you for reading and if you have any questions or comments please email me at chris@mxpmag.com.

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