Greetings! Welcome to the opening Monday Gate Drop of May. With my birthday being on May 28th, this is by far my favourite month of the year. This month and September are the best months in my opinion. Usually we experience some good weather in these two months, and my wife and son have their birthdays in September. I hope everyone had a great weekend, and I know we are all excited to celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday. I could write an entire column about how much our Mother’s mean to us in life and at the race track. Back in my day, my Mom would pack the cooler before the race, make sure we were fed, and then stand with baited breath at the side of the track to watch my brother and I race. These days, Mothers can been seen at track doing pretty much everything from cooking to working on bikes to packing their kids gate at the starting line. So, for all of the awesome Moto Mom’s out there, happy Mother’s day this weekend!
We spent this past weekend at Auburn Hills Raceway for Round 2 of the True North AMO OPC Series, and overall it was a great two days of being at the track. On Saturday my son just rode the Pro practice in the morning before we headed to my cousin’s 65 birthday party. On Sunday morning, we were back at the track early for race day. I must admit that during Sunday morning practice sessions I was a little worried that the Auburn Hills track wasn’t watered enough, given that the forecast was calling for partly sunny skies and strong breezy winds. Everyone knows these weather conditions can be hard on certain tracks, and my feeling was that we’d have a dusty and dry track by noon. However, I was proven wrong as the track held up very well for most of the day yesterday. Some dust did appear in the final few motos in certain sections, but given the weather and the amount of bikes that raced yesterday, a little dust was inevitable. The race schedule also rolled on with the smoothness of a Swiss watch, and with four solid motos in the books we were pulling away from the track by 4:30pm. With only a few motos remaining, the day must have ended around 5-5:30, so it doesn’t get any better than that. All in all it was solid weekend of racing and in two weeks the AMO OPC Series travels to everyone’s favourite track, Sand Del Lee MX Park.
The Pro Class at Auburn Hills Raceway was once again stacked with top riders like Tanner Ward, Wyatt Kerr, Preston Masciangelo, Quinn Amyotte, Sam Gaynor, Tanner Scott, Bobby Gravel, and several other fast riders. There were even two visiting Pro riders from BC as Parker Eales was there to race his Priority MX Thor GASGAS MC450 for the first time in 2025, and Zach Ufimzeff was also racing on his new Guaranteed Comfort Racing Team Honda. With some solid payout and longer motos (both Pro motos were over 20 minutes long yesterday) these AMO races are not only great training for the upcoming Triple Crown Series, but they are giving riders a chance to make some money. I remember in the mid to late 1990s Pro riders could make $800-$1000 at each Ontario Provincial event, depending on how many riders showed up, and obviously how they finished. I know these AMO races are for the Amateur riders and as they should be, amateurs are the main focus of each event however, having a solid purse and getting fast Pro riders out to these races is not only entertaining, but it’s also great for the development of our young riders. For even the youngest of riders to be able to sit on the sidelines and watch a top Pro rider like Tanner Ward navigate a challenging track like Auburn Hills Raceway, the same track that they also get to race on in the same day, is amazing if you ask me. When I was a young rider, it was rare that a top Pro rider would show up at a local CMA race in Ontario. But when they did I would make sure I was at the fence watching and learning every time a Doug Hoover or Kevin Moore was on the track. I learned so much just by watching those guys, and then I would try and apply it to my own riding. Anyway, Tanner Ward dominated the Pro/AM class yesterday and he looked great doing it. Tanner was smooth, fast, and confident, and this is great news for him moving forward. Behind Tanner, was Preston Masciangelo, Quinn Amyotte, Wyatt Kerr, Cole Pranger, and Sam Gaynor. Bobby Gravel, who is receiving some help from the WLTN Kawasaki Team this season, also looked fast yesterday. In the opening moto Bobby secured a solid 4th place finish, and then in moto two, while charging to the front after a poor start, he unfortunately crashed hard and was unable to finish the race. Despite hitting his head pretty hard, Bobby is okay and looking forward to his next race. As I said, the Pro races yesterday were long and intense and everyone there was thoroughly entertained. Here is an update on Bobby Gravel from his team this morning:
“In the first moto, he got a great start in 3rd and held strong for most of the race. He started to fade a bit at the end—Quinn Amyotte got by him with two laps to go, and Wyatt Kerr was charging—but overall, he rode really well.
Moto 2 was a different story. He was dead last off the start but was charging hard through the pack. Just before the jump in the center of the track, the rear wheel stepped out and high-sided him into the face of the next jump.
He went on his own to Walkerton Hospital for a CT scan as a precaution. Thankfully, everything checked out, but he’s feeling pretty sore.
Despite the crash, the team is extremely happy with his pace and effort. Big things ahead”.
Now, onto the Denver SX and the pass that is being talked about around the World. In previous Monday Gate Drop columns I’ve been critical of Haiden Deegan and some of the choices he’s made both on and off the track. Something about him getting arrested and not being the least bit apologetic for it didn’t sit well with me. Unfortunately, I was the minority in that thought process and most of the media and fans in the USA gave Dangerboy a pass on his run-in with the law. The consensus was that he didn’t hurt anybody and at the end of the day he was just being a kid, and what kid didn’t do stupid stuff growing up. I get it, and really, getting busted while drifting your car through a parking lot isn’t the worst thing a teenage kid could be doing on a Friday evening. Having fake I.D also seemed a little concerning as there are only a few reasons why a teenager would need that, but again, most people glossed over that and chalked it up to kids just being kids. Along with the obvious bad example that this incident set with all of Deegan’s young fans, the biggest issue I had with all of it was that when you make it appear as though it was no big deal, and when Deegan himself states that it was no big deal, it further reinforces the thought that the rules don’t apply to him. Fast forward to Saturday evening, and after multiple races and 12 minutes of getting schooled by his younger and more naturally talented teammate Cole Davies, Deegan did what most people who have zero fear of consequences would do, and that was punt your closet rival off of the track and ride off with a SX Championship. Again, almost everyone including media, sponsors, and a few retired Pro riders stuck up for Deegan, claiming it was a legit pass and that we should all applaud his will to win. Now, I have no issue with the pass itself. Davies spun while exiting the corner before and that allowed Deegan to get a run towards the inside of the following corner. At the point, Davies could’ve and should’ve tried to dive to the inside of the next corner himself and try and block Deegan’s momentum. I guarantee that Davies will do this next time, and maybe even this weekend in SLC, he may return the favour. It was an aggressive pass no doubt, but one that we’ve seen 1000 times in SX. The issue I have with it, is that at the time Davies was the only threat points wise to Deegan in the 250SX West title fight. Meaning, that not only did he clean out his teammate to win the race, he cleaned out the only other rider who could still beat him in the championship. Is that not considered dirty riding and dirty race tactics?, and if so, is that not worthy of some sort of punishment? Then to climb on to the podium, and after finally having to face some consequence in the form of 20,000 people boo’ing you, you tell everyone to “Suck it.” I mean, honestly, what are we dealing with here? There is an age old saying that any press is good press because it means that people are talking about you. Well, I think that saying was created years ago when we didn’t have things like Social Media and it was more challenging to get news to everyone. So, yes if people were talking about you in anyway shape or form, it was good for your brand. I don’t think that is the case anymore, and to me Haiden Deegan trying to always be the villain isn’t working. Obviously, many of the fans in Denver agree with me. In the end, I thought given the fact that his pass on Davies (although okay is most circumstances), cost the New Zealand rider any chance of winning the 250SX West title, was worthy of Deegan getting docked three positions. That penalty would at least allow Davies to remain in the title fight, and sends a message to Deegan (and all of the riders), that you cannot take out another rider to win a championship. With one more race this weekend in SLC, I cannot wait to see what happens between these two Star Racing Yamaha teammates.
On the positive side of things in Denver, not only did Chase Sexton extend his championship hopes to the final round this weekend with a convincing win. But, we also witnessed history in the making as our own Julien Benek debuted the all-new Triumph TF 450-RC Edition in the 450SX class. This was the first time that this bike has been on the track in a professional race in North America, and to do it at a round of the Monster Energy Supercross Series is quite amazing. Unfortunately, Benek wasn’t able to qualify for the main event, but it was still cool for him to make history in Denver! Benek’s Triumph teammate Blake Davies also missed the main event in the 250SX West class, but he rode well and it was great to see both Canadian riders make the long trek to Denver.
Well, that is it for me this week. Again, I want to wish every Moto Mom out here a Happy Mother’s Day this coming Sunday. We love you, and thank you for all you do each and every day. Finally, my Rider of the Week is Cole Thompson, who finished 11th this past weekend at the Denver SX. Cole has been battling back issues all season long, but that hasn’t stopped him from giving it everything he has. Cole not only finished 11th in the 250SX West main event, but he also won the Privateer Award for his third place finish in the LCQ. Winning this award on Saturday evening put an extra $2000 into Cole’s bank account. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions please email me at editor@mxpmag.com. In closing, I also want to send my best wishes out to Ryan “Newf’ Lockhart who injured his shoulder this past weekend at the Future West MX event in BC. Vet riders aren’t supposed to crash, but unfortunately when we do, it hurts..a lot. Get well Newf!.
