Greetings! Welcome to the Monday Gate Drop and what is a great time of the year to be a motocross rider. The weather is getting nice, most of our tracks are in great shape, and races have now begun right across the country. Also, this past weekend was one of the best days of the year as we celebrated Mother’s Day! I hope all of the Moto Mom’s out there had a great weekend, and once again, thank you for all that you do!
Well, as they say in the film industry, “That is a wrap.” Yes, the 2025 Monster Energy Supercross Series finally came to a conclusion on Saturday in beautiful Salt Lake City. I have a friend who lives in SLC and he says that if you love the outdoors than it’s the place to be. He and his family love it there, and over the past several seasons the city has hosted the final round of the SX Series. Heading into Round 17, the 250SX West Series championship had already been decided last weekend in Denver when Haiden Deegan decided to punt his teammate, and closest series rival Cole Davies off the track. Most in this industry concluded that there was nothing wrong with the pass as Deegan apparently just wanted to win more than his fellow 250SX riders. I went on record last week stating that although I had no issue with the pass itself, it was just the timing of it, and the fact that Deegan did it to the only rider capable of catching him in the points standings. Dangerboy also got a pass on his “Suck it” comment on the podium as again most felt that the words he chose only meant that he’s not afraid to say what he means, and that we need more of that in our sport. I guess I agree to a certain extent, as over the years we’ve become accustom to scripted and dry podium commentary. However, we’ve also witnessed other diamond in the rough athletes vocalize their negative emotions in a much more professional way.
Anyway, if Cole Davies thought his day was bad in Denver, that was nothing compared to how his day ended in SLC. During qualifying, Davis mistimed a jump combination in one of the rhythm sections, and then decided to slow right down. Because of his slower than normal speed he hit some ruts in between two of the jumps and it caused him to veer sideways into the middle of the track. Then, to everyone’s horror, Jordon Smith who was on a fast lap and didn’t see a slowed up Davies, landed on him and both riders went down in a heap. It was a terrible crash, and one that both riders could share the blame on. For Davies, he had every right to slow up as during timed qualifying there are times when riders are going fast, and times when they’re going slow. Just like when we’re driving a car, usually the person who hits someone from behind is at fault in an accident. However, sometimes it’s a grey area and I don’t think Smith had any chance of seeing or missing Davies when he not only slowed down, but also moved right into the main riding line. It was just a bad deal all around, and while Smith was only banged up, Davies was transported to the hospital with a broken arm and nose. It was a very unfortunate situation, and sadly it added to the multitude of crashes and injuries we saw this year in Supercross.
So, with Cole Davies out and the 250SX West Series already decided, everyone’s attention turned to the 250SX East class. First off, I don’t agree with the final round being a points paying race for both 250SX classes. With the money that teams have spent and the work that the riders have put in, to potentially have a championship decided in a main event with both 250SX classes on the track doesn’t seem fair. Years ago, the final round was also a 250SX E/W Showdown race, but the championships had already been decided, and only the top 20 from each class were invited. It was a no pressure race with only bragging rights at stake. This past weekend, the 250SX main event was certainly exciting, but it was also pure chaos and outright disappointing if you were Seth Hammaker and the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki Team. For the past month Hammaker has been the fastest 250SX East rider, but due to a miscue in Pittsburgh two weeks ago, he came into the final round pretty much tied in points with Tom Vialle and RJ Hampshire. I say pretty much because the championship came down to whichever rider finished better on the main event on Saturday evening. Because of the close points battle, this is why it would’ve been nice for the 250SX East class to have its own main event. Thankfully, the three riders found each other on the track in the main event, and battled hard without interference from any of the 250SX West riders. In the end, Tom Vialle survived the thrilling main event, a race that saw Hampshire clean out himself and Hammaker in the closing laps, to win his second 250SX East Championship. It was a great result for Vialle, who seemed to struggle all series long with his raw speed, but obviously a bitter result for Hammaker, who as I said was the fastest rider all series long. Congratulations to Tom Vialle, Haiden Deegan, and Cooper Webb, who had a stress free 450SX main event and clinched his third SX Championship. Finally, Cole Thompson had a tough night in SLC, missing the main event and ending up 11th in the final 250SX West Series points standings. Overall, it was a solid series for Cole as he was a consistent top ten rider at most of the races. We might see him this summer at selected rounds of the Triple Crown Series. However, it’s more likely we won’t see Cole on the track until the fall in both the SMX Playoff rounds, and the upcoming WSX Championships.
Moving on from the Monster Energy Supercross Series to the fast approaching Triple Crown Series, everyone is getting excited for the opening round in Calgary. On Friday, my son and I made our way to Auburn Hills Raceway for the new Guaranteed Comfort Honda Race Team photo shoot. For 2025, this exciting new team will feature Lars Van Berkel, Quinn Amyotte and Tyler Shewchyk in the 450 class. Zach Ufimzeff in the 250 class, and Ayrton Pomeroy in the Intermediate Class. The team is run out of the Hanover Motorsports Dealership and is owned by Chris Egan. Look for this new team to not only be at each round of the Triple Crown Series this summer, but also for each rider to have some solid results. This coming week, the GDR Honda Team is having their media day at Gopher Dunes. This entertaining day has become an annual event as it not only serves as a time to introduce the Red Riders, but also as a reminder that in only a few weeks, we will all be making our way to Round 1 at Wild Rose MX Park in Calgary. This day also gives us a chance to chat with Dylan Wright, Ryder McNabb, and Noah Viney to see how they’re feeling about the upcoming series. Obviously, Dylan and Ryder are favourites to challenge for the title in their respective classes, I think Noah can be a podium rider in the 250 class this summer. Finally, the Priority MX Thor GASGAS Team sent out their official press release this morning, and the WLTN Kawasaki Team announced several new team sponsors late last week. With just twenty days until the gate drops in Calgary, it’s definitely time to get excited for our Canadian Series.
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone had a great weekend celebrating Mother’s Day. My Rider of the Week is our favourite half- Canadian Dean Wilson, who finished 7th in the final 450SX main event on Saturday evening in SLC. Dean joined the HRC Honda Team a few weeks ago on a fill-in ride and he certainly made the most of it. Like Cole Thompson, I’m not sure when we’ll see Deano back on the race track. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments of questions, please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.
