Greetings! Welcome to the latest edition of the Monday Gate Drop, which as always is presented by Yamaha Motor Canada. This past weekend the Blu Cru held their final of three, Rider Appreciation Ride Day at the beautiful Sand Del Lee track. The weather was perfect, and the MX101 Yamaha Team had all three of their team riders in attendance. It was a great day, and everyone enjoyed the track, the food, and of course the riding. Yamaha also had their complete 2026 YZ line up available for everyone to try out for a few laps. Thank you to Yamaha Motor Canada for all three of these well attended Rider Appreciation Ride Days.
The day before the Blu Cru Ride Day at SDL, the Canadian moto media were invited out to test ride the new 2026 YZ’s on the perfectly prepared track. So, on Thursday morning my son and I got into my truck and made the five hour drive to Ottawa. There was a welcome dinner on Thursday evening in Kanata, and then Friday morning we headed to SDL to ride the new YZ’s. I had my son focus on testing out the updated two-stroke line up, as Yamaha had a new YZ125, a YZ250, as well as a fully tricked out GYTR YZ125. My focus was on the all-new YZ450F as it has gone through some big changes for 2026. The biggest change is that it now comes with a hydraulic clutch for everyone to enjoy. I’m a big fan of this type of clutch, and I was happy to see that Yamaha has finally gone in this direction. There are a number of other changes to the 2026 YZ450F, and I will go into all of them in my test story later this week. All in all it was a great day, between my son and I, we put in a lot of laps. It was also very cool to be on the same track as Jess Pettis and Sebastien Racine. Both riders were there trying out the new bikes, and finishing up their MXON preparation in their custom FXR Racing Team Canada gear. Thank you to the Yamaha Motor Canada crew for having us out, I can tell you that the new YZ’s are awesome!
Speaking of Team Canada, this is the weekend that we’ve all been waiting for as the 2026 MXON will take place at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, IN. Before I get into too much detail about what is happening this weekend, I want to first send a big “Thank-you” out to Team Canada Manager, Kourtney Lloyd. She has made this happen once again this year; Team Canada will be well represented at Ironman Raceway. The riders are ready, the entire team is ready, and of course, the Canadian fans are ready to watch our boys; hopefully they will have some great results this weekend. Obviously, getting a solid result isn’t going to be easy on the challenging Ironman Raceway track, and depending on how it’s prepped, could be a determining factor to not only how Team Canada does, but also how it affects some of the MXGP riders. If the track crew decides (and is allowed by the FIM) to til the track deep, then I feel it favours our riders, as well as Team USA. Jess Pettis rides deep ruts very well, as does Tanner Ward. Racine is obviously more of a sand rider, but I feel like the layout of the Ironman track is going to suit him very well. The sky is the limit for Team Canada this weekend, but obviously it all begins on Friday and Saturday, with the ping-pong ball gate pick ceremony, and then qualifying. After that, it’s all about getting a good start as the one downside of this track is that it’s very start-dependant. However, the way the starting line is set up now, a rider can get a decent start from about 75% of the gates. It all comes down to execution, and hopefully Team Canada brings their absolute best this weekend. The home team is in a little trouble heading into the 2026 MXON, as right now Haiden Deegan is on the fence as to whether or not he’ll be healthy enough to race. After his embarrassing performance in Las Vegas last weekend, Deegan had to have his collarbone plated, so even if he selfishly decides to line up, he’s not going to be 100%. I know, we’ve witnessed riders in the past race right after having their collarbone plated, however it’s usually about survival and not representing your country while racing against the best riders in the world. Obviously, Deegan wants to race this weekend, and be the hero for Team USA, there is no denying that. However, he should’ve thought of that last weekend in that final SMX 250 race when the title was pretty much out of reach, and all he had to do was stay out of trouble and do his best. I’m sure Deegan feels like he has his back up against the wall right now as so many of his cherished fans have turned against him in the last week, and to redeem himself he wants to go and help Team USA win in front of their home fans. I mean, it’s possible that he goes this weekend and does well in the MX2 class. However, from what we’ve seen from him, especially this year, I feel like it’s more plausible that he goes to Ironman this weekend, tries to race, has his normal speed and endurance slowed by his sore collarbone, then tries too hard, spends more time on the ground, costs his team any chance of a win or podium, and then gets blamed by all of his remaining fans. From a big picture point of view, Team USA should politely tell Deegan to stand down, and then bring in Justin Cooper to ride the MX2 class. He will be very fast on his Star Racing Yamaha YZ250F, Hampshire will be solid in his class, and Eli Tomac could win his class as he always rises to the occasion; we’ll just have to wait and see. From what I can gather, Deegan took the week off last week to let his collarbone set and heal, Justin Cooper tested his 250 and got it all set up (in case he’s needed), and I’m assuming Deegan will begin riding today to see how he feels. Either way…Go Team Canada!! We will all be cheering for you.
As I mentioned above, last week was a busy one for me as I not only test rode the 2026 YZ’s on Friday, but I also flew down to Charleston, WV on Monday to test ride the new 2026 Triumph TF 450 C. This new bike is Triumph’s entrance into the very popular XC off-road market, so the bike is based off their TF 450 X motocross model. The media ride took place at the massive Hatfield McCoys trail system, which is located 20 minutes from downtown Charleston. The trails we rode are dedicated dirt bike trails so we didn’t need to worry about ATV’s or even UTV’s as they have their own trails. Although it rained overnight and into the morning, the sun came out around 11am, and the trails were in great shape. We mostly rode on a 10 mile loop which gave us the perfect terrain to test the new Triumph TF 450 C. We also ventured off the main trail after lunch and rode some very technical single track trails. They were extremely challenging, as the roots and rocks were still wet and slippery from the rain. However, the new Triumph TF 45 C worked great and I was very impressed with everything they’ve done with this bike. We rode pretty much from 10:30am to 5pm, with a small break for lunch, so my hands and body were certainly feeling it by the end of the day. Overall, it was an unforgettable experience and I’m very grateful to Triumph for bringing me down to WV. Look for a complete test story on the new TF 450 C tomorrow right here on mxpmag.com.
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone is enjoying these final few days of September. At least around my area, September has given us some incredible weather, the best stretch of nice weather by far in 2025. Thank you for reading this week, and if you have any questions or comments, please email me at edtior@mxpmag.com. My Rider of the Week is the young rider from Mission BC, Braxton Zeitner. Not only did Braxton dominate his classes this past weekend at the final round of the Future West MX Championships, but all season long he’s been at the top of his game in the Supermini class. Right now, Braxton is in high demand as multiple teams want to sign him for 2026. This is obviously a great spot to be in for a young rider; congratulations to Braxton and his family on a great 2025 season.
