Greetings! Welcome to this late November edition of the Monday Gate Drop, which as always is presented by the awesome crew at Yamaha Motor Canada. This past weekend in Chilliwack, the defending West Coast AX Champion and GA Checkpoint Yamaha rider Tyler Gibbs got off to a solid start in the 2025 championship chase. Gibbs not only took the overall win on Friday evening, but also used some solid riding at Round 2 on Saturday to secure second overall in the series heading into Round 3.
As I mentioned last week in this column, I spent the past week in BC taking in some much needed West Coast hospitality. I flew into Vancouver over a week ago to attend the WSX event at BC Place, and then spent most of the week helping Ryan Lockhart and Kyle Beaton prepare the Heritage Park Arena for the opening rounds of the 2025 West Coast AX Series. With this being their first time as sole promoters of this long and successful series, the pressure was definitely on to put on a solid event. Looking back at my week in BC, I’m extremely glad that I decided to fly out, spend the week, and be able to see exactly what went on as Ryan and Kyle went through their final preparations. With this past weekend being the opening two rounds, there was a lot of big and small items to take care of as they neared the opening practice session on Friday morning. From building the track, to laying out the indoor paddock area, to putting up banners and track markers, to ensuring all of the correct staff were going to be in place, to making sure all of the generous series sponsors were content, heading into Round 1. As I said, there was a lot to do this week and I think Ryan, Kyle, and their staff should be very proud of what they put together this year. If the opening weekend was any indication, then this coming weekend is going to be even better. On both Friday and Saturday, there was exciting racing in all classes, a record crowd (some said they haven’t seen that many spectators in years) and a lot of happy racers and families. Even though the weather outside was cool and wet, and not exactly warm inside either, no one seemed to mind at all. As local BC resident James Lissimore told me after I commented on the multitude of rainy days last week, “Welcome to winter in BC.” There was one nice day as the sun made an appearance on Wednesday, and as you can imagine the views were spectacular with the snow capped mountains in the near distance. Other than that, the only other time I saw the sun was yesterday as I was preparing to fly home. It always amazes me, how as humans we can adapt to our surroundings. For people that live on the Eastern side of the Country, we travel out to BC and instantly wonder how residents there handle the endless days of winter rain. On the flip side, when people from BC travel to say Ontario in the winter, most are instantly turned off with the snow and cold temperatures. I guess, regardless of where you live, you just go about your daily lives and try and make the best of it.
My past week began on Monday morning with a trip to the Matrix Concepts Canada office with Ryan. For over a decade Ryan has been a Brand Manager for the company, working along side Brad McLean and Brady Sheren. All three are of course former pro racers, so as you can imagine the vibe in the Matrix Concepts Canada HQ is all moto. From the moment we arrived at the office, all of the talk surrounded the WSX race in Vancouver as all of us were in attendance. It was fun to just sit around and talk moto with some very experienced industry guys who really know the BC market. Also, I found out that a couple of famous former BC Champions were in attendance at the WSX event. Both Dusty Klatt and Darcy Lange made their way over from Vancouver Island to take in the race. It would have been cool to add some more local flavour to the WSX event and have those two interviewed during opening ceremonies. Unfortunately, they kept a low profile, and if you didn’t run into them, then you probably didn’t know they were there. After chatting for a while, we met Rick ‘Holeshot’ Sheren for lunch at Chipotle, and then Ryan and I made our way to Chilliwack to begin getting everything set up.
As we pulled into the back parking lot at Heritage Park Arena, we noticed that Kyle Beaton was busy building the track for the opening weekend of the West Coast AX Series. Kyle is not only a former Canadian Champion and SX/AX specialist, but he is also a seasoned track builder. He is also quite familiar with the dirt inside the Chilliwack Arena, so moving it around and building a fun track, is never an issue. As the track began to come together for the opening rounds, Ryan and I put up some banners, and got the starting gate in place and ready to once again be welded together. Soon it was 8pm, time for dinner, and then time to call it a day. Tuesday was spent doing much of the same, more banners, hammering in the track markers, watching Kyle put the finishing touches on the track, and then one of my favourite parts of the week, testing the track out with young Braxton Zeitner. Oh yeah, and I can’t forget another favourite task, spray painting the entire starting gate with Ryan on Tuesday evening. Everything had to be ready as the track rental began on Wednesday morning at 10am. With the majority of the set up completed by Wednesday, all that was remaining was just more little things that kept Ryan and Kyle running around non-stop. However, everything appeared to be going as planned, and by Friday everyone was ready for the opening round.
On the pro-side of things, there were a few firsts happening this past weekend in Chilliwack. Quinn Amyotte, Dylan Rempel, and Blake Davies were debuting their new 2026 rides. Also, Tyler Gibbs was wearing a big #1 for the first time as defending 2025 West Coast AX Champion. Finally, Bryton Carroll was racing his first BC AX after flying in from New Jersey. Unfortunately, while connecting through Chicago, the airline went into his checked gear bag and confiscated his suspension. Thankfully, Charlie Johnston from Race Tech Suspension was able to do some quick work on Carroll’s borrowed YZ450F, and got it race ready for Pro Practice on Thursday evening. He was fast all weekend, winning the Dash for Cash on Saturday before unfortunately had a big get off in the final main event. Carroll was sore but okay at the end of the night, and he should be good to go for the final two rounds this weekend. It was also great to see Julien Benek back at the races after his long recovery from concussion related symptoms. When the gate finally dropped on Friday evening, Benek rode like a man on a mission, winning both nights of racing with seemingly little trouble. He did have a little hiccup in the second main event on Friday evening and finished third, but his 1-3 score still gave him the overall win. So Benek rode well, Dylan Rempel rode decent on Friday evening, and then after some bike issues during practice on Saturday, he switched to a CRF450 for the evening program and promptly put it on the podium in both main events. Other than his speed and determination, I’ve always admired Dylan’s ability to learn and adapt quickly, and he certainly demonstrated that again this past weekend. Quinn looked good on his new Priority MX Thor GASGAS machine, but poor starts definitely hampered his results all weekend long. Finally, Tyler Gibbs was fast all weekend long on his GA Checkpoint Yamaha. Gibby won a main event on Friday evening, but was never really a factor on Saturday night. He told me after the race that he just wanted to get through the weekend safe, and in a good points position. Normally, this would be a good plan, but in a short four race series there isn’t a lot of time to make up points. After the opening weekend Benek leads Gibbs by 18 points already, and Amyotte by 23 points. After four main events, this 2025 West Coast AX Championship is Julien Benek’s to lose already.
Overall, it was a great weekend of racing as well as an incredible week on the West Coast. I was able to not only see a lot of old friends but also meet some new ones. I especially want to thank Brad Inglis for lending me a bike to ride this weekend. It was also fun to watch Newf and Kyle put together this amazing series for 2025. Obviously, I was only there for the final few days of preparations, but from what I saw they have everything completely in control, and everyone involved in the series from riders, families, and sponsors are extremely happy they took control of things this year. Finally, I want to thank Troy and Sandra Smith for the tour of their Maple Ridge Motorsports Dealership this past week. After hearing so many great things about MRM, to see it in person was amazing. If you’re in the area and you need any Fox Racing gear or casual wear, almost the entire back of their dealership is dedicated to Fox. Look for a complete profile of their dealership later this week. Last but not least, thank you to Newf and his family for their hospitality this past week. I definitely couldn’t have done this week-long trip without them, so thank you and good luck to the Lockhart boys this coming weekend in Chilliwack.
In closing this week, one of the big talking points in our industry came from Walton Raceway on Thursday as it was announced that Kyle Keast and his Keast Metal Works business are taking over ownership of Walton Raceway. There has been talk of this move since the summer, so it was great to see it finally announced. We will be speaking to both Kyle and Brett Lee this week to get their thoughts on this news. In the meantime, here is the official press release that came out last week:
“Walton Raceway, one of Canada’s most iconic motocross venues, is entering a new chapter as Kyle and Sophia Keast take over ownership this year. A lifelong motocross racer, Kyle and his wife Sophia are bringing their team’s skills, passion, and energy to build on Walton’s long and impactful legacy.
“This is such a cool opportunity for me, to take on this role in Canadian motocross,” said Kyle. “I went to my first TransCan as a kid on a Honda CR60. Now my own kids are racing. I want the TransCan Grand National Championship to stay the special event it has always been for racers and families. What we can bring is development of the infrastructure around the property and the race track itself. It is a special destination and we want it to grow.”
“For Melody and myself, we are still huge fans of moto. That is not changing,” said Lee. “We wanted to align with people who are as passionate as we are about creating an awesome space for people to enjoy. Kyle and Sophia share that passion. We are excited for what we will continue to bring to Canadian moto, to keep growing the Edge of Walton Challenge Course, and to support where we can to keep the Walton TransCan Grand National Championship and the Canadian Triple Crown Series finale as flagship events in Canada. Our goal is to see strong and successful years ahead.”
Exciting track and grounds improvements, expanded programming, and new initiatives built to broaden Walton’s future and keep racer and visitor experiences fresh are already in motion. Fans, families, racers, and industry partners can expect Walton’s 2026 season to deliver elevated experiences while maintaining the familiar Canadian destination it has been since 1972.”
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week and please enjoy your final week of November. For this week, my pick of the Motovan Canada Rider of the Week is Julien Benek, a rider who has been through a lot of injuries in recent years, but due to his determination and resilience he keeps coming back. Thank you for reading and if you have any questions or comments, please email me ateditor@mxpmag.com.
