Greetings! Welcome to this mid December edition of the Monday Gate Drop Column, which is once again presented by the two-wheel loving folks at Yamaha Motor Canada. This past year was a successful one for the Blu Cru, with multiple race wins in the Triple Crown Series, as well as a 250 class Championship with Preston Kilroy. Also, Yamaha found a plethora of success at all of the big Amateur races in Canada, with riders like Jonathan Bergeron and Talon Medaglia taking home titles at the Walton TransCan. As we begin our countdown to the new year, the Blu Cru will no doubt be looking at how they can make 2026 even better.
As I mentioned above, a brand new year is fast approaching, and it’s hard to believe that I only have a few more Monday Gate Drop Column’s to compose before we turn the calendar to 2026. With the conclusion of the 2025 WSX Championships this past weekend in South Africa, we can now look ahead to the opening round of the 2026 Monster Energy Supercross Series in Anaheim. It was great to see the WSX Series go out with a bang on Saturday evening, as the final SX1 main event was one of the best races of the year. Racing on a hard packed and slippery Cape Town track, Jason Anderson and Joey Savatgy put on one hell of a show as they battled for the SX1 title. Just like watching a good sand rider, or a rider who is great on rutted tracks, watching Jason Anderson ride a dry and hard packed track is a thing of beauty. With his neutral body position, his ability to transfer just the right amount to the outside footpeg, and of course his solid throttle control, he really is a hard packed master. Also, throw in the fact that when push comes to shove, it is extremely hard to out-aggress JA21 on a SX track. Joey Savatgy did everything right in this final moto battle, but in the end, Anderson’s experience on these types of track conditions, as well as his experience in big moments like this, certainly gave him the advantage. The 2025 WSX Series was exciting, and congratulations to Jason Anderson and Max Anstie on becoming World Champions. As for our Canadian duo? Cole Thompson had an off series by his standards and finished 6th overall on his Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki. Cole is now back home in South Carolina, and will be making the transition back to a YZ450 for the second round of the AMA AX Series next weekend in Colorado. As for young Noah Viney, he ended up 12th overall in the SX2 class after an inconsistent series. At times, Noah showed some speed, but he wasn’t able to turn that speed into a decent result. Hopefully, Noah can take his WSX experience and be a consistent main event rider in the upcoming 250SX West Series next month where he will be riding a Kawasaki.
This past weekend our legendary 80 year old rider Bill Van Vugt was featured in a London, Ontario newspaper celebrating his big win last month at the World Vet Championships in California. It’s great to not only see motocross getting some love in the mainstream news cycle, but also to see a story on a rider like Bill. For the past three years I’ve had the honour of lining up with Bill in the Plus 50 class at the Walton TransCan. Before the start of the opening moto I’ve also made a habit of wishing Bill luck, and telling him how cool it is that we are racing together. Bill used to race with my Dad in the Vet class, so there is certainly a connection there. Anyway, hopefully Bill and I can line up at Walton at least a few more times before one of us decides we’ve had enough; but something tells me that Bill might just outlast me in the Plus 50 class.
In sticking with Walton Raceway news. It will be interesting to see how the 2026 season is at Walton with the new Kyle Keast ownership group. Kyle and his family are certainly motivated to make some changes and do whatever they can to keep the track and facility operating at the high level we’ve come to expect. Over the past few weeks Kyle has spoken about some of his initial plans for the track, and some new infrastructure around the facility. To me, I think the most pressing need is to do a redesign and rebuild of the Dave Bell Tower. It would be great to see it not only made a little larger (with a bigger industry viewing platform), but also pull it back from the track a little. I know everyone who attends the Walton TransCan would like new showers and permanent washrooms, but big projects like that take time. For me at least, they wouldn’t be on my ‘must do’ list for 2026. As far as the track goes, I know there has been some talk about the track and turning it back around to go the other way. I’ve been very vocal over the past year that the current track direction works very well from a flow and safety point of view. The current starting line seems to work well, and on average we’re not seeing a lot of first turn crashes. I also like that the riders have a wide first turn, and then a long straight, as well as a slower technical corner before heading into any type of jump section. Back to the track direction conversation for a moment; here is why I think the current track direction works better than the old one. When you factor in how many right hand corners vs left hand corners a track has, a counter-clockwise running track always flows better simply because, on average there are more left hand corners. The Walton track is a prime example of this theory because, if you take three of the most challenging corners at Walton Raceway (the corner at the end of the long mechanic straight, the corner out in the field where the old start was and the current spectator parking lot, as well as the corner over by the main paddock, which sits in front of the stage and where OG Moto and Cobra Canada park) as the track runs now, those are all left hand corners, and generally speaking left hand corners are easy to flow through than right hand corners. In years past, when the track went the other way, those corners were slower, more technical, and we witnessed crashes in them. Obviously, this is just my opinion, and I know some people will agree or disagree depending on how they ride certain tracks. However, I think everyone will agree that the direction of the track at the 2026 Walton TransCan isn’t as important as the track preparation. I’d love to hear more about those plans then talks of changing the direction of the track next summer.
Anyway, like so many of us in this industry, I love and cherish all of the hard work the Lee Family and their crew have done over the years with both the facility and the track. I’ve been fortunate enough to see how they run things from many different aspects since my first time attending the Walton TransCan in 1994. From being a Pro racer only, to being the Editor of the TransCan event program, to being a TransCan moto parent, to a Vet Class Champion, to teaching riding schools, to going over to Walton to just hang out, it’s impossible to put into words the amount of work that goes into a riding season at Walton, never mind putting together an event as big as the TransCan. Even during Covid the Walton crew didn’t miss a beat while giving us a place to ride, race, and feel normal again. It’s exciting to think about the future and what Kyle Keast and his family can do with both the TransCan, as well as Walton Raceway. I feel like their new vision paired with an abundance of enthusiasm will open up exciting new possibilities at Walton Raceway. But, I believe all of us should be forever grateful for the work and the sacrifice the Lee Family and their crew have put in over the years. There is a famous phrase that states if you build it, then people will come. Well, the Lee’s built it and people did come, from all over the world to the tiny hamlet of Walton, Ontario to race, hang out, and build memories that will no doubt last a lifetime. Now, it’s time to write a new chapter, and thank you to Kyle Keast for stepping up and continuing to make Walton Raceway a place to make motocross memories.
Finally this week. It was just announced that the WLTN Kawasaki Team is bringing the newly crowned West Coast AX Champion Julien Benek out to race the Toronto rounds of the AMA Arenacross Series in a few weeks. This has been in the works for several weeks, so it’s good to see it finally come to fruition. Also, I’m hearing that the WLTN Kawasaki Team is going to have some big news coming out soon about who their 250 rider is going to be in 2026. With Sebastien Racine already signed to race in the 450 class, next season is going to be a very exciting one for Team Green! In closing, my Motovan Canada Rider of the Week is Kaylie Kayer, who dominated the Ladies Class several weeks ago at the West Coast AX Championships. Kaylie looked great on the tight Chilliwack track, and it was good to see her out front and riding well. Thank you for reading this week, and if you have any questions or comments, please email me ateditior@mxpmag.com.
