Greetings! Welcome to this mid-June edition of the Monday Gate Drop Column, which is once again brought to you by the awesome folks at Yamaha Motor Canada. This past weekend in Pilot Mound, Manitoba, Round 2 of the 2026 Triple Crown Series took place at the beautiful Prairie Hill MX track. The MX101 Yamaha Team had two great results in the 250 Pro/Am class as Ryder Malinoski went 1-1 for the overall win, and Preston Kilroy battled hard to a 3-3 moto finish. Unfortunately, their 450 rider Jess Pettis, suffered an apparent knee injury in the opening laps of moto two and was forced to pull off. Pettis will have his knee further evaluated later this week, but at this time, it looks like he’ll be out for some time.
I’ve been fortunate enough in my career in motocross to have visited and raced in Manitoba on several occasions. Back in the early 1990s, the CMA Pro National Series travelled to the infamous Austin MX track in 1992 and again in 1993. In those days, the Austin track had the same reputation that Gopher Dunes has now. It’s surface was made up of deep sand, it always seemed to be hot whenever the series came to town, and it got very rough. I recall the sand being a bit lighter then the thicker, heavier sand that Gopher Dunes has on National day, but that was probably because the Austin track crew just didn’t water the track as much. Anyway, was Austin a more challenging track than Gopher Dunes? I wouldn’t say it was tougher, but it was certainly as miserable and hard on the body. Not to mention, in those days we had to ride four 30-minute motos, so you can imagine how that felt. Anyway, in 2000 I raced a Pro National at the Grunthal track, located just south of Winnipeg. That track was actually a ton of fun and I think everyone enjoyed it back then. Finally, way back in 1987 I raced my 80cc Canadian Championship at a very hard packed track in St. Jean Baptiste, and that was certainly an unforgettable day. That day I had a knock down, drag out battle with the late great Jason Frenette. So, as you can see my history with MX races in Manitoba has been a good, but even with that I wasn’t prepared for the beauty that is the Prairie Hill MX track and its surrounding area. Southwestern Manitoba with its forests and rolling hills, is a very nice part of our country, despite still having that ‘middle of nowhere’ feel to it. I grew up and continue to live in rural Ontario, so I’m okay with wide open spaces. Regardless of where a track is in relationship to dense population, it’s all about how the track and facility are prepared and I think the track crew and staff did an amazing job this past weekend in Pilot Mound, MB.
The track itself this weekend looked like a really fun one to ride, with its big floating jumps and dark soil. For Sunday, I did feel like it could’ve been ripped a bit deeper and watered more. The golden rule on sunny days and with soil like the type that the Prairie Hill MX has, is that practice should be muddy. However, the track crew obviously knows their dirt and despite the sun shinning bright all day long, the track did hold up for most of the day, and only the final 450 moto saw it begin to get a little dusty and hard packed. Also, even with the harder soil, big jumps and some high speed sections, there thankfully weren’t many crashes. The only injury I heard about was to poor Dexter Seitz who had a big crash in the opening 250 moto and ended up breaking his wrist. Dex had a solid opening round last weekend at his home track in Calgary while competing in his first-ever pro national, so it was sad to hear about his crash on Sunday. Heal up Dex! As I mentioned above, Jess Pettis could be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, but he didn’t even crash, he just dabbed his foot like Jett Lawrence did last year in Glendale. As I said, it looked like a really fun track to ride on Sunday, but judging by how scraped and bruised the riders arms were on Sunday evening, the roost hurt like hell. So, perhaps it wasn’t that fun of a track to ‘race’ on. Either way, I hope the Triple Crown Series returns to this track in 2027, as it was a great host to everyone this past weekend.
Here is an except from the Triple Crown Series PR I wrote for Round 2:
“The WMX Class at Round 2 was another exciting one to watch. While the class was a little short on entries, it wasn’t short on entertainment as the Manitoba fans were treated to some great racing. As mentioned above, Jamie Astudillo rode her Priority Thor GASGAS machine to a double moto victory on a track that she said she really enjoyed racing on. Behind Astudillo was last week’s winner Jordan Jarvis, who once again had to battle through fatigue brought on by another late-night commute to get to Manitoba after racing in Colorado the day before. The top Canadian on the day in the WMX class was AVL Husqvarna rider Brady McLarty, who had her best performance to date, finishing third overall with a 3-3 moto score.
In the highly competitive 250 Pro/Am class, Ryder Malinoski and Vincent Wey renewed their South-of-the-border rivalry by battling for the win in both motos. After trading the lead multiple times in both 250 races, Malinoski was able to come out on top. However, his lead at the checkered flag in both races was very small. This was a great battle to watch all day long, and the fans loved it. While the two young American riders were battling back and forth out front, defending champion and current points leader Preston Kilroy sat back in third, waiting for a mistake from the leaders. The mistake never came, and Kilroy had to settle for a solid and wise third overall.
The 450 class started with a routine opening moto, which saw Dylan Wright make a pass on Jess Pettis when Pettis went down in a rutted turn. From there, Wright maintained his lead over Pettis and Harri Kullas until the end. Moto two, however, was a completely different story. With Wright mired back in 6th place after a bad start, Pettis was out front and looking to set sail for his first moto win of the young season. But three laps in, Pettis pulled off the track and rode back to the paddock. At the time, many speculated that there was another mechanical issue with his YZ450F. Unfortunately, Pettis twisted his knee on the opening lap, and after that, his knee began dislocating as he was trying to maintain his lead in the moto. Sebastien Racine inherited the lead and was doing his best to get his first-ever 450 class moto win. Racine would do his very best to hold off Wright for 20 minutes before the GDR Honda rider finally found a way by. For Racine, it was his best ride to date, finishing 3rd in the 450 class, and for Wright, it was a chance to take his fourth moto win of the year, and extend his points lead over Kullas, who went 3-2 for second overall.
After two exciting Western rounds, the riders and teams of the 2026 Triple Crown Series don’t have long to catch their breath as Round 3 takes place back east on June 28th in Ste.Julie, QC. This famous circuit returned to the series last year, and with it being a favourite track of the riders, everyone is looking forward to the third round of this exciting series.”
That was a summary of Sunday’s action at Round 2, but more specifically, all three classes are setting up to be very exciting in the east. The riders will have one weekend of hard packed conditions at Round 3 in Ste. Julie before they get into the ‘meat’ of the 2026 Triple Crown Series. Although, this summer they will get somewhat of a break between Gopher Dunes and Sand Del Lee (usually the two hottest races of the series) as Round 5 will be at Riverglade Raceway in Moncton, NB. It will still be a difficult stretch of races as the riders and teams navigate through the races in July. Let’s take a look at who finished inside the top five this weekend and how they got there.
250 Pro/Am Class
1. Ryder Malinoski- MX101 Yamaha (1-1)
Last weekend, Ryder showed some great speed, especially in moto two when he finished third. At Round 2 he showed even more speed and he battled hard with Vincent Wey in both motos to stand on top of the podium. I love Ryder’s hard charging style as he always looks like he’s trying to get everything out of his motorcycle. It doesn’t always work and this is something he’s going to have to work on as he matures as a rider, but it worked in spades on Sunday and one thing is for sure, this kid never gives up. Also, it sounds as though he could be eligible for a spot on Team Canada later this year. Ryder is half-Canadian as his Dad is Canadian, so all he needs is a Canadian Passport to meet the FIM requirements. He is trying to get that all taken care of this summer, so I’m sure he’s a rider that Kourtney Lloyd will be looking at when choosing her team. Finally, Ryder is one of the nicest riders off the track and in the paddock, and I think in the big picture, that means a lot.
2. Vincent Wey- Kawasaki SSR Team (2-2)
I’m going to be the first to admit that I was slightly wrong about Wey coming into the Triple Crown Series. After watching Vince win the SMX Next main event in Birmingham back in March, I knew he had some serious SX skills. In Alabama, he looked smooth and precise and that night, he dominated the main event. However, I didn’t know (until the past two weekends) how good this kid is outdoors. In Calgary, he rode smooth and in the final laps of the opening moto, he was the fastest 250 rider on the track. This past weekend, he and Malinoski put on a great show in both motos and if it hadn’t been for a couple of little mistakes, Wey could’ve won both motos. But, what I like the most is that even when he made those mistakes and Ryder got passed him, he didn’t give up and remained in the fight for the moto win. After watching Vincent now for two races, it leads me to believe that this kid is going to be very good in the east, as he doesn’t appear to use up a lot of energy with his smooth style, and that usually translates into being easy on equipment. Vincent (and Ryder) are going to be fun to watch in the final six rounds and I feel like Preston Kilroy has his hands full.
3. Preston Kilroy- MX101 Yamaha Team (3-3)
This weekend, Kilroy demonstrated why he currently holds the #1 plate in the 250 class, and also why he’s the points leader after two rounds. Sunday was an off day by his standards, yet he salvaged two solid motos while extending his points lead. The second moto, Kilroy rode to a smooth third place finish, and had the leaders made any big mistakes, he was right there to pounce. In the opening moto, Kilroy didn’t get a good start and then struggled to catch up as a lot of riders were going fast on the smooth track. He still found his way to third, making the most out of what could’ve easily been a 6th or 7th. The kids are coming, but I still think Kilroy is in complete control of this championship.
4. Kade Johnson- Kawasaki SSR Team (4-4)
It sounds as though Kade had some issues while travelling to Round 2 and wasn’t able to get his bike ready until the last minute. I also heard he had a blow up last weekend with his mechanic, so this weekend he had a new guy working on his bike. All of this uncertainty, appeared to have a slight affect on the young Team Green rider as his raw speed didn’t look as good as it did in Calgary. However, Kade was still fast and rode solid to go 4-4 for you guessed it, 4th overall. I’m looking forward to watching Kade ride in the sand as I think his long legs are really going to serve him well at a track like Gopher Dunes.
5. Wyatt Kerr- Guaranteed Comfort Honda Team (5-5)
Since Wyatt and the Wild Rose MX track don’t have a great relationship, I didn’t expect a lot of aggression from him at the opening round. However, this weekend was a different story as he bounced back with a solid performance. It’s going to take some work for Kerr to straight beat the riders in front of him, but on a rough track and high humidity day in Ontario, I like his chances of outlasting anyone on the track. With that said, I believe Kerr has some podium finishes ahead of him in the east!
450 Class:
1. Dylan Wright- GDR Honda (1-1)
I know we’ve said this in the past after a couple of rounds, but Dylan Wright appears to be in a very good spot right now. He looks good, his bike looks good, he has a smile on this face at the track, and there just appears to be a really good vibe going on under his GDR Honda Tent. Even when I’m watching him ride right now, he doesn’t look like he’s riding on the edge and about to toss his Honda into the rhubarb. In moto one, Dylan was handed the lead when Pettis made a mistake and went down. From there, he rode smooth and did what he had to do to win. But, in moto two he started like 6th or 7th and had to work his way forward. During the opening laps Pettis was leading and at times in the past when this scenario has played out (Pettis leading and Dylan back a few spots) we’ve seen Dylan go ballistic to try and get up front quickly. But, this time he remained calm and just picked his way forward. Eventually, he got around Sebastien Racine for the lead, and then had to remain fast and focused as Harri Kullas wasn’t far behind. I like the 2026 version of Dylan so far and after what he’s been through during the past few years, I think he’s earned the success he’s enjoyed during these opening two rounds.
2. Harri Kullas- Red Bull Canada Fly KTM Factory Team (3-2)
Harri could be the guy to watch once the 450 series heads east in twelve days as he appears to be getting better and better. Last weekend, he kept Dylan honest during the second moto, but wasn’t really a threat for the moto win. However, this weekend Harri was even closer, and if Dylan had made one mistake in the final ten minutes, he was right there. Harri is fit, smart, and has a great bike and team behind him. With Pettis most likely out for the remainder of the series, if anyone is going to challenge Wright for the 450 title, it’s going to be this guy.
3. Sebastien Racine- Kawasaki SSR Team (4-3)
On Sunday, Racine showed what happens when you’ve prepared well for a series and then you get out front in a moto. After Pettis pulled out of moto two, Racine was left out front and doing his best to try and get away. At first, he had to deal with Tanner Ward who was looking for his first win of 2026 also. Then, just before the halfway point, Wright passed Ward and Racine was forced to deal with our multi-time champion. For the next ten minutes, Racine to his credit, did everything he could to hold off Wright. At one point, we had a four rider battle for the lead as Racine not only had Wright behind him, but also Ward and Kullas. If this is what the east rounds are going to look like then we’re all in for a treat. Eventually, Wright and Kullas found their way around Racine, but it was still a very strong effort by the rookie 450 rider, and no doubt one that gave him a ton of confidence moving forward.
4. Tanner Ward- Priority Thor GASGAS Team (5-4)
Even though we’re just two rounds into the 2026 Triple Crown Series, I felt like Tanner needed a spark to ignite the level of riding we saw from him last summer. Since his final moto at Walton Raceway last summer, when he had a hard crash and lost the 450 title to Phil Nicoletti, I felt like Tanner has been in sort of a speed funk. He’s been good at times, but nowhere close to what we saw last summer when he all of sudden started winning motos. Anyway, during the second moto on Sunday Tanner was right in the middle of the fight for the lead and I believe if the track had of been a little more forgiving, Tanner would’ve seen the green light to push that extra little bit and go for the win. He didn’t, but I feel like given the conditions, that was the smart play. If I’m Tanner, I’m heading into the east knowing that my speed is good and my best days are most likely ahead. Anyway, Tanner’s second moto ride on Sunday could be the spark he needs as the series heads east.
5. Daniel Elmore- AVL Husqvarna Team (6-5)
So far in the opening two rounds, Elmore has quietly been one of the best riders in the 450 class. After a solid 5th last weekend in Calgary, Danny backed it up with another 5th this weekend on a track that he admittedly hated after practice. This year, Danny is not only part of a solid team again with the AVL Husqvarna Team, but he also has his wife at the races, as well as his brother as his mechanic. I believe this has added to Danny’s comfort level at the races, and that is great news for the remaining rounds, where he’s been historically strong. One thing is for sure, Danny will not give up as Quinn Amyotte found out in the opening moto on Sunday when Elmore hounded him for 30 minutes before making a late pass for 6th.
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week, and I hope all of our incredible moto Dads have a great Father’s Day this weekend. Finally, the Motovan Canada Rider of the Week is AVL Husqvarna rider Brandy McLarty, who went 3-3 for third overall this weekend in the WMX class. Brandy used two great starts, as well as some smooth and consistent riding to get on her first podium of 2026. Congratulations to Brandy, and thank you for reading this week. If you have any questions or comments, please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.
