Greetings! Welcome to this late July edition of the Monday Gate Drop, which is once again brought to you by the incredible people at Yamaha Motor Canada. Last week, we were able to connect with Jess Pettis to see how he was doing. He let us know that his knee surgery went well and he was doing okay so far. A few days prior to his surgery on July 7th, Jess was at the Ste. Julie National hanging out and signing autographs. He appeared in good spirits as he spoke about his upcoming surgery and recovery. Obviously, the next few months are going to be all about recovery for JP and we know that the entire motocross industry wishes him all the best. Hopefully, he can also make it out to this weekends Deschambault National as it’s not too far from his home.
As I write this I’m sitting in the breakfast area at an Ottawa area Hampton Inn. After a long day at the Sand Del Lee National my family and I remained in town for the evening and then on Monday afternoon, we will make the 4-hour drive East to the beautiful Deschambault track. This week is the 2026 ECAN, and then next weekend is Round 7 of the Triple Crown Series. The summer is certainly flying by and before we all know it, it will be time to head to the Walton TransCan in August. But for now, it’s time for the ECAN, and what has quickly become one of the best events on the Canadian Motocross calendar.
Looking back at yesterday and Round 6 of the Triple Crown Series at Sand Del Lee, I can honestly say that this was one of the best SDL Nationals I’ve ever attended. After some rain on Friday and Saturday, the track crew went to work and prepared one the best SDL tracks we’ve seen in recent years. Every rider I spoke to thought the track was challenging, but also enjoyable to race on. We saw more passing than ever, less crashes, and overall great racing in all three classes. Kevin Tyler and his entire crew deserve a ton of credit for giving the riders an excellent race track on Sunday. I also think this was was of the best attended SDL Nationals I’ve been to in sometime. I don’t know what made the difference this year? Timing wise, this race was a week later than it has been for years, so perhaps that helped. The weather was also perfect for racing (and spectating), with sunshine and cool temperatures (usually it’s hot and humid in the Ottawa area in mid-July), so watching the action was quite comfortable. Finally, Round 6 was Military Appreciation Day, and almost all of the teams and riders had special graphics and gear at SDL. With the Nation’s Capital not far away, as well as multiple Military training bases, this area of Canada has a very strong connection and rich history with our Armed Forces. Most likely, all of these things contributed to the larger than normal crowd, as well as the overall excitement of the entire day.
To get an idea of what happened on the track at Round 6, I will share the Press Release that I composed for the Triple Crown Series website. However, there were a few riders that had an extra special day yesterday and one of those was Zach Ufimzeff. Going back to last summer when Zach was racing for the Guaranteed Comfort Honda Team, things were not going well. Not only was he struggling off of the track with his health, but those health issues were affecting his performances on the track as well. Then, just before the SDL National Zach crashed at a mid-week local race in Ontario and broke his collarbone. In a nut-shell, 2025 was a terrible season and if Zach had decided to call it a career, I wouldn’t have been surprised. However, he didn’t and after a great off-season, which included having his overall health improve, Zach has been having a solid 2026 Triple Crown Series in the 250 Pro/Am class. Then, yesterday at SDL, after getting off to a solid start in moto two, Zach rode an incredible race, eventfully finishing 4th. Considering where he was a year ago, Zach had made a massive turn around and I credit not only his strong work ethic and belief in himself, but also his resilience as an athlete and human being. Everyone faces challenging times in the life, but it’s what you do during and after those tough times that separates people. Hopefully, there are more results like this in the future for Zach and his family, it was great that his Dad was right by his side yesterday to enjoy the moment. Here is my Triple Crown Series PR which describes what happened at the front of the pack in all three classes:
“If the riders and teams could pick the perfect weather for a round of the exciting Triple Crown Series, the day Mother Nature gave everyone at Round 6 would be it. With perfect temperatures and bright sunshine, the riders put on an incredible show for the fans at Sand Del Lee. Round 6 was also Military Appreciation Day so it was incredible to see so many people come out to support the men and women of our Armed Forces, both past and present.
In the WMX class, it was the sand loving rider from the USA, Jordan Jarvis who led the way at Round 6. Jarvis dominated both WMX motos on the rough challenging track, leaving no doubt who the best sand rider is in the WMX class. Behind Jarivs, was Kaylie Kayer and Brady McLarty, who did their best to keep the points leader Jarvis in sight. With two rounds to go, this championship will most certainly go down to the final moto at Walton Raceway.
The 250 Pro/Am class once again featured a battle between Ryder Malinoski and Dylan Rempel. Both teenage riders battled right to the final corner in the opening moto, with Malinoski making a last moment pass on Rempel for the win. In moto two, Malinoski got out front early and for most of the race it looked like he was going to take yet another win. However, after suffering some bike issues late in the moto, Malinoski wasn’t be able to finish, and Rempel was able to race by for the win. Josh Boaz also was able to captailize on Malinoski’s misfortune and he ended up second overall for the day. Kyle Murdoch also rode well at Round 6 to grabbed the final spot on the podium.
The 450 class was all about hometown hero Dylan Wright, who set sail in both motos to take the win and extend his series points lead over Harri Kullas. Wright rode the Sand Del Lee track better than we’ve seen in years, the new Father-to-be appeared to be on a mission. Kullas would ride well to take second overall, while Preston Kilroy once again looked comfortable on his new YZ450 to take third overall.
The fans at Round 6 were treated to some of the best racing of the 2026 Triple Crown Series, and now the series moves to Deschambault, Quebec for its penultimate round. Once again, thank you to everyone who came out to honour our Military, and thank you to all the teams and riders who supported this incredible day.”
As you can tell, it was an exciting day at Round 6, and now I cannot believe there are only two rounds remaining. Hopefully, as soon as next year the series can perhaps go to nine rounds, as eight seems short for a National Series. Also, this year has seen a renewed focus and hype surrounding the Triple Crown Series, and that’s because of a number of reasons. First, the teams and the riders have been doing a great job each and every weekend. When a series has great teams and incredible riders, it makes it easier to have quality events. Second, bringing on Brett Lee to help out with pretty much everything was a god send to the series. Brett has brought enthusiasm, focus, and a lot of organization that the series needed. Thirdly, I have to congratulate all of the series tracks so far. They have all done an amazing job and I think the quality of racing reflects that. Finally, having the man behind it all, Justin Thompson attend most of the rounds again has been a welcomed change for sure. Anyway, the Triple Crown Series appears to be back in a good spot at the moment, and that is great news moving forward.
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week and best of luck to everyone racing the ECAN this week. I will be all week beginning tomorrow and I cannot wait. Have a great week and thank you for reading. If you have any comments or questions please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.
