Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good day, I hope everyone had a fun pre-Valentine’s Day weekend, and at least here in Southern Ontario, the weather was perfect for mid-February. In fact, yesterday it felt like a hint of spring in the air as the sun was shining, and the birds were chirping. I know we still have a long way to go before spring officially arrives but a little teaser is always nice during this time of the year. This coming weekend The Motorcycle Show is back at the Enercare Centre in Toronto for the first time in three years. This show is always enjoyable to attend as it features all of the OEM’s and a lot of industry heavyweights. This show is also in a great location as the Enercare Centre sits just west of downtown Toronto and right on the shore of Lake Ontario. The weather looks great again for this coming weekend so I would expect a great turnout on all three days. I will be down there on Friday hanging out, shaking some hands, and shooting some video, I hope to see you there!
On Saturday evening, my family and I gathered around the television to watch the Tampa Supercross. The first race of the season in Florida is always special to me as it brings back a lot of memories of being down there training back in the 1990s. As far as Tampa goes, I remember it like it was yesterday, sitting in the stands in 1993 watching Jeremy McGrath take the win in the 250 class. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 30 years since Jeremy McGrath burst onto the scene as a rookie in the premier class and dominated not just the 1993 supercross season, but pretty much the next eight seasons. Then in 1998, I was back in Tampa for the SX, but this time I was on the track and battling through the mud trying to make the main event in the 250 class. The 1998 Tampa Supercross, which Larry Ward won, was a full-on mudder as it rained almost all day. There was also some rain this Saturday evening but thankfully, it didn’t seem to affect the track too much.
With Raymond James Stadium being the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as the site of the final game of Tom Brady’s incredible career, the track was short, and other than the enormous sand section, it wasn’t very technical. With the track crew not having a lot of floor space to work with in Tampa, I would’ve liked to see them make the sand section not quite as long as it was on Saturday. I guess it provided some entertainment as far as the riders having some sketchy moments in it, but we didn’t see any big passes. I thought if the sand section used up half of that straight then it would’ve been perfect. Anyway, the track crew did the best they could, and in both main events, we saw some late race mistakes from the leaders that proved to be very costly.
In the 250SX East main event, Hunter Lawrence got to a less-than-stellar start and had to charge his way to the front. Even with three laps to go in the race, it looked as though he would have to settle for second as Nate Thrasher’s lead was just too big. However, to Lawrence’s credit, he never stopped charging and finally, in the last corner he was able to get by Thrasher for his second win of the series. I’m not sure what Thrasher was thinking in that final corner as he didn’t really do anything to protect his position on the track. If you’re in Thrasher’s spot in a corner like that and you have someone right on you like he did, then you really only have two options. You either fully commit to railing the outside berm and hope that the other rider (in this case it was Lawrence), doesn’t have the time and space to straight line the turn and get to you and either T-bone you or impede your exit enough that he’s able to get ahead of you. This sometimes works but it is the riskier option for sure. The second option you have is to slow down more than Thrasher did and control the inside of the turn. This allows you to block the other rider from going inside you and pushing you wide, and it also gives you the option of pushing the other rider wide if they try to go around you on the outside. Either way, in a corner like that, you’re in a tough spot if you’re leading and another rider is right on you like Lawrence was. However, that rider still has to make some quick decisions to set up a pass, so I think the lead rider has the advantage. Thrasher put himself in no man’s land and Lawrence took full advantage of the situation and really made the pass look easy.
In the 450SX main event, we watched Chase Sexton ride flawlessly throughout most of the race until a big mistake in the whoops cost him the lead and the win. I know we’ve seen Sexton do this before and toss away a race win in the closing stages of a main event, but I feel like this one was a little different than the others. I think three things caused this one and that can all be attributed to pressure. First, Sexton obviously had Cooper Webb within two seconds of him for the entire main event and was unable to shake him. Also, every rider on the track knows that Webb is at his best in the closing stages of the race, so I’m sure Sexton knew he would have a big fight on his hands with five laps to go. Second, in the laps before he went down, Sexton got the raw end of the deal with some of the riders he was lapping for the second time. No one likes to be lapped and every rider is out there trying to finish their best. That is racing and that is their right. However, when you’re getting lapped for the second time in a main event, just move the hell over as soon as you see the blue flag. Don’t wait and think oh, I’ll race them to the next section and then it will be easy to let them pass without losing too much time. Sexton was in tough with a few lappers late in the race, and that always raises the heart rate and stress level when you know another rider is right behind you. I’m sure Sexton could hear the crowd and also sense that Webb was getting closer. Finally, this is where Sexton could be better moving forward. I think Sexton’s line choice sometimes is poor, and his decision to keep trying to blitz the whoops through the middle rut clearly did not work. That line is okay if you’re jumping through them because then you’re not putting too much weight on the front wheel and asking it to provide you with the primary source of traction. Sexton was still trying to blitz the whoops, and when his front wheel hit the side edge of the main rut, it instantly lost traction, and that started the chain reaction to him crashing. It was too bad that Sexton went down, as up until that point he was riding a great race. Also, good on Webb for hanging in there and waiting for a mistake from Sexton. As the announcers pointed out, Webb is gaining confidence, which is dangerous if you’re the other riders. As for the 450SX points leader Eli Tomac, he admitted after the race to struggling to find a comfort zone throughout the day and night on the inconsistent Tampa track and opted not to push the envelope.
As for our Canadian riders, two of the three had a pretty good night in Tampa. Cole Thompson rode great in the 450SX LCQ and just missed the main event by one spot. I was surprised that Cole made the long trek to Tampa from where he’s staying in Texas, but he did and I feel like he learned a lot on Saturday night. The lessons that he learned last week in Houston and again this weekend in Tampa will no doubt help him when the 250SX West Series resumes in Oakland this coming Saturday. Quinn Amyotte, who was racing in his first supercross also rode great in his LCQ and finished up with a solid 12th. What a memorable night for Quinn as he finally got to line up and race in a series he’s no doubt been dreaming about for years. His 12th-place finish in the LCQ is an excellent starting point for him and his Rock River Manluk Yamaha Team, he should be even better in Arlington in two weeks. Also, whether Quinn gets close to qualifying for a main event or not, just racing in these rounds of SX is going to make him that much more prepared for this summer and the 2023 Triple Crown Series. Quinn made some big strides last summer in the 250 class and I cannot wait to see what he brings in 2023.
In other news, fundraising has begun for Team Canada and the 2023 MXON’s in France. The Team Canada MXON Online store is now open with a lot of cool stuff that you can purchase. All the money raised goes directly to our Team as they prepare for the big event in October. This is a great idea and it’s also good that Kourtney Lloyd and her team are getting a head start on fundraising. If all of our riders remain healthy all summer Kourtney is going to be able to pick a very solid Team Canada for 2023. Riders like Wright, Pettis, Ward, Piccolo, McNabb, Medaglia, and even Cole Thompson have all shown incredible speed in the past year and would be great options for our team. We shall see how the summer plays out in Canada. Please go and check out www.teamcanadamxon.com.
Finally, Ryan Lockhart is your Rimbey AX Pro Class Champion after winning this past weekend. This first time event by all accounts was amazing as the racing was entertaining and the fan turn-out was great. This makes three separate indoor AX events in the past four months in Alberta, so good on the promoters of each of them for doing everything they can to make them happen. Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week and a Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow. It’s also my brother’s birthday tomorrow, so Happy Birthday to him, and I will see everyone at the Motorcycle Show this weekend. Have a great week and thank you for reading!
