The Monday Gate Drop Presented By Yamaha Motor Canada

Good day, and happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend and if you live in Ontario, then you know exactly what I’m talking about when I say, we were truly blessed with how Mother Nature treated us. From Wednesday until late yesterday we got a taste of some early summer weather, and it was just plain awesome. The track at my house went from not being even close to rideable a week ago, to perfect in the span of a few days. Sadly, today is back to more normal temperatures and tomorrow they’re calling for a good chance of snow. On a positive note, this week my family and I are finally headed to Mexico for a week long, and well-deserved vacation. This trip was originally planned for April of 2020, but with Covid-19 it kept getting cancelled and rescheduled each year since. Thankfully, things have returned to normal and we’re headed south on Wednesday morning.

Being away this weekend, means that for the first time in years, we’re going to miss the season opener at Gopher Dunes. Honestly, I’m a little disappointed as the opening race of a new season is always a special time to be at the track.  Our Mexican trip was booked long before the Ontario race schedule was released. I hope everyone has a safe first race of the year, and by the looks of the forecast, Saturday doesn’t look great but the sun is supposed to be out for Sunday. It sounds as though the pro class is going to have a great turnout. Riders like Dylan Wright, Jacob Piccolo, Tyler Gibbs, Sebastien Racine, Dylan Rempel, Tanner Scott, Nate Mason, and Wyatt Kerr (just to name a few) all could be in attendance. Honestly, I cannot see anyone beating Wright, however, the battle behind him should be an entertaining one. Sadly, one popular rider who won’t be there is Liam O’Farrell, who crashed and broke his lower leg yesterday. I know he’s been banged up a few times over the years, but I don’t remember Liam ever being injured like this before. He reported on his Social Media channels that surgery went well, and he should heal up just fine. Liam is a great rider and a great person, I want to send some positive healing vibes out to him.  I know I speak for all of us in the industry when I say, we hope he’s back as soon as possible. On another note, this coming weekend is also the opening round of the 2023 Future West MX Championships in Kelowna, BC. As Ryan Lockhart pointed out on Friday in his Matrix Concepts 3Q’s feature story, most of the riders love the Kelowna track so it should be a great kick-off to the racing season out in BC.

This past weekend, Round 13 of the Monster Energy SX Series took place down in Atlanta. For the first time this season, the main part of the racing program was held during the afternoon, as the gate dropped on the opening heat race at 3pm. I’m not sure why they held this race in the afternoon, as I always feel like it takes a little of the hype away from the event. Supercross is supposed to be held under the lights, as that is part of the sports allure. Ironically, perhaps with the lighting not being the greatest at Atlanta Motor Speedway, this is why it was an afternoon event. Either way, it didn’t seem to affect the racing. Both main events were entertaining to watch, and it was great to see Chase Sexton finally win another race after leading so many in the past few months. I’m sure I wasn’t only one who was happy to see Sexton up front, but also waiting for yet another mistake from the talented Honda rider. Thankfully, that mistake never came and Sexton dominated the 450SX main event. Behind Sexton, Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac continued their title fight by finishing close together in 4^th and 5^th. I believe it was a smart race by both riders.  Neither appeared to have the pace to run up front, so as long as they were in sight of each other were on the track, the situation was manageable. In the end, Webb made up one point on Tomac and Tomac looked okay with that. After receiving a lot of rain on Friday morning, and then baking under the hot Georgia sun all day Saturday, by the time the 450 main event hit the track, it looked pretty sketchy. I feel like Tomac had the speed to attempt a pass on Webb but, with the track being the way it was and also the resistance that I’m sure Webb would’ve put up, Tomac did the smart thing and saved the fight for another day. Now with just four rounds remaining, Tomac has a slim six-point lead in the 450SX. Also, with Sexton winning on Saturday, he’s put himself back in the title fight, as he now sits 17 points back of Tomac. It’s definitely going to be an exciting conclusion to this series!

Well, that is it for me this week as I have to start packing for Mexico. As I mentioned above, I hope everyone has a safe and successful opening race weekend at both Gopher Dunes as well as in BC. The first gate drop of the season is always an exciting one regardless of what level of rider you are. Finally, in closing I’d like to send my utmost condolences to the family of Canadian Snowcross legend and current Ontario vet rider Ric Wilson. Ric passed away last Sunday in Florida after suffering a bad crash while riding with his son Devin. He was not only a great racer and athlete, but Ric also owned the very successful Wilson Ponds business located just outside of Erin, Ontario. Over the past decade or so, I got to know Ric well.  I used to go riding at his track and I’d see him from time to time at the races here in Ontario. He was a great story teller and one of those people that would do anything for anyone. He will be missed, and I wish his family all the best during this terrible time. I spoke to his son Devin last week and he mentioned that the family will be doing a celebration of Ric’s life in the coming months, I will update you all on that date once it’s available. RIP Ric! I’m going to miss our annual Walton TransCan conversations about life and riding.