Greetings! Welcome to September, the month that usually produces some of the best riding weather in this country. It’s hard to believe that fall is almost officially here, but where I live, the leaves are already starting to change colour and even fall off some of the trees. Like everyone, I’m sure, I love this time of the year; I just don’t like the season that comes next.
Looking ahead to the 2024 Monster Energy MXON, all of the teams are now set. Team USA finally announced their three-rider squad last week, and they look pretty solid heading into the big race. Chase Sexton, Aaron Plessinger, and Chance Hymas will try and win the Chamberlain Trophy again. Team USA needs a good bounce-back race this year after struggling last year in France. They should challenge for a podium finish, possibly the win. Sexton is at the top of his game, Plessinger is also riding better than he ever has, and Hymas has demonstrated some amazing speed this summer in the 250 class. All three riders have to get through the upcoming three rounds of the SMX Playoffs in one piece, but overall, this team is looking good. Team Canada also appears ready to go, as all three of our riders now have a personal sponsor to assist them in getting over to the UK. It’s great to see individuals step up to help our riders, and hopefully, they will be rewarded with a solid result in October. It’s also great to see our riders doing everything they can to remain race-ready during this relatively quiet time in Canadian motocross. This past week, all three got together to ride and train, which was awesome. Since Pettis, Benoit, and Wright all live fairly close to each other in Quebec, this trend is going to continue right up to when they have to depart for England. Honestly, it has to as there just aren’t a lot of races in September for our riders to compete in. They will have to do everything they can to keep their intensity as high as possible. Also, in some other team news. Late last week, our favourite Kiwi, Josiah Natzke, announced that he will now be a part of Team New Zealand at the MXON. Originally, Natzke wasn’t on Team New Zealand, so it’s good to see that he’s now in and will be in England in October.
As I mentioned above, the SMX Playoffs begin this coming weekend in Charlotte, and Cole Thompson announced that he’s in for all three rounds late last week. Unfortunately, Cole will have to go through the LCQs at each of the three races, but he’s excited to get back to racing and be a part of these prestigious events. I spoke to Cole briefly on Thursday as he was packing up and getting ready to head south to continue training. Although this deal came together late, CT16 feels ready to go, as he’s been riding SX at home quite a bit during the past month. His hope is obviously to pick up where he left off in May and qualify for the main events in the 250 class. After the SMX Playoffs, Cole is looking to hopefully line up at the opening round of the WSX in Vancouver in late October, and then after that, he plans to focus on preparing for the 2025 Monster Energy Supercross Series. I will be heading to Charlotte tomorrow to take in my first-ever SMX Playoff event, and it will be exciting to have a Canadian rider to cheer for now.
Unfortunately, being in Charlotte this weekend means I will miss the big Vet Race in Quebec at Parc X Tring. It looks and sounds like it will be a great time, as last week, it was announced that Ross Pederson will make the trip out from his home in Alberta. I’m sure it’s been a while since Ross has been to Quebec and even longer since he raced there. When I turned pro in late 1989, there was at least ten events per year in Quebec, including Nationals, Provincial races, AX events, and of course, the biggest of them all, the Montreal SX. In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, racing in Quebec brought a lot of our Canadian riders (and visiting Americans) money, prestige, and stories that will no doubt last a lifetime. Ross was a big fan of racing in Quebec, and in my early years as a pro, I remember racing him at numerous events there. For a rider who wasn’t born in Quebec and certainly didn’t speak French, Ross had a lot of fans there, and it’s great to see that he’s heading back this weekend. This weekend, Quebec legends like Carl Vaillancourt, JSR, and Marco Dube will also be in attendance. Having all of these riders hanging out this weekend in Quebec will be incredible. Like the Legends dinner and race last year at Gopher Dunes, these large Vet events where we get several former Canadian MX heroes out to race and hang out are becoming an annual thing. It’s great, and I hope events like this continue well into the future.
Well, that is it for me this week, and I have to pack and get ready to leave for North Carolina. I hope everyone has a great opening week of September, and good luck to all of our kids heading back to school. This week is always tough on students and teachers who now have to head back to work after a summer of fun. So, kids, please be kind to your fellow students as well as to your teachers. Finally, this week, I will be putting together a massive photo report from the Walton TransCan. James Lissimore just finished editing all his photos, which are incredible. Also, Happy Anniversary to James and his beautiful wife Claudie as they celebrated their 5th wedding Anniversary this past weekend. Have a great week, and thank you for reading!
