For this week’s Yamaha Motor Canada Behind the Lens, we go back to Round 2 of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals in beautiful Prince George, BC. This was the first time that this series visited Prince George, so everyone was very excited to be racing at a new venue. The Blackwater MX Track is a very unique circuit with multiple elevation changes, including an uphill start, tight rutted corners, and a cool rhythm section on the final straight heading towards the finish line tabletop. This section is also right in front of all of the spectators so they would get a bird’s eye view of the incredible moment we’re about to talk about.
We don’t think anyone will argue that during the first few rounds of the 2017 MX1 series, Christophe Pourcel and Matt Goerke were just a few steps ahead of everyone else. At Round 2, these two riders battled hard in both motos and spent the entire duration of each race just a few feet apart. In Moto 1, Pourcel led most of the race before getting passed by Goerke, who would go on to take the win. When the gate dropped for Moto 2, it was Goerke’s turn to lead and Pourcel’s turn to follow. Lap after lap these two riders played a game of cat and mouse while racing up and down the Blackwater hills. By the halfway point of the race, it became clear that Pourcel was sizing up Goerke to see where he might be able to make a pass late in the race. When the two-lap board came out, Pourcel was all over the back tire of Goerke as the fans prepared themselves for an exciting finish.
As the two riders entered the final lap, Goerke was still leading, but if you had a blanket, you could’ve thrown it over the two of them. With just a few corners to go, the two leaders reached a small pack of lapped riders that made them choose their lines very carefully. In the next to final corner, Pourcel made his first attempt at a pass, only to have Goerke hug the inside of the tight left hander and fend him off. In an instance, Pourcel regrouped and then bolted for the far outside of the final turn prior to the riders heading into the straight leading up to the finish line jump. At first Pourcel’s move seemed strange as no rider had used the outside all day long. But as Pourcel would tell us later, when he practiced at the Blackwater track just a few days before the race, the track was dry and he was forced to use that outside line so he could clear the following set of jumps.
As the two riders exited the final corner, Goerke still was in front, but Pourcel came out of the turn like he had been launched by a slingshot. At the mid-way point of the final straight, Pourcel had caught Goerke, and as the riders landed off the final jump before the checkered flag, Pourcel’s Husqvarna hooked up and he was to get ahead of his archrival by a foot as they crossed the finish line, winning by .08 seconds. It was an incredible moment and definitely the pass of the summer in the 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals. The “Crafty Frenchman,” as Pourcel has been called so many times over his career, had struck again in Prince George, and his cerebral riding had everyone in attendance just shaking their heads. This James Lissimore photo captures the moment the two riders crossed the finish line. As you can see, there is not much room between them. This was just one of the many exciting moments in Canadian motocross in 2017. We hope you enjoyed this week’s Yamaha Motor Canada Behind the Lens.
