Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
By Chris Pomeroy
Photos by James Lissimore
Over the years, Westen Wrozyna has been a fast and popular Ontario rider who like many have spent their life travelling to races with their parents and siblings. Since I can remember the Wrozyna’s have never been flashy or overstated, they have simply shown up at races and quietly tried to do the best they can. Sometimes they’ve found success and sometimes success has eluded them. However, as a family, they never stopped trying to be the best and thankfully the two Wrozyna boys (Westen and Cam) have stuck with it and are still a presence in our sport.
One of the memories that have really stuck with me over the years when it comes to the Wrozyna’s comes from the Prince George National a few years back. Videographer Matt Koeleman and I were doing some interviews for an MXP edit we were working on and we decided to interview Westen. With Westen being a privateer at the time Matt and I had to the back into the paddock to find Westen and his set-up. When we finally did find their pit area my respect for him grew immensely. To think about how far from home he was in his vehicle (a small shuttle bus turned into a race truck) and the effort that it must have taken just to travel west for the nationals really brought me back to how things were years ago. But for a lot of these riders that is what it takes to be able to race the pro nationals once you reach a certain age and your resources sometimes get less and less. Basically, if you want to race at the top level in this sport and you don’t have a ton of support, then you just grit your teeth and do it the best you can. When Matt and I interviewed Westen that day in BC that is what I took from him. It wasn’t easy to travel west to race but he did it and he was going to try and do the best he could with what he had.
Fast forward to last week at the Compound 138 training facility and I once again was talking to Westen about his upcoming race, only this time he was preparing for his first SX aboard an MX101 FXR Yamaha YZ450. After two solid summers of winning the Triple Crown Pre-Mix Series Kevin Tyler was giving Westen the opportunity to fill in for the injured Shawn Maffenbeier at the final four rounds of the 2021 Triple Crown Series. I had never seen Westen ride a SX track, especially on a big Yamaha 450. Actually, Westen himself admitted that day that he didn’t really know what to expect when he started riding later that morning. But I could see the excitement in his eyes as he was getting ready to head out for his first laps on his new shiny Yamaha.
As that day went on Westen got more and more comfortable on the MX101 bike and soon he was jumping sections that no one else was. Westen looked great and for a rider that didn’t have that much SX experience coming into last week, his timing, his speed through the whoops, and his confidence appeared to be that of a seasoned SX rider. While watching Westen that day I knew that if he could remain in control and keep his new bike on two wheels at the opening rounds of the Triple Crown SXTour Series then success will no doubt find him.
Well, thankfully my prediction rang true as Westen and his new team had a great weekend at Gopher Dunes. After going a modest 12-4 on the opening night of the series Westen bounced back with an incredible 3-3 on night two. In fact, he was riding so well in the final main event on Saturday that he caught and almost passed Weltin for second in the closing laps. With Weltin out for this coming weekend, expectations are most likely high for Westen and his team. I mean, after last weekend Westen’s confidence has to be high and his eagerness to once again prove himself also has to be high. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see how Westen will start his weekend at Gopher Dunes, and only time will tell where he goes from there. But regardless of what happens, I think it’s great that Westen is still in our sport and performing at a high level. As I said, when I interviewed him out west a few years ago I could see the struggle in his face and at the time I wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to stick it out. But Westen has and I applaud him for that! Sadly, as we’ve seen over the years there are a lot of talented riders who haven’t been able to continue in this sport. As Westen’s get older and continues to mature as a rider and as a person, I do see a future in this sport for him. However, before he can think about the future he has to take care of business this weekend. Something tells me that we’re going to witness an even better Westen Wrozyna this weekend as he makes good on this incredible opportunity given to him by Kevin Tyler and the MX101 Racing Team. See you at Gopher Dunes!
