Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
When east meets west, we finally grab a weekend off from the CMRC sanctioned Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan as things shift to the eastern rounds. As luck would have it, I had a chance to get out on my own 450 and put in some laps. A few days after the Regina National, FXR invited all their pro and local amateur support riders to their annual FXR Ride Day located just outside of Winnipeg, MB. We have a private MX track that is tucked away from the rest of the world and it is unreal. If you water it the right way, the dirt turns into chocolate cake. The traction is unreal and you can carve any corner and not worry about the front end pushing. It gave many of the FXR staff an opportunity to meet our riders, and the amateur riders a chance to rub shoulders with some of our pro riders. The day couldn’t have been more perfect. For a motocross rider, it was like walking into a field of dreams. There was an organized format to the day with a schedule of motos based on rider’s skill level and we had the full range. After pounding out some motos we were treated to a fantastic catered picnic lunch courtesy of the FXR crew. There were plenty of photographers on hand to capture riders hamming it up on and off the track. We rounded out the afternoon with yet another great meal served right there at the track. If that wasn’t enough fun, we got to do a full repeat the following day. This time we convoyed an hour or so away to Grunthal, MB, which was once a national track on the CMRC circuit back in 2001. The dirt there is soft and loamy. We were spoiled again with a perfectly prepared track. Some rain gave us a later start to the day but the track was pretty much mint when things let up. It was cool to see some of the faster pro riders play riding with some of the up and coming kids. The owner of FXR, Milt Reimer, got a chance to show the pro riders that he can put down some good laps on his own personal track too. It was pretty fun to see Shawn Maffenbeier and the other pros push Milt lap after lap. All said, it was a very successful couple of days and we look forward to next year’s event.
Zach Osborne was once again on the gas at Red Bud and took home the overall win in the 250MX class.
Winding into the weekend, it was the AMA National at Redbud in Michigan. If you’re a moto person, Redbud is a must-see experience at least once in your life. The fans at RedBud are wild, loud and they come from far, and this round will attract 30,000 plus race fans. It probably helps the spirit of the weekend that it always falls around the American July 4th holiday, putting everyone in what we will call “patriotic party mode.” Leaving the track at the end of the day is a nightmare but it’s well worth it. Plan on being parked there for a while. The RedBud round marks the half waymark in their series. It looks like Tomac is back on his game now but it’s nice to see that they have had lots different winners so far in the 450 class. The 250 class has had a few different winners but Osborne looks like he will be the guy to beat. I thought there might be a few Canadian riders participating but the only rider that is racing the CMRC series that made it was Redemption Racing’s Josh Osby. I heard Josh lives not too far from this round, which is one of the reasons he is racing in Canada. Redbud was on a weekend off in Canada so it fit perfectly into Josh’s schedule. Josh rode well finishing 16th overall. I like seeing where these riders end up finishing at a US national. This shows that our Canadian riders, like Cole Thompson and Maffenbeier, would do well too. I know there are plans for a few teams to head to the last US national round after the Canadian series is over.
This coming weekend is Round 5 in Ontario and it’s at one of the roughest tracks on the planet I have been told. I have ridden Gopher Dunes a few times but not on a national race weekend. I had John Dowd ride for me back in 2004 and he said it’s frikin’ rough. I think of John as the master of Southwick so for a rider of his ability to comment about the roughness of a Canadian track, that’s pretty cool. I heard that sand specialist Matt Goerke has remained undefeated at the Dunes. Will the World Champion, Christophe Pourcel, change that stat? I have watched these two battle for the past four rounds in the west and I am putting my money on Matt for this weekend. I feel Goerke wants it badly this year. These two riders are tied in points and they will both have the red number plate this weekend. I also think Colton Facciotti will be on the box. I would like to see him win one, too. I have no clue if Dillan Epstein has the skills to beat these riders in the sand box. I guess we will find out soon.
Will these two title contenders in the MX2 class renew their rivalry this weekend at Gopher Dunes. Photo by James Lissimore
The MX2 class is starting to look like the Cole Thompson show. I know for a fact Cole is better on sand than hard pack, so that translates into better results in my books. But hold on, I remember hearing that Shawn Maffenbeier shines on the tough, rough tracks, too. They are 42 points apart right now. That’s a lot of points to make up in 12 motos. I guess anything can happen. Will Jaycob Hayes make a return to the series after that wild get off in Regina? I was right there when Jaycob hit the face of that uphill triple pretty well wide open on his Monster KX250F. I couldn’t believe he was able to get up after cartwheeling through the air. It was more like rag dolling. I hear he had a broken foot and maybe some knee problems, but that was old news. I guess we will see what happens when we roll into Gopher Dunes this weekend. See you at the races!
