Good day, and welcome to another edition of the Yamaha Motor Canada Monday Gate Drop. Once again on Saturday night in Oakland Christian Craig rode his 2022 YZ250F to victory in the 250SX West class, This was Craig’s second win in and row, and while on the podium he made sure to thank his team and remind everyone how great his bike is. Now, is the perfect time to head to your local Yamaha dealer to pick up a 2022 YZ250F of your own and become a member of the Blu Cru.
So, that’s a wrap on Round 2 of the Monster Energy Supercross Series from Oakland. After so much hype and excitement last weekend in Anaheim, this weekend was a little more reserved in my opinion. First off, the Oakland track, although faster than A1, looked to be a little tamer and the dirt appeared to be more predictable as the day and night went on. I also thought the start was better this weekend as it had some length to the straight as well as a more open first turn. The whoops seem to hold up better so we didn’t see as many sketchy moments from the top riders. Well, unless you count Ken Roczen who almost ended his season when he crashed during timed qualifying. Roczen’s crash on Saturday looked a lot like his crash last year in Atlanta when he was attempting to ‘blitz’ the whoops too close to the middle grooved out portion and his rear end kicked out. As you can imagine when you’re hitting whoops as fast as these guys are there is very little room for error. A couple of inches here or there off of where you want to be can quickly cause havoc and then you’re basically along for the ride. What bothers me about Roczen’s crashes is that most come from poor line choices and momentary lapses in concentration. I guess I could say that about most of us but Ken Roczen is supposed to be better than most of us..right! Anyway, compared to Anaheim 1 Roczen had a horrible time in Oakland, and not only did he hand the red plate to Justin Barcia, but I’m sure he left the Bay Area feeling pretty beat up. Anyway, the Oakland track was better than Anaheim, and did you notice that it didn’t have a triple jump? I can’t recall the last time a SX track didn’t have a triple?
Before I get into the main event winners, let’s talk about our current Canadian SX hero Cole Thompson. I think everyone (including Cole) was happy with how his opening round went last weekend in Anaheim. With everything that he had and his wife/ mechanic/ trainer/ Social Media director Chloe had to do to prepare for Anaheim 1, just getting into the 250SX West main event and eventually finishing in 14th was a major accomplishment. Cole not only made us all smile but he’s also earning the respect of just about everyone. As Donk said in his new weekly ‘Dialed In’ column on this website, regardless of how you feel about Cole Thompson you have to love what he’s doing right now and how he’s doing it. Now, that isn’t an exact quote but that is what Donk meant. So, 14th at the opening round definitely provided a solid foundation of confidence for Cole heading into Oakland.
Well, as we witnessed on Saturday confidence is a wonderful thing, even for a rider as experienced and talented as Cole Thompson. Right from the opening lap of practice, Cole appeared to be comfortable and when his heat race came around he got off to a solid start and finished 5th. I really like Cole’s gate pic in his heat race as it gave him the best chance of controlling his space and time in turn 1 and starting his opening lap in a good position. If you ask my son he’ll tell you that I’m fanatical about picking a gate and the strategy that goes along with it. I won’t bore you with all of the details, but basically, my thought process is that whenever you can, go inside! Cole showed us why you do this in his heat race and Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac proved it again in the 450SX main event. Cole made the correct choice while Sexton and Tomac didn’t. More on that in a minute. So Cole made it to the 250SX West main event with no issue and in the main event he again rode smart and smooth to finish 12th. This finish was another step forward for Cole and his program and like last weekend it will allow him to build even more confidence heading into San Diego. Considering which riders were in front of Cole on Saturday night (Schwartz and Wageman) I believe that a top ten finish is most certainly in the near future for Cole, perhaps even this weekend with how good he’s riding. However, once Cole gets inside the top ten and battling the Chris Blose’s and Garrett Marchbanks of the 250SX West class, things are going to get very real and he’s going to have to decide how much he’s willing to hang it out. Riders like Blose, Marchbanks, and Friese are no joke, and outsmarting and out finessing them is difficult. Not to mention, how aggressive they are. We’ve seen in the past that Cole does has an aggressive side to his riding, I mean just ask Dylan Wright or Colton Facciotti, so if he wants to continue to climb the results ladder in this class then he’s going to have to get a ‘mean on’ and fight for every inch of race track. I don’t care what riders are or aren’t on the starting line in the 250SX West class, a top ten finish in the main event is an eat or be eaten challenge. I know Cole is capable of it so it will be interesting to see if he can do it. Regardless, I’m excited with his first two rounds of SX as he currently sits tied for 12th in the points.
At the front of the pack in the 250SX West class was once again Christian Craig and his effortless riding. Like so many people, I love watching Christian ride a dirt bike and when he’s on, he’s most certainly on. Right now, he’s as confident as he’s ever been and it’s obvious that he’s at one with his Star Racing Yamaha. Now, I don’t think that Craig will win every round in this series but I do believe he’ll find a way to win the championship. As good as he’s riding right now you have to assume that he will have to face some adversity at some point, I mean, what series champion doesn’t. At this level, this is such a demand on the rider’s time either during the week or on raceday that you have to believe at some point Craig will take to the track without being completely ‘locked in’ mentally and a mistake will happen. We’ve seen this play out numerous times over the years and in an instant, a series points leader will go from having everything go right to having something go completely wrong. Usually, it’s what they do next that decides whether or not they’re going to be a champion or not. Craig has a ton of experience to draw from as well as a solid team of supporters behind him, so he should be able to handle whatever adversity comes his way. Let’s hope so anyway as it would be cool to see Craig win his first-ever SX title.
Finally, that brings us to the 450SX class and a big shake-up at the front of the pack. First off, I’m pumped for Jason Anderson and it was great to see him take the main event win. There have been so many times over the past four years when Anderson has been the fastest rider during qualifying and his heat race, but in the main event something prevents him from taking the top spot on the podium. Even at the opening round last weekend Anderson was fast all night long but after a so-so start he was left battling with Barcia and like most who take on the 51, things didn’t end well. This week was different as Anderson got off good start (after a solid gate pick) and then quickly made his way to the front. Once there, he rode strong and was never really challenged. Aaron Plessinger kept Anderson honest for the duration of the 450SX main event. Anderson looks great on his new Monster Energy Kawasaki and this win should pole vault his confidence to yet another level.
So, while Anderson and Barcia have been able to find some consistency through the opening rounds, one rider who I think has been the fastest is Chase Sexton. Sexton should have passed his teammate at Anaheim 1 and rode off to the win, and if you go by his speed in Oakland, he should’ve backed that win up with another one. But here is where Sexton made his big mistake in my opinion. When lining up for his heat race Sexton choose a gate just to the left of the box. From there, he got a great start and never looked back. Now, for a heat race, when you only have a few of your top competitors on the line, picking the right gate isn’t as crucial as it is for the main event. Well, Sexton must have liked that gate because he picked the same one for the main event and even though he got an alright jump off of the gate, he quickly got swallowed up and was mid-pack going through the first turn. Sadly, things didn’t improve for Sexton after that and in the end, he finished 9th and sits 9th overall in the points standings. You could say that this was just a mistake made by a young rider but Eli Tomac was lined up to the right of Sexton in the main event and he got worked off of the start. Going back to what I said earlier about starts and picking a starting gate. When you line up where Sexton and Tomac did for the biggest race of the night, you put yourself in a position where you have to be perfect off the gate in order to get a good start. The bigger the race, the more pressure you feel and less likely you are to be perfect off of the gate. Anyway, it is what it is and only those riders know why they picked those gates. So who wins the 450SX class in San Diego? Can Anderson go back to back? Does Tomac get his first win on a Yamaha? Can Sexton find a way to not race himself out of a win? We shall see on Saturday night as this series is just beginning to heat up!
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone is staying healthy and staying warm. After talking to Derek Schuster last week about his GDR Honda Team and the upcoming 2022 season, later this week we hope to speak to the crew from the Thor Pro Circuit Kawasaki Team about their plans for this season. From my understanding, there is some big news coming from the green team. Since we’re now into the second half of January we’re seeing more and more of our top pro riders heading south to begin their training. Marco Cannella posted on Social Media that he’s on his way south. I spoke to Ryder McNabb on Saturday and he’s getting ready to take his new Sprinter Van down to warmer climates. I sure wish I was on my way south to ride but instead I’m now heading outside to shovel snow. Have a great week and thanks for reading! If you have any comments or questions please email me at chris@mxpmag.com