Yamaha Motor Canada Presents The Monday Gate Drop

Good day, and welcome to another edition of the Yamaha Motor Canada Monday Gate Drop. We are almost to the end of January and that means that before we know it Spring will be here and it will be time to ride. So with that said, now is the time to head to your local Yamaha dealer and either purchase a new YZ model or take your current YZ in for service. For a complete list of Yamaha dealers in Canada please visit www.yamaha-motor.ca.

Well, let’s kick off this column by talking about Cole Thompson and his performance in San Diego on Saturday evening. Coming into Round 3 I was a little skeptical about how Cole would do as the San Diego track map showed a long whoop section. I know Cole worked hard on his technique as well as his bike set-up last fall to find speed and success in the whoops and all of that effort was most certainly put to the test on Saturday. Not only was the whoops section long in San Diego but they also had an awkward flat corner right after so riders had to start decreasing their speed and think about turning left with about 5 whoops to go. Even though qualifying and the night show the whoops claimed a lot of riders so when that happens, you know they’re tough and television doesn’t do them justice. However, with that said I think Cole held his own in the San Diego whoops all day and night long, and other than the Top 3 riders in the 250SX West main event he handled them as well as anyone.

In the main event, Cole was fortunate to avoid the carnage in the first turn that took down points leader Christian Craig and from here Cole just did what he’s been doing since Anaheim 1. He rode smart, he rode fast, and he took advantage of other riders’ mistakes. At one point he was running as high as sixth before being displaced by a few of the top riders. When the checkered flag was waved Cole was in 9th and so far that has been his best finish in this series. With each race, he’s improved and now that he’s cracked the top 10 and has gotten a taste of what the pace is like near the front, I don’t why he can’t finish even better. Could he finish Top 5 or close to it before the 250SX West Series takes a break after Anaheim 3? Heck yeah, he can! But with his solid main event finish aside, I thought his best ride so far in 2022 came in his heat race on Saturday evening. After lining up on the inside of everyone Cole didn’t get a good jump off the gate and he ended up getting cut off going into the first turn. As the pack exited the first turn Cole was almost dead last and my first thought was that for the first time in this series he might be headed to the LCQ. As we’ve witnessed this year in both classes the LCQ is the last place you want to be as it’s just chaos from start to finish. Like everyone, my eyes were glued to the leader board graphic on the screen and within two laps Cole had made his way into the top 12. From there, he kept charging and although the television broadcast wasn’t showing his progress, Cole was passing multiple riders each lap. Then, on the final lap with just a few corners to go, he made an aggressive pass on Ryan Surratt for 9th and the final direct transfer spot to the main event. On a track where a lot of riders we’re running about the same speed Cole’s charge from the back of the pack to 9th was remarkable in my opinion. Hopefully, Cole can keep up this type of determined riding in the next three west coast rounds. This coming weekend it’s back to Anaheim for Round 4!

Upfront in the 250SX West Class it was Michael Mosiman who took advantage of points leader and fastest rider in the class Christian Craig going down in the first turn of the main event. From there, Mosiman fought off a determined Hunter Lawrence to take his first-ever Supercross victory. As for Christian Craig, well he picked himself up off the ground, took a couple of laps to get rolling, and then put his head down and began passing one rider after another until he found himself in third. It was a remarkable comeback for Craig and it’s one that I’m sure he’ll look back on a possible 250SX West Championship saving ride. As I mentioned in previous columns I didn’t think that Craig would sweep the 250SX West Series. Even as good as he’s riding there’s just too much that can happen in the topsy-turvy world of Monster Energy Supercross. However, history has shown us on multiple occasions that you win titles on your bad days and if San Diego was Craig’s ‘bad day’ then I’m sure he’ll take it. I thought Craig lined up about three gates too far to the right in Saturday’s main event but hey, that’s just me. As unfortunate as Craig’s first turn incident was, it did provide some incredible entertainment as he charged through the pack. I cannot believe how good he is in the whoops! Great entrance speed, perfect technique, and a ton of confidence, Craig most certainly has it all in the whoops! With two sets of whoops on the track this coming weekend in Anaheim look for Craig to once again have a huge advantage.

In the 450SX class, it was great to watch Chase Sexton finally get the first win of his career. I say finally because since the opening round in Anaheim Sexton has been one of, if not the fastest rider on the track. Unfortunately, his nerves and over anxiousness have gotten the better of him and he’s struggled to get near the front when it matters most. Well, that was until Saturday evening when Sexton put it all together and rode brilliantly to take the win in his incredible US Navy Blue Angels inspired Alpinestar gear. Sexton rode great and now that he’s proven to himself that he can indeed win, look out 450SX class. Only Jason Anderson has been able to match Sexton’s raw speed so far in this class. I know we’re only three rounds into the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross Series and riders like Tomac, Webb, and Ferrandis are still getting up to speed, but so far Sexton and Anderson appear to have a little speed on everyone! This coming weekend the track looks technical and then next weekend in Glendale is the opening Triple Crown event of the series so these next two races are going to be entertaining for sure.

In other Canadian news, last week the Thor Kawasaki Pro Circuit Team announced that they had signed Tanner Ward to race in the 450 class for 2022. Tanner was planning to move to the 450 class regardless of which brand bike he was going to race this year so when the Kawasaki Team came calling Tanner was excited about the opportunity. As Tanner mentioned in the interview I did with him last week he was sad to be leaving the GDR Fox Honda Team as they’ve been like a family to him for the past two seasons. However, he’s ready to start learning his new bike and get to know his new team as they prepare for the opening round of the 250SX East Series in Minneapolis. Tanner will race the opening five rounds of the 250SX East Series before he begins testing his new KX450F. This is a great opportunity for Tanner and I hope it all works out for him. Not only is he a great rider but also, and perhaps more importantly, Tanner is a great human being off of the track and what he brings to the Kawasaki Team will be surely measured by more than just his race results. Tanner will most certainly be great for the Thor/ Kawasaki/ Pro Circuit Team as well as the Team Green brand. The Kawasaki Team also announced the Dylan Rempel will move to the 250 Pro/AM class this year and Caleb Vankoughnett will race a KX65 in the 65cc class.

So now let’s hope Tanner can stay healthy as he navigates the 250SX East Series next month. As we’ve seen with Jess Pettis, remaining healthy is extremely hard to do while training for SX. As Ryan Lockhart pointed out in his Matrix Concepts Canada 3 Q’s on Friday, the risk that Pettis and his fellow SX riders put themselves through during the week is difficult to fathom. Multiple days at the test track trying to turn fast laps and get better are a must if you want to find success, but sometimes they come with a price. Unfortunately, Pettis had to pay the toll last week as he took a hard crash and suffered a broken collarbone. As of late last week, Jess didn’t know how long he’d be out for but considering the opening round of the 250SX East Series is less than four weeks away, I would think he’s going to at least miss that race. Like everyone I’m sure, my heart broke when I heard the news that Pettis had crashed and was injured. I had just spoken to him the night before his crash and you could hear the energy and excitement in his voice as we talked about his riding. He was in a great mood as he had spent the day testing at the KTM Factory Test track, or ‘RD Field’ as they call it. His confidence was high and he was looking forward to the rest of the week. I’m not sure how he crashed or exactly what happened but it sure sucks for him. Thankfully, it wasn’t worse and we all know that Jess Pettis doesn’t know what the meaning of ‘quit’ is. He will be back and he most likely will be better than ever when he does return.

With no dirt bike racing in Canada until next month in Chilliwack, the 2022 CRSA Snowcross Series kicked off this past weekend in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. This was the first of seven rounds this year and since the last two seasons have gotten cut short because of Covid-19 restrictions, the racers were excited to get back at it this past weekend. The series will now take a weekend off before resuming Lindsay, ON on February 5,6.

Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week as well as a safe week. Please try and stay out of the way of the truck convoy that is now headed east. Agree with them or not I think that we can all agree that they mean business. Also, last week it was announced that registration to the 30th Anniversary of the Walton TransCan is now open. Like last year, a good portion of the classes fill up fast so please don’t wait to sign up as soon as you can. Just go to www.waltontranscan.ca for all of the details. Finally, look for Alex Gatt this weekend in the Supercross Futures race in Anaheim. Alex has been training hard in California and is looking forward to racing inside the famous Angel Stadium. Have a good week and thank you for reading.