Good day, and welcome to another edition of the Yamaha Motor Canada Monday Gate Drop. I hope everyone had a good week and a solid start to December. Even with what is still going on in the world with the Covid-19 Virus, this is one of the best times of the year and we should all do our best to celebrate it.
This is always a slow time of the year in moto and it’s sometimes challenging to find things to talk about. But with Jess Pettis training down in Florida and the Monster Energy Supercross Series fast approaching, we can always find something to chat about. Also, let’s now forget that Christmas is just around the corner. Regardless of how many people you’re spending Christmas with this year, as I mentioned above, it still a very special day time of the year.
Last week, on the heels of the factory Honda Racing Team announcing the signing of the Lawrence Brothers, Red Bull release their first-ever Jett Lawrence video. The video was called “On Rails” and it featured Jett riding a SX track at night, with the track narrowed down to a few feet. It was a pretty cool edit and it was meant to show just how precise a rider young Jett is. This kid from Australia has an unreal amount of talent and personality and with the Aussie legend Chad Reed now retired, the timing is perfect for Jett to try and take over the sport of Supercross in the USA. His brother and HRC teammate Hunter, is also extremely talented, but he lacks the raw SX skills and personality that Jett has. Let’s face it, SX is the driving force in our sport right now, and that is why there is such a push for our youngest riders to learn how to ride Supercross.
Regardless of whether you’re a fan or not, Jett Lawrence is exactly what our sport needs right now. A fast young rider who can win races, excite fans both in the stadium as well as on television, and perhaps most importantly, have the potential to be an athletic superstar to the masses outside of our sport. At 17 years old, this kid’s story is pretty amazing and I think he’s on track to be this sports biggest mainstream star since Jeremy McGrath. However, the key for Jett, as it is for every 17-year-old phenom, is to remain focused, grounded, and not lose track of what his top priority is…to win races. With Johnny O’Mara as his trainer/riding coach, Ken Roczen now as his teammate, and his fellow Aussie Chad Reed as a potential mentor, this kid is in great hands moving forward. On the track, he has to be considered as one of the favourites to win the 250SX East Championship in 2021 (I’m assuming he’s racing the East Series), and off of the track, Jett and his team of marketers are already talking about more videos, a television series, and maybe even a movie down the road. The future is very bright for this young Aussie star, hopefully, he can remain healthy and make it through his remaining teenage years strong and focused.
I mentioned the name Jess Pettis above, well he is definitely one rider who is ultra-focused right now. I spoke to Jess last week and will be speaking to him again tonight for our weekly Jess Pettis report, and so far he’s doing very well at the Baker’s Factory. As expected, the first couple of weeks have given Jess a chance to reacquaint himself with Supercross, as well as familiarize himself with Aldon Baker’s program. Soon he will have his trusted mechanic Matt Deroy join him in Florida and then the two can continue to prepare for the opening round of the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross Series in Houston. If you want to see a few clips of Jess in action the Baker’s Factory, check out the new Dean Wilson video which dropped on YouTube yesterday.
SX BOOT CAMP!! TIME IS TICKING! – YouTube
So with Jess Pettis down in Florida training and his teammate Cole Thompson also down south getting ready to race some AX in the new year, when will our remaining top pro riders be heading to the USA to begin their 2021 preparation? That is a great question as for the first time it’s going to be very challenging to get across the border. As I mentioned a few times, you can fly to the USA, but non-essential travel across land border crossings is currently prohibited until December 21. Now, as I’m sure a few people have found out, there are ways to get either have your bikes shipped across the border, or even have a company drive your vehicle across, and then you fly to meet them, but I’m assuming that both of these practices are pretty expensive. It doesn’t look like our land borders to the USA will open anytime soon so our Canadian riders might be stuck here for some time. Let’s hope that with all of this vaccine talk we’ll see the Federal Government relax some of these border restrictions early in the new year. Couple that with the implementation of the new Rapid Tests upon your return to Canada, and this would allow more of us to make the trip south to get some riding in, and then not have to quarantine for two weeks.
Well, I know this Gate Drop is on the short side, but that is it for me this week. We have a big week planned for mxpmag.com this week with upcoming stories with Jess Pettis, products tests, as well as a few one questions with an industry heavyweight. In the meantime, have a great week, and please try and stay safe and healthy. If you have any questions or comments, please email me at chris@mxpmag.com.