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Yamaha Motor Canada Presents The Monday Gate Drop

Good day, and welcome to another edition of the Yamaha Motor Canada Monday Gate Drop. With 2021 now in full swing, it’s time to head to your local dealer and have a look at a brand new Yamaha. Before we know it Spring will be here and it will be time to ride.

Well, on Saturday evening the gate dropped on one of the most anticipated seasons of Monster Energy Supercross yet. With a limited number of fans in the stands and millions of viewers watching at home, all eyes in our sport were on NRG Stadium in Houston. As is it with most SX tracks that are built inside football stadiums, the opening round track was tight and featured multiple 180-degree turns. The track was also relatively easy with most riders doing the exact same thing in all of the sections. This made for close lap times during qualifying and not a lot of passing come race time. However, regardless of where the opening round has been, we’ve come to expect this as the series doesn’t want to give the riders a super technical track for their first race of the season. All things considered, I thought the Round 1 track was decent and it provided some good racing in both classes. Also, when you think about it does it really matter what the track was like? Supercross was back and every fan on the planet was excited about it.

Jess Pettis was ready to go for the opening round in Houston. Photo by Matt Wellumson

Other than the usual hype that every opening round of SX has, this weekend was extra special as it featured two Canadian riders in the 250SX East class. Quebec rider Guillaume St-Cyr was looking to make his first SX main event and BC legend Jess Pettis was looking to not only make the 250SX East main event but also perhaps grab his first-ever podium. Racing SX is never an easy task and over the years we’ve seen Canadian riders have limited success at it. However, regardless of how our Canadian riders finish at any given round of SX, we always get a massive feeling of pride seeing them out there. For St-Cyr, he rode solid all day long and transferred from qualifying into the all-important night program. Getting into the night program is not only prestigious, but it’s where the riders can make money. Even if you don’t make the main event, every spot in the LCQ pays a certain amount of cash. Although St-Cyr came up short of making the 250SX East main event, he still should feel proud of how he rode. Also, with the nerves of the opening round now out of the way, I’m sure he’ll feel much more comfortable tomorrow at Round 2.

Pettis looked great in the opening practice session and his lap times weren’t far off the top riders. Photo by Matt Wellumson

As for Jess Pettis, when you factor in the amount of work that he put in over the past two months at the Baker’s Factory, Saturday in Houston was a tough deal on so many levels. During the opening practice session, the trouble began for Pettis as he accidentally dragged his foot on the slippery track and aggravated his already injured knee. As you may or may not remember, Pettis originally tore his ACL at the Montreal SX back in 2019. In the weeks after suffering that terrible injury, Pettis would undergo surgery to repair his ACL and then he began the long road to recovery. As many of you know, recovery from ACL surgery is a long and tedious process that can take up to six months. In talking with Pettis throughout his rehab I could hear in his voice just how hard he was working at getting his knee strong again. This kid knows how to work and over the years when he’s put his mind to something, he ends up achieving his goal. Anyway, Pettis successfully rehab his knee and came out swinging in the 250MX class at the 2020 Triple Crown MXTour. Pettis dominated the opening few motos and then sadly in one of the mud motos at Walton Raceway, Pettis dabbed his foot and heard his surgically repaired knee pop! In an instance, Pettis had torn his ACL again and was back at square one.

Unfortunately, Pettis would twist his knee in the second practice session and was forced to sit out the rest of the night. Photo by Matt Wellumson

Thankfully, Pettis was able to seek out some quality medical assistance and he was not only able to soldier through the 250MX Series, but he was also able to continue to ride at a very high level. So much so that he took home his second 250MX Championship, winning almost every moto in the process. Once the summer was over Pettis and his team had an important decision to make, either take the next six months (forget about SX and going to the Baker’s Factory) and get his knee fixed again. Or, roll the dice and go after his lifelong dream of finding success inside the stadiums of the USA. This was obviously a difficult decision and in the end, Pettis chose to not have surgery and instead to work hard to build more strength around his injured knee.

Canadian fans had a lot to cheer about in Houston as both St-Cyr and Pettis were racing in the 250SX East class. Photo by Matt Wellumson

It’s hard to second guess his decision as for the past two months Pettis was training hard at the Baker’s Factory and had no issues with his knee. But that all changed on Saturday when he first dragged his leg in the opening practice, then in the second practice he caught his foot and gave his knee a real twist. This caused Pettis an unbearable amount of pain and although he tried to ride the third and final practice session, he just wasn’t able to continue and was forced to sit out the rest of the day and night. I reached out to Jess yesterday and he said “In the second practice a Tuff block got thrown out in front of me and I caught my foot on it. It really twisted my knee and I was all of a sudden in a lot of pain. I went back to the truck and we did our best to take care of it, but the pain was too much and I wasn’t able to continue. We’re going to try some things on Monday and hopefully, I’ll be able to race on Tuesday. I’ve come this far and I don’t want to stop now.” As Jess said, hopefully with some icing and perhaps even a cortisone injection he will be able to give it a solid go on Tuesday. If not Tuesday then maybe even Saturday? Either way, in true Jess Pettis fashion he’s not about to give up on his dream! Hopefully, we’ll have both Canadian riders to cheer for in Houston tomorrow!

Christian Craig was very emotional after his win on Saturday night. Photo by Matt Wellumson

I think we can all agree that the racing at Round 1 was entertaining. The Barcia/Roczen battle in the 450SX main was superb and who didn’t shed a tear when we saw how much Christian Craig’s win in the 250SX East class meant to him. It was also cool to see Barcia give GasGas their first-ever SX win and I think he looks better than ever on the new red bike. Ken Roczen also looked smooth and in complete control and I loved the fact that he decided to play it so smart in the main event. There were two instances when he could’ve put Barcia over the Tuff blocks, but he chose not to open up that can of worms so early in this series. With a few of his closet competitors stuck back in the pack, Roczen’s second place was almost as good as a win. Now, the riders move onto Round 2 tomorrow night and for some, I’m sure this race couldn’t come soon enough. Eli Tomac had an off night, Cooper Webb had an off night, and Zach Osborne didn’t have a great night also. Although, Osborne was one of the only riders who was able to come from behind after a bad start. With the sticky Houston dirt most likely drying out somewhat for Round 2, as well as a slightly different track design, it will be interesting to see if the results change at all?

Your 450SX podium from the opening round. Photo by Matt Wellumson

Well, that is it for me this week. However, before I go here is an update on our Road To Walton Fitness Challenge that I, Kevin Tyler, Brett Lee, Ryan Lockhart, Ryan Gauld, and Derek Schuster are currently participating in. We’re a week into it and I’m assuming all of us are both tired and starving. As you will read, in the first week Newf broke a sweat for the first time in a while, I started putting less sugar in my coffee, and Gauldy ate his first piece of cauliflower. The ball is rolling and I can’t wait to see how the rest are doing: Week One down. 29 to go. #roadtowalton – 2021 Walton TransCan Grand National Championship . I hope everyone has a great week and a safe week! I have Ken Roczen winning the 450SX class tomorrow and Christian Craig winning his second race in a row in the 250SX East class! Who do you have?

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