Monday Gate Drop

Here we are in mid-August of the 2013 calendar year. For many Canadians it’s getting to be crunch time for some last minute activities before the kids go back to school. For us in Canadian motocross, this week not only marks the lead up to the final round of the 2013 Monster Energy Motocross Nationals, but also the beginning of the 2013 Parts Canada TransCan at Walton Raceway.

People are beginning to filter through the gates at Walton Raceway and the crew of Brett Lee, Mark Perrin, Barry Hetherington and a host of other volunteers are busy putting the finishing touches on the facility. I don’t want to speak too soon but it looks like Mother Nature must have entered her kid in one of the many classes at this year’s TransCan because the forecast looks really good for the next seven days.

The list of events and awards for the TransCan this week is extraordinary: holeshot awards, free bikes, a concert, strider races, dinners and a host of other things will no doubt keep people entertained and may give the riders just that little extra motivation to pull off a holeshot or a moto win. Whatever happens this week let’s hope that everyone has fun and let’s prey that the only type of vehicle that doesn’t pass through the Walton Raceway gates is the ambulance.

Everything kicks off Wednesday morning as the first bikes hit the track for practice. The opening moto will go off later that day as the MX2 Intermediates go off the gate at 15:05 in what should be one of the most exciting classes of the week. There will be many storylines coming out of this week. Obviously people will talk about the class champions and those who get their names on the awards. However, some of the biggest stories are usually about the riders who do something amazing at the TransCan, even if they don’t win. It could be a huge charge in one of the motos, it could be a comeback from a big crash early in the week, it could be from grabbing multiple holeshots, or it simply could be from eating the most roost and always having a smile on your face. My point is that it doesn’t always matter what the results say, only you know how well you rode and how hard you tried, so realistically at the end of this week, as long as you are smiling on the inside you have done well. To coin a phrase used at the Olympics, “Let the 2013 Parts Canada TransCan begin”.

In news from this past weekend at Unadilla, I was pretty impressed with how Jeremy Medaglia rode on Saturday to get some points in both motos. I caught the final 450 moto on TV and I was shocked at just how hard the track looked and how many ruts there were. Not just straight ruts, but they criss-crossed and changed direction; it was crazy. Since he is in the midst of a huge battle for third overall in the MX1 series with his brother Tyler this coming weekend at Walton Raceway, it looks as though Jeremy is peaking at the right time this summer. It was also good to see Bobby Kiniry ride well and of course our 2013 MX1 Champion Brett Metcalfe rode strong to finish well inside the top ten. The pro racing at Walton this weekend is going to be amazing.

In closing, I want to mention two cool people from our sport. First there is Josh Cox – he is one of the good guys, you know one of those young guys that love moto and more importantly loves to help people. This week he will be at Walton spinning the wrenches for Zach Deiana, but he is always there to help anyone. So if you’re stuck with a bike problem or even need some advice, track him down or hit him up on Twitter @joshcox501. He’ll be happy to help you.

Finally, the second person I want to mention is New Era Hat guru Mikey Walker. Mikey is always hanging out at Moto Park, and even though he is busy with a bunch of different things, he goes above and beyond to help out the sport of motocross in Ontario. He also is a pretty good rider, but as it sometimes happens, he had a pretty big crash a week ago at Moto Park. After a few days in the hospital he is home and doing okay. He will make a full recovery and will be back on the bike before you know it. He told me that he will be at Walton this week cheering on his friends and probably wishing he was out on the track racing. Get well soon Mikey! His Twitter name is @MW_54 if you want to give him a shout out.

That is it folks, I must go and get ready myself for the TransCan. I will be there tomorrow and will be tweeting all week from @mxpmag and also from @palmsmx. If you have a cool story you want to share just tweet me and I’ll come and find you. Good luck to everyone and please race safe. Walton, team126 is on their way.