DYLAN WRIGHT NOTCHES 16TH CONSECUTIVE OVERALL WIN IN FRONT OF HOMETOWN CROWD AT SAND DEL LEE MX

DYLAN WRIGHT NOTCHES 16TH CONSECUTIVE OVERALL WIN IN FRONT OF HOMETOWN CROWD AT SAND DEL LEE MX

Ryder McNabb Takes 250 Pro Overall Win in Ottawa and Extends Points Lead

BRIGDEN, ON (July 17, 2023) – After a night of rain, the track crew at Sand Del Lee MX had their work cut out for them as the clock ticked down to the first gate drop of round five of racing of the 2023 Triple Crown Series in Ottawa, ON. Overcoming the grueling track conditions, defending champion Dylan Wright secured his sixteenth consecutive overall win in front of a hometown crowd. Ryder McNabb extended his points lead in the 250 Pro/AM class with another overall win after going 1-2 for the day. The highlight of the day goes to Daniel Elmore of the SSR GASGAS team, who secured his first ever 450 Pro podium finish in moto two and finished third overall in the class.

450 PRO CLASS

450 Podium: Jess Pettis (2),Dylan Wright (1), Daniel Elmore (3). James Lissimore Photography

In moto one of the 450 Pro Class, KTM Red Bull THOR rider Jess Pettis got the jump on the pack to grab the Royal Distributing holeshot. Brendan Sipple followed Pettis, with the defending champion and current points leader, Dylan Wright in a close third. A mistake by Sipple caused him to drop outside of the top five and Wright moved into the second spot with Tyler Gibbs in third. Lars van Berkel battled his way up to the fourth spot.  Wright began to reel in the leader, Jess Pettis, but small mistakes caused him to lose valuable time. On lap five, Wright went down but quickly remounted and maintained his second place spot. The battle for the final podium position intensified with van Berkel in third with pressure from Tyler Medaglia, Daniel Elmore and Jeremy McKie.  Wright was able to close the gap on Pettis, with only four seconds separating them. Pettis responded by maintaining consistent lap times and retaining the leading position. On lap 11, Elmore was able to overtake Medaglia and move into fourth.  With two laps to go, Wright made a final attempt to pass Pettis and was able to make it stick. Pettis went down but quickly recovered and secured a second place finish in moto one. Both riders finished over a minute in front of the rest of the group. Lars van Berkel finished third.  In moto two, it was Jess Pettis again with the hole shot. Daniel Elmore was behind him in second aboard his SSR GASGAS machine, with Tyler Gibbs a close third. Dylan Wright wasted no time making his way into the top three. Tyler Medaglia worked his way into fourth after a 36th place start.  Wright tracked down Pettis and a battle for the lead commenced. On lap nine, Wright set up to pass Pettis, but was unsuccessful as Pettis continued to hold him off. On the following lap, Wright made a second attempt to overtake the leader and was able to make it stick. As the midway point of the race approached, Wright began to pull away.  Tyler Medaglia continued to chip away at a podium position, but Daniel Elmore was able to maintain third and secure his first ever 450 Pro podium finish. Lars van Berkel battled through the pack to finish in fifth behind Medaglia after a 34th place start.  Dylan Wright (1-1): “Yeah it’s not often you hear the crowd while we’re racing and I could hear them every lap up here coming into this corner and it’s awesome to be home. Everyone kind of knows I grew up about four minutes from this track. This is one of the ones on the calendar every year that we want to win. I didn’t make it easy for myself today by putting it on the ground and losing the front (tire). I have a little bit of work to do. I’m hitting the ground too much these days and I’m getting too old for that. I’m gonna be smart and change a little bit heading into Moncton and keep the fun going. It’s been an awesome vibe under the tent and I just want to keep the momentum going.“ Jess Pettis (2-2): “All around I’m happy with myself and I’m making big improvements. It’s one thing to get second place but I’m a racer and I wanna battle for the wins. Whether it’s a first, second or third, it’s just a building year for me. I wanna be there in the fight and not too far off the win. You know, a second place and being close (to the leader) means a lot more to me than a second place where you’re 40 seconds back. All around, the team has been busting their butt, and I’m working hard during the weeks and it’s all coming together.” Daniel Elmore (4-3): “Lots of emotions are going through my mind right now. I can’t believe this is real. Four years ago as a pro I was barely making top 30’s and to improve this quickly and to be here, I couldn’t be happier. I try to put in as much work as I possibly and physically can to make it all pay off for the team.”

450 PRO TOP 10:Dylan Wright (HON), 1-1Jess Pettis (KTM), 2-2Daniel Elmore (GAS), 4-3Lars van Berkel (HON), 3-5Tyler Medaglia (GAS), 5-4Julien Benek (KAW), 7-7Tyler Gibbs (KAW), 6-8Andy Truyts (YAM), 8-11Josh Clark (YAM), 14-9Ryan Derry (KTM), 13-13

250 PRO CLASS

250 Podium: Mitchell Harrison (2), Rylder McNabb (1), Josiah Natzke(3). James Lissimore Photography

It was Thor GASGAS rider, Mitchell Harrison who grabbed the Royal Distributing holeshot in moto one of the 250 Pro/AM class. Harrison was followed by the pair of KTMs of Kaven Benoit and current points leader Ryder McNabb. Benoit inherited the lead after a mistake by Harrison causing him to go down. He quickly remounted in fourth place behind the Walton Kawasaki Seven ride of Tanner Ward.  Benoit was not able to hold onto the number one spot for long, as Ryder McNabb made the pass to move into the lead. Benoit went down, allowing Harrison back into the top three. Tanner Ward and Josiah Natzke rode in the fourth and fifth place positions until an error by Ward caused him to lose valuable positions.  McNabb put a 13 second gap on the pack as Harrison and Benoit battled for second. Harrison continued to charge but on lap 11, went down and Benoit moved into second. Harrison continued to fight for a podium position right outside the top three, with Natzke in third. Quinn Amyotte returned to racing after suffering an injury earlier in the season and rode in the top five. McNabb crossed the finish line with a 20+ second lead. Benoit fell victim to the grueling track again, yet salvaged a third place finish behind Josiah Natzke.  Mitchell Harrison went two-for-two on hole shots, with another impressive start in moto two. The current points leader Ryder McNabb was not far off his pace, riding in second with Natzke, Amyotte and Racine in the top five on lap one. Benoit quickly made passes to move into fourth. McNabb and Harrison stayed within seconds of each other and continued to increase the gap on the rest of the pack. Natzke was 16 second behind the leaders, riding in third.  As the riders embarked on the final lap of the moto, McNabb put the pressure on Harrison, but Harrison was able to hold him off and secure the moto two win by a mere 0.8 seconds over McNabb. Josiah Natzke, Sebastien Racine and Quinn Amyotte rounded out the top five.  Ryder McNabb (1-2): “I got a good start in the last moto but he dove inside of me. I just kind of settled and cruised behind his rear wheel. I think I could have gone a little faster through the middle part of that moto but there’s just not a lot of passing unless you want to get sketchy and just wanted to play it safe a little bit and stay on two wheels there. I got hung up in lappers a little bit and he pulled 2-3 seconds on me and I was like, ‘No I want to end this on his rear wheel’ and see what I can do. I’m sorry about Kaven, I saw he went down pretty hard and that sucks for him but hopefully he’s okay.” Mitchell Harrison (4-1): “I had to fight that moto. Ryder gave it to me the whole race and I had to push really hard and it was fun. He’s a phenomenal rider. We got the suspension really good, where I loved it and I rode like I should. I got both starts so that’s cool. I haven’t done that in a while so shout out to T Dags (Medaglia). It was a great race. I thought I had a little cushion. I sprinted, I didn’t care. Lappers were a little bit of an issue and then all the sudden I heard his bike and realized that it wasn’t a lapper. So I went for it. Unfortunately with Benoit on the ground we had to slow up but we fought till the very end and it was fun. “ Josiah Natzke (2-3): “Man, I think my bike locked up right as I crossed the finish line. Halfway through that moto I felt it sort of going. It was a tough track and I was probably revving it too much and on the clutch. This track was tough on the bikes. I had to try and nurse it home, you know. I didn’t want to be revving it and have it blow up. I’ve been trying to get some suspension testing in and get a lot more comfortable with the bike. TCD, Tim’s been helping me out with that and I’m really feeling at home now on the setup which has been nice. I’ve just been trying to get back in the flow of things. It’s hard to race at this level and try to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes what works one year doesn’t work the next year and things like that. I’m just trying to go at it and see what I can do with it.

250 PRO/AM TOP 10:Ryder McNabb (KTM), 1-2Mitchell Harrison (GAS), 4-1 Josiah Natzke (KAW), 2-3Quinn Amyotte (YAM), 5-5Kaven Benoit (KTM), 3-9Dylan Rempel (KAW), 6-10Sam Gaynor (GAS), 10-7Preston Masciangelo (KAW), 13-6Austin Jones (YAM), 12-8Crayden Dillon (YAM), 8-13

WMX

WMX TOP 10:Eve Brodeur (GAS), 1-1Jamie Astudillo (KTM), 2-2Avrie Berry (YAM), 3-3Amelie Croteau (HON), 4-5Kaylie Kayer (HQV), 6-6Brooke Merrow (HQV), 5-7Malia Garant (KAW), 11-4Kiana Kurtz (HQV), 9-9Jordanne Trotter (YAM), 8-11Ciel Ferguson (HQV), 7-12