Monday Maniac #7

It feels as if the days are just flying by right now. We’re already past the midpoint of February, which means there’s less than a month (usually) before we can ride around here in Southern Ontario, plus the AMA Monster Energy SX and FIM World Championships come to the Rogers Centre on March 23rd. Two huge dates on the calendar are not far away. For Canadians, if you’re one of the lucky ones that heads south to train, this is the time that everybody gets at it. Riders like Richard Grey, Zach Deiana, Shawn Robinson, Tyler Medaglia, Jeremy Medaglia, Matt Davenport, Colton Facciotti, Shawn Maffenbeier, Tanner Ward, and I’m sure many others have made the switch to warmer climates in preparation for the 2013 season. The gate drops on our Monster Energy Motocross Nationals in Nanaimo on June 2^nd, which is less than 14 weeks away. That may seem like a lot, but before we know it the gate will slam down for moto 1 of the MX2 class and the nats will be under way. As fans we are pretty lucky that the sport of motocross has come so far and we have live coverage of events that keep us busy in the cold winter months on Saturday nights. It really wasn’t that long ago when you had to call 1-800-PRO-RACE to get your results; pretty crazy when you think about it. We’re almost too bombarded with information these days. Sometimes it’s nice to take a step back and breathe realizing there is life to live beyond results and instant info. It’s like the advice so many racers get when training – Sometimes slow is fast.

The biggest race series in the world for moto switched coasts this past weekend with the East Coast 250 class on the gate. The big bikes were business as usual but it’s always good to see fresh faces and new numbers. It’s like a B12 shot for the series; just adding even more excitement to an already stimulating 2013 series. Names like Dean Wilson, Blake Wharton, Wil Hahn and many others, along with Canadians Cole Thompson, Jon Jon Pauk, and Nicky Beatty were all in attendance. It was uber exciting to know you had more than just your favourite US guy to cheer for this past Saturday night.

Leading up to the race there were many heated debates from Canadian parents or other racers sharing their thoughts and views about what Nicky Beatty was doing this weekend. Lots of questions as to “Why is he doing this?”, or “this is a huge mistake!” In my eyes, it really was more negative than positive (so much jealousy/animosity out there, it’s really funny to see). The good thing is that Nicky didn’t care what others thought and took the shot by chasing one of his lifelong dreams. Even better was the fact that he narrowly missed the night show, and dropped his lap times by 1.5 seconds from the first to last practice. What this means is the kid has some skill and I can only imagine it will get better with experience. I remember my first attempt at a SX and it was mind blowing, with nerves from the just the visuals themselves you would see. The track, the pits, the riders, the whole scene is just so magical it feels surreal being a part of it. For me this was some 15 years ago. In today’s pits it’s even more jaw dropping because of all the flash and glamour. I wasn’t there this weekend but I would say that Nicky Beatty handled it like a BOSS, and it’s only on the up and up from here for the kid – On to Atlanta and the night show for the #961.

Both Pauk and Thompson made the night show. Thompson was 8th overall and Pauk was 39th. For Pauk it was not a bad night. He looked to struggle on starts, which is a big key in SX. He’s made night shows before so I would think this was just a solid night. He will be better next weekend, I’m sure.

Over to Cole Thompson – what can you say about this kid? He’s smooth, fast, he gets good starts and he belongs at the front of the pack. He made the pass for 3rd in the main event on lap 6 and looked in total control. Then he changed his line (from what we could see on TV) and went for a triple in the rhythm lane after the finish line only to come up short and end his night with a big crash. It looked gross on TV when they showed the slow-mo replay, but as far as we know Cole is alright and will be ready to fight for the box this weekend in Atlanta. It was awesome to see the skill and hard work paying off for Thompson. I was with a group of about ten people and we were all screaming for the #48. He looked in total control until that brief second when he cased the rhythm. I wonder if his thought “Why did I go for that?” was bouncing through his mind? No matter what, he showed himself and all his fans and sponsors that he belongs at the front of the pack. We will never know if Wil Hahn would have closed the gap on Thompson like he did on Peters to grab third, but deep down all us Canucks know that wouldn’t have happened and Thompson would have been on the box by the checkers. I can’t wait for Atlanta even more now.

If you want to be part of one of the best experiences the Supercross series has to offer then follow these links and raise some cash for Sick Kids through the MX for Children Foundation. Once again it is part of the Toronto round of SX. Last year they raised a ridiculous amount of money.

Here is all the info:

https://mxpmag.com/it-is-that-time-again-toronto-mx-for-children/

 

Did you see the MXP top 20 this week? The countdown is on and #15 was on the block. It was Parker Allison. Here’s the great read on him right HERE. I received a TXT from Parker thanking me for writing it. It really meant a lot to them and in return it means a lot to me when you get a comment on your articles. Thanks Allison family. Jared is coming up soon as well so stay tuned for that one.

To end this off I want to make the announcement that from our final issue of the 2012 season we had an amazing contest from Dubya. That contest has ended and I will be picking the winner this week. I have so many e-mails to go through due to the amount of responses for a free set of rims for your bike. Great contest from Dubya and thanks to all that entered. Stay tuned for the announcement of the winner later this week.

 

Happy Family Day to all.