Greetings! I hope everyone made it home safe from the 2024 Walton TransCan. It was quite the week at Walton Raceway, and as always there were some highlights, as well as a few low lights. However, as long as the good outweighed the bad then you know it was a success. Anyway, please enjoy these last couple weeks of August, and good luck to all of the kids heading back to school soon. I’m sure I speak for every motocross family when I say that summer always seems to fly by.
While we were all recovering from six days at the Lee Family Farm, Team Canada was finally announced via press release on Friday morning. I believe the team was supposed to be named during the Walton TransCan Awards ceremony so the 2024 Team Canada members could walk on stage and celebrate with all of the Amateur riders. In a perfect world this would’ve been ideal as it’s never a bad thing for our younger riders to witness first-hand where they could possibly be one day if they work hard, and all goes well. However, Team Canada wasn’t announced on the Saturday evening at Walton Raceway, or during the fundraising dinner the following evening, so all week everyone was curious when we were going to hear who our three riders were going to be. I had heard from a few people that the Team Canada Management postponed their announcement because they wanted to see how Dylan Wright was riding last weekend at the final round of the Triple Crown Series. If this was the case, it makes sense as we’re witnessing Team USA do the same thing with regards to the wait and see approach with Eli Tomac. My feeling is that with the serious injuries that Dylan suffered back in June, and the fact that many assumed he was going to need surgery to fix his shoulder, it might have been prematurely decided that he wouldn’t even be available for Team Canada, as his 2024 season was over. I was even surprised at just how fast Dylan recovered, and when he told me in Deschambault that rehab was going well, and the plan was to begin riding that week in order to prepare for the final round at Walton Raceway. Considering how hard he crashed in Lethbridge, and how sore he still was at the Gopher Dunes National, to hear that he was about to go riding again was remarkable. With all that in mind, I’m sure it then became clear that Dylan could be ready to go for October and the MXON, and if he was 100% then how do you not pick him as a member of Team Canada. The last test for him (and he knew it), was how would he fair on the challenging Walton Raceway track against the likes of Jess Pettis and Josiah Natzke, who were healthy, and at the top of their game. Well, as we all saw Dylan appeared to do just fine, and when he held up the Walton Sword, a reward for being the 450 class winner on the day, the large sword could’ve been draped in a Canadian flag. On Friday morning it was finally announced to the World that we’re coming to the UK in October with our three best riders! Kaven Benoit, Jess Pettis, and Dylan Wright will make up Team Canada for the 2024 Monster Energy MXON. Let’s take a look at our three riders and how they shaped up heading into the MXON.
Kaven Benoit:
Originally, I heard that Benoit wanted to race a 450 at this event, given the fact that in 2016 he had one of his best ever races on a 450 in Italy. However, right now he is a god on a 250F, and with Ryder McNabb out for who knows how long, Benoit is our best pick to race in the MX2 class. This past summer, Benoit went up against one of the most talented teenager’s that the USA has ever produced, and won. He didn’t win by much, but he won. Benoit was good all summer long, and when needed he raised his game and was excellent. With his experience, and strong mind (not to mention his talent), Benoit has shown that he’s capable of rising to any occasion when needed. Well, it will be needed on the first weekend in October, and I have all the faith in the World that Kaven Benoit is our guy!
Jess Pettis:
As our newly crowned 450 Triple Crown Series Champion, picking Pettis to lead our team into battle was a no brainer. All summer long he’s been clicking on all cylinders, and performing at the highest level ever during his career. His starts are amazing, he has tremendous sprint speed, and he was the fittest and strongest rider on the track. Also, let’s not forger that last year Pettis was sick during the week leading up to the MXON in France, so he definitely didn’t have his A game. I think the Matterley Basin track will suit Pettis (as well as Benoit and Wright), much more than the track did in France last year. If he can nail his starts and ride like the Pettis we witnessed this summer, then I have no doubt that Jess will shine on what will most likely be a cloudy October day in the UK.
Dylan Wright:
As we’ve witnessed countless times over the years with top athletes, sometimes they have to first fail before they can reach the next level. Dylan not having a great showing last year at the MXON, and then not winning the 450 Championship this summer, could be the type of adversity that will make Dylan Wright even better than he was before. Even the best, need a reset once in awhile and Dylan certainly had time to think about things this summer. To see him come back last weekend at Walton Raceway and ride the way he did was truly remarkable. His speed and determination was on full display on the challenging Walton Raceway track, and the fans loved it. Also, something that might’ve flown a little under the radar was just how present Dylan was at the TransCan award ceremony on Saturday evening. Along with Quinn Amyotte, Tanner Ward, and Kaven Benoit, Dylan spent over an hour on stage helping to hand out trophies to our talented Amateur riders. We are blessed in this Country to have a group of top pro riders who along were their outstanding talents on the track, also have a humbleness about them off the track, that allows fans to connect with them easily. Dylan has always had this ability but, it was great to see him take it to such a high level last weekend. Trust me, if Dylan can take what he no doubt learned last year in France and apply it to his racecraft in the UK, then he will be one of the front runners in the Open Class. Once again on paper, Team Canada looks great, and should fair very well at the MXON. They just need a little luck, and to ride like they do on a Sunday afternoon here at home.
Moving on now from Team Canada to the Budds Creek National this past weekend. We had three talented young riders trying to make it into the show on Saturday. Unfortunately, neither Sebastien Racine, Austin Jones, or Devyn Smith were able to qualify and make the 40 rider field in the 250 class. Qualifying for a Pro National in the USA is without a doubt, very difficult especially when you’re just jumping into the series for the first time this summer. Most of the riders you’re trying to beat in qualifying are seasoned pro riders who are all well aware of what it takes to make it to the motos. I’ve been there, it’s not easy (although in my day with no transponders we had to qualify through a series of actual races), and you need a lot of things to go right. Having said that, I’m still surprised that all three riders weren’t able to qualify on Saturday. All each one needed was one fast lap in the opening 250 B qualifying session (it began to rain just before the second session so the best laps times came from Session #1), to get in. As I said, with over 70 250 riders signed up on Saturday, it was a challenging task for sure. I’m sure there were some lessons learned and they will be better this weekend at the final round at Ironman Raceway. It was good to see MX101 Yamaha Team rider Preston Kilroy qualify in the 450 class. Obviously, he’s not Canadian, but after his time here this summer, I do feel like cheering for him. Preston ended up going 33-22 for 29th OA in the 450 class. Not bad, but I certainly think he’s capable of a Top 20 finish this weekend.
As we watched Chase Sexton come from behind to win his 5th 450 Pro National in a row, and also Haiden Deegan win his first-ever 250 Pro Motocross Championship. One thing that came up again, this time at Budds Creek was the tire choice conundrum for each moto. It was especially prevalent in the final 450 moto as the riders went back and forth on whether to run a paddle tire, or a traditional knobby tire. The issue was that the starting line straight at Budds Creek was tilled up so deep that the officials had trouble walking over it, yet the rest of the track was mostly hard packed and rutted. Some riders (like Hunter Lawrence), chose to run a paddle tire to increase their chances of a better start and track position on the opening lap. The KTM duo of Chase Sexton and Aaron Plessinger went with a knobby tire and the thinking that although the start was super important, it was a small portion of the 35 minute moto. We’ve seen this dilemma a few times now, and I remember back at Round 2 in Lethbridge this was a big issue, as riders went back and forth all week on each tire. If you watched the second 450 moto from Budds Creek, it was easy to see Hunter Lawrence struggling out front while he searched for traction on his paddle tire. If he wasn’t absolutely precise, then his tire would spin, and he was at risk of going sideways. In hindsight, as good as the new Dunlop MX14 tires are, he probably should’ve went with a knobby tire. However, I feel like riders shouldn’t have to be put in a position where they need to make such complicated decisions. I mean, don’t get me wrong, choosing which tire to run has been something we’ve had to deal with for years, but I feel it’s unfair and unsafe for riders to have to choose a specific tire for the start, even though it might not work past turn one. As I said, in Lethbridge those who chose a paddle tire for the start, certainly had their hands full on the rest of the dry and slippery track. I know with the 450 bikes being so fast now that the track crews want to make the starting straight deep so the speeds stay slower. This is also because of safely and I understand that. However, as we also saw at Budds Creek in all four motos, because the start and entrance to the first turn were tilled so deep, the moments the riders shut off the throttle, their bikes got unstable, some went sideways, and there were some big crashes. My solution is the same now as it was in Lethbridge; Yes, have the starting line tilled up a little to keep the speeds down, but don’t have it so deep that it solely influences which rear tire riders are going to choose. That is my weekly rant!
Well, that is it for me this week. This Saturday at Ironman Raceway, we will also see Dylan Wright lining up, so that will be fun to watch. He was fast there last year, so I would expect another top ten finish. Other than that, these final few weeks of August are fairly quiet for most of us as we ramp up for a busy September. Have a great week and thank you for reading. If you have any questions or comments please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.
