Greetings! Welcome to the final Monday Gate Drop of October. In a few days it will be Halloween, and then the next day we will head into one of the greyest months on the calendar, November. I am not a fan of November as in Southern Ontario it’s almost always wet, cool, and like I said above, grey! It’s also when riding usually ceases for most and we start looking forward to the new year. Anyway, it is what it is, and we have to try and make the most of it.
So, as most of us saw this past weekend, the sport of Supercross returned to Canada in form of the 2024 WSX Championships. BC Place in downtown Vancouver was the host, and Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen were the headliners. Heading into what was the opening round of this global series, there was a lot of speculation of how many spectators would show up, and also what the track and dirt were going to be like. I only watched the race on TV using the DAZN App (it was free in Canada), but from what I saw the spectator turnout was okay, and certainly better than expected. It’s always hard to judge how many people are in the stands in a large stadium setting like BC Place, but I’m guessing there was 20K in attendance. That isn’t bad for a first time event, with only two big name riders, and not many Canadians racing. Also, the dirt, which was referred to multiple times during the broadcast as Glacial Till, was damp, soft, and a little rocky. However, the Vision Built crew did an excellent job with what they had. In the end, the track was raceable and definitely better than it was the last time SX came to Vancouver.
As I said, the DAZN Sports App was offering this race for free to residents of Canada, so I tuned in on Saturday evening. The broadcast, with Ralph Sheheen and Jeff Emig as the main announcers, and Kristen Beat as the track side announcer was good. Ralph and Jeff have always had some great chemistry together in the booth, although they did seem a little rusty on Saturday evening. Overall though, it was good to listen to them and they certainly kept the viewers informed. One of the negatives was the lack of replays, as well as the cameras missing some of the important moments from the races. The Monster Energy Supercross Series has set the bar very high with their replays, as well as the cameras being able to catch almost all of the action. While watching on Saturday night, you really had to pay attention to see what happened to certain riders during the main event because they didn’t always show it on camera. Also, as an absolute diehard fan, I’m always a sucker for wanting to watch the best riders do their thing on the track. For example, at times I’d rather watch Tomac dissect the challenging Vancouver track with a ten second lead, then watch Vince Friese trying his best to block pass every rider around him. I know Vince Friese is a little more exciting, but the great riders are the great riders for a reason, and I want to see as much of them as possible. On a real positive note though, during the broadcast they did a lot of promotion of the local Vancouver area, almost like a tourism commercial. They even profiled Ken Roczen touring around in a Harbour Air float plane. They showed video of Stanley Park, Lions Gate Bridge, as well as multiple area shots of Vancouver. Heck, I’ve been to Vancouver plenty of times over the years, but after seeing that, it made me want to return and take in the sights. That part of the broadcast was excellent and it really showcased how cool the Vancouver area is. I’m quite sure they will do this during each round, as Perth and Abu Dhabi are very cool cites as well.
As far as the actual WSX race program goes, I don’t mind the multiple main events in each class, as well as the Super final at the end of the evening. The hype definitely built up throughout the evening, and reached its peak right before the gate dropped on the final race of the night. If we’re comparing apples to apples and WSX to Monster Energy Supercross, I’m not sure if a Super final race would work in the USA, as I’m not a fan of having 250s and 450s on the track together. However, what I am a big fan of is the Superpose race to kick the night of racing off. This is where they take the top qualifiers from both classes, and on a fresh track, (before the first main event) each rider goes out and basically tries to get the best lap time they can. They used to do this at the old US Open SX in Las Vegas, and trust me, it’s very exciting to watch, especially live. With ticket prices rising each year, and Monster Energy Supercross committed to trying to give fans more bang for their buck, I would love them to incorporate a Superpose race into their evening race schedule. Even if they just did it at a few rounds of the series, it would be a hit! I’m not sure if the Factory Teams would go for it in Monster Energy Supercross as I’m sure they would not want the added risk associated with trying to do yet another fast lap, but the fans sure would!
Moving on to the actual racing in Vancouver, I thought it was exciting for the most part. Roczen showed some decent speed on the soft and rutted track, but, in the end he was no match for Tomac. Since returning from his thumb injury late this summer, Tomac has been very good. On the track, he is focused, determined, and obviously fast. Off the track, he seems more jovial and excited to be at the track. All of this renewed vigor has translated into some solid results in recent weeks, and his dominating win on Saturday was another clear indication that in 2025, we’re going to see a Tomac ready for battle. We also witnessed hometown, (well home Country), Cole Thompson continue his solid SX riding by finishing third overall on Saturday evening. I spoke to Cole yesterday, and he was happy with his night and how he finished. He said that the track was obviously challenging, but that his Firepower Honda was working great. On Sunday night, Cole boarded a flight back across the Pacific Ocean to rejoin the Australian SX Championships. He will compete in the final two rounds of that series, before heading to Perth and Abu Dhabi for the final two WSX events. After that, Cole will return to the USA to begin his preparation for the 250SX West Series in Monster Energy Supercross. The stars have definitely aligned for CT in the past month as when I saw him at the Charlotte SMX race, he didn’t have any off-season races planned. I know I’ve made mentioned of this before, but if Cole hadn’t decided to line up for the SMX events, he most likely wouldn’t have gotten the call to ride for the Firepower Honda Team. So pro-riders out there, if there is a race that you’re debating on going to, if there’s a chance of money to be made, you should most likely go and race because, you just never know when important people are watching. The next WSX round is in Perth, Australia on Nov 22/23, so that race should be exciting also. Finally, congratulations to Noah Viney on finishing 14th in his first-ever pro SX.
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week, as well as a happy and safe Halloween. In conclusion, over the weekend it was announced that there will be a new Triumph Racing Team in Canada, and it will consist of Blake Davies, Julien Benek, and Kaylie Kayer. Basically, the MVP Sky Racing Team has officially switched from Husqvarna to Triumph for 2025, and that is great news! I will be heading to Georgia in two weeks for the new Triumph 450 media launch, so hopefully I can chat with the Triumph crew about their new Canadian race team. Thank you again for reading and if you have any questions or comments, please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.
