In recent weeks I’ve seen the quote “sometimes you’re the hammer and sometimes you’re the nail” applied to certain situations on the race track. It’s an interesting quote and one that I’m sure everyone has experienced at some point in their lives. Also, in my most recent Editor’s Column in the upcoming issue of MXP Magazine, I speak about passion and how, if you don’t have a certain level of passion for this sport then reaching any type of longevity is going to be challenging. Going on 46 years in this sport, I think my passion speaks for itself and I feel extremely fortunate to still be so involved. So, if you were the nail last week then do your best to be the hammer this week!
Before I get into the news of the week I first want to give a shout-out to our buddy Steve Simms who was definitely the nail this past weekend. Before I go into the details of what happened let me give you a quick background of what was going on this past Saturday in my neck of the woods. Steve is one of my neighbours and every Wednesday night (when it’s riding season) he and a group of other local riders get together to ride at various tracks in our area. They’re affectionately known as the S.C.U.M Riders and they’ve been around for 25 years! Please don’t ask as I have no idea how they got that name. Anyway, at the end of each season, they hold an event called “Scumfest” where riders and their families get together for a fun day of riding and then a pig roast. Scumfest 2022 was this past Saturday and being the leader that he is Steve organized the entire thing from track prep to who was bringing what food. We all pitched in but without Simms, this event would not have been the same and probably wouldn’t have even taken place. Unfortunately, bad things happen to good people and during our final ride of the day Steve took a hard crash when he came together with another rider and suffered some serious injuries. After getting transported to our local Hospital he was then taken to St Mike’s Hospital in Toronto with broken ribs and internal bleeding. Late Saturday night Steve underwent emergency surgery to stop the bleeding and during some more scans, it was also determined that he had suffered a broken collarbone and fractured vertebrae. As I write this he’s still in ICU as they’re making sure all is okay after his surgery. Thankfully, doctors have said that he should make a full recovery and that he’ll be home soon. Steve is one of the great people in our sport and I’m sure at one time or another he’s helped all of you at the track with something. In fact, when you think of passion in this sport Steve is an individual who exemplifies it each and every day. Get well soon Steve!
Moving on from our injured friend to this coming weekend’s Monster Energy MXON event at Red Bud. I was down at Gopher Dunes on Friday and while there I was able to talk with Derek Schuster who is helping to run Team Canada this year. I also had a great chat with Ryder McNabb’s dad Brad who told me that Ryder is very excited about this weekend in Red Bud. Derek assured me that everything is ready to go and that; as they always do, Team Canada is going to give it everything they have. Dylan Wright is ready and Tyler Medaglia will be ready to go also. As of right now, the forecast for Red Bud looks great so cross your fingers it remains the same as we get closer to the weekend. I know there was a bit of frustration this past week when Team Canada finally set up a GoFundMe Page for Red Bud. Many wondered why this type of fundraising wasn’t in place weeks or even months ago. Obviously, I agree that any fundraising should’ve started more than ten days before the race but my thinking is that perhaps they thought they had enough and then all of sudden it became clear that some extra money was needed. It is what it is and I think the important thing right now is to put on your Team Canada hat or jersey and if you’re able to support our riders then go for it. Once the bikes start and the first practice hits the track on Saturday it doesn’t matter how the team got there it’s all about our team of Medaglia, Wright, and McNabb! They’re obviously in tough vs the best riders on the planet but I feel like we’re in for our best result ever at this event.
So what is your prediction for Team Canada this weekend at Red Bud? Do you see them having a good result, a great result, or will they suffer through another MXON with bad luck and less than stellar results? Well, as I said above and also last week, I have a strong feeling that things are going to go really well for our boys this weekend, and here’s why. First, travelling to Red Bud is far less stressful and taxing on the body than flying across the Atlantic to race somewhere in Europe. I think we can all agree on that. I don’t care how much sleep you get on the flight over, once you arrive you feel like crap and regardless of how well you’re taken care of before the race, as a rider you’re never 100%. So travel won’t be a problem for Team Canada and everyone should be fresh and ready to go. Second, we have a solid support staff going and I’m sure that people like Derek Schuster, Ryan Lockhart, and Zeb Dennis will make sure the riders have everything they need to achieve success. Finally, our team is good and I feel like each rider is heading into the weekend with not just team goals, but their own personal goals as well. At the surface this is obviously a team event but once the gate drops there isn’t a lot of time to think about what your teammate is doing. Medaglia is heading in as Captain Canada once again and we know he’s going to do everything possible to find success. McNabb is going to Red Bud as not only the fastest 250 rider in Canada but also as a careful 16-year-old who is just looking forward to battling the best riders in the world. In an event of this magitude, it’s easy for a young rider to feel pressure and not ride to their potential. I don’t think this is going to be an issue for McNabb as he’s excited for the challenge that this weekend will bring. Finally, I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again, Dylan Wright is ready to put his stamp on this event for not only himself but for all of Canada. With the type of season he’s had so far and with his MXGP experience from last fall, I just feel like all of the stars are aligned for Dylan this weekend. I hope I’m right on this and I’m sure all of you hope I’m right also. Go Canada Go!
With the MXON on the immediate horizon, I want to go back to this past weekend and congratulate all the riders who competed in the 2022 True North AMO Racing OPC Series. This well-attended series concluded this past weekend at Gopher Dunes and although I could only make it on Friday, I heard the entire weekend was outstanding. There were a lot of solid performances this year as well as some good steps forward with tracks and scheduling. I even hear there could be a new track (or old track depending on how you look at it) on the schedule for 2023 so that’s very positive. One of the fun events at the AMO race this weekend was the Surron race on Friday evening. This race was made up of riders of varying ages and skill levels and the two-moto format proved to be very entertaining. We had young Preston Masciangelo racing for MXP and he did us proud with a solid second overall. The race was won by Tanner Scott who was virtually untouchable on his Surron. He was so good that I wanted to protest his bike as I suspected it was running on plutonium. It was a fun race and I even ran into Randy Collins who used to run the old Hully Gully track. He said I’ve changed a lot since the last time he saw me. I guess I have considering the last time I was at Hully Gully was 1987. I want to say thank you to Graeme Jones for having us out to race these fun new Surron bikes and also to learn more about them. If you would like some information on these new electric bikes please visit www.surron.ca.
Well, that is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week and with the Sarnia AX fast approaching if anyone (pro or amateur) would like to come and do some AX or SX practice at my home track please email me at chris@mxpmag.com. Thank you for reading and good luck to Team Canada this weekend at Red Bud!