Welcome to Friday, or TGIF as everyone says these days. With so much news this past week, today presents a great time to sit back, catch our breath and reflect on the events of this past week. Today also gives us a great opportunity to look ahead to this weekend and the Atlanta SX, as well as next weekend and the toughest supercross on the planet, the Daytona SX.
As we all know, last weekend was the opening round of the 2018 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series in what is supposed to be beautiful Abbotsford, BC. With spring on the horizon, the weather in BC is usually beginning to get very nice during the final weekend of February. But, as the sun and mild temperatures headed east to Ontario, it left behind winter-like weather that saw half a foot of snow fall on the Lower Mainland in BC. This made for almost impossible driving conditions, and just a general sense of being cold and miserable.
Inside the warm and cozy Abbotsford Events Centre, the riders of this new and exciting series gathered for a chance to make history. In front of one of the largest crowds (outside of Quebec) to ever watch an AX in Canada, the riders were unfortunately faced with very difficult track conditions as the soil was wet and soft. However, even with the less than ideal conditions both outside as well as inside, everyone made the best of it and the opening round went off without a hitch. Yes, history was made last weekend in Abbotsford and now the 2018 Canadian race season is underway.
Shawn Maffenbeier looked very good on his new Kawasaki in Abbotsford and he rode well to finish in second. Photo by James Lissimore
With the track being so difficult, it was hard to really judge which riders stood above the competition. Obviously, the main event winners, Carson Brown and Colton Facciotti, were fast, but so were riders like Cole Thompson, Shawn Maffenbeier and Tyler Medaglia. In fact, all of the riders looked good in Abbotsford, it’s just that some had more bad luck than others. With two nights of racing and much improved dirt on its way for Rounds 2 and 3 in Calgary, the racing will no doubt be more exciting and we’ll be able to get a better gauge on the speed of the riders. The building in which the Calgary AX takes place is, in my opinion, the best in Canada for this type of event. With large indoor pits for both the pro and amateur riders, and a slightly larger floor area, this race is the jewel of the indoor portion of the Triple Crown Series. In two short weeks the gate will once again drop in Canada, only this time it will be in Calgary, AB.
As we look down south, tomorrow the Atlanta SX will take place in the newest and most advanced stadium of the series. The state of the art Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta is just a thing of beauty. With its unique design, which includes a retractable roof, Supercross definitely has an awesome new home in Atlanta. This weekend also represents the second Triple Crown event of the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross Series, in which the riders in the 250SX and the 450SX classes will race three main events. With a very cool track design for the riders this weekend, the racing should be exciting in this new home for SX. Also, for whatever reason, the Atlanta round of the series always seems to produce some incredible racing. As we’ve seen so many times over the years, the Georgia fans always get a great show. In my opinion, the greatest supercross of all time took place in Atlanta in 1990. That year there were multiple lead changes, great battles, and no one knew who was going to win until the final few laps of the main event. It was an intense race and one that will be forever remembered. But, there has been a few of those over the years in Atlanta, and hopefully we’ll see another this weekend.
Once the Atlanta SX wraps up, the riders will head south to Daytona Beach for the toughest supercross on the planet. In an added exciting twist, our own Colton Facciotti will be lining up to contest his first 450 supercross aboard his GDR Fox Honda. This is great news for everyone involved as having Colton line up for a supercross is something that this entire country has looked forward to. With the amount of talent that Colton has, as well as he strong fitness level, I believe he will definitely turn some heads as he competes at this famous event. The Daytona International Speedway has been hosting a SX each year since 1971; so many of Canada’s top riders have lined up there. To see Colton on the starting line next weekend will be very exciting.
Well, I hope everyone is having a great Friday and I hope you’re ready to blast into the weekend. After a long winter we have finally reached the month where spring begins to take shape. Please enjoy your weekend and let’s go racing!
