Monday Gate Drop

Even though we’re in the middle of January there sure are a lot of moto related things to do. Last weekend in Ontario was the Nitro Circus Show, Anaheim One and the Motorcycle Show, this weekend we had the CMRC Ontario Provincial Banquet on Saturday and on Saturday night there was round two of the Monster Energy SX Series from Phoenix, AZ. This coming weekend is also full of moto, but this time it shifts to the west coast and the restart of the Kawasaki Canadian Arenacross Championships in Cloverdale, BC on Friday and Saturday. Then on Saturday night the Supercross series heads back to Anaheim for round three. Do you see what I mean? Even though we’re in the dead of winter, it’s still moto, moto, moto.

Another item that was announced late last week was the long awaited schedule for the upcoming 2014 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals. The 2014 series is now ten rounds long and will revisit the awesome tracks in Regina, SK and Ulverton, QC. While most modern day Canadian MX fans are familiar with the Moto Valley MX track in Regina, you have to go back over ten years to remember the last time the series visited Ulverton. Trust me when I say this, every rider is going to love the Ulverton track. With the strong fan base that Quebec has for motocross, this round will no doubt be well attended. The 2014 series is going to be amazing when it kicks off on May 31st in Nanaimo, BC. Two and a half months later it wraps up in Walton, ON where the MX1 and MX2 Champions will be crowned. There will also be a three round Women’s west series and a three round east series, which Denaye Giroux and company are currently working hard on. All I can say is…bring on summer!

I can’t wait to see more of this close racing this summer at the 2014 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals.

Sticking with the CMRC, as I mentioned, on Saturday afternoon everyone gathered at Dave& Buster’s in north Toronto for the Ontario Provincial Banquet. The afternoon was filled with awards, tons of prizes and a lot of excited kids. It’s amazing to see riders of all ages get dressed up to celebrate their past season’s accomplishments. As I’ve said before, young motocross riders as a group are a very mature bunch compared to kids from other sports. Also for this year, Ontario riders have to celebrate the addition of some sponsorship from Rockstar Energy for the 2014 Provincial Series. As a former provincial champion and a rider that took racing in his home province very seriously, I was extremely excited to hear all of this news surrounding the 2014 Ontario Provincial Series. Again, bring on summer!!

Moving now from Ontario motocross to the west coast and the Kawasaki Arenacross Series, which gets back at it this weekend in Cloverdale, BC, it’s been almost two months since the last round of the series so everyone is super excited to return to racing. Although Ross Johnson has yet to win a main event, he is the overall points leader as the Cycle North Honda rider has been the model of consistency. Right behind Ross are riders like Jeremy Medaglia, Brock Hoyer, Spencer Knowles and Ryan Lockhart who are all hungry to get to the top of the points standings. With the series moving from the big arena in Chilliwack to the small barn in Cloverdale for a couple of rounds, the racing will no doubt be even tighter in all of the classes and we might see some serious rubbing. We can’t wait to see how it all unfolds this weekend in BC.

Cycle North Honda rider Jeremy Medaglia will be looking to win some more main events as the Kawasaki Canadian Arenacross Series resumes this weekend in Cloverdale, BC

Finally, I’m sure everyone tuned in on Saturday night to watch the Phoenix SX and see how Cole Thompson would far in his first 450 SX. With all things considered I think Cole did just fine in his first race as it definitely was a great night to build on. It can’t be easy jumping right into the circus that is AMA Supercross, especially when you’ve only been on the bike for a week. Cole is young, fit, very talented, and he is under the watchful eye of Dave Gowland and the Rockstar Energy KTM so he’s going to do just fine moving forward. It was cool to have a Canadian rider to cheer for on Saturday night, that’s for sure.

In closing, after his horrible crash in Hamilton at the Nitro Circus Show, Bruce Cook has now been transferred back to BC for rehab and hopefully further progress in his recovery. I know I can speak for a lot of people when I say that I’m blown away by his attitude since his crash. Every photo I’ve seen, Bruce is smiling and very upbeat. What an inspiration he is for everyone. Bruce will no doubt be tackling his rehab the same way he’s gone at his riding career, wide open! Good luck Bruce and keep smiling!

I hope everyone has a safe week and good luck to everyone in Cloverdale this weekend. If you live in Ontario and ride a 50cc, a 65cc or an 85cc, I will be conducting a riding school on Thursday night at the Chesterman Indoor Track in Tillsonburg. If you’re interested please email me at chris@mxpmag.com. Have a great week!!

Keep smiling Bruce!