It was quite a summer for 16 year Ryder McNabb as he battled through the 2022 Triple Crown Series. There were injuries, illness, and hard racing with his fellow 250 riders, but in the end, the teenager persevere and last month at Walton Raceway he was rewarded with his first-ever pro championship. Now, Ryder will put on his Team Canada hat for the first time as next weekend at Red Bud he will be representing this great country at the MXON. We caught up with Ryder as he took a break from preparing for the upcoming MXON.
MXP: Hey Ryder, what is going on today?
RM: Hey Palms! Not much today. Right we’re driving back from Woodstock as we had to pick up a few things. It’s been raining at Gopher Dunes so we aren’t riding today. Other than that, not much is happening. Dylan [Wright] is here this week so we’ve been riding and training together so that has been good.
Well, it must be good to have your teammate there to ride with. You two had quite the summer! What have you been up to since the final round of the Triple Crown Series at Walton Raceway?
Right after Walton I took some time off and went home to Manitoba for a week. After that, I came back to Gopher Dunes and since then I’ve just been training and doing my normal thing. That’s about it. My life isn’t that exciting (laughs).
I guess most of your excitement is on the track and that’s probably a good thing at your age. I know you don’t get home very often but when you do get a chance to be there do you enjoy it?
Yes, it’s great to be at home and just relax and do my own thing. As you said, I don’t get home very often especially when the weather is nice so it’s good when it happens.
Other than relaxing and resetting what things do you do when you’re back home in Manitoba?
Well, it always depends on the weather but this time I just hung out and rode my track. Also, I helped my Grandpa on the farm so that was good. That’s really it.
It does sound like being there is very therapeutic for you. Okay, let’s go back to the final round at Walton for a moment. Last year, you came into the final round with a chance to win the 250 title but things didn’t work out. Fast forward to this summer and once again the opportunity was there to win your first pro championship. Did you feel more prepared this time around?
I don’t know if prepared is the word as last year I was just as ready to win as I was this year. But I guess I did feel more comfortable heading into Walton last month. I knew I had a 23-point lead so I just needed to stay off the ground and not do anything really stupid. I had three wins coming into Walton so I knew my speed was good enough to at least finish on the podium without too much trouble. I would’ve liked to have won at the least the final moto but 3-3 was good enough for the title.
Obviously, it felt different to you being under the helmet and with so much at stake but you made those two final motos look routine.
Thanks! They didn’t feel routine but they didn’t feel too stressful either. I did learn a lot from last year and I know that helped me this year. Also, having a good points lead definitely made me feel more relaxed.
Did that final moto feel like it was about an hour long?
Oh yeah for sure! I remember seeing the halfway board and I couldn’t believe I still had that much time left. I just tried to stay out of trouble and save the bike. It all worked out!
It must feel cool to win your first pro title on a track that you have so many laps on. You’ve been racing at Walton Raceway since the 50cc class.
Yes, it does feel cool as I do have a lot of laps at Walton Raceway. Also, even though some of the sections have changed over the years the track still races the same. Some of the ruts feel the same and the pits look the same. I don’t know, I just love being at Walton and it always seems to bring out the best in me. The dirt is a lot like my track at home so I grew up racing in those conditions. I think I just have a comfortable feeling there.
Well, that is a good track to feel comfortable on and it certainly has served you well over the years. Looking ahead now to Red Bud and the MXONs. How are you feeling about representing Canada for the first time?
I’m excited for sure. It’s going to be a fun event and hopefully, we can go there as a team and do well. It’s going to be cool racing against the big dogs like Tomac, Sexton, and Cairoli, but they’ll be on 450’s so I don’t have to worry too much about them. There is a lot of pressure in this race but all I can do is go and try and ride the best I can.
I think being on 250 in this event can sometimes be easier because all you really can do is just ride as fast as you can from the moment the gate drops.
Exactly, there isn’t much strategy to worry about in the MX2 class as you’re racing against 450s in both motos. I don’t really know what to expect as I’ve never even been to Red Bud before. So it’s all new and exciting to me!
So what is the plan between now and when you have to leave for Red Bud?
I think we’ll just keep doing what we’ve been doing. It’s good to have Dylan here this week and we can do some motos together. Next weekend my motos will be 5 minutes longer than what they were all summer so I’ve been training for that. That’s about it.
That sounds good Ryder! Final question, do you have anything to report on where and what you’ll be riding in 2023?
No nothing really to report yet. We’re in the process of trying to figure things out but nothing will be done until after Red Bud. My focus right now is on that race and then after we’ll know what is going on.
Well Ryder, thank you for the chat. Best of luck next weekend and again, congratulations on your championship-winning summer.
Thank you Palms! It was a fun year and I’m glad I was able to turn things around in the east.