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Natural talent in sports has always been a blessing, mixed with a curse. The blessing of having skill to perform from deep in your being; untaught is a gift. It also comes with great expectations, and sometimes those expectations can be weighty or perhaps even unrealistic. However being a dominating amateur star and prolific rider who battled at the front of the pack in his first ever National, expectations of what his Pro career could be have always surrounded Richard Grey: this week’s number 17 in the MXP Top Canadian rankings.
Grey has been “the kid” in Ontario since the days of his baggy pants and immaculately prepped Cobras through to today. A native of Keswick, Ontario, Grey, in his very early years, hung around the pits of the Pro riders, especially Ryan Gauld, Ken Clark and the Machine Racing team as the little brother they all loved to rib but also take riding.
In 2010, Grey aligned with Orange Motosports to contest the eastern nationals; a team with a successful track record backing Jeremy Medaglia and Kerim Fitzgerald to race wins. Orange had high hopes for the kid. He raced the eastern nationals as an Intermediate. Little pressure, great starts and a bit of racing luck put Grey near the front at most rounds, including holeshotting Walton and leading for the first lap. The success only raised the expectations for Grey as a Pro.
It’s safe to say that Richard Grey lived up to what was expected of him in 2012. In 2013 the teams expectations will be higher, and Richard knows he belongs top 5 each weekend.
The following year, 2011, wouldn’t be as easy. His patented starts didn’t come through for him as they had in the past, bad luck caught up to him in some motos and the weight of results began to creep in. It was a season that was on par with the year before but below expectations. Despite it all, he capped of the season with a 3rd overall at the final event in Walton.
To the surprise of many in 2012, Grey signed with Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha. Talent can’t be taught and the Yamaha boys saw this in Grey. He partnered up with riding friends Kyle Keast, Ryan Lockhart and Ryan Gauld for spring racing to prepare for the Nationals. Once again punches weren’t pulled and excuses not accepted for the young Pro, who it is easy to forget had only recently turned 18. However, with some tough love and another year’s experience, Grey began to show the fight all young Pros must show in the difficult early years. Battling each moto at the local tracks of Ontario, he aimed at realistic goal of being a consistent top 10 rider in the Canadian MX2 class, with an eye on the top 5. And that is how his season went. With the exception of two DNFs, Grey finished 10th or better in all his motos, including two top 5 overall finishes. Along the way, the amateur star who had won a lot, found a way to fight and battle each moto for each point as a Pro.
In 2013, Grey will once again be under the Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha tent. He will enter his third season as a Pro, his fourth year of Nationals. The top 5 finishes are likely to come more often and the eye will turn to the podium. For those who expected Grey to further himself sooner, the 18 year old may very well show everyone that 2013 will be the next big step in a very long and bright future. For these reasons, Richard Grey is this week’s number 17 in MXP Rankings.