The sixth round of the 2017 CMRC sanctioned Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan will take place this weekend at Motocross Bon-Conseil in Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil, just east of Drummondville in the Province of Quebec. Racers and teams will be on an even playing field as the race track at Bon-Conseil is new to the National circuit, which has a sand based soil with huge man-made jumps. As we enter the second half of the season, the riders and their teams know the importance of finishing strong and limiting the mistakes as we get closer to crowning the 2017 Champions.
MX1
After having to share the red plate at Round 5, Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha’s Matt Goerke will be in sole possession of it this weekend after putting in a phenomenal come from behind charge in last weekend’s first moto, that saw him come from last to second at the checkered flag. Goerke’s win streak at Gopher Dunes was snapped when he finished third in the second moto on a racetrack that was as rough as he had ever seen it. Matt has a nine-point lead in the series and will be looking to increase that lead this weekend as he continues to battle for his third National title.
Monster Energy Alpinestars Kawasaki’s Mike Alessi won the overall at Round 5.
Rockstar Husqvarna’s Christophe Pourcel will be feeling a little more at home this weekend as the series moves to Quebec where the talented Frenchman gets his first opportunity to race in front of his French-speaking fans. Pourcel will no longer have the red plate on his motorcycle after finishing fifth last weekend, and will have to put in a good performance if he wants to shrink the points gap between him and Matt Goerke. Christophe already has three wins this year, and will certainly be going for the win at Round 6, and the series lead, with only five rounds left to go this season.
After earning his first win of the year at his home track in last weekend’s opening moto, Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing’s Colton Facciotti said that he felt that he has had the speed to win all season. Facciotti looked impressive while winning the first moto but was unable to follow it up in Moto 2 after coming into the weekend with the flu and spending all his energy during his win. Colton sits third in the series standings, but is 31 points behind Goerke, and will have to continue to win motos if he wants to earn his fifth National Championship in 2017.
Monster Energy Alpinestars Kawasaki’s Mike Alessi has been getting better each round. His overall win last weekend was his first since 2014, and served notice to his competitors that he is still in this thing. Alessi showed how fit he was in the brutally rough conditions, and was the best rider on the day at the roughest track riders will face this season. With the win, Mike moved into fourth place in the series standings as is only 4 points out of the top 3.
Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing’s Colton Facciotti looked impressive while winning the first moto at Gopher Dunes.
After earning his second overall podium finish in the first five races last weekend, Royal Distributing Motovan Piller’s Race Team’s Tyler Medaglia moved into fifth place in the series standings and will bring a lot of momentum into Round 6. Medaglia was a beast in the sand in Round 5. His second place finish in Moto 2 equalled his best this season when he finished runner up in the opening moto of the year. Tyler has been fast at each round this year and has always done well in the east. Look for him to be on top of the box soon, and if it doesnt happen this weekend, Round 7 will take place at his home track in Truro, Nova Scotia.
Rounding out the top 10 in the series standings are Nut Up Industries Kawasaki’s Dillan Epstein in sixth, Redemption Racing’s Cade Clason in seventh, Royal Distributing Motovan Piller’s Team’s Kyle Chisholm in eighth, Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha’s Tim Tremblay’s in ninth, and Yamaha Canada Cycle Works’ Keylan Meston in tenth.
Nut Up Industries Kawasaki’s Dillan Epstein is in sixth place in the series standings.
MX2
KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Cole Thompson might not have the most wins in the class this season but does have the red plate and a 40-point series lead going into Round 6 this weekend. Thompson set the bar high last season when he won the championship by 106 points and had a record setting seven wins. Cole has two wins this year and continues to set records with a 15-round podium streak, as he goes for back to back championships.
KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Cole Thompson has a 40-point series lead going into Round 6.
Sitting second in the series standings, MX101 FXR Yamaha Team’s Shawn Maffenbeier is coming off another win last weekend, his third overall win this season. Maffenbeier has been the fastest qualifier in 2 of the 5 rounds this year, and has posted the fastest lap of the race in 8 of 10 motos, but still finds himself trailing Cole Thompson in the series standings. Shawn can only keep doing what he has been doing this season, trying to minimize the mistakes as he attempts to catch Thompson in the series standings.
Redemption Racing KTM’s Josh Osby is tied for second with Maffenbeier and has three overall podium finishes in the first half of the season. Osby has been very consistent this year, only finishing outside of the top 5 one time when he was sixth in the second moto at Round 2. Josh is a big fan of the softer east coast dirt and will get another good taste of it this weekend at Motocross Bon-Conseil.
Redemption Racing KTM’s Josh Osby has only finished outside of the top 5 once this season.
One thing we have become used to this season is watching Nut Up Industries Kawasaki’s Ryan Surratt grab the holeshot, as the talented young Californian had five to his credit in the first four rounds. Last weekend was the first time Ryan failed to holeshot a moto, and his fifth overall finish places him fourth in the series standings.
Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing’s Dylan Wright earned another overall podium finish last weekend racing at his home track and moved up to fifth place in the series standings. Wright has now finished on the podium in each of the last two rounds after finishing outside the top 10 twice in the first three rounds. Dylan was super-fast last weekend, passing reigning Champion Cole Thompson in the first moto on his way to finishing second, but went down in Moto 2 while battling up front for the lead. Watch for this talented young Canadian to continue to be on the podium and keep the ball rolling as the series moves east.
The first five rounds of the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan have seen record crowds, and as the series moves eastward into Quebec this weekend at Motocross Bon-Conseil it looks like this trend will continue. If you haven’t already purchased your tickets you can buy them online easily at www.mxnationals.ca/tickets. If you are in another part of the country and are unable to attend the race, you can see all the action live by downloading the free Conx2share app or logging on to www.conx2share.com to live stream every moto on either your mobile phone or computer.
Pro- am rider KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Tanner Ward showed good speed in his series debut at the Dunes.
2017 MX1 Point Standings after 5 Rounds
1. Matt Goerke (Yam) 264
2. Christophe Pourcel (Hus) 255
3. Colton Facciotti (Hon) 233
4. Mike Alessi (Kaw) 229
5. Tyler Medaglia (Hon) 228
6. Dillan Epstein (Kaw) 214
7. Cade Clason (KTM) 175
8. Kyle Chisholm (Hon) 171
9. Tim Tremblay (Yam) 159
10. Keylan Meston (Yam) 139
2017 MX2 Point Standings after 5 Rounds
1. Cole Thompson (KTM) 279
2. Josh Osby (KTM) 239
2. Shawn Maffenbeier (Yam) 239
4. Ryan Surratt (Kaw) 210
5. Dylan Wright (Hon) 193
6. Casey Keast (Yam) 160
7. Jacob Hayes (Kaw) 155
8. Jess Pettis (Yam) 148
9. Davey Fraser (Hus) 147
9. Christopher Fortier (Yam) 147
Links and social media:
Web: www.mxnationals.ca
Event info: www.mxnationals.ca/event-info/
Tickets: www.mxnationals.ca/tickets/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CMRCMX
Twitter: @CMRCRacing
Instagram: @cmrcmx
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/cmrcracing
Live Streaming: www.conx2share.com Twitter – @Conx2share
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