photos by James Lissimore
On Saturdays the riders always seem excited and happy, they know that it’s a new weekend and they have a new canvas to paint the following day. Today in Calgary was no different; the weather was great and the rain the weathermen said would come, never did. All the series riders were out and about with water bottles in hand and smiles on their faces. For some riders like Mike Alessi and Josh Hill, this was their first time at Wild Rose MX Park so I’m sure they were looking very closely at the track. For a seasoned rider like last weeks MX1 winner Colton Facciotti, who’s been here many times, he knows exactly what to expect when the gate drops tomorrow.
Between sign-up, tech inspection and socializing, the one thing that everyone in the pits has grown to love is Saturdays round of the Women’s Nationals. Today marked the final round of the 2014 Western Women’s Series and they couldn’t have had a better track to race on as it was in perfect condition. Devil’s Lake Yamaha rider Hailey Larsen once again showed that she is one of the fastest women riders in the world by sweeping all six motos of the series and was crowned the 2014 Western Women’s Series Champion. This is Hailey’s second championship in two years and like last year, she certainly earned it. So that wraps up the west series for the women and now the focus shifts to the opening round of the eastern series next month at Gopher Dunes.
Sara King and Kennedy Lutz were this close in Calgary today. Both riders rode hard for the entire Western Women’s Series and will travel to Walton in August.
Both the MX1 and MX2 class line up remains the same for tomorrow with the exception of Josh Clark who after multiple DNF’s in the first two rounds, has switched from the MX2 class to the MX1 class for the remainder of the summer. Also, to the delight of fans, Ryan Lockhart has made the drive to Calgary to continue racing the MX1 class tomorrow. Newf said he felt good last week in Kamloops so he wanted to keep the dream going. So now the stage is set for round three of the 2014 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals. Can Colton Facciotti and Vince Friese pick up where they left off last weekend? Or can riders like Mike Alessi, Bobby Kiniry, Jeremy Medaglia and Kaven Benoit lead the pack. We’ll all find out tomorrow. For updates please follow us on Twitter @mxpmagazine or tune into the MXP Internet Radio Show at 11:30am local Calgary time.
