MXP: Hey Newf! There was a big turn of events over the weekend in Nashville as Cooper Webb’s night didn’t last three corners in his heat race. It’s so unfortunate that the battle between Webb and Tomac had to end this way. What did you think of the incident, and do you think Chase Sexton can catch Tomac in these final two races?
RL: It was a huge bummer for the series to end this way. Webb getting hit like that was ugly, and he is lucky to be able to get up from that. Personally, I think a neck brace would have helped him in that situation with the way his head/ neck got hammered forward. Either way, it was a good season for Webb, and he really rebounded after a quiet 2022. As far as Sexton goes, it won’t surprise me if he wins the last two rounds, but with the field so weak right now, Eli just has to be smart and finish. It was easy to see he gave absolutely zero fight when Chase caught him in the main event on Saturday. Anything can happen, but I think Eli can bring this 450SX class title home.
MXP: The 2023 Future West MX Championship resumes this weekend in Quesnel. What can we expect this weekend, and what are some of the things that people need to know?
RL: We can’t seem to catch a break out here this year. We have some major flooding in the BC Interior, so some of the main routes are closed down, forcing us to take detours to get to Quesnel. It’s also supposed to be 26 degrees on Friday but then go down to 9 degrees and rain on Saturday and Sunday (laughs). The good thing is Quesnel is a sand-based track for the most part, so we will be able to salvage it, but just a bummer we have had such crappy weather on the weekends.
MXP: This past week, MVP Racing officially announced that they had signed Blake Davies and TJ Scott for the Triple Crown Series this summer. Both are young and fast and appear to be two riders that we will be talking about for some time. We both turned Pro at a young age and were thrown right into the deep end, so we know it’s not easy. How do you see these two talented riders doing this summer?
RL: There is no question it’s great to see Al Dyck and MVP Racing back at the races for 2023, and also very cool that he’s helping out two young kids who need support to get to the next level. I have said this before, but I think the 250 class will be extremely tough this summer, so it will be necessary for both TJ and Blake to have realistic goals coming into the season. Like always, guys will get hurt, and things may get easier as the series goes on, but if they are comparing their speed to what the talent was last year, they both might be in for a bit of a surprise coming Round 1. Both riders will fit in nicely between 9-12 consistently.