I hope everyone had a great late April weekend. It was great to see a couple of our regions kick off their 2023 race seasons, as there were events in Kelowna and Gopher Dunes. I wasn’t able to make it to either race, but from what I heard, both were very well attended, and despite the damp weather, everyone had a good time. I won’t go into all of the results, but in the Pro-Am class, Tyler Yates took home the victory in BC, while Dylan Wright dominated at Gopher Dunes in Southern Ontario. Ahh yes, the first weekend of racing in this country is always exciting, as everyone is full of piss and vinegar, and eager to get their season started. I want to send a big congratulations out to every racer who competed over the weekend. The first race isn’t always the easiest, but every race season has to have a first. Here are the links to the results from Kelowna and Gopher Dunes.
Future West – Trackside Online Results (resultsmx.com)
As I mentioned above, I wasn’t at Gopher Dunes as my family and I are in Mexico until Wednesday. We’ve had this trip booked since 2020, but because of Covid-19, it kept getting postponed and rescheduled. Finally, after three cancellations, we finally flew to Cancun on Wednesday of last week. My son hated to miss the first race of the year, but obviously, there are many more races in 2023, and no more family vacations planned. One race we didn’t miss this past weekend was the East Rutherford SX. On Saturday night we were front and centre in front of my computer watching all of the action. As most of you saw, just as the 250SX East/West Shootout main event was lining up, Mother Nature unleashed her fury and the riders, as well as the fans, were told to take shelter and wait for the storm to pass. It was too bad as I believe the stage was set for two very entertaining and dry main events. Our own Cole Thompson finished 9th in his 250SX West heat race, so seeing him with some good speed on Saturday night was encouraging. Unfortunately, Cole got off to a bad start in the main event, and things went downhill from there. If you weren’t near the front of the pack in the early laps, there was no way you could see anything. Cole had this to say about his 21st overall finish in East Rutherford. “It wasn’t the end result that we were looking for, and it was actually my worst finish of 2023. The conditions weren’t terrible, but I struggled to adapt to how the track was, especially in the early laps. I was happy with my speed though, and now I’m just focused on finishing the 250SX West Series off strong in Denver and SLC.”
As Cole mentioned, when the gate finally did drop for the 250SX East/West Shootout main event the track conditions weren’t as bad as the riders thought. For the leaders, they had to deal with a lot of standing water; however, the track surface was still fairly hard-packed under the water. If you were able to see where you were going, you could still jump all of the big jumps in the opening laps. It wasn’t until the halfway point of the race that the track began to break down and become very challenging to ride. The eventual winner Max Anstie had little trouble from start to finish, and if it wasn’t for a stressful final lap where he had to hold off a hard-charging Jett Lawrence, he had what looked like a fun ‘first SX’ win. Anstie seems like a good guy, and it was great to see him win his first big race in America. Behind Anstie was the Lawrence Brothers and then Max Vohland with his best finish of the season in fourth.
Unlike the 250SX class, which had a raceable track for the beginning of their main event, it was a completely different story for the 450SX riders. By the time the gate dropped for the final race of the evening, the track was fried! Ken Roczen was able to get out front early and have a clear track and clear vision. Behind Roczen, Chase Sexton, Justin Barcia, and Eli Tomac were all trying to push hard without making a big, costly mistake. Tomac had a rough start to the day with a big crash in the first practice session but, when it mattered most he once again showed up. His second overall was a great finish however, it all began with one of the most cerebral starts I’ve ever witnessed from Tomac. He lined up in what is now his usual spot in 2023; a few gates to the right of the doghouse. He’s lined up in the same gate multiple times this year, and I can only think it’s for two reasons. First, it keeps him away from most of the other top riders, so unless he messes up off the gate, Tomac is almost always guaranteed a decent jump. It’s a good strategy because while his competition is elbow to elbow further inside, Tomac is free and clear and most likely will have more room once the gate drops. I’ve said many times over the years to riders who have asked me where they should line up on the gate. If you can, avoid lining up beside someone who you know is a good starter. In the 450SX main events, about five riders usually get good starts, so Tomac is trying to avoid lining up near them. Second, because Tomac is a little further outside, he has a better angle heading into turn one and can carry more speed. During a few main event starts this year we’ve seen Tomac get a great jump, and his holeshot was almost evident from the moment he left the gate. However, on Saturday evening, he did not get a good jump, and he had to fight for his good start the entire way down the muddy straight. It took determination and full commitment for Tomac to get a top-five start in East Rutherford, but in the end, his second-place finish might just be the result that wins him this 450SX championship. His closet rival Cooper Webb, struggled in the New Jersey mud and eventually finished 5th overall, even getting lapped by race winner Justin Barcia.
As it turned out, April showers played a big part in most of the big races this past weekend. However, this month is always hit-and-miss weather-wise in Canada and the northern states. Well, that is it for me this week. With only two days remaining in our family vacation, I must return to the beach. Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments, please email me at chris@mxpmag.com.