Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Well, I can officially say that this past week was much better than the previous week. Although my son wasn’t able to fly home last week due to a small Pneumothorax (a small collection of air in the lung) that he still has, he’s feeling better after his nasty crash last Friday at the WCAN. Once he finally gets home tomorrow, it will be time to have surgery to repair his collarbone. It’s been quite the ordeal, but we certainly couldn’t have made it through the past ten days without the support of our incredible moto family. As well, my brother and his family for letting us stay an extra few days at their home in Calgary. Finally, thank you to Steve Simms and his team for not only taking my son’s bike out west but also allowing us to pit next to them. Steve also graciously offered to take my son and wife home as he wasn’t able to fly. I also want to thank Cal Nowicki and Heavy Metal Equipment for helping us our with a car during our time out west. It’s been a roller coaster of a trip west, but at the same time, it’s been one hell of an adventure and two weeks that we’ll never forget.
Heading into Round 3 in Calgary, the biggest question surrounding the race was the unpredictable Calgary weather. Would it be sunny, would it rain, or as it sometimes does in June in Calgary, would it snow? As I mentioned, these were all questions before Round 3, and in the end the riders got a little bit of everything on Sunday. I mean, it didn’t snow, but it was sure cold at times during the day. Thankfully, the weather did not faze our Triple Crown Series riders, as the racing was once again great all day long. After a muddy start to the day in practice and qualifying, the Wild Rose MX track began to dry out for the Pre-Mix and WMX motos. Unfortunately, the wind picked up moments before the gate dropped on the opening 250 moto, and light rain began to fall. The rain quickly turned the track into a slippery mess, and the riders had to be careful for most of the first moto. With the rain not falling too hard, the track didn’t get really muddy; it just got messy.
Quinn Amyotte and Wyatt Kerr were two fast and talented 250 class riders who got the worst of the slippery track. Amyotte was running inside the Top 5 in moto one when he crashed late in the race and sliced the tip of one of his fingers off. You can check out our Instagram page (@mxpmag) for Quinn’s comments on the incident. Hopefully, everything goes well in the coming weeks, and he can race Round 4 at Gopher Dunes. Although Quinn’s injury was scary and gruesome, Wyatt Kerr’s crash and injuries were even more frightening. With the track so slick in certain spots, I heard his back end slid sideways on the face of one of the big Calgary jumps and then threw him sideways and completely off the track. Again, I didn’t see Wyatt’s crash with my own eyes; I only heard from other people, however, from what people told me it was a nasty one that resulted in multiple injuries to his back, his pelvis, as well as some internal injuries. I want to wish both Wyatt and Quinn all the best as they recover. Wyat messaged me late last night to say that the surgery on his back went well, and now he’s just waiting to get released from the hospital.
With the mid-day rain on Sunday, the tilled-up Wild Rose track developed massive ruts throughout the day. And like last weekend in Kamloops, the track was extremely challenging by the time the gate dropped for the final two motos. It was a good old, nasty national track, and I hope the rest of the series consists of much of the same. These are our best riders, and they should be tested at every round of the Triple Crown Series. I’m not saying it should be dangerous, just difficult, as we saw in Calgary and last week in Kamloops. The opening round in Edmonton was challenging but in a different way, and I hope we don’t see those conditions anytime soon. In talking with some of the riders at the end of the day, everyone from Austin Jones to Dylan Wright and Jess Pettis, loved how challenging the track was on Sunday. Great job to both the track crew in Kamloops and the crew in Calgary for making the final two Western rounds unforgettable.
So, with three rounds completed and the Western Swing all done, which riders should be pleased with where they’re at in the series? In the 250 class, I think it’s safe to say that the two KTM Canada teammates in Ryder McNabb and Kaven Benoit are happy. In speaking to both on Sunday evening, Ryder said that he was a little bummed that he let moto two in Calgary slip away but, overall he’s happy as he feels his best races are still ahead of him. If they are, then the rest of the 250 class is in some serious trouble. Right now, Ryder is not only the fastest rider on the track but also the smartest. The way he goes about practice, qualifying, and of course, the motos is simply amazing. Especially, considering that he’s only 17 years old. During the break, Ryder is headed to Red Bud, where he will compete in the Combine Race on the Friday before the Pro Motocross National. I’m not sure who else is racing at Red Bud (besides Noah Viney), but you have to think that McNabb has a good chance of winning this event. Something tells me that Ryder’s time racing in Canada will be coming to an end either this year or next, as not only does he want to go to the USA to race, but with his speed, talent, and young age, now is the time to go. I selfishly hope he doesn’t because I love watching him ride every weekend, but I can understand and support his future goals.
As I mentioned above, Kaven Benoit should also be happy right now as he not only made it through the opening three rounds of his comeback tour in one piece, but he also won motos and currently sits second in the 250 class points standings. This is pretty remarkable if you ask me, as the 34 year old appears to be just getting warmed up. I knew Benoit would be consistent, as that has always been his forte, but I didn’t think he’d have the raw speed that he’s shown so far in 2023. He’s been very fast and should win more motos in the east. He told me he’s happy with everything but wishes he could match McNabb’s sprint speed early in the past few motos. He said he wanted to, but that the 34-year-old in him was telling him he shouldn’t right now. Benoit is also smart and fast, and right now, he’s having a blast! Welcome back, Champ!
Another rider who has to be happy with at least how Round 3 went is Mitchell Harrison. The Thor Racing/GASGAS rider is the most motivated rider in the 250 class right now, as he needs to make up points in every moto. I predicted his second moto win, I could tell that the opening on Sunday was a big confidence builder for him. I know finishing third was not what he wanted, but the way he finished third was special. In the final ten minutes of moto one, Harrison was the fastest rider on the track, and he was catching Benoit and McNabb. I’m sure he sat between motos knowing his speed was good enough to win. In moto two, that was exactly what he did as he rode to a dominating win. Oh my, the Eastern rounds will be good in this class! McNabb, Benoit, Harrison, and I would suspect that Josiah Natzke (will be better once he gets to tracks that he knows), will all battle hard. Throw in Jacob Piccolo if he’s back from injury, Quinn Amyotte if his finger heals up okay, Sebastien Racine, who cannot wait to head back east, and even Tanner Ward, who had his best race of the season so far in Calgary. Most of these riders, however, need to figure out how to consistently get good starts, as McNabb and Benoit have combined for six of the seven holeshots thus far.
In the 450 class, obviously, Dylan Wright and Jess Pettis have to be happy with how things have gone so far in 2023. Dylan has won all three opening rounds with strong final moto wins. However, he’s given away the opening moto at all three western rounds, which I didn’t expect to see. In Edmonton, he got beat straight up by Pettis; in Kamloops, Dylan crashed three times in moto one and finished third, and then on Sunday, he didn’t get a good start in moto one, then went down on the opening lap, and then had to put on a monster charge to finish second, once again behind Pettis. I don’t know if the other 450 riders have upped their games from last year, and that is why they’re collectively closer to Dylan. or if Dylan is still searching for the comfort and confidence level he had last summer? Either way, the trio of Pettis, Maffenbeier, and Medaglia all smell blood in the water right now, and all three feel like they can win. As for Wright, I asked him after the races on Sunday if he was concerned at all. He just grinned and said, “Concerned about what.” This was definitely a classic Dylan Wright response to what I thought was a reasonable question, given how the first three rounds went. As for his competition, Pettis is really happy with where he’s at, Maffenbeier currently wishes every day was race day as he’s riding better than he ever has, and Medaglia has one moto win so far and will be looking for more in the final five rounds. Behind the top four are; Daniel Elmore, who has been riding super consistently, but just needs to find a little more raw speed to get to the next level, and Jeremy Mckie, who had his best race of the season so far in Calgary. The next few rounds are going to be exciting in the 450 class as the temperatures heat up and the softer tracks in the east get ready to test these riders.
So, the riders and teams now get a two-week break before heading into what is normally the most challenging summer race. Gopher Dunes is always a tough round, and while it’s not necessarily a make or break day, a solid two motos in the deep sand can be a great mental boost heading into SDL and Riverglade. With the first three rounds now complete, once everyone returns home from out west, they can take a deep breath, look at where they’re at in the points, and then go to work and prepare for the east coast grind.
On another note, it’s time to think about Team Canada and our 2023 MXON effort. As you may or not know, the race is in France this year, and due to the new SMX schedule in the USA, the MXON weekend has been pushed back to October 6-7. Thanks to Kourtney Lloyd, who is back as Team Manager for 2023 and beyond, we are sending a team this year, and on Friday afternoon in Calgary, she held an industry meeting to lay out her plan. Now, fundraising began a few months ago, and so far, she’s done a remarkable job with clothing sales, riding schools with top pros, and various other programs. Every little bit counts, so if you would like to support Team Canada, please visit www.teamcanadamxon.com. Kourtney will also have a booth set up at most of the Eastern rounds of the Triple Crown Series, and at the Walton TransCan, so there will be a lot of opportunities this summer to get involved in this incredible program.
Well, that is it for me this week. Sorry, this column is a day late, but I spent all day Monday traveling home. I hope everyone has a great week, and I hope all of our awesome Moto Dads had a great Father’s Day! Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments, please send them to me at chris@mxpmag.com.
