By Brett Dailey

We had so much fun putting last weekend’s Anaheim 2 primer together that we just had to do it again! It’s a bit long this week so grab a coffee and take a break.

Last weekend started off with a bang but ended with a bit of a fizzle for Canadian fans. After two very impressive top-ten showings in the Western SX Lites division, Darcy Lange hit the ground hard in practice at A2, suffering a grade three concussion.

Allison Kennedy talked with Darcy briefly this week and he said that his doctor gave him the okay to race but his team decided to play it safe and wait until next weekend at Anaheim 3. That sounds like a mature call by the team and obviously Darcy is in good hands at Team Green Richmond Racing Kawasaki.

Check this out: the folks at motocrossplanet.com posted a video of Darcy's crash. It's a large file so it will take a while to load.

Once we accepted the fact that Darcy would not line up for the evening, we turned our attention to the rather full lineup of Canadians who were doing quite well in their day qualifiers. Ryan Lockhart has been very successful with his pre-qualifiers. Last weekend he holeshot his qualifier and finished in second place. This weekend he crossed the finish line in sixth, easily transferring to the evening program.

Ryan didn’t make the SX main this weekend but his speed is surprising given his lack of experience on a true supercross track. He is realistic about his goals and has his sights set on improving each week. He is staying in California with Sean Hamblin so he will have the opportunity to ride on a couple of supercross tracks in the area. “I’ve spent more time on a supercross track in the past two weeks than I ever have in my life,” admits Lockhart. “I try to do 40 to 60 laps a day. Right now, time on a supercross track is the most important thing.” 

The San Francisco Track Layout

The other Canadian in the SX class was the always-reliable Doug DeHaan. The Butler Brothers rider looked good in his Semi but crashed himself out of a qualifying position. A poor start and another crash in the LCQ ended his hopes of his first main of the season. His lap times are good enough to make the show so he is understandably frustrated.

“Well, I haven’t met my goals on any weekend yet,” DeHaan commented to Allison Kennedy after A2. “First off, I just want to get in the main and have a consistent ride. I definitely want to push for top 15s once I’m in. I am on good equipment and I am in good shape. That’s really the goal, to get in the main, and then see what I can work on every weekend.”

In the SX Lites class, Colton Facciotti, and Marco Dube both made it through the day qualifiers, which meant that we had four riders in the evening program! All was looking good in the first SX Lites qualifier when we had Facciotti and Dube coming through the pack. Facciotti was in a duel for eighth and ninth with Ryan Abrigo (remember him?) and Dube was only a spot behind. Facciotti tangled with Abrigo and both riders went down, handing the qualifying position to Dube.

Facciotti lined up for the LCQ but he crashed and was never close to a top four. Our new columnist, Steve Matthes, said that Colton is getting better and better so it’s only a matter of time before he makes a main.

The good news story of the weekend was Marco Dube. He made the SX Lites main, rode consistently and gained some experience and confidence. “It felt good,” exclaimed Dube. “I was very happy to be there, I know I belong there. In the main, I found it went by so fast, 15 laps. I thought it would be longer. But I guess I am in good shape, I didn’t break a sweat. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough? My suspension was a little soft; I have even been bending my footpegs. I am too heavy for the setup I have. We’ve been stiffening the suspension every weekend but it seems like it is never enough. But I was there and I was riding 14th for a while but when Langston and Short lapped me, three guys snuck by with them. I got a bit upset about that but 17th is okay, I am not down here to break any records, I’m here to help Yamaha of Troy and in the meantime get as much seat time as possible. I want to have a long season and the main thing for me is being ready for the nationals in Canada. I want to kick butt.”

It’s time to update your desktop! Check out these awesome Racer X Canada Wallpapers from Allison Kennedy.

Kyle Beaton swept the Chilliwack round of the Future West Arenacross Championships last weekend. Check these links for an excellent race report and interview with Kyle by our western correspondent, James Lissimore. Steve Matthes has taken an interest in Kyle and will try to help him out when he is in California and get Kyle on some private supercross tracks. Kyle has a great demeanor and that should open some doors when he starts training and racing in California this spring.

The Canadian Silly Season is starting to gain momentum. From the looks of things, the major teams are doing their best to hire some Canadian talent for 2006. We try our best to promote Canadian riders so we hope that we had a hand in that decision!

KTM Canada re-signed Michael Willard and Matt Barnes to contest MX1 West and MX2 East but it looks like a deal has been reached to hire New Brunswick’s Johnny Montes for MX2 East. Action Cycles will support Montes for the Atlantic Canada provincials. Willard is training in California right now with his prior KTM teammate, Kris Keefer, and will race the SX Lites East series. Keefer, who is now testing for Yamaha USA, is looking for a Yamaha support deal to race the MX1 class this summer in Canada.

Plans for Suzuki Canada/OTSFF are unconfirmed but it is rumored that both Ryan Lockhart and Pierce Chamberlain will join Keith Johnson and Gavin Gracyk for 2006.

Blackfoot Honda is looking seriously at an American rider for the MX2 West series since Dusty is moving to the MX1 class full-time for ‘06. The deal is not done yet but the rider they are looking at has raced the Canadian nationals before so he would be an excellent fit for the series. Joe Skidd is down in GPF this week working with Cooke and Klatt on suspension testing. They were at Davi Milsaps’ personal track on Thursday and they both lapped Millsaps after six laps (sorry, that was a joke).  Five-time MX1 Champ, Jean-Sebastien Roy will be at the St. Louis opener to help the team.

After battling a nasty case of mono, Brady Sheren is signed up to race the Eastern Lites division. Brady is anxious to race and will be back in California soon to resume training and testing. It looks like Lockhart will join Sheren for the Eastern rounds so we will now have Klatt, Cooke, DeHaan, Sheren and Lockhart to follow when the series heads east on February 18th. Brady also picked up a new gear sponsor, Fly Racing.

Speaking of new gear deals, OTSFF has inked a multi-year deal to outfit their riders in Troy Lee Designs.

Rumours suggest that Morgan Racing will run the official Yamaha team for next year. Rick Rundberg is tight lipped but expect two Canadian riders on the team who have raced Yamaha for a long time. They are also very interested in an Ontario rider who rides for Machine Racing.

Now I’ll pass it off to Danny Brault who spent last week soaking up the rays and roost in Georgia.

Last week I flew into Tallahassee, Florida and made my way north to Millsaps Training Facility in Cairo, Georgia to spend time with our Racer X Canada Total Devotion Award winner, Davey Fraser. The 16-year-old Halifax kid had already spent a few weeks training at the County Line MX Park near Panama City, Florida with the Thompson family so he was well prepared. Since I usually race against Fraser, I’ve never really had the chance to watch him ride. But after watching him ride a few hundred laps at MTF and also at Colleen Millsaps’ place, I have to admit, I was impressed. With his skinny stature and aggressive riding style, Fraser reminds me of Ryan Villopoto (albeit, a tad slower). Be sure to check out the May issue of Racer X Canada to read more about Fraser and his time spent at MTF.

Fraser and I also spent a few hours riding the supercross track at MTF. Well, I just did a few laps, rolled everything, checked my pants and then grabbed my Canon and snapped a few shots of Fraser. Although he is still getting comfortable on his new Kawasakis (KX250F and KX450F) Fraser jumped one of the triples (man, they sure look bigger in person) and despite minimal experience on a supercross track, he was jumping through the rhythm sections without much difficulty.

While I was in Cairo, I also stopped by the Georgia Practice Facility (which is directly beside MTF) to see how the Blackfoot Honda boys were coming along. Both Mitch and Dusty look smooth and comfortable on GPF’s supercross track, and Davi Millsaps even let them ride his St. Louis replica SX track last Thursday. Johnny Balducci was the only other Blackfoot member with them, and he has been keeping their practice bikes (and RC cars) in good working condition.

To cap-off my week, Dusty, Mitch, Johnny, Davey and I drove into Thomasville for a few games of high-intensity bowling. Dusty and Johnny take their bowling very seriously. In fact, both purchased their own custom-fitted balls for just $36! Mitch on the other hand, isn’t much of a bowling fanatic; he prefers to chat it up with the locals. Balducci took the first game with a score of 119, just one point over Davey. Dusty bowled a 122 to win the second round and I finally came into my own to win the final match with a game-high score of 140! (Sorry Dusty and Johnny, I didn’t mean to steal your thunder.)

Well, that’s it for this week folks. If you will be listening to the live webcast from San Francisco, here are some critical links:

Race Links
Webcast
@ the Wire Live!
Results

TV Schedule
 
Amp'd Mobile Supercross from Anaheim, CA
01/28/06 :: 1.28.06 - 6PM EST on SPEED 

Amp'd Mobile Supercross from San Francisco, CA
01/29/06 :: 1.29.06 - 12:00 PM EST on CBS 

Amp'd Mobile Supercross from Anaheim, CA
02/02/06 :: 2.2.06 - 2:00 AM EST on SPEED 

Amp'd Mobile Supercross from Anaheim, CA
02/02/06 :: 2.2.06 - 10:00 PM EST on SPEED 

Amp'd Mobile Supercross from San Francisco, CA
02/04/06 :: 2.4.06 - 6PM EST on SPEED 

Amp'd Mobile Supercross from Anaheim, CA
02/05/06 :: 2.5.06 - 1AM EST on SPEED 

Amp'd Mobile Supercross from Anaheim, CA
02/05/06 :: 2.5.06 - 5 PM EST on SPEED 

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