Report by Danny Brault
Photos by James Lissimore

We may have just witnessed the best racing yet in the 2007 Monster Energy Motocross Nationals at Sand Del Lee MX Park in Munster, Ontario. (And how fitting that it took place in a town called Munster!) From the battles between Michael Willard and Nick Evennou in MX2 to JSR’s charges through the pack in both motos for first overall to Simon Homan’s second ever MX1 moto win to Kyle Keast’s determined ride in the second moto where he came back from a first turn crash to finish eighth, there was never a dull moment on the SDL track.

The MX101 crew once again did a great job with the track, keeping it watered throughout the weekend and grooming sections that needed some TLC. I’ve been coming to SDL since 2001 and it’s amazing how much they’ve improved not only the track, but the facility as well. So a big hand goes out to Kevin Tyler, Steve Dool and the entire crew for putting together a great weekend for the fans and riders.

Blackfoot Yamaha’s Nick Evennou (39) had nothing to lose in the final MX2 East rounds. He showed that by going back and forth with KTM Canada’s Michael Willard in the first moto. Evennou proved he had the speed to win races, but it was too late, as Willard won the first moto to clinch his second MX2 title. Evennou had a huge lead in the second moto, and with Willard buried in the pack, it looked like he would end the season on a high note. Unfortunately, around the fifth lap, Evennou crashed out.

And what would a Canadian National be without some controversy? Following the first moto, Blackfoot’s team manager, Joe Skidd, put in a protest that Willard passed Evennou on a yellow flag. It never went through, however, and Willard kept his win.  

The top two: Willard and teammate, Tim Tremblay, finished first and second in the MX2 East series. Tremblay was running in third in the first moto with Tyler Medaglia closing in, when he went down hard and busted his handlebars. Fortunately, he was okay and came back in the second moto to finish fifth. 

We’ve watched several of our Factory Rider’s for Day accomplish career highlights this season, such as Jeremy Medaglia’s 13th overall in Ste-Julie and Kyle Stephens earning his first pro national points at Gopher Dunes, and Kaven Benoit joined that list at SDL. The Les Chutes Kawasaki rider was caught up in a first turn crash—actually, he hadn’t even made it to the corner—but got up and charged back to 10th.

He was later bumped up to ninth after Kerim Fitzergald and Marc-Antoine Genereux were docked ten positions each for jumping the finish line jump (at the finish) while a Red Cross flag was out. They had the red cross flag out because Evennou had parked his bike just up ahead and was still on the track with the Blackfoot transports—but the race was over. It was a messy situation and Machine Racing’s John Nelson wasn’t too happy since Fitzgerald is one of his supported riders. He tried putting in an appeal, but referee Randy Hall maintained his decision to penalize the riders.

Back to Benoit. In the second moto, Benoit made it through the first turn without any problems and rode a consistent race for 10th place and eighth overall—his best ever pro finish. Brett Dailey and the whole RXC crew are stoked for Benoit. His younger brother, Karel, was unable to fly our colours and race SDL because of a broken arm, but he’s planning to pit with us this weekend at the East/ West Shootout in Walton.

OTSFF Suzuki’s Tyler Medaglia made his friends and family proud last year, finishing third overall in MX2 on his privateer Honda. The Kemptville kid was the hometown hero once again, going 3-2 for second overall. He left it all out on the track at SDL, and earned himself third overall in the series. His younger brother, Jeremy, was on the gas as well, finishing 6-8 for fourth overall. Jeremy has set three records this season: he holds the best moto finish by an intermediate (fourth at Gopher), the highest overall finish (fourth at SDL), and highest overall series finish (seventh).  

Billy Whitley and Derek Sorenson of the Monster Energy/ Cernic’s Kawasaki Team offered me Tucker Hibbert’s KX250F to race at SDL for a story in RXC. It was a dream come true for little Giver, and I can’t thank the team enough for giving me the opportunity. We had a minor electrical issue during Saturday’s practice (no, I didn’t crash it) and I only made it half way around the track. My factory wrench for the weekend, our ad rep, Jay Moore, fixed the bug and had it running perfectly for Sunday.

With limited time on the bike, I improved my lap times each time out, but I never got them down enough to make the program. I will admit, I was pretty nervous and rode tight, but it was a tough field out there; a lot of fast guys never made it in. And after walking the track at the end of the day—and considering my lack of seat time in the last two months—it may have been a blessing that I didn’t make it in.

Blair Morgan fell in love with the SDL track last year and was a favourite for the win heading into this year’s race. Morgan was running a solid second behind JSR in the first moto when his bike died with only a few laps remaining. Then in the second moto, he was running third when he fell down; he ended up finishing 10th behind Jeff Northrop. It sure hasn’t been a super year for “Superman.”  

Oh, Blair …  

The King is back! If anyone thought JSR was going to play it safe when he returned from his concussion, they were wrong. The five-time champ worked his way up from fourth to pass Colton Facciotti for the lead at the halfway point and never looked back. Facciotti rode well, leading the early laps in both motos. I’m not sure if Facciotti tired out or what, but he faded a little in both races. The Yamaha rider still put in 2-5 moto scores for fourth overall. 

The best MX1 race ever? That’s what a lot of people who were at SDL kept saying. It began with Jeff Gibson (102) leading for the first lap, before being passed by Facciotti. Then Morgan started chasing Facciotti, but slid out and fell back to ninth. Simon Homans (4) eventually made his way past Facciotti, while Paul Carpenter and JSR charged through the pack to get into the top four.

JSR (2) was easily the fastest rider on the track and was running a close second when his rear tire went flat on the third last lap. It was another heartbreaking moment for JSR and Blackfoot, but he held on for fourth. Meanwhile, up front, Carpenter moved into second with Homans leading. On the final lap, Carpenter was right on Homans’ rear fender and he finished just inches behind the Yamaha rider.

Like in Nanaimo, it was another emotional ride for Homans, especially with all of his friends and family in attendance. Unlike Nanaimo, however, where Facciotti and Carpenter suffered some bad luck, Homans took the win straight up.  

Your 2007 Canadian National MX1 champ: Monster Energy/ Cernic’s Kawasaki’s Paul Carpenter. He’s the first American to win the MX1 title since Doug Dubach in 2000.  

Your 2007 Canadian Women’s National Champ: Heidi Cooke. After holding off Sarah Whitmore for the second moto win and the overall, Cooke took home her sixth national championship (she has five titles at Walton). 

Defending champ, Jolene Van Vugt (left) rode a great series for second behind Cooke (middle) and one of Canada’s promising young women racers, Missy Hackett (right), finished third overall in the championship. 

See you at the races?