Frid'Eh Update:Presented by Royal Distributing
FEBRUARY 1, 2008
I'm going to kick this week's update off by saying thanks to our new sponsor of the Frid’Eh Update, Royal Distributing!
We’re pumped to have Royal on board. While they’re known mostly for
their support with snocross and snowmobiling, Royal Distributing has also become a force in Canadian motocross. Royal has sponsored the CMRC National series for the last four years, giving away a $200 holeshot award for every single moto in the series! They’ve been working with the KTM Canada
Factory Team for a few years now and the MX101 races at Sand Del Lee.
For 2008, they’re stepping up big time to support the CMRC Ontario
Provincial Series as well as all the CMRC's provincial and regional series (outside Quebec), there are $50,000 in Royal awards up for grabs this summer alone —that's a lot of industry support and to top it off they are now sponsoring this weekly web feature on racerxcanada.com.
But Royal isn’t simply sticking their name on top of the Update;
they’re also giving all CMRC members a chance to win a 2009 KTM 250
SX-F! That’s right, by clicking on the banner below, you can enter for
your chance to win this MX2 rocket. It doesn’t stop there. Each week we
will pull names from people entered into the contest, who will be
awarded gift cards or products from Royal Distributing. So quit
stalling, click on the link or visit their website,
www.royaldistributing.com. Remember—support those who support the
sport! Thanks again, Royal!
I’m really looking forward to this weekend. Yes, I’m thrilled that Kyle Beaton and Brady Sheren will be back on the starting line for Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series at Anaheim 3—and Kyle Keast is racing Toyota AMA Arenacross in Youngstown, Ohio—but the real excitement is going down at the Alberta Arenacross Championships in Lethbridge Friday and Saturday night.
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Look out Lethbridge: Lockhart, Montes, Mesley and Giver are in town. |
Not only will Chuck Mesley, Ryan Lockhart, Johnny Montes, Eric Nye, Aaron Barr, Ryan Millar, and host of other pros be in Lethbridge, but I’m going to be in the mix as well. Well, maybe not in the mix, but I will be there. I’ve never actually raced indoors before, other than riding at the Tillsonburg and AX-Des-Monts facilities, so it will be interesting if I can keep it between the boards. Fortunately, the track won’t be as intimidating as AMA Supercross or Arenacross.
The whole crew in Lethbridge, and Alberta, are revved up for the 14th Annual Lethbridge AX. From what I hear, the Enmax Centre gets packed, the racing is fun and laid back, and supposedly Lethbridge is known for its nightlife. I’m picturing something along the lines of the Montreal SX, only less intense.
Amateur racing kicks off tomorrow afternoon, and the night show (pros, FMX) starts around seven o’clock. Follow these links for more info:
http://www.albertadirtriders.com/
http://abaxchamp.homestead.com/
We’ll be posting race reports from Lethbridge, so check back here over the weekend and next week for interviews with the winners.
Congrats to Felix Trepanier and Ben Milot who just learned that Invasion 3 has been nominated for an Extremey Award for the best FMX video of the year. This is the first time a Canadian movie has been nominated in this category, so let’s do our part to help Felix and Ben out. Click on this link to vote for Invasion 3
http://xtremey.net/08nominees.html
Haven't seen Invasion 3 yet? You can order your copy of Ben Milot's Invasion 3, as well as a range of other sweet moto DVD's, by visiting www.racerxwear.ca
Last weekend was a memorable experience for Yamaha Canada/Clearbrook/ MXForum’s Kyle Beaton in San Francisco. The Surrey, BC kid qualified for his first ever AMA Supercross! Sure, the conditions tightened up the competition, but there’s no denying things get pretty technical trying to jump triples or rhythm sections in deep ruts and slop. Beaton and Fun Center Suzuki’s Brady Sheren both qualified easily to the night show, with Sheren coming in at a 51.344 for the ninth fastest practice time and Beaton was just three-tenths of a second off in 13th.
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Beaton was on cloud nine after qualifying for his first night show, his first main, and earning his first AMA SX point. |
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James Lissimore photo |
During the evening program, Beets battled his way through the pack to finish sixth in his qualifier, while Sheren missed out by a few spots. In the Lites final, from what James Lissimore and Steve Matthes tell me, Beets was riding really well and worked his way up to ninth at one point. Unfortunately, Beets made a couple mistakes and with a lap or two to go, he got landed on, went down and a few of the leaders used his YZ250F as a landing ramp. Beets was still glowing on Monday, since his 20th-place finish earned him his first ever AMA SX point.
Check out this Lites recap on www.speedtv.com to see current points leader, Ryan Dungey, cartwheeling over Beaton’s ride.
Even though the rules allow riders to jump on a yellow flag, they still need to use some caution. Dungey is really lucky he didn’t get hurt, or fall further back in the race. Didn’t he look up and see Beaton standing on the side of the track bike-less? Where could it be I wonder? Oh, right on the landing of a double.
Anyhoo, it was an honest mistake and I’m sure the leaders' goggles were clogged with water and mud and they couldn’t tell who was who, which lap it was, or where the heck they were on the track.
Catch the Lites race tomorrow at 6 PM EST on Speed. And don’t forget to tune into CBS on Sunday @ 2 PM EST for Supercross action from Anaheim 3.
Allison Kennedy caught up with Beaton to talk about his big ride in San Fran right here.
Roving photographer James Lissimore (who has been sending us pure gold all week) sent us this update, after spending another week in SoCal.
With all the rain that SoCal has been experiencing the tracks have been a mess, so everyone has been running to the hills. Dusty has just started riding again after his broken collarbone so we went out to Beaumont so he could get some seat time on the bike. Will all the rain the hills are greener than I've ever seen them and in no time Dusty had a pretty nice GP style track burned into them.
On Tuesday we went back out there and this time Kyle Beaton and Lance Rickard joined us. After pounding some motos we found a great hip jump that was a lot of fun and really threw the riders high. All three of them took turns getting it flat for my camera.
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Klatt looks pumped to be back on the bike. |
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James Lissimore photo |
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Lance Romance lays it out. |
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James Lissimore photo |
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Beaton gets in on the action. |
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James Lissimore photo |
Wednesday again brought us to Beaumont and this time, Benoit Milot joined us. The hip got sessioned again and this time Dusty proceeded to get upside down on the lip. They were some of the sickest whips I've ever seen. He's definitely starting to look comfortable again on the bike and is going to ride supercross for the first time today so hopefully he will be back soon.
On Thursday, Milot called me about going to Ronnie Renner's house and I certainly wasn't going to pass up that opportunity. Located in the hills southwest of Temecula, Renner's sports a full track, multiple freestyle ramps and a foam pit. When we got there, Jeff Tilton, Tommy Clowers and Myles Richmond were there practicing for today's charity show in Loma Linda at the Children's hospital. After they left, Matt Rebeaud came over and Renner, Milot and Rebeaud spent the afternoon sessioning the ramps and foam pit.
Well, that's how this week went, I'm off to the Kawi track with Dusty today and then Supercross tomorrow so doesn't look like I'm getting a breather anytime soon.
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Ben Milot |
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James Lissimore photo |
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Ronnie Renner |
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James Lissimore photo |
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Matt Rebeaud |
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James Lissimore photo |
Beaton wasn’t the only BC native making headlines last weekend. How about Blair Morgan Racing Ski-Doo’s Brett Turcotte,
who took the silver medal in Snocross at Winter X? The 20-year-old, who
raced for Leading Edge Kawasaki in the MX2 West, won his qualifier over
Ross Martin and then worked his way from fourth to second in the final
in Aspen.
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Brett Turcotte picked up a silver medal at Winter X. |
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CraigStein/Shazamm/ESPN Images |
“My start was actually kind of shady,” explains Turcotte on the final. “I got pinched off, slammed on the brakes, and let those guys push to the outside and I moved up the inside. I came out fourth. I stayed there for a few laps, and then passed Steve Taylor after block passing him in a corner. I just played catch up from there. [Tucker] Hibbert and D.J. Eckstrom were on the gas. By lap 16, I passed Eckstrom after the finish line on the uphill. I was nervous, but I was relaxed at the same time. It was the coolest feeling, thinking, ‘You’re in a silver medal position, just keep going!’ Blair was pit boarding for me, so that helped out. He just kept telling me to breathe and relax.”
Turcotte not only surprised many with his medal performance, but he was a saviour for the BMR Team, since he was the only rider to qualify for the main event. That’s why Morgan was pit boarding for Turcotte in the final. For the second year in a row, “Superman” didn’t make the snocross final. Bad luck sure seems to be following Morgan.
Was anyone else disappointed with the NHL All-Star game in Atlanta? I thought it was terrible. I used to look forward to All-Star weekend, as the best of the best took part in a skills competition and then the East/ West face-off. Unfortunately, in the last few years, the players would rather take the weekend off than see how hard they can shoot or how fast they can skate. To spice things up for 2008, the organizers modified a few of the drills and added in a Breakaway competition that was based more on style and creativity than putting the puck behind the goalie. The best move: Alexander Ovechkin’s puck-flipping stick slap. The worst: Ilya Kovelchuk dropping to his knees and taking a crappy shot. Sorry for that rant; I was really upset with the quality of the All-Star Game last weekend. Oh, and one more thing: if you want to sell out, don’t hold the game in a southern town like Atlanta. I saw empty seats everywhere. At least bring the novelty to a city that will appreciate it.
Several Canadians made the trip across the pond to race the Liverpool Round of the British Supercross Championships. Thanks to John and Jamie Hellam (promoters of the popular BC-based Toyota Yamaha NexTrax Arenacross Championships) there are always a few Canadians on the entry lists at these British events.
The most surprising and impressive Canadian performance came from Kamloops BC’s Kris Foster. Foster, on his very first trip overseas, won Friday night’s Lites main event, beating out JSR, Facciotti, Neville Bradshaw, and a tough field of SX competitors. He was on track for a podium finish in the Lites class Saturday night too, before clipping a haybale and twisting his foot. He was home Monday and waiting on x-ray results to see if his foot is broken. Foster hopes to go back to the London round of the British series, and then spend some time in SoCal before contesting the entire MX2 series with support from RTR Performance and KTM Canada.
Fri Night Lites
Kris Foster
Neville Bradshaw
Per Kristian Bakke
Fri Night Open
Mike Brown
JSR
Neville Bradshaw
Sat Night Lites
Colton Facciotti
Neville Bradshaw
JSR
Check out this MotoMagazine video from the Liverpool race.
You can also watch Colton Facciotti go head to head with Mike Brown in this YouTube video and see JSR face off with Luke Remmner in this one
Ryan Lockhart
had some interesting—and honest—quotes in this week’s My Take.
Looking to get a jump start on the racing season? Then you’ll want to check out PerformX Racing’s Southern California MX Training Camp. Todd Schumlick has put together a great package for riders of all levels. From February 24 to April 21, Schumlick is holding camps in Murrieta, CA. From $1500 to $4000 (depending on program chosen), riders get accommodations at the PerformX house, MX conditioning with Schumlick, a personalized take-home training program, rider coaching, and transportation to world class tracks like Glen Helen, Lake Elsinore, Perris, and Cahuilla Creek. For more info, go to www.performxracing, email Todd at info@performxracing.com , or call 604-935-9484.
The Vancouver Motorcycle Show featured a pretty cool off-road riding exhibit. Photographer Shane Eaton was there and sent along this note and pics:
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The Vancouver Motorcycle Show featured an endurocross race. |
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Shane Eaton photo |
It was sort of a race and an exhibition combined. They ran some heats and then for the final they put everyone on the track in three rows with the fastest guys in the back row. It made for an action packed race on that tiny, slippery little track! Bobby Prochnau won, with Cory Graffunder in second, and after that I have no idea. It was too difficult to keep track of who was where. It was a pretty cool display of riding talent though, and I was surprised at how fast and how hard those guys hit some of those obstacles! Motocross riders' bikes get babied compared to the punishment the off road guys put their bikes through. I would definitely check out more events like this, especially if there was a bigger track where the guys could display more of their considerable skills. Endurocross gets a thumbs up from me!
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from hotshot amateur Cole Thompson, but the Brigden, Ontario kid is still kicking butt. At a Winter AM race at Gatorback in Florida, Thompson finished first overall in 85cc 14-15 and third overall in Supermini. The Canadian kid got a little love here on www.vurbmoto.com.
RXC editor Jason T. Griffiths passed along some news about an ongoing campaign to get defibrillators in hockey arenas and other public sporting complexes, an idea he’d like to see implemented at local MX tracks:
Chase McEachern was an 11-year-old boy that suffered a heart injury at school and started a campaign to get defibrillators put into schools and hockey arenas. The new defibrillators have an assistant system that makes them easy to use. Chase died because of his injuries and his dad took on his son's campaign and is receiving a medal for good citizenship. Looking at motocross, it would be a good idea to push towards having one of these systems at practice tracks where this type of heart injury is highly likely. There are now government grants in Ontario to assist in purchasing these systems.
http://www.simcoe.com/article/61209
Anyone looking for a contender in the MX2 class? Former Blackfoot Yamaha rider, Nick Evennou, posted this note on mxforum. It seems that the Maryland native is seeking employment in Canada for 2008:
Hello my name is Nick Evennou some of you may know me from racing the CMRC East Coast nationals this past year for Team Blackfoot Yamaha and some of you may not know me. I am currently looking, if anyone out there is looking for a rider to compete for them in the new 9 round MX2 series. I had some good results towards the end of the series, where I won the overall at Moncton and in my eyes should have done the same at SDL without that whole "Hand Deal". Anyways, if anyone out there knows of people that are looking for a possible title contender in the MX2 series, I believe I could be a top contender for the championship this year. So if anyone can help me out, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this.
Nick Evennou
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If you're a subscriber, the March 2008 issue of Racer X Canada should be hitting your mailbox any day now. You don't want to miss this issue. Before Brett Dailey set sail for New Zealand, he wrapped up a pretty amazing Ross 'Rollerball' Pederson feature. Dailey had a chance to sit down with Canada's GOAT (actually that title is being debated over at mxforum). If you're not a subscriber, you can check the news stand in the coming days or you can click right here to sign up.
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Welcome Sheldon! |
And last but not least, we have a new human alert. Yet another Lee boy has been born. Congrats to Matt and Cheryl Lee, who welcomed Sheldon on Monday at 9 p.m. Eight pound, nine ounce Sheldon joins brothers Ryder and Hayden.
Have a great weekend! And don't forget to enter for your chance to win a 2009 KTM 250
SX-F, and have your name included in Royal's weekly draw for gift cards or products from Royal Distributing. Click on the link below or visit their website,
www.royaldistributing.com.
