MARCH 30, 2008
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They might as well have run heats and main events for the Dirt Wurx team. They spent more time on the Toronto track than the riders! |
By Danny Brault
Photos by James Lissimore
The 2008 Monster Energy FIM World Supercross round in Toronto, Ontario was more about surviving than racing. With the event running in March, rather than December, the dirt brought into the Rogers Centre had much more frost in it than ever before. In fact, Dirt Wurx removed 15 truckloads of soil on Thursday because it was so wet, and they spread out limestone and concrete mix to dry things up. It really didn’t improve the conditions, as deep ruts formed everywhere on the track. When riders were asked what it would take to win this thing, their replies were either “Don’t fall down,” “Minimize mistakes,” or “Put out a hit on Chad Reed.” Okay, I made that last one up. If anyone has a beef with the Toronto track, or layout, just blame Tim Ferry.
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Shaun Skinner opts for the classic one-hander for his first SX win. |
SX Lites
As everyone knows by now, this round was not part of the AMA East Coast Lites series. Like previous Canadian WSXGP races, it was a one-off race for the Lites that anyone could participate in. Not many of the American Lites contenders showed up, but BTO Sports/Butler Brothers Honda did and they were rewarded with, well, the whole podium. Shaun Skinner took his first SX win, followed by teammates Matt Boni and Kyle Cunningham, and their other rider, Kyle Keylon, finished eighth. Even though it’s not A1 for the Lites class, it was still nice to see the hardworking group at Butler Brothers achieve success in front of 30,000 or so fans.
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Tallest to shortest: Matt Boni, Shaun Skinner and Kyle Cunningham gave the Butler Brothers team their first SX podium finishes in one race. |
Suzuki City/OTSFF/Rockstar’s Willy Browning was my pick after watching him whip it out over the triple on press day. He looked fast and determined, but, unfortunately, crashed out of the main. I think something may have happened to his bike, as I saw him pushing it over to the mechanics area.
Let’s give it up to Brady Sheren! Also a part of the Suzuki City team for the weekend, Sheren was smooth, fast and relaxed all day. Sheren started the night off with a second-place in his heat behind Boni. He took his confident riding to the main event, where he was in position for a podium finish, until being passed late in the race by Cunningham. Sheren held on for fourth and was top Canadian. Good job, little Rick!
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Brady Sheren (611) and Kyle Beaton (134) were looking good for a podium early in the Lites main. |
Who was second Canadian? My guy, Kyle Keast! I’m definitely biased towards my buddy Keast, but you have to admit that his ninth-place finish (second Canadian) is pretty good considering his ride last year in Toronto, and the fact that he works 60-hours a week. As usual, Keast worked his way through the pack and was engaged in a late race battle with Atomic Racing’s Jack Carpenter that saw the two riders trading places several times. After Live Nation’s Denny Hartwig berated him on Thursday, saying he looked more like a linebacker than a MX racer, I thought the Machine Racing rider may lose some self-esteem, but that wasn’t the case. Keast earned $450 for his result, so that should cover his Tim Horton’s bill for at least a week.
Two Canadians who definitely didn’t have the night they, or anyone else, expected were Tyler Medaglia and Kyle Beaton. Suzuki’s Medaglia showed signs of brilliance during his heat race, where he led a few laps after Cunningham shot off the track. Cunningham eventually worked his way past Medaglia, but he still finished second ahead of Beets. In the final, Medaglia suffered a terrible start after knocking his bike into first gear and then something happened that caused him to leave the track. Yamaha’s Beaton was closing in on Sheren during the main event, but went down over a double after the whoops at the midway point. Poor Beets, he finished 14th.
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Suzuki City/OTSFF's Tyler Medaglia holeshot his heat in front his local fans. |
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Kyle Keast (38) looks for a line down the whoops. |
Royal Distributing KTM Canada’s Ryan Lockhart had an okay night. The Newf qualified seventh in his heat and was running around seventh, before fading back to 11th. “I set my fastest time on lap 11—conditioning,” joked Lockhart after practice. Had Lockhart been healthier this winter, and with more time on his new bike, I’m sure he would have finished higher.
I’m surprised Pierce Chamberlain struggled so much come the night show. Number 15 made the lap board each practice, but he couldn’t keep his Honda upright during his heat and the main event. He actually had to ride the LCQ, along with Keast, where he grabbed the final transfer spot. Label It Honda’s Davey Fraser had a similar night. He was posting great lap times all night, finished second in the LCQ, but fell apart in the final. He’s still in one piece, however, and I expect him to show speed come outdoors.
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Even though RC and Bubba weren't in town this year, the fans still went crazy when Chad Reed rode out onto the floor. |
Supercross
The 450 class may have featured the best riders, but it certainly didn’t offer the best racing. After watching San Manuel Yamaha’s Chad Reed fighting to find a flow on the Toronto track, and then falling down in his heat where he finished fifth, I didn’t think he would runaway with the show. But he did. Reedy grabbed the holeshot and rode a solid race by himself for his seventh win of the series.
Honda’s Kevin Windham and Davi Millsaps were making their way through the Toronto trenches pretty well, but mistakes from both prevented them from challenging Reed. Windham went down while running second, Millsaps went by, but then Millsaps went off the track, which allowed Windham to catch back up. Windham found some better lines than Millsaps, and worked his way past for second late in the race.
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Atomic Racing's Paul Carpenter finished 11th behind Jason Thomas in the 450 final. |
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Kevin Windham finished second and is now 20 points back of Reed in the points standings. |
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ferry had speed, but a bad start left him battling through the ruts and riders to finish seventh. MDK/KTM’s Nick Wey had a good start and ride to finish sixth. Cernic’s Kawasaki’s Dusty Klatt had a weekend he would rather forget. In practice, Klatt took two tumbles and then went down in the first turn of the main event, after it looked like he was going to come out in the top five. From there, Klatt failed to make up any ground, and basically rode around for 20th.
Hart and Huntington’s Troy Adams had one of best races this year. Adams was running fifth for a few laps before finishing eighth. Factory Yamaha’s Josh Hill had a great start behind Reed, but he rode a little too aggressive and was sucked into the wet soil twice. Give the kid credit, though, he remounted and came all the way back to fifth.
Lites results
Skinner
Boni
Cunningham
Sheren
Tobin
Kilbarger
Skaggs
Keylon
Keast
Carpenter
Lockhart
Ginolfi
Humphrey
Beaton
Marsack
Chamberlain
Fraser
Smith
Ritter
Medaglia
Ames
Browning
Supercross results
Reed
Windham
Millsaps
Short
Hill
Wey
Ferry
Adams
Summey
Thomas
Carpenter
Sorby
Vuillemin
Preston
Voss
Gibson
Marsack
Ramsey
Dostal
Klatt
