Frid'Eh Update:Presented by Royal Distributing
APRIL 4, 2008

Live Nation plans to keep Toronto on their supercross schedule in 2009.

photo: Bill Petro

By Danny Brault

Before we get started here, congratulations to our senior editor, Allison Kennedy, and her husband, Cory Davies, on the birth of their first child, Hannah Davies! The little bundle of joy arrived at 8:20 a.m. today, and tipped the scales at 7lbs 10oz. Within three weeks, Hannah should be ready for camping and canoeing, Cory says.

Wow! Wasn’t that unbelievable, epic racing we witnessed last Saturday in Toronto? Ha, I’m embellishing things a tad.

No, the Monster Energy FIM Supercross at the Rogers Centre was far from the best racing we’ve seen this year. Regardless, it was still a great weekend and a great time in Ontario’s capital. For me, the weekend felt like a moto-family reunion. It was the first time the industry had really seen each other since the Montreal Supercross; it was great to catch up with everyone and bench race on the fast approaching Canadian season.

Here are a few people that I bumped into over the weekend, and what I learned from each:

Colton Facciotti
The Team Toyota Yamaha/BlackfootDirect.com/Fox Racing rider has been getting his butt kicked by teammate JSR at the Georgia Practice Facility. Colt says The King is also the king of road biking. Colton was in Toronto spectating, hanging out with his girlfriend, Jocelyn Killough, and he (along with Jocelyn and JSR) was on the CBC show, Test the Nation. While watching practice, I asked Colt if was wishing he was out there, but he didn’t seem too interested and was more focused on the outdoors.

Facciotti signed posters and say hello to fans at the RXC booth.

photo: Dan Stenning

Andre Laurin
The Suzuki/OTSFF/Rockstar team manager joined his rider Tyler Medaglia at Thursday’s press conference, and filled me in on his plans for 2008. Obviously, the Medaglia brothers and Mitch Cooke are his main guys, but he’s also supporting another B team effort, with Broc Shury, Joey Ledbeater, Nathanial Bosum, and Killough. He says Josh Woods wishes to come back, but Laurin just doesn’t have the budget, nor does he want to spread out his support to thin. (Remember what happened to Richmond Racing Kawasaki in `05 when they hired on way too many riders?) Brady Sheren will also be part of OTSFF’s MX1 effort with the help of Holeshot Racing.

Todd Kuli
He’s still hanging around. Kuli had a long chat with RXC’s senior photographer, James Lissimore, trying to find a job with the Leading Edge Kawasaki team. Kuli is a championship-winning spanner (Valade `03) so don’t laugh too hard.

Joe Skidd
He’s excited for the new season and his new main man, Colton Facciotti. Joe was very happy to be a “normal” fan in Toronto, is busy with his Superior Suspension Settings operation, and kept bugging me to buy him a beer. BTW, if anyone knows of a quality plumber near Frankford, please contact Joe.

Darrin Sorenson
The younger brother of Cernic’s Kawasaki’s Derek Sorenson, Darrin made it up to the T-Dot with Steve Lamson, Nick Wey, and the rest of the MDK/KTM arsenal. Darrin and Derek are both really good guys, but Darrin’s more wide open while Derek keeps it at half throttle. (Well, maybe not after Cernic’s results in the last few rounds.) It was cool to see Darrin swing by the Loose Moose on Friday, and even cooler to see his rider finish sixth. Thanks for the KTM swag, Rookie!

Brett Lee
Like Joe Skidd, CMRC’s race director Brett Lee was happy to simply hang out in Toronto. Well, that’s not totally true: he was still working hard on the national series and ways to improve things. I actually caught up with Brett for a 5 mins with … to explain the MCC’s press conference last Thursday. Thanks for the beers and dinner, Mr. Lee!

Derek Schuster
This was Digger’s last weekend of fun and relaxation before the season starts. Actually, it wasn’t even a “weekend” as Frank called him in Sunday morning to help pump water off the Gopher Dunes track. If you’re looking to ride this weekend, pack your gear and head to the Dunes for open practice tomorrow and the CMRC practice on Sunday.

Andy Bowyer
This was my first meeting with the author behind the Rev-Up and Number Cruncher on racerxill.com. I’ve communicated with Bowyer through emails, but this was our first live interaction. “Wow, I didn’t realize he was so young,” I overheard him say to Lissimore. Bowyer’s a cool guy, but if you’re a Tony Stewart fan, steer clear.

Ryan Hughes
I will admit that I was somewhat starstruck (or scared) when I introduced myself to Ryno at the Moose. He was courteous, however, especially when I mistakenly asked how training Brady Sheren was. Sheren doesn’t work with Ryno; he trains with Donnie Hansen. Yes, I’m a book full of knowledge.

Derrick Medaglia
I love this guy. The father of Tyler and Jeremy, Derek has the most interesting advice and opinions on all things. I asked him what Dusty Klatt needs to do to regain his composure and he said: “Take a break, forget supercross, find confidence, and get ready for outdoors.”

Miss Supercross, Sara Lipert
She couldn’t get over how cute I am, and says she never misses a Frid’Eh Update. Aw, thanks, Sara. (Sorry, that isn’t true. I wanted to say hello but I was too shy.)

Dusty Klatt (63) and Jacob Marsack (66) lead the a heat race in Toronto.

photo: Petro

It was hard to predict who was going to win either class in Toronto during practice. San Manuel Yamaha’s Chad Reed was struggling to find his rhythm (along with everyone else), kept pulling over to make adjustments, and then crashed in his final practice session over a double-triple section before the big triple. He still managed to record the second fastest practice time (Ferry was fastest), but he didn’t appear to be the obvious favourite. Reed didn’t have his best heat race of the season either, crashing into Kevin Windham’s rear wheel, and then finishing fifth. The point’s leader put it together in the main event, however, grabbing the holeshot and then leading every lap on his way to the win.

Honda’s Windham and Davi Millsaps were both showing speed through the deep Toronto ruts, and won their heats, but they each took a soil sample in the main that prevented them from challenging Reed. Windham held on for second with Millsaps in third.

Factory Yamaha’s Josh Hill was digging deep too. He jumped in behind Reed offer the start, slid out on the first lap, and went down again, and then charged back to fifth. Other than that, no one really stood out. As it’s been said over and over again, the track was so demanding that riders were just trying to survive rather than race.

For Matthes’ take on Toronto, read Obs.

Supercross fan were upset with the lack of Lites entries from the major players, and we expect Live Nation to change the format to an Eastern round. It would have been awesome to watch Villopoto, Canard, Grant, Sipes, and the rest of the Eastern Region stars shine in TO, but I always find it interesting to watch our own riders do battle in a big stadium.

Kyle Beaton, Brady Sheren, and Tyler Medaglia all had realistic chances of winning, but they were no match for the Butler Brothers MX trio of Shaun Skinner, Matt Boni, and Kyle Cunningham, who finished 1-2-3. KD Beets was definitely the fastest Canuck in the final, but went down and re-injured his broken knuckle after passing Sheren for second early in the race. After leading his heat race and finishing second, Medaglia couldn’t get organized in the main event. First, he suffered a terrible start and then bike troubles left him with a DNF. Even though Suzuki’s Sheren didn’t win or podium, he rode solid all night. I’m a little surprised the ruts and track conditions didn’t present more of a problem to Sheren, but he rode through them to finish top Canadian in fourth.

My guy, Kyle Keast, had a respectable night, too. The experience he gained from racing Toyota AMA Arenacross proved helpful, as he jumped things much quicker than usual, and worked his way from last to ninth in the final.

The next Canadian to roll across the finish line was Royal Distributing KTM Canada’s Ryan Lockhart.  “I couldn’t stay focused for too long out there,” Lockhart says. “The ruts were so mentally tiring, you’d go up to that one triple and you’re like, ‘Wow, what rut am I going to take!’”

Despite the track conditions, Lockhart wasn’t offering up any excuses for his 11th place finish. With his lack of seat time, his main goal was just to get in a race before the season starts. “It was definitely valuable to me,” he says. “I didn’t go there expecting to make any money—and I didn’t make any money. I went there because I felt like racing, and it was good to get a big race like that under my belt. It’s a top-notch race no matter which way you look at it.

“In the first practice, I was in the second group and I was thinking, ‘what am I doing out here? I hate this.’ There were guys squirreling out in front of me, big ruts, and I was doing fender kisses over the finish line trying to clear it. But in the next practice, I started very first and I went out there by myself. I went braap, triple, step-on step-off, skimmed the whoops perfectly, and was thinking ‘Man, this is fun!’ It only lasted for two laps [laughs] because the track got so beat. But, what a feeling when you do everything perfect.”

Lockhart also has a new nickname. Speed’s Jeff Emig doesn’t agree with “Newf” since Lockhart hails from Nova Scotia not Newfoundland. So he came up with "Nova." I like it actually, it sounds so modern and cutting edge.

The Nova drove back to Nova Scotia Sunday morning, and is now preparing to head to Massachusetts to ride and train with former OTSFF teammates, Keith Johnson and Mike Treadwell. He’s going to hit a local race at Central Village next weekend, heads back home for the Sackville Arenacross on April18-19, and then plans to begin testing in Montreal with KTM shortly after. Lockhart also wanted to give a shout out to his new mechanic, Tommy. “He’s unbelievable; he’s so motivating and I had great time working with him in Toronto.”

The Nova and The Beets give out their sigs.

photo: Stenning

We’ve found a winner for the GoPro Helmet Hero Camera contest! Trevor Wood of the Durham Region sent in a cool clip from the Oshawa Competition Motorcycle Club’s (OCMC) Tuesday night motos. Trevor will be mailed out a GoPro Helmet cam (same one that Josh Hill uses) for his submission. Go to goprocamera.ca for info on the new moto-gadget.

The Lites class from Toronto is on Speed tomorrow @ 6PM EST. While you’re in front of the tube, set the timer to Speed on Sunday @ 6 PM EST for Supercross action from Dallas.

Filmmaker, Felix Trepanier, was in Dubai two weeks ago shooting footage for JSR’s DVD. Since Trepanier watched the big JSR/Cooke duel, I asked him who’s faster.

“Well, JSR did win the overall but it was two 20-minute motos. JSR is not training much these days, so in a national race, I don't know. But Cooke pushed so hard in the second moto to catch JSR after a bad crash that I expect BIG things from him this summer. So I didn't really answer your questions but I guess you understand anyway! But riding in the desert with these 2 was bad ass!”

I bet it was, Felix! I can’t wait to see Cooke back on the bike again. The last I time I watched him ride was at the Montreal SX, and he definitely didn’t look badass. Just hassling you, Mitch! I’m sure we’ll see you kicking butt in Ste-Julie.

JSR and Cooke Dubai battle has stirred the pot on MXForum.

photo: Felix Trepanier

Freestyler Ben Milot checked in with this update:

“I just won the first FMX Challenge in Montreal at the Bell Centre on March 29. Twelve riders from the U.S., Europe and Canada were invited for the very first full-FMX contest! The toughest competition was Greg Hartman (Dubai X-Games winner `07) scoring a total of 90 points. After my one-minute routine, I also scored 90-points so the crowd had to decide who gave the best performance. The show also featured a BMX demo and a whip contest. Myself, Paul Smith from Nova Scotia, and Craig Phillips from Alberta, were in the Whip Contest, which I also won with one Turn Down and one old school whip!

Milot savours the sweet taste of victory!

Motocross is getting a facelift in my hometown of Peterborough, Ontario. Mark Westlake of MX Promotions and Importations Thibault (ITL) has started a new race team to promote the sport in our small town. We’ve actually been fortunate over the years to have some really nice tracks to practice and race on, but local government and stubborn neighbors have closed down much of them. (As is the case with a lot of towns across Canada.) Westlake’s main objective is supporting local racers and families, but also to make Peterborough and the surrounding area, realize that dirt bikes aren’t all that bad.

So far, Westlake has brought on 27 riders to Team Ricky’s All Day Grill, and has a host of sponsors, including Elmhirst Excavating, Podium Grafix, The Generator Centre, The Protectors Group, Branded Merchandise, O’Neal Racing, Gatorade, and Repsol. The team isn’t following one series, but instead will travel around to various LDRMC, MMRS, and CMRC events. Amateur prodigy Billy Mullen is making a return to racing and will head man Westlake’s team. This evenint, the team gathers at The Generator Centre/Security Muffler in Peterborough for tech night. Visit mx-promotions.com more info on the team.

The snow’s melting and that means it’s time to go riding. Gopher Dunes opens its doors this weekend, with Factory Connection Canada on hand for free suspension adjustments Saturday and Sunday. To be eligible to ride on Sunday, you must have a CMRC license. www.gopherdunes.com should have all the info.

You must click on this link. It’s X-Games Best Trick gold medalist, Kyle Loza, working on his new trick. It’s insane!

Don’t forget to visit www.royaldistributing.com for your chance to win weekly prizes, and have your name entered for a 2009 KTM 250 SX-F. All you need is a CMRC membership. Royal’s Mark Fries sent along a list of the first four weekly winners:

Peter Sidney, Shelbourne, ON
Kristina Sundal, Pickering, ON
Bryan Falle, Rawdon, QC
Mitch Borgal, Kindersly, SK

They’ll be mailed a $25 gift certificate from Royal, t-shirt, and remain in the draw for the `09 KTM 250 SX-F.
 
Thanks for reading!