Frid'Eh Update:Presented by Royal Distributing
APRIL 11, 2008 By Danny Brault


Spring is finally here! I hope. You never know these days; there could be a blizzard tomorrow for all we know.

As we noted in Hype, tracks from coast to coast are open for business. Gopher Dunes, of course, draws the biggest crowd in my area when the ground thaws, but Mission and Kamloops in BC, Clyde River and Kingston in Nova Scotia, and Blackfoot Motorsports Park and Raymond in Alberta are open, too.

I love opening weekend at the Dunes. It’s the first time the local racing community gets together, and the first time everyone gets behind the starting gate. And how can we forget the big battle of every opener: Kyle Keast versus Jay Burke. These two Honda riders always show up on practice weekend, gauge each other’s speed, and then go for blood next Sunday. Rob McCullough and I have a friendly wager on the two warriors. I’m putting down $10 that my guy, Kyle the Welder, will win more motos than McCullough’s guy, the Hamilton Hooligan.

Here’s a look at last year’s results:

GP Pro
1. Kyle Keast 2-1
2. Jay Burke 1-2
3. Chuck Mesley 3-3

Youth
1. Chuck Mesley 2-1
2. Jay Burke 1-2
3. Kyle Keast 3-3
9. Dan Brault 8-0

Chuck Mesley won’t be racing this Sunday—he’s still deciding what’s his favourite colour—and I’m a spectator this weekend so we’re no threat. I’m sure fast locals Pierce Chamberlain, Johnny Silegren, and Marty Burr will be there as well. Oh, I just talked to Captain Freedom and he says that the bet is off. Apparently, “Every other day” Jay isn’t prepared (Why wouldn’t he?) and thinks his bike won’t survive the weekend. Excuses, excuses….

Label It Honda's Jay Burke (34) leads Kyle Keast (30) at the Gopher Dunes Spring Classic last year. This weekend, the Honda duo resumes their rivalry at the Dunes.

photo: Allison Kennedy

Other regional events on the go this weekend include the Barons Endurocross in Alberta and an MX race at Whispering Pines in Kamloops. Also, if you’re in the area, head over to the Monster Energy AMA Supercross in Detroit. Live Nation is even offering a ticket deal, where fans can get a free hot dog! I can hear Sam Lasco on the horn now ordering 50 tickets.

Back to spring for a sec. Every Canadian has a secret riding spot to hit up as the frost leavs the ground. Mine is Bills Hills. My uncle and his family and my brother and I used to drive up north to Bills Hills in Wilberforce every spring (and fall). Bills is an old, whooped out sand track, nestled between hills and forest; there’s an old hill climb, too, but I never had the courage to attempt it. (My younger brother, Corey, and uncle always went for it and never stop teasing me for chickening out.) I can still remember Dougie’s war stories of Chris Pomeroy, Kenny Clark, and Jessie Wilson battling at Bills Hills back in the 80’s. It’s also the place where I finally beat my uncle; a memory that I won’t soon forget and won’t let him forget either.

If any readers have a spring riding spot or story to share (and a photo or two), please pass it along to dannyb@racerxcanada.com.

I wasn’t in Dallas last weekend and don’t plan on pretending that I know what happened. We’ll leave that to “IMO” Matthes.

I was surprised to see Tyler Medaglia’s name missing from the results. My sources say that there was miscommunication between team staff and Tyler, and it led to him riding outdoors in Georgia, instead of continuing his roll from Minneapolis. TM is in for Detroit, fortunately, and if you’re talking to the Suzuki rider, get him to share some funny Jerky Boys or Trailer Park Boys quotes. He does a great Jim Lahey impression! (This is important stuff that you readers must know.)

If you’re in town for the supercross, and aren’t interested in watching practice, then slide over to Joe Louis Arena for Game 2 of the Red Wings/Predators NHL playoff series. Matthes and I scored $80 ice level tickets from scalpers last year between the Red Wings and Flames and it was awesome. There’s something cool about watching a game in the historic Joe Louis Arena, plus, you don’t vomit in your oversized beverage cup because there isn’t a single Maple Leaf player on the ice.

Supercross TV times: tomorrow @ 5 PM EST on Speed – Lites racing from Dallas.

Sunday @ 6 PM EST on Speed – Supercross action from Detroit.

You can also tune into SupercrossLIVE! with Weege and Holley tomorrow night, and follow lap times here, if you can’t wait that long.

Indoor racing is slowly catching on in Canada, finally. This winter, we had the always-entertaining Toyota Yamaha Nex-Trax Arenacross Series in BC, the Alberta Arenacross Championship in Lehbridge, the Toronto SX, and riders now have two indoor options in Ontario and Quebec. It doesn’t stop there. Now, next weekend, April 18-19, the Josh Damery Arenacross kicks off in Sackville, NEW BRUNSWICK (not Nova Scotia like I had originally written in Strang’s 5 mins with …). Promoter Richard Strang says they’re already bringing in dirt, and KTM Canada’s Ryan Lockhart is helping design and organize the event. “The Nova” has ridden arenacross for years, and knows what ingredients are needed for a successful one. While a slew of pros are racing, Strang is really counting on a solid turnout from amateurs.

Alberta's Kyle McGlynn is fit, fast and confident, and ready for the 2008 nationals.

photo courtesy of PerformX Motocross

Matthes scored brownie points this week by interviewing his boss, Davey Coombs, on his “little Racer X thingy.” Have a listen, it’s good!

The official word is out: Brady Sheren is racing MX1 for OTSFF. He’s not a full-on OTSFF supported rider, however. The deal came together through Holeshot Racing, and Sheren is listed as an “associate” rider. Whatever you want to call it, it’s nice to see another Canadian find a home with a reputable team.

Another Western rider who’s found a home for 2008 is Wembley, Alberta’s Kyle McGlynn. After a breakout year in the MX2 West series, finishing ninth overall, McGlynn sought help from PerformX Motocross’ Todd Schumlick. From there, the two worked to improve McGlynn’s physical and mental toughness, and his riding skills in Southern California.

“Our approach is to completely manage and develop a rider from the grassroots to the door of a factory ride,” says Team PerformX manager Warren Barrow. “The emphasis is placed on rider development, and no detail is left untouched.”

Schumlick, along with Warron Barrow and McGlynn’s loyal sponsors—Countryside Motorsports, KTM Canada, Dragon, Ogio, Etnies FCC, FMF, The Mod Shop, Fly, Sunline, Limenine, Brockol Rentals, ATI Contracting, and, of course, his family—are backing him for the entire MX2 series and select MX1 rounds.

Simon Homans remains on the unemployment list, but was spotted testing suspension on his YZ450F with Factory Connection’s Mike Haist last weekend at Gopher Dunes. “Yeah, I made it to Gopher,” he said in an email. “I was with the Factory Connection squad. I just came back from Florida and we wanted to test some stuff. We knew that Gopher would be pretty rough by the end of the weekend.

“It was cool, Mike, the owner of FC, and Victor, were pumped. After all that they’ve been through lately, they were happy to test, play outside, and motivated to keep going and always being the top people for suspension. Other than that, nothing much is going on. I have very little help from Yamaha. I will race the two first nationals and we’ll see after….”

We also received this update from another French Canadian. Only this one is a bit more nuts, and prefers slamming into trees than jumping triples.

“I’m in Hickory, NC, based out of Shane Watts’ garage! I'm out here with the Rallyman (Eric Dubeau). Everyday, the mafia from Down Under makes me feel like like a C-rider. I've been riding with Glen Kearney (OZ), Paul Whibley (NZ), and Wattsy. Sometimes, Josh Strang (OZ), Jimmy Jarret, and Charlie Mullins, join us! So if you add it all up, six out of the top-ten riders ride together—no wonder they go so fast! We also went on a few bicycle rides, which were painful to say the least.

“I'm having a great time; this is like an MXer having a chance to ride with RC, Reed, and Bubba! To plan is to head to South Carolina, where I’m racing XC2.”

See you soon!
Guy Giroux

Thanks for the updates, big Simon, and little Guy!

Riverside Yamaha/Suzuki/KTM’s Greg Symbaluk called today to inform us that the Doctor himself, Doug Dubach, is racing the Canadian Vet MX Nationals in August. The series is two rounds, with a race in Antler MX Park near Edmonton on August 16-17, and another at Blackfoot Park on August 23-24. Symbaluk is stoked to have Dubach coming up, and following the series, Riverside will hold a giveaway for Dubach’s Riverside YZ450F race bike. Too Cool! 

“The Alberta Old Timers Club has putting a ton of effort into these events,” says Symbaluk. “We want to make this comparable to the White Brothers Vet Championship in the U.S., something that everyone looks forward to every year.”

For details on the event, read the press release here. Also, visit www.aotmx.ca for more info.

Doug Dubach (8) and Dusty Klatt (344) have some fun in SoCal last summer. Both riders return to Canada this year; Klatt's racing the nationals for Cernic's Kawasaki, and Dubach's racing the Canadian Vet MX National for Riverside Yamaha.

photo: James Lissimore

Okay, let’s check in with my faithful buddy from Vegas, Steve Matthes. (Wow, I can't believe I used the word “faithful” and “Vegas” in the same sentence.)

This week the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series, a FIM World Championship (whew), is in Motown and I won’t say a bad thing about the city. There was a guy named John out there that wrote into RXI and threatened bodily harm on me if I say anything bad this year. I don’t need this in my life and would prefer to not get beat up so let’s just focus on the positives, okay? It’s a supercross, and that’s always fun; Ford Field is beautiful; Detroit is close to Canada; there’s poutine in Canada.

And that about wraps it up! Seriously, I’m going to corner a Live Nation dude this weekend and ask him why the move from Pontiac, because as I understand it, that stadium is still there. They even held a Monster Jam in it! Or why not just add another Toronto round to schedule, eh?

Chad Reed just has to put it on cruise control these next four races and the title is his. He’s clearly the fastest guy, and without some bad luck, would be running away with this thing. How about the emergence of this kid, Josh Hill? He’s been great and it’s a modern miracle that he’s doing this well after some of his, ahem, dedication issues from last year. Good move to jump on the 450 and props to Yamaha for letting him do it. He’s obviously working hard and it’s paying off.

Something positive about Tyler Medaglia … how about: he’s just plain fast? That should get him off my back.

Here’s a letter that I received …

Hey Steve,
Just wanted to drop a line to you saying the report from Dallas is/was a good read indeed. I enjoy your insight and opinions in your articles and the sense of humor as well. Good stuff! Keep up the work.

I had met you a couple of times and the latest was in January at the Phoenix SX (actually, both times were in PHX), and you had a couple of stories both times we met. One story was of a rider hiding behind a truck with a silencer in hand, ready to smack somebody upside the head after an incident on the track earlier in the day. My wife is from the Calgary area, Medicine Hat actually (Ross' home town as well.). Anyways, keep up the good work. It's enjoyed here in AZ!

Jim

Thanks, Jim, and I appreciate the kind words. The story is when Charlie Bogard and his Texas posse wanted to fight Jason Thomas at the Jacksonville AX back in the day. JT’s buddy, Eddie Ray, saw them coming and, in the spirit of defending his friend, grabbed the only thing that was nearby: a Pro Circuit silencer. Eddie said he cracked this guy so hard with the silencer that he had the Pro Circuit label indented in his face! Ah, good times! Stop me this weekend in Detroit and maybe I’ll have a new story for you!

Silencer in the face? What a story, Steve. You should share the full details in your next Behind the Pit Board column. Or you can just write about the time you and Timmy went to buy a cell phone charger.
 
Oh, and if you’re in Whitby tonight, stop by Hooter’s for the Lakeshore Dirt Riders Motorcycle Club’s (LDRMC) party, sponsored by GP Bikes and Ultimate Toyz. It starts at 8 PM.

Thanks for reading! See you at the Dunes!

Dougie Brault plows through a Bills Bills berm, circa 2001.

No, Matthes didn't take these flawless photos. They're from a sweet Kodak disposable camera.  CorBro has some serious sand (and hill climbing) skills, but he was no match for his older brother, DanBro, on the Bills Hills track.

This is Buttermilk. She's an orange and white kitty (as you can see in the photo), enjoys sleeping in clothes hampers and on staircases, and prefers Kibbles and Bits over Purina Cat Chow. Shortly, Buttermilk will give birth to probably a half dozen kittens. Work is in progress on the new "Kitty Land Love Centre" to hold all of the critters.