- press release -

Tyler Medaglia leads Team Suzuki to victory at Gopher Dunes

Under overcast skies, Team Suzuki/Rockstar Energy/OTSFF’s Tyler Medaglia claimed his first ever national motocross victory on Sunday in Courtland, Ontario. Medaglia and his RM-Z450 EFI devoured the heavy Gopher Dunes sand to register 3-1 motos and the overall for the day. With his victory, Medaglia moved from third in the points ranking to first.

“This was a great weekend for me and Team Suzuki. I felt strong all weekend and after recording the fastest qualifying time, I was confident that winning the overall was going to be a really good possibility. It’s been a while in coming but I knew it would come, because no matter where I actually finish, I always race for first place,” said Medaglia. “My bike performed simply amazing in the deep wet sand and I knew I could count on it to see me through to the end. Everybody on the team did a great job for me. Without them the results could have been a lot different. I’m thrilled with the outcome.”

Once again, Gopher Dunes lived up to its reputation as the toughest track in Canada. And with a heavy downpour on Saturday, the track remained wet for the races on Sunday. With each moto, the Dunes got rougher and more demanding, sporting deep ruts and whoops that claimed many a victim. For Medaglia, however, Canada’s most challenging and feared track proved to be a non-issue; ditto for his powerful RM-Z450 EFI, which under Medaglia’s expert control ate up the sand as if it were soft candy.

In the first MX1 moto, Medaglia shot out of the starting gate to round the first turn behind former champion Dusty Klatt. At once he started challenging Klatt for the lead, but a little bit of over enthusiasm saw Medaglia go down hard on lap five. Although he managed to shake off the effects of the crash and get back into the fray in no time, he lost his 2nd place to Kyle Keast and settled into 3rd, where he would remain till the checkered.
 
Second moto action saw Medaglia power into turn one in 8th place. By lap three, however, he had taken over 3rd place from Klatt; two laps later he grabbed the reins from holeshooter Jeff Gibson to lead the field for the rest of race. Gibson and Klatt, who started 3rd, were passed by Keast for 2nd place one lap later. Klatt then passed Gibson and the top three were a done deal. With his 2-2 motos, Keast grabbed 3rd overall while Klatt chalked up 2nd overall on the strength of his 1-3 motos.

“Keast came knocking on the door a couple of times but I wasn’t going to let him pressure me into making a mistake. After leading for most of the first moto at Round 1 and getting passed with three laps left to go, I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I really wanted to win that toolbox for my mechanic Steve,” said Medaglia.

Meanwhile, Medaglia’s MX1 teammate, Mitch Cooke, rode two very consistent motos. After starting around 10th place both times, the Atlantic Canada native worked his way into two 6th place finishes, claiming 6th overall for the day.

In the MX2 title chase, Jeremy Medaglia had to contend with some setbacks that saw him card 11th overall for the day. In the first moto, Medaglia started around 10th place, but after slamming into the downed bike of another rider seconds later, which catapulted him over his own handlebars, he found himself remounting in last place. Undaunted by the hopeless task that was facing him, the young up-and-comer put his head down a knifed his potent RM-Z250 through the pack to greet the checkered flag in 13th place.

In the 2nd moto, an over-anxious Medaglia wheelied off the start and rounded the first turn in midpack. Two laps later, he found himself in 14th place only to go down and lose four positions. After remounting, he got on the gas again to soldier his way into a 10th place finish, taking home 11th overall for the day.

“I really wanted to win that second moto so bad I started trying too hard and paid the price by laying my bike down and then having to play catch-up again,” said Medaglia.

In the Suzuki Women’s Nationals, Jocelyn Killough, who was brought in from the Suzuki B team to replace an injured Missy Hackett last weekend, podiumed with impressive 3-3 motos that put her on the scoreboard with 2nd overall.

“Gopher, being my home track, it would have been nice getting the win, but I tried to stay consistent in both motos and that got me second overall,” said Killough. “Riding for the A team definitely puts a little extra pressure on me to step up to the plate. I got some pretty big shoes to fill, but I’m happy the opportunity was presented to me. Of course, it’s unfortunate that Missy got injured and I wish her a speedy recovery.”

Everyone at Team Suzuki/Rockstar Energy/OTSFF congratulates Tyler Medaglia on his first MX1 Nationals victory and Jocelyn on her second overall in the Women’s Nationals. A big thank you to everyone else on the team for a job well done; and hats off to all our quality sponsors whose unflinching support makes it all happen.  

“This was definitely a great weekend for us with Tyler’s win and Mitch’s sixth overall,” said team manager Andre Laurin. “I’m very proud of the team’s synergy and ecstatic over the explosive power of the RM-Z450 EFI. It makes for a winning combination.”