- press release -
Another podium weekend for Team Suzuki Rockstar OTSFF MX1 Championship points leader

Tyler Medaglia rose to the occasion at Shadow Valley Raceway in Morden, MB this past weekend to record second overall on the strength of solid 3-2 motos.

In the first moto, Medaglia blasted out of the gate to round turn one in the top five, which included Simon Homans, Colton Facciotti, Dusty Klatt, Kyle Keast and Jeff Northrop. A hard race was in the works for Medaglia, but on lap two he stuck a pass on Homans to take third place behind the lead duo of Facciotti and Klatt.

Nelson would prove to be Medaglia’s toughest customer in what shaped up to be a battle for third. Nelson hounded Medaglia for two laps and then managed a successful pass. For the rest of the moto, Nelson repeatedly fended off all attacks by Medaglia. It looked like the American was going to deny Medaglia a top three finish, but Medaglia was able to rely on his powerful RM-Z450 EFI to put a last lap pass on Nelson.

The second moto start saw Nelson snare the holeshot with Medaglia in his rear wheel. This time Medaglia had no desire to play cat and mouse and he passed Nelson before the end of the first lap. But soon he would have first moto winner Colt Facciotti come breathing down his neck. The two then set such a blistering pace, fighting their own battle, that within a few laps they put a 35 second gap on third place.

For the next eight laps, Medaglia was in full control of the moto not giving an inch to Facciotti. Then Medaglia ran into some trouble after hitting a couple of braker bumps, which is all Facciotti needed to grab the lead. Medaglia rode a strategic race the rest of the moto to ensure he’d chalk up a second place finish and the valuable points it would add to his lead in the championship. When all was said and done, he stretched his lead to 18 points over Dusty Klatt, who is second in the current rankings.

“I know I should have won the second moto, but it was still a good weekend for me and the team,” said Medaglia. “I just need to keep on staying consistent at every round, because that’s what wins championships. And with my RM-Z450, which has been awesome since Round 1, I know I have a bike I can depend on.”

Medaglia’s MX1 teammates, Mitch Cooke and Brady Sheren, fared less well on the fast Shadow Valley track, which despite a brief early morning downpour proved to be ideal for racing all day long.

In the first MX1 moto, Cooke crashed hard on the first lap after a tenth place start. By the time he remounted, he found himself at the back of the pack. The effects of the crash saw Cooke return to the paddock on the sixth lap. He was able to gate for the second moto, however, turning a 19th place start into a ninth place finish.

Meanwhile, Brady Sheren started around mid-pack in the first moto, which he finished in 16th place. Despite a good start in the second moto, Sheren was unable to break into the top ten, this time recording 12th place at the finish line.

In the MX2 title hunt Jeremy Medaglia redeemed himself from a troublesome Round 2 to card an impressive fourth overall on the strength of 2-5 motos. As in the previous two rounds the battle for the MX2 win proved to be an American affair.

Undaunted, Medaglia, who got a sixth place start in moto one, upheld Canadian honour by disposing of the likes of such south of the border heavyweights as Nick Evennou and Aron Harvey, as well as fellow Canadian Kyle Beaton. By lap six Medaglia had installed himself in third place to put his sights on Harvey. Three laps later Harvey succumbed to Medaglia and his potent RM-Z250, but with the moto winding down, he was unable to connect with frontrunner Tucker Hibbert.

Another excellent start saw Medaglia take the first turn in seventh place. Two laps later he was in fourth; then with his sights on third around the halfway mark, he hit a stalled bike which, unfortunately, he was unable to avoid. Round 1 winner Teddy Maier inherited fourth while Medaglia was busy trying to get back in the race; although he regrouped quickly enough, he would have to settle for fifth at the checkered flag.

“It would have been nice to get a better finish in the second moto, but overall it was a good weekend. I went from sixth to second in the points standings so I’m happy about that,” said Medaglia.

Team Suzuki/Rockstar Energy/OTSFF extends their congratulations to Tyler and Jeremy for their awesome rides. As always, a huge thank you to everyone else on the team for a job well done; and a tip of the hat to all our quality sponsors who help to make it all happen.