Frid'Eh Update:Presented by Royal Distributing
JULY 19, 2008

Edmonton is shaping up to be a goodie!

photo: Brault

By Danny Brault

Darren Pilling says he refers to the Frid’Eh Update as the “Beer and Pizza Update.” Well, I think this week we can call it the “Eggs and Bacon Update” because by the time it is posted, most will be reading it on Saturday morning.

The championship race in the MX1 class at the Monster Energy Motocross Nationals just got a whole tighter last Sunday in Nanaimo. Island boy Dusty Klatt finally came out of his shell (pardon the pun), holeshot both motos and won the first one. In the second race, it looked like we were going to see a good battle between Klatt and Colton Facciotti, but the Cernic’s rider had to go and fall down on the first lap. The moto was Colt’s and he didn’t disappoint, taking the moto and overall; his 4-1 was better than Jeff Northrop's 3-2 and he’s now only one point behind Tyler Medaglia in the standings.

While it was impressive to see Klatt win the first moto, it was even more impressive to see him remount in dead last and charge all the way up to seventh. In Regina, I recall watching Dusty stall his bike while running second, fall back to ninth, and only pass two guys back. Klatt’s aggressiveness and determination—and an off-weekend for Medaglia—brought him to within nine points of Facciotti. 

Northrop and Simon Homans sure shine on the shale even though they don't really like The Wastelands track. Northrop’s 3-2 gave him second overall while Homans went 7-3 for fifth overall. Both are tied for fifth in the series now.

Blackfoot’s Jimmy Nelson hasn’t been feeling too well for the last two races. In Regina, Nelson suffered food poisoning and in Nanaimo, his mechanic Ken told me that Nelson had the flu. “He told me he’s going to ride until he gets sick in his helmet,” said Ken. Hopefully Jim can keep his food down this Sunday.

I gotta give a nod to Suzuki OTSFF’s Brady Sheren. The kid showed some heart and motivation in Nanaimo, coming from way back in both motos to finish 13-10 for 12th overall. Now keep it going, Brady!

Aron Harvey’s arm must be all healed up because he was on it at Nanaimo. Harvey and Kyle Beaton battled hard in both MX2 motos, with Harvey hanging on for the moto sweep. I'm still laughing from when Harvey said he didn't think there would be many flats in Nanaimo. How many were there? I counted nine in the first MX2 moto. After finishing second in the first moto, Beets was gunning for the win in the second moto until his bike died near the mechanics area. It was an emotional moment for Beets and his mechanic, Mike Smith, but the two have put it behind them, found some new motors and are ready to rebound this weekend. Following Edmonton, Beaton's planning to race the AMA round in Washougal.

What else happened in MX2? How about Marc-Antoine Genereux’s holeshot in moto two? Or Shane Wiebe and intermediate Spencer Knowles going 6-7, respectively, in the first moto? Or Jeremy Medaglia suffering a DNF in the first moto after his crank seized and then working through a busted front brake line and 37 riders to finish 13th.

For a full recap from Nanaimo, check out the Racer X Canada/Destroyer Films Moto Show or this flawless Race Report from James Lissimore.

The Sherens know how to watch a movie.

Life ain’t easy for a boy named Sue; it’s even tougher for Sue when he’s on the road. It’s been a busy week trying to keep the site updated regularly and wrapping up the final touches on the latest digital issue of Racer X Canada. Click here for the July issue, which features Colton Facciotti on the cover. Congrats Colt! I wouldn’t change a minute of it, though. Along with the stress of trying to keep you readers happy, Chuck Mesley and I had the pleasure of stopping by Rick Sheren’s home in Surrey, BC on Monday night for a BBQ with half of the Suzuki OTSFF team, Derrick Medaglia, Chris and Cody of Destroyer Films, and Richmond Motorsports’ Mike Eyre. I learned from Eyre that he plans to support Darcy Lange in the upcoming AMA Arenacross Series. On Tuesday and Wednesday we hung out at Brad Ewen’s place in Kamloops and then convoyed with Monster Energy’s Orton Crawford who loaded up Andre Laurin, Mitch Cooke, Ewen, Medaglia, and Special Anthony in the hospitality hauler.

It was quite the trip. Before the road trip began, we stopped in at McClure’s Restaurant where we experienced the worst waitress this side of the Mississippi. I’ve seen ball of yarn with more personality than Mildred or whatever her name is. The food was good though! Cooke jumped in with Mesley and I for a bit and we discussed everything from love to fighting to God. Some deep conversations, for sure. We eventually pulled into Edmonton late Thursday night.

Jasper, Alberta has some beautiful pit stops.

photo: Brault

So what’s the take on the new national track/facility in the home of the Oilers? Top notch! Castrol Raceway is an actual FACILITY with flush toilets, grandstands, smooth, grassy parking, and it’s close to every amenity you could ever ask for. Chick, Matt Lee, Jamey Keast, and crew have done a wonderful job with the track, considering they are working with flat ground. The track has a nice flowing layout with some big safe jumps and dark, loamy soil. I think we’re going to see some of the best racing yet this weekend. Unfortunately, Matt Lee isn’t going to get to see the fruits of his labour as he was diagnosed with meningitis this week. His brother, Brett, assured us that he’s going to be okay, but it will take a few weeks before Matt’s back up to par. Get well soon, Matt!

For details on the info on the Edmonton national, visit cmrcracing.com or castrolraceway.com.

I don't think you can find much better dirt than what's being used at Castrol Raceway.

photo: Brault

We received this note from Les Chutes Kawasaki’s Marco Dubé who missed the Nanaimo round last weekend:

“I will not be a part of Edmonton national for the same reasons that I had to withdraw from Nanaimo. I started training but I constantly have headaches because of the compression on my neck and my reflexes are not yet returned to normal. So it would be way too dangerous to do a national in these circumstances. My goal is to come back for Moncton, if everything’s back to normal by then.”

Fellow French Canadian, Tim Tremblay, will also be out of action. This week the KTM Canada rider broke his hand after crashing on une bicyclette. Quebec will still be well represented, however, with Simon Homans, Nathanial Bosum, Marc-Antoine Genereux, and Yuri Alexandre. Go team poutine!

James Lissimore and the Destroyer fellows visited Edge Agency’s Ted Morrissy in Pemberton this week. “We went out and shot with Shawn Maffenbeier and Kyle McGlynn today at the Pemberton track," said Lissimore. “Chris and Cody wanted to get some stuff for their new video. Kyle's little brother, Justin, was also there and Todd Schumlick had the guys doing sprints. Afterwards we hiked to a waterfall down the road named Nairn Falls and got some cool landscape shots.”

Schrader's Yamaha's Shawn Maffenbeier rails a berm on the Pemberton track.

Don't jump! The Destroyer Films duo of Chris Griffiths and Cody Bradley take in the sights of BC. Does this province make the rest of Canada look boring or what?

photos: James Lissimore

Don’t miss coverage from Round 2 of the Monster Energy Motocross Nationals from Gopher Dunes on Rogers Sportsnet tomorrow night @ 4 PM EST. It will be televised again on July 22 @ 2 PM EST. Set your timer now!

I finally found a steady internet connection this week and managed to upload Sturgessonline.com National Track Tours from Morden and Regina. Click here and here for a lap around the tracks, via the 2-5-9 Kawi (and 1-9 of “The Chopper”). Someone told me that I need to lay off the booze on Friday nights because I have the shakes while running the helmet cam on Saturday. I agree that the helmet cam vids have been a little shaky, but I can assure you it’s not due to over-hydration the night before … well, maybe. No, we’re not sure what’s going because other GoPro videos like Josh Hill’s from the Minneapolis SX look perfect. We’ll figure it out this weekend.

Those in town for the Edmonton national may want to stick around on Monday to get up close and personal with the Suzuki/OTSFF/Rockstar Energy Drink team. Their riders are visiting the Riverside Yamaha/KTM/Suzuki dealership from 5 to 8 PM. Food and drinks will be provided and fans are free to walk through the big rig. Pretty cool!

Riverside Yamaha has confirmed that 2000 Canadian national champ, Doug Dubach, is racing the Canadian Vet National Championships on August 16-17 at Antler Lake and August 23-24 at Wild Rose. I believe this is the first time Dubach has raced in Canada since the final national round in at Walton in `00, so be sure to keep your eye on the #15 Yamaha in the Plus 30 class.  

Factory Connection Canada is back on track.

Mike Haist checked in with this update on Factory Connection Canada: 

Thank you very much for letting FCC keep everyone up to date via this message in your Friday update.  I really appreciate it. With everything going on here I do not think that we have been as visible as we should have been this year.

Everyone at Factory Connection Canada would like to share with you what we are up to. A lot has happened this year to say the least, well, it is almost 4 months since the fire now and things are starting to take form. We have gone from working outside in a trailer to working on/in the installation of our new shop, all the while we stayed open to serve our customers! We are up to the point now that we no longer send anything to the USA to be worked on; we are completing all work here in Canada again, yeah!

Office construction is finished and the shop is getting better each week. Floors are partially done and we are working at installing workbenches that have been loaned to us. In the weeks to come we will be installing racking for our parts inventory and machinery to carry on our operations as good as or better than before. The loaner truck from big brother (head office) has been allowing us to go to the races to help out riders at the track with their suspension setups, please check our website www.factoryconnectioncanada.com for the schedule.  We appreciate all of the support from riders, industry folks, suppliers, head office, and, most importantly, I want say great job to the staff here for pulling through this ugly challenge. We are here to stay and we look forward to seeing you at the races.

In order to get us back to full speed we are looking for an internal sales/administrative aid person. This is a full time position working for a great company. PLEASE give us a call if you are interested in working in the motorcycle industry here in Drummondville, QC.

Thanks for the update. It’s nice to see things are coming along, Mike!

The crazy woman of motocross and the Nitro Circus videos, Jolene Van Vugt, also sent along an update:

I got to be a part of something pretty cool last week and I had a ton of fun doing it too! So I just wanted to share it with you. I was asked to be guest on a popular Canadian kids TV show called The Zone that runs on the station YTV. I spent the day showing the two hosts what dirt bikes are all about and how much fun and hard work they are. I took the two hosts, Joyce and Los, and geared them up head to toe in my race gear. They had never ridden bikes before, but they got the hang of it pretty quick and did well for first timers. We filmed at RJ Motorsports in Barrie, Ontario and they also got footage of me tearing it up on the track and lots of fun interview stuff.

Jolene Van Vugt has some fun with YTV at RJ Motorsport Park in Barrie, ON.

Now, a word from Mr. Bottom Line, Steve Matthes.

Thanks, Danny. This weekend the AMA series is off to Una-F-ing-Dilla and I'm not going. I'm not going for a few reasons. First off, my wife has a wedding to go to and we don't want to get a dog-sitter. Secondly, I've been going to Unadilla for so many years and always got screwed over with flight delays, lost bags, and not to mention the hotel is 80 miles away from the track and to go get your lost luggage is another 80 miles. I just have a bad taste in my mouth from the whole race. I thought I would make amends with the track and go to the GNCC a few years back and race but the Gods got me again when it monsooned and I only finished 1.5 laps out of 4 and got mud stuck everywhere.

So I will be at home probably listening to it on the computer like all you guys. Sure wish I could listen to the Canadian MX series like that. Hey, a man can dream, right?
 
Anyways, want to bet on who's going to win at the 'Dilla? No? Okay, me neither.
 
I actually should've thought about going because it's a good track for Tim Ferry. He won a moto there last year, and, in '02, he should've won the whole shooting match if it wasn't for his brake caliper hanger breaking. After his awesome ride last week in Budds Creek, if he DOESN'T go 2-2 this weekend, it will be a shocker.
 
Two-time Canadian champ Michael Willard rode really well at Budds and his scores don't reflect it really. He came from the back in both motos and was riding great until in one moto he got his rear brake pedal folded over (JGR Yamaha had BOTH guys fold brake levers over. What's up with that?). Second moto he had a tip over. Looks like his switch to the 450s was a smart one.
 
David Vuillemin finally came back to race and got his finger hit with a rock and is out again. I learned this morning that he's not racing this weekend but his finger is okay. I wonder what's going on there? I'll try to do some digging and find out for you guys.
 
Sounds like my guy The Campbell River Crusher was on it on the weekend, too bad about the second moto for the guy. I spoke with team manager Derek Sorensen and he said that Dusty's foot got caught under his bike in the second moto crash and it's all purple and ugly looking but will be racing on the weekend. Derek was pumped because, despite the fall, Dusty moved closer to the lead when T-Dags had a crappy day (for him). If Tyler can limit the damage this weekend in Edmonton and be close to the lead going into Sand Del Lee, I think we'll have a great race in Walton! Looking at pics of the track on mxforum, guys like DK and T-Dags that have some SX experience will have a leg up on everybody. Everybody but Colton Facciotti that is. Obviously, Colt has the momentum right now after winning every race he's actually shown up on the gate for (other than Klatt's win in Nanaimo). I wish I was in Edmonton now that I just finished typing that! Should be a good one.
 
Please check out my blog at motocross.com. They call me an "expert" blogger and I think I'd rather have "Intermediate" blogger because people have been ripping me for not having good blogs. I tried telling them that I had a real good "blog" the other night, but I don't think that's what they meant.
 
Also check out my Bottom Line show over there. It's always fun to make and after you watch it for a while, you begin to realize that I'll do ANYTHING to make people laugh. Even make a fool of myself if that's what it takes.
 
Y'know, I sometimes realize how lucky I am to travel around and cover the races for you guys. I've been doing it for a while now and thought that this past weekend I would smell the roses a bit. I brought my wife Angie to the race and we went on Monday after Budds and visited all the Washington DC sites. You know, The White House and all the government buildings where really, really important stuff happens and such. My favorite part was the Smithsonian Museum of Man and Nature. It features all of the cool artifacts from way back in the day.

Take a look here at the T-Rex skeleton, pretty scary looking, huh? Looks like Kevin Tyler when somebody tries to skip out on paying for a hot dog! Anyways, thought I would share that with you just because Danny said I could.



Thanks, Steve.

All right, I gotta run because I still have some tires to change for The Mez and some cold Coors Lights are calling my name. Enjoy your bacon and eggs and thanks for reading!