2021 DMX Awards – The DMXies

By Greg Poisson and Billy Rainford

Photos by Billy Rainford

It’s time for our annual DMX Awards – The DMXies. We fell a little behind on the presentation this year, and that’s completely my (Billy) fault. Thank you to Greg Poisson for his input. Now grab your gowns and tuxedoes and let’s get to it.

Most Dominant Pro Rider 

Dylan Wright. Can anyone go wrong with picking him? He didn’t win every moto but he won the most overalls and was only off the podium at Deschambault.

Biggest Surprise 

Jess Pettis. It was his rookie season on the 450 and he won 3 overalls. We expected him to do well but maybe not this well so early. And coming back to race after that scary Deschambault crash to take 2nd in the class was something else!

Most Improved Rider 

Our pick is Jake Piccolo. After years of seeing Jake show great speed but constantly ending up on the ground, we heard rumours he was sorting himself out down at Club MX over the winter. He proved all the naysayers wrong and brought home an outdoor championship. He completely turned around his past mistakes and will be a threat for years to come.

Feel Good Story of the Year

Is there any question? Westen Wrozyna started off only planning on riding pit bikes and wins the Pit Bike National, then dominates the FXR Pre-Mix class and then gets a fill-in ride with the MX101 team for SX. No, it wasn’t the deepest field in SX but he was definitely no slouch on the track and we firmly believe that even with more fast guys on the gate he would have finished where he did. 

Best Starter 

Yannick Boucher always seems to time the gate juuuust right to get a good start in the 450 class. 

Best Interview

In a world where being politically correct is on everyone’s mind, we need some true characters back in the game. If we had to pick someone who’s always fun to be around and gives honest answers, we’ll go with Marco Cannella. Once you get “Gucci” out of his shell, the guy’s hilarious. And Greg enjoyed his time spent with the MX101 crew during the SX Tour. 

Best Style – The Jeff McConkey Award 

Greg: Best style is a team award for me, MX101 has some of the best looking bike/gear combos in the pits consistently. 

Billy: From a photographer’s point of view, I’m going to go with Malia Garant. I can’t seem to take a bad photo of her out there on the track! She moves the bike around more than any other WMX rider out there and it’s fun to watch.

Best Intermediate 

Sebastien Racine takes this one. Now that he’s on the factory Red Bull Thor KTM Canada team, it will be interesting to see how well he can do as a full-time Pro.

Track of the Year 

Our pick, once again, goes to Gopher Dunes. Derek Schuster and his crew step up to not only provide the gnarliest sand track in North America, but also a place to hold the SX portion of our series. Their commitment to the sport and series is second to none.

Best National 

Once again, we’re going to go with Gopher Dunes. As we all know, the series hasn’t been able to cross the country for a couple years, but Gopher Dunes always comes through with a great weekend of racing, even in these tough times.

Best Battle 

That 450 moto at Gopher Dunes between Marshal Weltin, Dylan Wright and Jess Pettis was pretty next level. 

Congeniality Award

Quinn Amyotte. The poor guy had so much bad luck but was always a great interview with a smile on his face. And having his brothers – Mitch Amyotte and Bennet Amyotte – around definitely added to the good vibe.

Amateur Rider of the Year

Dylan Rempel. This kid’s got a bright future and he takes on the role of 250 Pro/Am rider for the Kawasaki team this summer!

Rookie of the Year 

Ryder McNabb. It’s easy to forget just how young Ryder is because of how he carries himself out there with the other, much older, riders. He finished a very impressive 3rd in the 250 MX series, just 5 points out.

Female Rider of the Year

Is there any question? Eve Brodeur. This award likely has her name etched onto it until she decides to hang ’em up.

Pro Rider of the Year

We’re not going to go with the fastest rider on this one, but one of the strongest, fittest and nicest guys in he pits, Liam O’Farrell. He works a full-time and has a young family with 2 kids, yet he’s out there putting in work every weekend and is always a threat for a solid top 10. As the series wore on, he was just outside the top 5. In the MX portion of the series he finished 6th overall and was only beat by guys who race/ride/train for a living. 

Person of the Year

Kevin Tyler. KT is one of the most passionate and nicest guys in the pits. He truly lives Canadian moto. We enjoy being around Kev with his big personality and bear hugs. Although we’ve never ridden for him, KT truly makes you feel like one of the family, no matter who you are. 

People’s Choice Rider of the Year 

This one came down to the rider whose friends took the social media ball and ran with it. We’ve done this award a couple years now and it’s fun to watch how people love to get involved in voting for their friends. For 2021, the People’s Choice Rider of the Year is #82 Travis Barrette. We got to know Travis a little better at the Mini O’s at Gatorback in Florida this past fall and, you know what, we’re just fine with this pick.

Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next season!