5 Lap Sprint | New Year’s Edition | Part 2

By Jeff McConkey

Here’s part 2 of our New Year’s Edition of ‘5 Lap Sprint.’

What was your best moment of 2016?

Victoria Hett – Husqvarna Canada

Marrying the man of my dreams, Tomas Hubacek!

Victoria Hett | Jeff McConkey photo

Brittany Gagne – Women’s East #3

(Laughs) Well, my best moment quickly changed to a not so great moment at RJ’s for the last round. Leading the whole second moto (minus a lap and a half) at Round 4 was definitely the highlight of 2016 for me. Although, I had fun every time I got on the bike. I had been working all year to have a race like that, and finally everything was clicking. Unfortunately, I left with a blown out knee and a slightly broken heart.

Kristin Tse – Women’s West #9

My best moment of 2016 was definitely getting the ‘Hard Charger Award’ at the first round of the Women’s West Nationals! Being up on the stage was one of the coolest and most nerve racking experiences.

Emily Cole – Women’s East #487

Best moment of 2016… that’s a tough one, 2016 was awesome for me! The highlight of my riding season though, I’m still beaming about, was finally getting the nerve to hit one of the kickers here in Newfoundland. Not just once either… all season!

Dominique Daffé – Women’s West #4

Aside from finishing school for the summer and having 4 months stress free?! (Laughs) Definitely, getting to shake that champagne bottle on the podium at Round 1… even though there was a miscalculation of points and I wasn’t supposed to be up there for the overall, it gave me a glimpse of what a podium finish feels like and I was pumped! Finishing 4th overall is up there too, and finally getting a dog!

What was your lowest moment in 2016?

Victoria Hett

Missing my friend Ryan’s memorial ride, my dad’s memorial race, and family birthday celebrations out west.

Brittany Gagne

Other than the knee reconstruction surgery… I struggled a lot at the first round. Moto 1 at Gopher Dunes was a struggle for me, going down twice in one moto. I’m really glad I turned it around for moto 2. I’m definitely looking to redeem myself there for 2017.

Brittany Gagne | Bigwave photo

Kristin Tse

My lowest moment of 2016 was getting tangled in a rear wheel on the start. I’ve had bad times with wheels and that scared me a bit, and I still have confidence issues on the starts. But that is something I’m hoping to leave behind in 2016. Another moment had to be the stress and anxiety I had during Rounds 2 and 3 (Nanaimo and Calgary). It wasn’t the best feeling when I had given my teacher a heads up about exams way before, and then the teacher pulls the “Oh no, I forgot.”

Emily Cole

Low moments, I don’t believe in them! I’m always pushing myself to be better in every way, and lead a positive, fulfilling life.

Dominique Daffé

Oh man… well, I got some unfortunate news from a family member a few weeks ago, right before final projects were due and final exams. Definitely left me distracted and unmotivated so school took a hit. Not super pumped with how the semester ended but sometimes things get in the way. I’m also not loving my program, so it’s been a constant battle every day trying to make a decision on what my best options are. It’s been a tough last month of 2016, to say the least.

Name 1 New Year’s resolution that you haven’t been able to stick to in the past.

Victoria Hett

I vowed to ride more in 2016 and I actually rode less!!! Fail!!!

Brittany Gagne

To be honest, I don’t really ever set New Year’s resolutions. I think if you want something bad enough you should be working for it all year round. Does anyone really stick with their resolutions anyways (Laughs)?

Kristin Tse

I set one when I was 8-9, I think it was to stop eating so much candy. I broke it the next day, as you can’t really turn down Grandma.

Kristin Tse | Bigwave photo

Emily Cole

One New Year’s resolution I haven’t been able to stick to is consistency in the gym and staying clear of chocolates! I am a sucker for sweets.

Dominique Daffé

“Don’t eat junk food” – I tend to try not to eat too much junk food year round but I don’t know why every New Year’s I make it my resolution. Supercross starts in January and goes pretty much every Saturday for months – there’s no way I’m not eating some chips or ordering pizza when I’m watching Supercross. Like, come on (Laughs)!

What is your New Year’s resolution for 2017?

Victoria Hett

RIDE MORE for real this time, live healthier, and to take time for me.

Brittany Gagne

I set goals for 2017 before I even left Round 4 at RJ’s. My knee was a setback for sure and I am very determined to come back stronger. But like I said, New Year’s resolutions aren’t my thing.

Kristin Tse

Making healthier and wiser choices that will improve myself all around. Also, to stay focused on my goals. I’ve also been slacking on telling my family how much I appreciate and love them.

Emily Cole

I don’t really make one, I always try to set the bar higher than the previous year and just stay in good shape, workout, and eat well!

Emily Cole | Kim Snelgrove photo

Dominique Daffé

I haven’t even thought about it yet, to be honest. This is the hardest question, Jeff (Laughs)! As I mentioned above, December has been a tough month on me. Right now, I really just want to be happy and enjoy every day. There’s a lot of things I want to do in the New Year, like take art classes, go hiking, go snowboarding, go riding.. and do these things as much as I can. And I kind of just want to focus on the things that make me happy while I’m taking a semester off school to figure things out! So, I guess my resolution is to BE HAPPY!

What are your plans and goals for 2017?

Victoria Hett

I want to meet awesome people and spend time with people who share a love for life and all things motorbike, and go on fun adventures with friends and family and see some things I have never seen before! I’d love to get to see my family out west more. I also want to continue to work on my personal development in a corporate sense as well. I plan to continue to upgrade my skill set by taking bonus courses in the BBA Marketing program I am enrolled in.

Brittany Gagne

East Coast baby! (Laughs) I’ll be running all 4 rounds of the East Coast again this summer. I recently moved back to New Hampshire and I will be training with my brother, Lane (Gagne), and my dad, Pat. I am still trying to get a few sponsors figured out for the season. Hopefully, I will be going South once I get cleared to ride. I am very excited to see what 2017 will bring for Gagne Racing. Happy New Year, everyone!

Kristin Tse

I have many plans and goals, and to be top 5 in the guys class would definitely be one of them! Pulling a holeshot would be super cool too!

Emily Cole

My plans and goals for 2017 include getting heel clickers dialed in on the dirtbike, hit up a race or two on the mainland, and just keep being awesome.

Dominique Daffé

Of course, I plan on hitting all the Women’s West nationals, as well as all the local races. I also really want to race the amateur days at Washougal. Jared (Petruska) and I want to ride as much as we can, wherever we can. So, we want to hit a bunch of different places. We love WRMA but it’s nice to travel around to ride too. I would love to get back into Off-Road riding. I have wanted to for a couple of years but it’s been tough trying to convince Jared to come with (we tried this year and it ended in bruised kidneys for someone.. and it wasn’t me). Off-Road riding is my background, it’s what I did for about 15 years before I raced moto, so it would be nice to go for some casual rides.

My goals for racing are to have as much fun as possible. 2016 was awesome, I had some good battles with some awesome ladies and I want that to continue in 2017. I want to podium at least one moto or round. A holeshot would be cool too! I also REALLY want to stop being such a baby in the Junior class at the local races and start battling it out with the boys more (Laughs)! I have a lot of plans on top of moto – like doing all the things I mentioned above and some others. I’m just looking forward to 2017 being another awesome year full of even more adventures!!