Frid’Eh Update #1 Presented by KTM Canada

Frid’Eh Update #1 Presented by KTM Canada

By Jeff McConkey and Billy Rainford

Welcome to another #1 here at Direct Motocross. We’ve been doing these Frid’Eh Updates for quite a few years now, but only a select few riders get to grace the lead photo and lead interview as #1. We like to think it’s a big deal. So, here’s DMX Frid’Eh Update #1 Presented by KTM Canada.

Having said that, #1 in 2017 is none other than Davi Millsaps. Davi is currently in Anaheim getting ready for another #1 that may be a bit of a bigger deal than even the first Update of the year – A1 Supercross!

We interviewed Davi quite a few times last summer and although he was always gracious with his time, there were always a few nerves as we approached this moto legend for a post-race chat. He’s a pretty intimidating character.

What I’m trying to say is that we weren’t able to get in touch with Davi for this intro as I really didn’t feel up to bugging him as he gets set to take another run at Supercross. We’ll be sure to get in touch with him during the coming week to get his thoughts on his time here in Canada and what he’s hoping for this year down south.

Here’s a look at Davi’s 2016 summer here at our Rockstar Energy MX Nationals:

It was a pleasure to watch Davi at our series. The way he was able to point and shoot that KTM 450 is something we’ll be talking about for as long as we have air to do it.

 

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JEFF McCONKEY

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It’s finally here. No, not Christmas, not New Year’s either. It’s A1! One of the most anticipated days of the year. How can you not be excited? Fresh starts, new teams, new bikes, and more importantly, fresh new gear. We will find out who put in the work and improved, and we will see who hasn’t. There are plenty of riders that still need to prove themselves, and then there will be the riders that are nearing the end of their careers and on the down slope.

SUPERCROSS!

I was just looking at the age of some of the riders and it seems like an older crowd in the 450 class. Chad Reed will line up at A1 as a 34 year old. He will be the oldest competitor, but he has a few guys not far behind. Justin Brayton 32, Tommy Hahn 31, Jake Weimer 31, Josh Grant 30, Davi Millsaps 28, and Marvin Musquin 27.

The two-time reigning champion, Ryan Dungey, is 27 years old and starting this season with 31 wins. His biggest challenger is 22 year old, Ken Roczen, who has 9 career 450 SX wins. Will it be age and experience or youth and speed? I’m going with the old, wise man Ryan Dungey.

Unfortunately, we already have 2 riders on the injured list. Justin Barcia will miss a few weeks with a wrist injury and our good friend Cade Clason will miss the opener with a hand injury suffered while racing in Germany late in 2016. Here are my 450 class predictions:

450 Top 5

1st Ken Roczen
2nd Ryan Dungey
3rd Marvin Musquin
4th Jason Anderson
5th Eli Tomac

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We can’t forget about the 250 West class. Regional SX is supposed to be a feeder class for the premier 450 class, but the last few years, it seems like racers don’t want to move up and they try not to point out of the 250 class. It’s pretty sad, really. We’ve got some 250 SX lifers, and it doesn’t look to change anytime soon.

The oldest competitor will be Josh Hansen at 32 years old with 7 250 SX wins. I’m not going to bag on ‘Hanny’ too bad, as he has sat out a few seasons, and raced the 450 class in the past. But then there are the lifers: Martin Davalos 29, Zach Osborne 27, Alex Martin 27, and I feel Christian Craig 25 will be added to this list. It will be nice to see a fresh-faced 18 year old named Austin Forkner put it to the lifers in the West. Here are my A1 250 West predictions:

250 West Top 5

1st Austin Forkner
2nd Shane McElrath
3rd Christian Craig
4th Aaron Plessinger
5th Martin Davalos

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Short and sweet for me this week, I’m off to check out the Toronto International Motorcycle Show. It will be nice to see some familiar faces before enjoying A1. Good luck to everyone at A1 and a special good luck to the Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha team this weekend in their Amsoil Arenacross season opener in Ohio. PS I’m picking Matt Goerke for that title. Have a great weekend and #smileforBC and #liftwithscott.

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BILLY RAINFORD

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Thanks, Jeff. And where’s ‘Berno‘ when we need him to go over Jeff’s win percentage with a fine-toothed comb? I’m sure he’d be quick to inform us that Jef has yet to get a top 5 correct. Let’s see how he does this season.

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Brock Leitner at A1

If you’re looking for someone to cheer for tonight at A1, look no further than Canadian #497 Brock Leitner. Brock and his parents have been living the moto dream in a serious way. They have criss-crossed the continent the past year in search of ever-increasing and difficult competition for Brock. Well, they’ve made it to the pinnacle of our sport – Monster Energy AMA Supercross.

When Brock hits the track for qualifying Saturday afternoon, all the hard work and preparation they’ve put in will need to be focused on one thing, and that is putting in a few solid, fast laps. Brock will need to learn the track, get comfortable, find some clear space, clean all the sections, grab that next gear in the whoops, and not make any last-second decisions out there. It’s a tall order and everything will have to click for him to make the night program at round 1.

We grabbed Brock for a chat as they were parking at the stadium for A1:

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Jess Pettis – No A1 for Him

Another Canadian looking to put his name on the impressive list of Supercross Qualifiers is Jess Pettis from Prince George, BC. Jess is our newly crowned Future West Arenacross Champion, so he has the skills to get the job done when he feels he’s ready for that next step.

Jess headed down to California to start the process immediately after winning in Chilliwack. He’s been doing everything he needs to do to make this next dream a reality. Being in a Supercross main event is like playing for an NHL team. It’s a really big deal.

— Jess had a recent crash and will take a week off the bike while his shoulder heals —

So, we spoke with Jess this afternoon (morning for him) and he informed us that he’d crashed recently and banged up his shoulder a little. He said it’s fine but that he’ll take a week off the bike to let it get back to 100% before he takes a run at one of the West Coast 250 SX rounds. He’s signed up to race but it’s likely he’ll sit out San Diego and hit A2 if he feels they are ready.

He’ll be in the stands at A1 cheering everyone on and scoping out the competition. Good luck, Jess, and we’ll see you out there next week.

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Amsoil Arenacross Also Starts this Week in Cincinnati

The Amsoil Arenacross ‘Ricky Carmichael‘s Road to Supercross’ starts this weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio. As Jeff mentioned at the top, keep an eye on the Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha squad of past Canadian champion, #101 Matt Goerke and reigning Canadian Arenacross Tour champion, #2 Chris Blose. These two should be running up at the front right from the drop of the gate along with 2015 Canadian Arenacross Tour champion, Jacob Hayes.

They may not be Canadians, but they have all raced here and give us a little extra reason to cheer for them this Saturday.

 

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How to Watch A1

Once again, Chase Stallo over at Racer X has done the heavy lifting for us and put together a clear post that helps you navigate the oft-mirky waters of trying to watch live Supercross.

Check it out HERE.

You can check out the Press Conference archive at Livestream:

https://livestream.com/accounts/1543541/events/6793314

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Dakar Rally 2017 | Car/Bike Summary Videos

Stage 1 Summary – Car/Bike – Dakar 2017 by Dakar

Stage 2 Summary – Car/Bike – (Resistencia / San… by Dakar

Stage 3 Summary – Car/Bike – (San Miguel de… by Dakar

Stage 4 Summary – Car/Bike – (San Salvador de… by Dakar

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Ride 365 Arenacross Tour Presented by FXR Heads into Jackson, MS

AXTOUR Registration – Round 4- Jackson, MS January 7th 2017

Welcome to the 2017 AXTOUR Championship

Round #4, Jackson, MS  – January 7th 2017

Race entry fees:

1st class $40,  2nd class $30, Each additional class $30 

 

Pro class $55 per class 

 

IXSA Membership required and is included in Axtour Signup!

Need help… Email us at: info@arenacrosstour.com

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Registration Options

Number of Classes * Race One Class (Amateur) – $40.00
Race Two Classes (Amateur) – $70.00
Race Three Classes (Amateur) – $100.00
Race Four Classes (Amateur) – $130.00
Race One Class (Pro) – $55.00
Race Two Classes (Pro) – $110.00

Amount $55.00

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Classes

Please Select ONLY the number of classes designated above:

 

Engine Ice Amateur Allstars

All classes are eligible for the Engine Ice Amateur Allstar races in each night program.

What is Engine Ice Amateur Allstars?
Amateur Allstars was designed for the best Amateur Riders in the country to be placed on a platform that puts the rider in the driver seat to showcase his or her talents in-front of a Live attendance of fans and industry leaders, along with a LIVE Video broadcast ( at selected rounds ) to thousands of fans watching the event around the world.

How does a rider qualify for the Engine Ice Amateur Allstar Race?
All riders are eligible for the Amateur Allstar classes, the classes require you to qualify out of you normal class into a “Super Final” similar to the Pro riders “Clash For Cash” race. The Amateur Allstar classes are the only classes that will be in the night show allowing for the best of the best amateurs to go head to head in a Main event.

51cc 4-8 yrs Shaft Drive  

51cc 4-6 yrs JR  

51cc 7-8 yrs SR  

51cc 4-8 yrs Open (no Beg)  

51cc 4-8 yrs Open Beg  

51cc Stock Multispeed 4-8yrs Beg  

65cc 7-9 yrs  

65cc 10-11 yrs  

65cc 7-11 yrs Beg  

65cc 7-11 yrs Open (no Beg)  

65cc – 85cc Beg Open  

85cc 9-11 yrs  

85cc 12-15 yrs  

85cc 9-15 yrs Beg  

85cc 9-15 yrs Open (no Beg)  

Supermini 12-15 yrs “NEW”  

AX Lites Beg  

AX Lites Nov  

AX Lites Int  

AX Beg  

AX Nov  

AX Int  

Vet Plus 30  

Vet Plus 40  

Girls 9-13 yrs (65cc-100cc)  

Women 12+ (100cc-250cc)  

Schoolboy 12-15 yrs  

Youth 16-29 yrs  

Open Outlaw  

AX Lites Pro  

AX Pro  

Quad Classes:

Quad JR, Quad Youth, Quad Beg, Quad Nov, Quad Open

We do offer Quad classes but only if a minimum of 4 riders are in the class: Please Contact info@arenacrosstour.com if you would like to sign up. If a group of riders contact us we will offer it. If only one or two riders show then the class will be cancelled and refunded. Thanks Staff

Here’s the full archive of last year’s Jackson event:

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CSRA Snowcross and SNOW BIKE Championships

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2017 Rockstar Energy MX Natinals Top 100 Numbers

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2017 Rockstar MX Nationals Top 20 – What We Know

Kaven Benoit Set to Race German Supercross

Kaven Benoit will head to Germany to compete at the ADAC Dortmund SX next weekend, January 13-15.