Frid’Eh Update #10 Presented by the Toronto SX

Frid’Eh Update #10 Presented by the Toronto SX

By Jeff McConkey and Billy Rainford

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Welcome to the biggest (arguably) weekend on the Canadian motocross/supercross calendar. After being absent from the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series schedule in 2015, the event has returned to Toronto. More on that later…

Week #10 goes out to a rider who became as big a part of the fabric of our Rockstar MX Nationals as any rider. Fort Dodge, Iowa’s Teddy Maier is a 2-time Canadian MX champion (2009 and 2012) and could always be counted on for top 5 finishes any time and anywhere he lined up across Canada. Every off-season, I’d call Jason Hughes from the Monster Thor Kawasaki team and ask him who his riders were going to be for the upcoming season. Every year he’d tell me the same thing: he’d go through the possible riders and then end with, “And, of course, Teddy’s back.” It got to a point where the ride was assumed and it was simply up to Teddy to sign on the dotted line when he was ready to commit to another year. Unfortunately, Teddy did not have the year he wanted last summer and seemed to struggle from the start.

Teddy Maier’s 2015 results:

Those are definitely not the kind of numbers we’ve grown accustomed to seeing Teddy post on the result sheet. But it’s that ‘DNF’ at round 7 in Deschambault that is the most concerning.

Here is the Injury Update we posted after that day in Quebec:

Monster Energy Thor Kawasaki rider, #5 Teddy Maier from Iowa, had a rough day in Deschambault last Sunday. During the first MX1 moto, a fuel line came off his 450. He managed to put it back on himself but wasn’t able to pop it back on solidly enough so he pulled into the mechanics’ area to have the team take the time to do it properly.

After heading back out onto the track a couple laps down, Maier said he wanted to at least go back out and learn a few lines and continue trying to get the bike set up better to head into the second moto stronger.

Unfortunately, an uncharacteristic fall by the past Canadian MX2 champion has taken Maier out of action for the rest of the season.

The result is a sprained left thumb/finger and a broken index finger metacarpal bone in the right hand. He was told the bone is very slightly displaced but that it doesn’t require surgery. He will be in a cast for 4 weeks.

When asked if we will see him back in action here in Canada in the future, all he could tell us was that we’ll see him on the sidelines at the final round at Walton Raceway in two weeks.

Good luck, Teddy.

Since then, we’ve spoken to Teddy a couple times and he is living a normal 9-5 life these days. We were unable to get in touch with Teddy for this Update today and will be sure to let everyone know how the mild-mannered American is doing and what’s keeping him busy these days, so stay tuned for that.

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Jeff McConkey

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Hi, guys. Yes, it is finally here! The DMX pre-party and after-party at The Houston Avenue Bar & Grill – 33 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario. Oh yeah, there’s also the actual race Saturday night, but I’ll get to that later. We were unable to have this party last season as the Toronto round was left off the schedule. Thankfully, the people that count made the right decision and brought the series North once again for the only stop outside of the United States. The action at The Houston will kick off Friday evening. It is a relaxed atmosphere with many industry folk and a few racers. You can expect great food and fantastic bench racing with friends and foes. Now, onto the big show…

Directly following the 450 main event Saturday night, make your way over to the party. If you take your time getting there, you have a good chance of ending up in line. But trust me, it’s worth the wait. Next week, you will want to be checking the DMX ‘Faces At the Party’ pictures to see how silly you looked, not to see what you missed. Our good friend Team Canada Motocross of Nations Team Canada Manager, Kourtney Lloyd, will be in attendance both nights selling raffle tickets to support this year’s team. Don’t miss the parties or a great chance to support Team Canada.

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Now, onto the race. In the past, the dirt in Toronto was poor. It came in frozen and full of rocks. If it wasn’t a muddy mess, it was rocky and rutted. Toronto used to be a round where hand guards and chest protectors were a must. That’s not a regular thing in SX but it was needed. Over the years, the dirt got better, the attendance kept growing, and it became a great round. Going into Torontothis year, we had a 5-horse, race. Well, word has just come out that current points leader Martin Davalos will miss the Toronto round due to “personal reasons.”

It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but word on the street is that if Martin leaves the United States and enters Canada, he will not be allowed to re-enter America due to an issue with U.S. Immigration. Half Canadian, half Scottish Dean Wilson ran into a similar problem a few years back while riding for Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki. Dean was unable to re-enter the United States and missed a few rounds after entering Canada to race Toronto. It didn’t cost Dean a championship, but it certainly pissed off some sponsors and cost him a bunch of money. Fast forward to present day, poor Martin is leading the East Coast 250 class in points and looking to secure his first professional title in his 11th season. In a way, I feel a little bad for Martin, but then I think that someone has really dropped the ball. The team could have had him race West Coast 250 or they could have taken care of this issue long ago. Somebody messed up and it could have cost Martin the 250 SX title that has eluded him.

Now, onto the guys that are here. Jeremy Martin won Daytona, but it was kind of expected. Daytona is the most ‘outdoors like’ race in the series. He stayed calm and waited for the perfect chance to strike, then allowed his fitness take over on the way to his first win of the season. Behind Martin we have Justin Hill. I believe Justin has the most raw speed in the East this season and if he gets the holeshot I don’t think anyone will catch him. His starts haven’t been the best, but I’m going to call him for the win tomorrow. Malcolm Stewart is another rider who can win main events and possibly win this title. Malcolm had a very good chance to win both of the first two main events this season, but just couldn’t seal the deal. He will win soon and stay in this title chase.

The last horse is in this title chase is my pre-season pick for champion, Aaron Plessinger. Aaron had a great ride after a bad start in Atlanta, where he finished 3rd. Plessinger finished 5th in Daytona after being ill for the majority of the week. They say you win championships with your worst races, so Aaron needs to come into Toronto hot and make his 5th in Daytona his season worst.

In 450 action, Eli Tomac is coming in confident after securing his first win of the season at Daytona. Eli will win another race this season, but I don’t think it will happen in the next 2 or 3 races. He is still off the pace of the top riders on the traditional Supercross tracks. Ryan Dungey comes into Toronto with a very big points lead, and I don’t see that changing. He is in the prime of his career and I don’t see him letting up anytime soon. He will win Toronto with ease on the way to his 2nd consecutive championship.

Ken Roczen was expected to be right there with Dungey this season, but his starts have been bad. If Ken can start up front, he has the speed and fitness to run 20 mistake-free laps with Dungey. He’s already shown us that and collected a win. He will need to start with Ryan and not let him get away. Multi-time fastest qualifier Christophe Pourcel will also miss Toronto. Christophe was injured earlier this week practicing and is set to return to action next Saturday in Detroit. Smells fishy to me, but my predictions are usually wrong. Anyway, here are my prediction s for Toronto:

250 East

Holeshot: Dakota Alix

1st Justin Hill
2nd Aaron Plessinger
3rd Malcolm Stewart
4th Jeremy Martin
5th R.J. Hampshire

450 Class

Holeshot: Vince Friese

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

Saurday Night DMX Houston Party Results

Most messages for VIP passes: Tie – Bigwave Billy and Myself
Most girls offended: Todd Kuli with 8
Biggest tab: Mica Sports / Scott Sports, Aaron Barsanti
Cleanest Dressed: Jay Moore from Fox Canada
Ugliest Shirt: Todd Kuli with the pearl snaps
Street Meat Eating Contest: MX101’s Kevin Tyler edges out Steve Matthes in a close battle
Dance contest winner: Malcolm Stewart
Overall winner: The fans in attendance!

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Well, that’s it for me this week. Be sure to have a look at my ‘Out of the Blue‘ this week with Alexandra Kiwi Dubois, and my ‘On the Radar‘ with Jake Coulter. I’m on my way to the Houston, be sure to come say hi both nights, and always #smileforBC!

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Billy Rainford

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Thanks, Jeff. Man, what a whirlwind the past two weeks have been for this moto fan! I have been living out of a suitcase since before the Atlanta Supercross and it feels great to finally get home. Don’t get me wrong, after one night at home I’m already chomping at the bit to get the next adventure started. I, obviously, won’t have to wait long because as I’m typing this I’ve got the other half of my brain thinking about what I need to pack for a weekend in Toronto.

Like Jeff said, the racing is the number one thing this weekend in Toronto, but the DMX After-Party at The Houston Bar and Grill are set to be a close second. I’d like to thank David Toye and Ben Toye for all their hard work behind the scenes to make sure both nights are a total blast! David is, literally, a Pro at organizing parties so we are all in for a treat.

As we get closer and closer to the shin dig, many are wondering about getting into the party. All I can say is you really need to get there as quickly as you can after the 450 main event. There is a $10 cover charge Saturday night. It will fill up fast but it should be a warm evening which should mean we have some extra space on the patios. Good thing.

Thanks to all of the people and companies who have generously supplied draw prizes for the giveaways that will take place throughout the night, Saturday. There is some pretty great stuff!

This thing has gotten so well known that our friends down at Racer X even got in touch with me to do a story on the whole thing! Get there as fast as you can and please don’t be offended or upset if both Jeff and I stop making eye contact with people in the line, once the night really gets rolling. It’s nothing personal. See you there!

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Kaven Benoit Talks about His Move to the 450 Class in 2016

On the way back from Daytona, I stopped in at Club MX in Chesterfield, SC to check out some of the Canadians who are spending time there getting ready for the upcoming season. 2-time MX2 champion, KTM Canada’s Kaven Benoit, will now test himself against the best in the business when the gate drops in Kamloops for round 1 of the Rockstar MX Nationals.

It was supposed to be his day off the bike to get other things done, but he was kind enough to suit up and ride a few sections and talk about all the changes for 2016. Check it out here in this 3 1/2 minute video:

#11 Kaven Benoit Training at Club MX – Winter 2016 from Directmotocross.com on Vimeo.

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While we’re talking about video…

Tyler Medaglia at Round 1 of the 2016 Amsoil GNCC Series

We popped into Palatka, Florida, last Sunday to check out the first round of the Amsoil GNCC Racing Series. Canadian #5 Parts Canada Thor Husqvarna rider, Tyler Medaglia, just loves this stuff and was there to test himself against the best. He had some troubles late in the race and was forced down the results sheet farther than he would have liked. We (Brendan Goldstein and I) shot a short video and then spoke with him at the end of the day. Check it out:

Tyler Medaglia at Round 1 of the 2016 Amsoil GNCC Championship from Directmotocross.com on Vimeo.

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Happy Birthday MX101’s Kevin Tyler? – The Jimmy Decotis Situation

It’s MX101’s Kevin Tyler‘s birthday today so I gave him a call to wish him a Happy Birthday. OK, OK, you’re seeing right through this facade, aren’t you?! But seriously, if you see him tonight at The Houston (you will) be sure to call him old.

And, of course, the conversation drifted quickly to all the rumours about Jimmy Decotis now not being allowed to head to Canada and ride blue this summer. Word on the street is that Honda isn’t too thrilled to have one of their guys race Yamaha in Canada during the summer months.

I asked Kevin to confirm or deny this but all he kept singing was “It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To.” Let’s just say he does one hell of a Lesley Gore impression! (Google it, Bowker!)

I think we can assume the search continues for the MX101 FXR Yamaha team. The cool thing is that they are rumoured to be the 250 off-shoot team of the Rockstar Yamaha team. Good news for anyone who wants to apply for this coveted spot!

So, who do Kevin and Johnny Grant go after? The ranking down south rules make their choices fairly difficult and point in the direction of fast new Pro riders. One such rider is young Josh Cartwright. Josh already rides a Yamahas and even wears FXR gear! Hmm, this seems likely. All Kevin would say is that they are looking at a few options right now.

As always, we’ll just have to wait and see…

“I’m Cartwright!”

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OK, I’m afraid that will have to do it for this week. Duty calls and we have to hit that lovely piece of Canadian highway called ‘The 401 East.’ We will see everyone at The Houston tonight, Saturday night, or both. Have a great weekend.