Frid’Eh Update #18 | Ryder McNabb Interview | Presented by Fox Racing Canada
By Billy Rainford
Welcome to yet another DMX Frid’Eh Update from lockdown. This week’s Update is presented by Fox Racing Canada. Fox is a big supporter of the GDR Honda team that Ryder McNabb rides for. Ryder is the young Manitoba rider who makes his move to the Pro ranks official for 2021. It was easy to forget he was an Intermediate last season because of his graphics kit, but he was only 15 and a yellow-plater at heart underneath those white-on-black numbers.
Ryder’s family also owns the McNabb Valley MX track in Minnedosa, MB and they actually hosted a national a couple years back. Every rider we ever talk to about the place has nothing but good things to say about the track. Unfortunately, Mother Nature did a number on us and turned it into a muddy mess.
Ryder was easily the fastest Intermediate of the field and ended up 6th overall in the 250 Triple Crown points. Here’s a quick summary of his 2020 season:
He turned Pro and headed south to race and train in the US over the winter months. We got in touch with him this week to talk about it all.
Direct Motocross: Hello, Ryder. I haven’t seen you for a little while but it looks like you’ve been keeping busy. First, let’s back up to last season. You were an Intermediate rider in the 250 Pro/Am class and had some great rides. How would you sum up your first experiences in the “big league?”
Ryder McNabb: Overall, I think my first season was pretty successful. I struggled a bit with starts. I’m not going to lie, it was a bit intimidating coming off 85s and lining up with the big boys.
What was the highlight of your summer?
The highlight of my summer was just being a part of the whole GDR team. Being able to learn from some of the best guys in the business. I had some top-five moto finishes and showed that my speed was there.
What did you learn last year that you’ll put into practice for the 2021 season?
I definitely learned a lot last year. I know starts will be key for me this year as well as my sprint speed on the first few laps. I was always coming from the back of the pack last year.
Then you raced down south in some pretty big races. How did your races go?
I actually only did Mini O’s in Daytona. I hadn’t ridden for a couple months before Mini O’s, and I got hurt in the second heat at Daytona.
You’ve raced a lot of big amateur nationals down there, but were you expecting the classes to be that deep?
I knew there would be lots of fast guys. I wasn’t expecting the chaos. Racing five lap motos with 40 fast guys it’s pretty intense.
Where did you spend the rest of the winter and who were you training with?
I spent a few months training with Tyla Rattray at his new facility. Then I went to compound 83 and trained with Jett Lawrence for a month.
And now you’re going to have to explain this whole Derek Schuster haircut thing for us. Is that a team-ordered do?
To be honest, I just needed a haircut because the barber shops are closed Derek made it happen. LOL. I am glad I didn’t end up with Tanner’s (Tanner Ward) cul-de-sac, and Dylan’s (Dylan Wright) mullet. Haha.
Where will you spend the rest of the spring?
As of right now, we plan on staying in Ontario and continue working with Colton (Facciotti). With all the quarantine rules it’s easier to just stay put.
Will you do any local races before the series starts in July?
I hope to race some AMO races, providing things open up and we are able to do so.
What are your goals for this coming season?
My goals for this season are to be consistent and to keep building off of last season. I’m only 15 so I want to just keep progressing and stay healthy.
Is AMA Supercross in your future?
I actually spent two full months on Supercross this winter at Rattray’s. Supercross is definitely something I have on my radar.
What kind of music does a youngster from Minnedosa, MB listen to, anyway?
I grew up listening to country music because my grandpa, uncle, and aunt all playing country bands.
OK, thanks for taking some time with us today. Good luck with this coming season. Who would you like to thank?
Thank you, Billy. I’d like to thank the whole Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing team and staff: Derek and Kerri, Justin, Colton, Braden, and the Newf.
We’ll leave this with Ryder’s Instagram post of his fresh haircut…
2021 Canadian Triple Crown Revised Schedule
The biggest news of the week was the release of the revised schedule for the 2021 Canadian Triple Crown Series. Of course, with all the COVID-19 restrictions continuing to be a huge obstacle, everyone was a little skeptical that we’d be able to take the traveling circus from province to province this season.
Like last year, the series will be forced to stay in the east for another summer. This announcement, although not surprising, hasn’t come without criticism from riders, teams, and families from across the country.
Here’s a look at the new schedule:
We wanted to get the story from the man in charge of these decisions, so we got in touch with Jetwerx CEO Justin Thompson for a podcast interview on Thursday. With how busy he must be right now, we were happy that he took some time to talk about it all with us.
If you haven’t had a chance to listen, here’s the Spotify link:
You can find it on all of the main podcast suppliers under Direct Motocross. Please SUBSCRIBE to your favourite to be kept up to date when new interviews go up.
Keylan Meston Signs with MX101 Yamaha
We can admit it, we fell for Keylan Meston‘s latest Instagram post that seemed to announce his retirement from Pro racing. However, we’d been hearing very strong rumours that the Calgary, AB rider was headed over to Kevin Tyler‘s MX101 FXR Yamaha team for the coming season. We knew this 2019 photo would pay off in the long run!
We can now confirm that Keylan will be on the line this summer racing the Canadian Triple Crown Series on a Yamaha 450 with support from Carlson Racing.
KT told us today that he was actually on his way to pick up Keylan’s suspension from Joe Skidd at SSS and even had Keylan’s Rockstar helmet with him in the truck.
Keylan joins 450 teammate Shawn Maffenbeier and 250 riders Marco Cannella, Jamie Powell, and Austin Jones over at MX101.
What a great pick-up from Kevin and the gang over there at MX101 in Ottawa, ON. Keylan will bring a lot of experience and speed to the team. It’s always good when two teammates want to be the #1 guy, and I think that’s what we’ll see between Keylan and Shawn Maffenbeier this summer. Although both have been on the circuit a long time, they still seem to be improving.
2021 Provincial Schedules
Let’s go across the country and see how Provincial Championship schedules are coming together. We’ll go left to right.
British Columbia:
Alberta:
Alberta Dirt Riders Association (ADRA)
Round 1 – July 25, Spedden (B3 Motopark)
Round 2 – July 26, Spedden (B3 Motopark)
Round 3 – August 8, Whitecourt (BlueRidge MX)
Round 4 – August 9, Whitecourt (BlueRidge MX)
Round 5 – August 22, Two Hills (ChaosMX)
Round 6 – August 23, Two Hills (ChaosMX)
Round 7 – August 29, Whitecourt (BlueRidge MX)
Round 8 – August 30, Whitecourt (BlueRidge MX)
Saskatchewan:
Manitoba:
204 Grassroots MX:
Manitoba Dirt Riders
2021 RACE SCHEDULE
Standard weekend format is 1-hour Saturday fun race, and 1, 1.5, and 2-hour Sunday points races depending on class. Although MDR races can usually manage adverse weather, MDR reserves the right to alter the format and/or schedule to accommodate.
| Round 1 | May 15-16 | Oaklake Dirt Drag |
| Round 2 | June 12-13 | Melita Sandy Oaks Raceway |
| Round 3 | July 3-4 | Fisher Branch Rocks & Logs |
| Round 4 | August 21-22 | Miniota Devils Drop |
| Round 5 | September 11-12 | New Brandon Track |
| Round 6 | October 2-3 | Cypress Snakes & Ladders River Run |
| Rain Date | October 9-10 | TBA |
| Annual General Meeting & Awards Banquet | TBA | TBA |
Ontario:
AMO
Quebec:
Maritimes:
Atlantic Motocross
Newfoundland:
That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend, everyone. Looks like it’s another weekend of cycling and yard works around here. Hope you get out on two wheels too, whether it’s motorized or not.
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