Frid’Eh Update #20 | Jeremy McKie | Brought to You by RP Race Performance
Week #20 belongs to Jeremy McKie from Beloeil, Quebec, and is brought to you by RP Race Performance. Check it out.
By Billy Rainford
How’s this for a relevant testimonial? (Click view all comments)
Welcome to Week #20 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update brought to you by RP Race Performance. I sit here in our basement as work continues on our renovations upstairs. We can actually see the finish line and it’s going to feel great to get away from using a microwave and a hot plate only for our cooking. If I’m being honest, that should really say that it will feel great to not eat out for every meal…
Anyway, we’re closing in on the first round of racing for the 2024 Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals at Wild Rose MX in Calgary, AB on June 2nd. It’s crunch time for teams and riders.
Teams are doing their final preparations that include photo and video shoots. In fact, we had photographer James Lissimore here at the house for a night between his gigs with the Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing team and the MX101 Yamaha team that happened the following few days. It’s a busy time for everyone, whether you’re on or off the bike.
On Wednesday, we were all over at Gopher Dunes for the Team Intro/Media Day. Thanks for the invite, Derek Schuster. It was great to see everyone again, even though the day didn’t go without a couple hiccups, but more on that later.
I still haven’t replaced the current #DMXVan with anything. That means I may actually end up driving it to the western rounds again, unless something happens and happens quick!
I think I’ve narrowed it down to a Ford Transit Connect cargo, but who knows, I’ve also noticed that the new Kia Carnival is a pretty good deal right now. All I know for sure is that I can’t keep expecting this current Dodge Grand Caravan to keep going without fail this side of 400 000 kms, so something has to happen sooner than later!
Jeremy McKie is career #20 so that means he gets the interview treatment this week. We’ve all followed along with his career since he was on tiny little bikes. It almost looked like we could lose him last year, but he came back on his own with some help from personal sponsors and finished up in 6th place in the 450 class in 2023.
Here’s a look at his 2023 season:
I stopped in to see him at WW Ranch on my way between the Daytona Supercross and the Birmingham round, but he wasn’t training at WW this winter! Oops. We cross that bridge immediately in our interview.
Here’s what he had to say when we contacted him this week:
Direct Motocross: Hello, Jeremy. I missed you when I stopped in at WW Ranch on my way home from Florida this winter. How long were you down there and how did your training go?
Jeremy McKie: Hey, Billy! I didn’t go to WW Ranch this year, I went to Mesa Park in Vero Beach for February to get back in shape and then headed to Future MX training place with Kyle Cheeseman for the rest of the winter in Brooksville FL. First time training in the west coast of Florida and first time with Kyle. He is a great trainer and I love it, the facility, that coast and the people there! Definitely going back there next year.
Well, no wonder I didn’t see you there then! Riders were getting into the ice bath when I was there. Is that something you do? How long do you stay in?
Haha! I love ice bath. I’ve been doing them for a while now, probably since I turned pro back in 2020. I normally don’t stay in there any longer than 5 minutes.
Did you get any gate drops while you were down there?
No, not this year. I got injured at the start of my training and really focused to be ready after that for the rest of the season. My first gate drop will be this weekend at round 1 of the provincial series!
Let’s talk briefly about your 2023 season. You ended up 6th overall in the 450 MX series. How would you sum it up?
I don’t really have any proper words to describe 2023. Definitely not happy with how it went and know it would have been better overall without a couple DNF’s and bad motos. 2023 is far behind in my mind and happy for the new year and start fresh!
Your best was a 4th at Deschambault. Obviously, you’re most familiar with that track, but would you also say that was your best riding of the summer?
I really wanted that podium at Deschambault but with the lack of time on the new bike and being a full stock Yamaha, I was pleased with the result but I don’t think it was my best riding of the summer.
What did you get up to when the MX series ended? Did you race some Quebec provincials? How did they go?
I raced the last 3 provincials, they went good, honestly. I was just happy to ride my dirt bike and get more time on the Yamaha! After that I kinda just enjoyed time off and have fun with my buddies on the lake on weekend and work in the week.
Riviere Du Loup is coming up. Are you going to race that?
No, I love Supercross but I’m not a big Arenacross guy and it soo close to race season I just don’t want to risk it.
And I just saw you riding a 250 2-stroke. What’s that all about? Are we going to see you on that this summer?
Marco from Motosport St-Cesaire just let me ride his brand new 250 2-stroke to get some clips and have some fun that day. Only going to race a 450 this summer! Definitely enjoy riding a 2-stroke again though.
What does your summer look like? What races will you be doing and how will you be getting around?
Marco GĂ©nĂ©reux and Kev Lacombe from Axxel Suspension built an awesome program for me this summer with Yamaha Canada. Marco will be bringing my bikes to all provincials (unless there is a national on the same weekend) and all the east coast with Kev Lacombe being my mechanic and taking care of my bikes on race day and in the week as well. I’m happy with our program and everything is going great right now, Can’t wait to race!
How are things going at your track, SMX, lately?
My track is going well this year, everyone has been working hard to get the track ready and for the upcoming camps this summer where I will be helping out as a coach! Everything is setting up nice for a sweet summer!
Will we see you lining up at any AMA Supercross races in the future?
That is definitely what I want to do. I love Supercross and it is in my plan to do them. I’m not sure when yet, because I want to show up ready and do good. It’s in the plan and in the near future I will be lining up to race AMA Supercross.
Awesome! I know you’re a very competitive person. How many more years will you continue to chase the dream?
Ha! That’s a tough question. Honestly, I really don’t know. I still have a couple years which my plan is to switch to the States and try to chase the dream down there, give it a full go. There’s really nothing holding me down to stay in Canada. I don’t have a clear answer for your question but I can say that I love riding my dirt bike and as long that I have the drive to train to try to win I’ll keep racing!
Hey, what’s your second favourite sport?
It use to be tied between hockey, football, and basketball, but it has been surfing since last summer. It so fun! Nothing beats a evening with my buddies on the lake!
OK, I’m sure I’ll see you soon. Good luck and who would you like to thank before we let you go?
Thank you, Billy! I’d like to thank: SMX motocross, oakley, first racing, fox racing canada, papi mtl, yamaha canada, motosport st-cesaire, axxel suspension, md distribution, sb design, kutvek america, stance canada, velo station, cti knee braces, novabox, seco seat cover, mika metals, dt-1 filters and my whole family for supporting me & always being there no matter what!
Riviere Du Loup Arenacross is Coming!
The 42nd running of the Challenge Quebec Riviere Du Loup Arenacross is coming on May 24-25th. If you haven’t registered but would like to, you have until the Thursday before the race to do so. Click HERE.
Race schedule:
Riders include:
Thomas Ramette, Gage Linville, Mika Lamarque, Aaron Tanti, Josh Cartwright, plus many more, of course.
Head over to their Facebook page for more information.
1991 race coverage anyone?
AMA Pro Motocross
Round 1 of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship is next weekend at Fox Raceway in Pala, California. If you clicked on the early Entry List you would have noticed that AEO Motorsports rider Ryder McNabb‘s name wasn’t on it. Fear not!
I spoke with Jacob Hayes today and he said they just hadn’t put his information through the registration portal in time for the provisional listing, but that we can all relax because Ryder will be out there representing the country when the gate drops next Saturday.
While we’re on the subject, can #18 Jett Lawrence run the table again? Will we see and all non-American top step in 2024 with Tom Vaille in his 2nd year in the 250 class? Will Haiden Deegan step up? Will Jo Shimoda step up? Can Chase Sexton challenge for wins every week? What about Levi Kitchen, RJ Hampshire, and Jordon Smith in the 250 class? And when is Austin Forkner back? Will Dylan Ferrandis be a threat to add to the non-American list of winners?
Hunter Yoder Not Coming to Canada this Summer
As we all know, Partzilla PRMX rider Hunter Yoder was all set to come north to race our 250 MX series this summer. Unfortunately, we won’t be sewing the fast, 20-year-old Californian after all. He hurt his knee at the Seattle round of the 250 West Supercross series but kept riding and didn’t find out the extend of the damage until after the Denver round.
The result was a blown knee where he did the ACL and meniscus. He’ll head in for surgery this coming Wednesday and will then start the rehabilitation phase for the rest of the summer.
When I spoke to him today, he told me he was really looking forward to racing up here.
He’s only halfway through his two-year deal with Julien Perrier‘s team and says he’s looking forward to next season and that he’d even be more than happy to extend that further in hopes of getting Julien and the team a podium.
Good luck with the surgery, Hunter. It’s funny, I said a lot of people remember him for his super-tricked-out Honda CFR 150 from a few years ago. He added that people seem to know him from either that or his appearance on the Blippy show.
Rapid Fire
Before we end this, let’s have a quick look at 10 things we’re looking at and/or working on:
- Chris Blackmer – he’s been looking really good racing a 450 in the first couple rounds of the AMO Ontario Provincial Championships. When I spoke with him, he said he was likely going to race the eastern rounds but in the 250 class. Judging from what I’ve seen this spring, I think he needs to race the big bike class.
- Quinn Amyotte – Quinn has also been looking good this spring, although it’s difficult to get a real gauge since he’s usually the only guy in the first few top pro riders who’s on a 250. Will he continue to improve and get himself closer to becoming a consistent podium threat? We’re about to find out.
- Sebastien Racine – Sebastien is another rider who has impressed everyone this spring with his speed and comfort on a 450. While MX101 has been looking to replace Shawn Maffenbeier, Seb has been showing everyone the future of the 450 class with his results. No, he doesn’t want to move up yet, nor should he, but he’ll be good when he does!
- Aaron Tanti – I just watched an Automotoco video clip of Aaron at SOBMX and he’s still the one we need to focus on a a serious threat to Dylan Wright’s dominance, if you ask me. Can the 2022 Australian champion put it together on our tracks? Well, their series is probably closest to ours, so I think it will feel very similar for him, therefore, he’s going to be a threat.
- Preston Kilroy – just how fast is Preston? That seems to be the question we’re all asking ourselves. Anyone who gets top 15 in the AMA series is likely extremely quick, so we’re just going to have to wait to see when we get to Calgary because Sand Del Lee had to cancel their AMO round due to weather. Too bad. James Lissimore is there shooting their team photos so we’ll ask him how he looked.
- Bobby Gravel – Bobby has been haning out at Walton Raceway with the WLTN Kawasaki team and “acting as a rabbit” for Amyotte and Tanner Ward this week. He’s been putting in a ton of work and getting roosted constantly but enjoying every minute of it, according to Brett Lee. It’s things like this that will better prepare him for when he turns Pro, let alone what it’ll do for him and this upcoming Intermediate season!
- Wyatt Kerr – I wonder just how fast Wyatt will be this season? He was definitely a rider on the rise before his back injury in Calgary last year, but it seems like it’s lit an even bigger fire under him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he shows up with top 5/podium threat speed when we get going this summer.
- Daniel Elmore – Daniel has been putting in the work solo this winter and spring. Whenever we talk about fast Canadian riders without a “factory” ride, his name comes up first. I hope he comes out of the gate swinging and shows the teams that he belongs under one of the big awnings in the future.
- Jake Piccolo – did I hear that Jake is going to show up at round 1 in Calgary on a Yamaha? I think I did.
- Shawn Maffenbeier – for those of you who don’t know, Shawn is currently putting himself through helicopter pilot school.
- Bonus: Jyire Mitchell – the rider from Bermuda wanted to race our series but on a Stark Varg. Unfortunately, the series isn’t ready to allow it so he’d have to wait until 2025 at the earliest. Hopefully, that doesn’t stop Jyire from coming north at some point this summer. The French MX Nationals just announced they’ll be allowing the Varg in the 450 class this summer.
OK, it’s time to set this column free to the world. I’ll end it with some content generated from the Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing team intro at Gopher Dunes Wednesday.
I will admit, I feel pretty bad for straight up asking Dylan Wright’s new mechanic, Tanner Brooks, if he was feeling the pressure of being the new guy looking after Dylan and his undefeated record. Of course, he said “No” but, unfortunately, a drain plug situation caused the champ’s bike to lock up on around lap 3 of riding Wednesday. I only got one photo of Dylan riding and I managed to cut off part of his head.
Tanner knows what he’s doing and things will only get better and go more smoothly from here, no doubt.
Here’s some of the stuff from that day:
Enjoy your long (May 2-4) weekend, everyone. I’ve got a busy one planned with hopes to catch the Quicksand Enduro at Gopher Dunes one day, play beach volleyball up in Grand Bend one day, get the MGB out of storage, empty the storage container in the driveway and get this place a little closer to normal, and maybe even go to Detroit to see the Violent Femmes. Oh, and I have to mow the lawn.
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