Frid’Eh Update #21 Presented by Troy Lee Designs Canada

By Jeff McConkey and Billy Rainford

Week #21 belongs to Kyle Swanson. Last summer, he moved up to the 450 at Gopher Dunes and then rode a Devil’s Lake Yamaha in Deschambault and almost grabbed the lead|Bigwave photo

Welcome to Week #21 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update this week presented by Troy Lee Designs Canada. For 2016, #21 belongs to the Texan we got to know very well back when he first came up to Canada and lived out of the cab of his pick-up truck…with his mechanic!

Kyle Swanson became Canada’s newest motocross sweetheart when word of his commitment and dedication to the sport became public knowledge. He didn’t do it for publicity or notoriety. No, not at all. It was purely out of necessity.

Fast forward a couple years, and Kyle was on the newly formed Suzuki team that was to receive the majority of its funding from the Canadian oil industry. Unfortunately, the industry suffered extremely difficult times early last year and the team just didn’t have the funding it had counted on. But it didn’t stop Kyle and the Danyluks from going racing.

When Kyle had his race bike stolen right out of his trailer at round 2 in Nanaimo last year, he raced Brittany Danyluk‘s bike. Again, he showed he had the speed to compete at the top level and was given a 450 ride on the Devil’s Lake Yamaha team.

Kyle became an instant hit when word that he and his mechanic were living out of the cab of his pick-up truck a couple years ago|Bigwave photo

Kyle’s 2016 season’s results:

MX2:

MX1:

Kyle had his best result at the final round at Walton Raceway with a 6th place overall (6-8). We got in touch with him this afternoon. He has a whole bunch of things going on in his life right now, so here’s what he had to say:

Direct Motocross: Hello, Kyle. First off, would you mind taking us through last summer? You started in MX2 then got picked up for the east in MX1. How did it all happen and go?

Last summer, we started off round one on the Danyluk Racing Team just 30 days after a broken femur in the MX2 class! Second round in Nanaimo, my race bike was stolen, eventually leading into the team going under by the fourth round sitting about 10th in points! I was then forced to move to the MX1 class. Even with the team going under, the Danyluks where able to give me a 450 they had under the [condition] that it’s all on me through Walton! Thanks to them for even making that possible! So we went east! I raced Gopher Dunes on the Suzuki going DNF-15, then we raced Sand Del Lee on it again going 12-9 for a 9th overall, landing myself a ride aboard the Devil’s lake Yamaha team as their MX1 rider! I would then go on to finish every moto in the top 8 leaving Walton with a 6th overall!

What did you do as soon as Walton was over?

After Walton I went home and got my things together to go back and actually re-join the Danyluk team for an 8-round Arenacross series held in British Columbia.

How did that go?

I raced the [Future West] Canadian Arenacross Series finishing 5th in 450 overall and 4th in 250. I got a couple Dash for Cash wins, made some good money and left every weekend out of the ‘normal man doors’ by not pile driving myself or anyone else through the barn walls, so I was quite satisfied with the season.

What’s new in your life down there in Texas? You mentioned a new property, cabin, and training facility?

Everything is new for me back home! During the third round of Arenacross, I got a call that we had been approved for the land we wanted, so by the time I had reached home we had closed on the land and the Swansons now own 21 beautiful acres in south Texas! I was able to have my home built and finished about 3 months ago as well as my outdoor track. We call it the SWANPOUND! It’s a place where I allow people to come train along side of me. Rather than being the old guy on the side of the track holding a beer telling you how fast he use to be, I actually allow the riders to come in and train with me while I’m currently going through the steps of becoming a champion.

Be sure to talk to Kyle about training with him at SWANPOUND in Texas|Bigwave photo

So, if anyone is interested in checking out ‘Swanpound’ how would they get in touch and make that happen?

If anyone is interested in coming down and training with me at the Swanpound, the easiest way is to just approach me in person and we can get things handled that way, or as always Facebook, Instagram, or email: kyleswanson313@aol.com

Kyle left Walton with a 6th place last summer and says he has no plans of going backward!|Bigwave photo

Kyle started out in MX2 and then rode the final 6 rounds in MX1, finishing 14th in points|Bigwave photo

This week’s Update is presented by TLD Canada. Give them a ‘click‘ and check them out.

Jeff McConkey

Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships Start this Weekend!

Hey, guys. There’s Christmas, there’s A1, and then there is Hangtown. This weekend marks the season opener and you have got to be super-excited about both classes.

250 Class

In the 250 class we have rookies, vets and a few racers taking their last stab at the small bore class. Jeremy Martin is the strong favourite to capture his 3rd straight crown. I’d like to say that Cooper Webb will challenge his teammate, but I think Webb will exit the series very early due to his wrist injury.

Will Cooper Webb’s wrist be a factor outdoors?|Bigwave photo

Injury prone former ‘can’t miss kid,’ Adam Cianciarulo, makes his return to Pro racing. Poor Adam has had a very rough go as a Pro, but he hasn’t given up. I just hope the bad luck and injuries are behind the #44. Zach Osborne will be very dangerous aboard his Husqvarna, as will Aaron Plessinger on the #23 Yamaha. It will be interesting to see how super-rookie Austin Forkner makes out on Saturday. Only time will tell, but it’s going to be one heck of a season.

450 Class

In the 450 class, Ryan Dungey will once again be a favourite, but he will have many contenders this time around. Ken Roczen finished SX very strong and will look to keep the ball rolling. And then there is Eli Tomac. Eli completely trashed the competition at the start of the season before trashing both of his shoulders in a season-ending crash. Eli looked good in SX, but he still did not look like himself. Outdoors is an all new beast and I believe the real Eli will show up.

The big question mark for me is James Stewart. Win, lose, or crash out, I will be happy just seeing James out there racing. Love him or hate him, he’s still one of the very best of all time. He went undefeated one season, and throughout his career he really changed the game.

#7 James Stewart is back for the outdoor season|Bigwave photo

In case you’ve forgotten…

Here are my predictions for the opening round:

250 Class

1st Jeremy Martin
2nd Zach Osborne
3rd Austin Forkner
4th Adam Cianciarulo
5th Aaron Plessinger

Jeff has #6 Jeremy Martin picked for the Hangtown win|Bigwave photo

450 Class

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

And #3 Eli Tomac for the 450 win|Bigwave photo

Local Ontario Races

Here at home we have a long weekend. That means a lot of good racing. Some riders will be heading to Motopark for the Moto Cup while others will head to Madoc for the MMRS event. I, myself, will be making the drive to Madoc. This will be my last chance to have some fun aboard Husqvarna FC250 before returning it. I’ve really been dying to ride this bike on a fast, harder packed track to see how great this bike really is. I can guarantee that the FC250 won’t disappoint. This bike really revs to the moon and is very fun to ride higher up in 3rd and 4th gear. It will also be a blast railing the deep Madoc ruts. This is where I would like to give a huge thank you to Victoria Hett and the people at Husqvarna Canada. They gave me a chance to have a ton of fun on a great bike. Thank you very much guys!

Jeff will be at the Madoc track for the MMRS event this weekend on the 2016 Husqvarna FC250|Mao Ouyang photo

Also, while I’m throwing out thank you’s, a big thanks to Casey Huntley and the great people at Pirelli. They went above and beyond and set us up with the new MX32 Pro tire to test. This is the same tire that the JGR and BTO Sports teams have been using throughout SX. From what I have heard, these will be the perfect tires, and I can’t wait to experience how great they are for myself.

Watch for Jeff to be tearing up the track on the new Pirelli MX32 Pro tires|McConkey photo

That’s it for me, I need to mount some tires! Have a safe long weekend and #smileforBC!

Billy Rainford

Thanks, Jeff. Have fun on the Pirelli-equipped Husqvarna this weekend! Hey, have you ever completely forgotten to get your new stickers for your car’s license plates? Well, it’s been a while since I’ve had my own vehicle in my own name (very long story!) and I recently changed my address. These things added up to result in my forgetting to get new stickers. Anyway, I’ll need to take a short break to get this sorted out so I can legally drive up to the Motopark Moto Cup this weekend. I’ll be right back…

Wow, that literally took 1 minute at the DMV. Nice work, Service Ontario! Didn’t even have to pay my bogus camera speeding tickets.

We are now heading straight into outdoor motocross season! I know Supercross is perhaps ‘where the money is,’ but diehard motocross fans always look forward to the true test of strength and endurance that is the outdoors. We’ve got two Lucas Oil AMA races at Hangtown and Glen Helen, and then our attention will point due north to Kamloops and the Whispering Pines track for round 1 of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals.

Here’s a look at the Hangtown track:

Canadian Content to Watch For:

When the gates drop this week out in California, there will be certain riders who are closer to our Canadian hearts than others. Here’s a list of riders to watch for this weekend:

250 Class

450 Class

There may be a few more who show up and register to race, but these are the names on the pre-entry list who are either Canadian or have raced a series here in Canada recently. Good luck to everyone!

Brock Leitner at Hangtown

As far as I can tell, BC rider, #497 Brock Leitner, will be the only Canadian lining up this week in California. I gave him a call today and caught him as he was trying to park the RV in the pits; he was busy. Brock is quickly racking up the travel miles after hitting a bunch of races last winter and now heading to California to try his luck at Hangtown again.

Last year, Brock lined up in Sacramento but had some bike issues during qualifying. He went out and grabbed the holeshot in the LCQ but went down and didn’t make the 40-rider field. His goal for this year is to make it in and then, hopefully, “get inside the top 30.”

As he was parking the rig, he said it was only 53 degrees F and that they are calling for rain tomorrow. He will race this weekend but will not be lining up next week at Glen Helen.

Good luck, Brock. We’ll be sure to get in touch for an update after the weekend. See you out in Kamloops!

Watch for #497 Brock Leitner Saturday at Hangtown|Bigwave photo

#28 Keylan Meston Interview

I saw this linked on Facebook. It will give you a bit of an idea what Keylan Meston is up to. It’s a short interview over on Riders West Mag.

Riders West Mag interview with 2016 #28 Keylan Meston|Bigwave photo

Off-Road Specialist, Lexi Pechout, Competing in Women’s West MX Nationals

Things just got a little more interesting out west in the Women’s MX Nationals. Calgary, Alberta’s Lexi Pechout is 2015 Amsoil Endurocross’s #1 rider. She finished the season 3rd in points (just 7 ahead of fellow Canadian, Shelby Turner) and will now turn her attention to motocross, for the month of June at least.

She has impressed fellow Calgary rider, Keylan Meston, who is quoted as saying, “she charges the corners like no other female racer I’ve seen!” Calgary’s Dave MacGregor will be at her side as she goes for the #1 plate.

Watch for a more in depth interview with Lexi soon here on DMX. I gave her a call today for a quick update.

Lexi has decided to change things up a bit for this year. The Endurocross schedule is so tight now that she would have to almost spend her entire time down in the USA and that just wouldn’t work. She’s raced Enduro her whole life and moved over to EX in 2012.

She works at Blackfoot Direct and will be riding a Husqvarna in the Women’s West Nationals where she plans to compete in all 4 rounds. Interestingly, the final round in Regina overlaps with the big Red Bull Rocks and Logs event in her hometown of Calgary, but not to worry: “We’ll have two bike prepared and will race Regina on the Saturday and then drive all night back to Calgary to compete in Rocks and Logs on the Sunday.”

She’s been riding at Wild Rose MX and picking things up by watching Keylan Meston ride and getting some help from Jared Stock too. She really has no expectations but did add that she wants to finish in the top 5 when the series is done.

Thanks for the chat on your lunch break, Lexi. I know that Dean Thompson was probably looking over your shoulder and saying “Blackfoot Direct” every 3-4 seconds! HAHA. The west series just got a little more interesting!

Watch for off-road specialist, Lexi Pechout, this summer competing in the Women’s West MX Nationals|Bigwave photo

Eve Brodeur 5th in 1st Moto at Hangtown

Here is some amateur video of the first moto at Hangtown where Canadian #141 Eve Brodeur placed 5th:

Good luck, Eve!

A Couple Videos from Gopher Dunes this Past Weekend

2016 Atlas Brace AMO ANQ at Gopher Dunes from Directmotocross.com on Vimeo.

2016 Atlas Brace AMO ANQ at Gopher Dunes – Cannella vs. Watling from Directmotocross.com on Vimeo.

New Era Motopark Cup Round 1 & 2, May 21 & 22, 2016

Have a friend racing at the MP Cup and can’t make it to the event? Conx2share will be at Motopark live streaming the event. We will also have live results so you can see their lap times and current position.

Conx2share

Follow Motopark on Conx2share to see all the latest photos and videos from our races and special events. Comment on our posts, send us messages and stay up-to-date on one easy app. You can also enjoy Conx2share’s communication and social media hub for yourself! Chat with friends, follow others, create open and private groups and stay up-to-date with the latest news feature.

The Live Stream portion of Conx2share is designed to give you, our fans, real time access to the races and events you want to see most. Follow our Motopark group page, receive invites when Events go LIVE and watch all the replay footage you want! Check out the Conx2share Sports feed for videos and photos from sporting events from around the world!

All you have to do is download Conx2share app on your mobile or tablet and sign up for a free account.

You can also sign in and watch in a web browser: https://www.conx2share.com/#DzcfGSbDcrSw4aDfH2wF

Live Results

Live results link: http://www.tracksideresults.com/motopark/liveresults.asp

More information about the Motopark Cup can be found at: http://www.motoparkracing.com/mpcup

We’ll be up there on Sunday to check out all the action.

Photo Report: Gopher Dunes AMO ANQ

By Billy Rainford

In case you missed it this week on the site:

It feels so good to be at outdoor races again! Well, the weather could have cooperated a little more, but it was still a nice change to come out from under the lights and into the sunshine…and snow, and sleet, and wind, and hail…

It was a weird day, weather-wise, for sure, Sunday at Gopher Dunes. With a high of only 5-7 degrees C, and wind that had it looking like a scene from one of those horrible Mummy movies (not the great old ones, the new terrible ones). Sand storms had spectators and photographers ducking for cover and riders trying to land back on the track!

I heard they had just under 400 entries and the racing was actually great, regardless of what Mother Nature tried to do. Here’s a look at some of the racing action from the Atlas Brace Madskills RD3 – SWO ANQ #2 at Gopher Dunes.

To my surprise, there was a solid handful of top Pro riders, including #2 Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing rider #2 Colton Facciotti.

#4 MX2 rider Cole Thompson was also there to get some seat time in race conditions.

#11 Kaven Benoit was one the line with his big KTM Thor racing 450 and new mechanic, Mat.

#15 Big Steel Box Fly Redemption Racing KTM’s Shawn Maffenbeier is still in Ontario and lined up with his mechanic, Josh Cox, at his side.

It took me a few laps to recognize the riding style of #56 Nathan Bles. There aren’t too many riders who can lead Facciotti at Gopher Dunes, so the list of possible candidates was short.

With a line-up like that (plus more), there was nothing left to do but find a good spot to watch from and wait for the action…Right, Randy Weibe?

The two Scott brothers, Tanner (shown here) and Hunter, are definitely a couple young riders to keep an eye on. Tanner finished 2nd to Hunter in the 85 (7-11) class.

Hunter took the win with 1-1 motos and was catching and passing most of the older 85cc class that left the gate first.

#124 Tyler Evanitski was the rider to beat in the Supermini class (1-1).

#140 Tyson Fehr took 3rd in Supermini and went DQ-2 (9th) in 85 (12-16) because he lined up with big wheels in the 85cc class for the first moto.

#77 Zach Sullivan took 2nd in Supermini and won 85 (12-16) after winning both motos.

Tyler Evanitski also lined up in 250 Junior (1-1 1st) and Schoolboy 2 (6-8 7th).

#16 Brad Williams took 2nd in Schoolboy 1, 2nd in 250 Junior, and 6th in Open Junior.

Was Bill Van Vugt there, you ask? Of course he was! And on a new Husqvarna 4-stroke, too.

I always assumed my first amateur number had been retired across the continent. Jacob Parsons may be breaking an unwritten rule here…

If you were wondering if Randy ever made it up, he did.

#818 Davin Grose won 450 Intermediate.

#424 Austin Watling and #46 Marco Cannella went at it tooth and nail every time they were on the track together.

Marco won Schoolboy 1 and 2.

While Austin won 250 and 450 Intermediate and traded wins with Marco in Schoolboy 2.

#98 Julia Krzemein finished 1-1 in Ladies A.

#31 Heather Bennett took second with 3-2 motos.

#927 Robin Hutchinson was 3rd.

A Junior moto hits the first turn and then chases us off the berm when there was a big pile-up.

Pro Open

#17 Damon Luksys was 14th.

Dylan Langlois is back and took 13th.

#38 Jason Burke took 12th.

The Plus 30 A motos were fun to watch as #38 Jay Burke and #713 Zeb Dennis were this close the entire time with Zeb eventually going 1-1.

Zeb had to pull out all the stops to make it happen!

#77 Justin Roney took 10th in Open Pro.

#4 Cole Thompson wound up back in 9th spot after going 2-DNS. He crashed late in the Under 30 2nd moto and decided to sit out the final Pro moto. He was on a 350, by the way.

#37 Drew Roberts got off to his usual strong starts and finished 7th (8-7).

#68 Taylor Ciampichini finished just ahead of him in 6th (7-6).

Zeb finished 5th.

Nathan Bles took 4th overall (5-4).

#15 Shawn Maffenbeier had a few issues but still took 3rd (4-3).

#2 Colton Facciotti sounded like he was just cruising and took 2nd place (3-2).

#11 Kaven Benoit found some smooth lines and looked great in his 450 Pro races against some top-level riders. Kaven won all 4 of his motos and looks ready for action this summer in the big bike class.

Thanks for looking, and see you at the races…

Well, I guess that will do it for another week. Have a great weekend, wherever your bike may take you. I’ll be up at Motopark taking in the Motopark Cup. The weather is finally going to cooperate so it should be a good one. Saskatchewan native, Shawn Maffenbeier, is still here in Ontario so watch for him to be tough to beat this weekend on his Big Steel Box Fly Redemption Racing KTM 250F. Just remember to tell Dave Snider to plug the coffee maker in!

Kyle Swanson says, “See you at the races…or Heeeeere’s Johnny!” (Google it, Bowker!)|Bigwave photo