Frid’Eh Update #22 Presented by RMR Online Outlet

Frid’EH Update #22 Presented by RMR Online Outlet

By Jeff McConkey and Billy Rainford

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Welcome to the ‘double deuce’ edition of the DMX Frid’Eh Update Presented by RMR Online Outlet. Week #22 belongs to the rider we got to know last season when he picked up a ride with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team to race the MX2 class on the KX250F. Not everyone knew much about the rider who calls Arizona home but whose mother lives in Saskatchewan.

Cole Martinez showed up in Kamloops and #134 was an immediate factor, finishing with 4-4 motos for an impressive 4th overall. He kept the ball rolling in the first moto of round 2 at the Wastelands in Nanaimo by taking another 4th in the first moto. Unfortunately, when he tangled with another rider early in the second moto, a hard fall would sideline him for three rounds. Cole didn’t return until round 6 in Deschambault where 6-12 motos gave him 9th overall.

Here’s a look at his 2015 Rockstar Energy MX Nationals season:

Cole went on to compete in the 250 West Supercross series and had a few solid rides, finishing 14th. Here are the final standings:

According to his Twitter account (@colemartinezz), he’s currently open to offers: “@pulpmx any fill in rides after this weekend?”

We grabbed him for a chat to talk about last season and what his plans are for this upcoming summer:

Direct Motocross: Hello, Cole. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. First off, if we can back up to last year for a second, how did the deal come together that saw you head north and race in Canada?

It came together with ‘Frenchie’ (Luc Caouette). I told him I’d like to race in Canada and I had Canadian citizenship, so it worked out.

You were a consistent 4-4 for 4th at round 1 in Kamloops, but then trouble struck in the 2nd moto in Nanaimo. Can you take us through that incident that would keep you away from the races until round 6 in Deschambault?

Yeah, it happened on the start. I came together with another rider and I ended up on the bad side of the deal. I ended up hurting my shoulder pretty bad.

You’re half Canadian but live in the USA. What did you think of our series up here?

It was good. I liked it a lot smaller and more mellow than the series here in the US . The thing I didn’t like was flying in two days early for the races.

What track was your favourite, and why?

Umm, I thought a couple of the sand tracks were really good. I feel I could have done a lot better in different circumstances.

Which was your least favourite, and why?

Moncton.

Were you impressed or surprised at the pace up here or did you know it was going to be tough up here?

No, not surprised.

What did you get up to after Walton?

Went home for a bit and had some fun with some friends – nothing too crazy.

You raced Supercross last winter. How did the series go for you?

In my opinion, it was a rough season for me. I rode really well but just couldn’t seem to put it all together to be up front. I think it was the best the west coast has been for a while. My lap times were there.

So, now we’re heading into the outdoor season in the USA and Canada. What are your racing plans for the summer?

Right now, my plans are to continue training and riding outdoors and hope a good fill-in ride comes up. I’ll be ready, just hopefully I get the opportunity…and I wouldn’t mind Racing in Canada as well, if something came up there.

Well, good luck with your summer and we hope things turn out well for you. Who would you like to thank?

Thanks, man. Just everyone that sticks behind me, and all my friends and family.

Good luck, Cole. He showed he has the potential to do very well, but at that level he said you really can’t just show up at say Glen Helen, dish out $2000 and ride equipment that isn’t up to the task. Hopefully, he lands somewhere on a good ride. He is, after all, half Canadian!

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Jeff McConkey

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Hi, guys. It’s a hot Friday here in Southern Ontario, but you won’t hear any complaints from this guy. We are getting closer to the first round of the CMRC Rockstar Energy Nationals. The local racing has been very exciting, and we have a fantastic crop of local new stars waiting for their chance to shine. The top 4 that jump to my mind would have to be Marco Cannella, Tanner Ward, Austin Watling, and young Jake Tricco. All 4 of these riders have the capabilities to be stars in the future.

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Lucas Oil Pro Motocross

Round 1 of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Nationals went off last Saturday at Hangtown and we had two very dominant winners. In 250 action, #37 Joey Savatgy pretty much straight-up smoked the field. Joey has always been known as more of an outdoor type of guy, but I never expected this. Yes, he had a great West Coast SX series, and is riding high in confidence after his East/West Shootout win, but nobody saw this coming. I thought he got a little lucky qualifying 1st, but he totally backed it up and heads into Round 2 at Glen Helen with a 15-point lead. Defending champion, #1 Jeremy Martin, came in under the weather and was lucky to escape with a 5th o/a. His older brother, #26 Alex Martin, was given a gift of 2nd o/a with 8-2 moto scores and #17 Cooper Webb was 3rd o/a with a 4-5.

In the big boy class, #94 Ken Roczen smoked everyone. He was on a different level and was very impressive. Kenny is in a very good place right now and I really hope he can keep it going and make a serious run at #1 Ryan Dungey for 22 more motos. Speaking of Dungey, the champ was very good at Hangtown. And like the old saying goes, “you can’t win a championship at the first round, but you sure can lose it.” Dungey wants to win every time out, but he is smart enough to know when it is his race to win. Dungey won’t be rattled from Roczen’s dominant rides, he will just work harder. #3 Eli Tomac was much better than he had been indoors and carded a 4-4 for 3rd o/a. No, this wasn’t the same Eli who destroyed the field for the first rounds last year, but it was a good start for the #3. #21 Jason Anderson looked good, #41 Trey Canard made it through healthy and heck even #51 Justin Barcia was in the top 10. It’s going to be one heck of a summer. Here are my predictions for Glen Helen:

250 Class

1st Jeremy Martin
2nd Cooper Webb
3rd Joey Savatgy
4th Zach Osborne
5th Adam Cianciarulo

450 Class

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

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Husqvarna FC250 and Pirelli MX32 Pro Tires

Last Saturday, I made the trip East to the MMRS practice at Madoc to get one final ride in on our 2016 Husqvarna FC250. I was also there to put some time on the new Pirelli MX32 Pro tire. They say that your first impression is the most important. Well, I was blown away with my first impression of this new tire. The dirt was tilled nice and deep with just the right mount of moisture. I was blown away with the performance of the new MX32 Pro. It hooked up amazing and made my day a whole lot easier. The rear tire never loaded up and had just the right amount of bite everywhere. On the front wheel, I had the MX32 and I was very impressed with how it cornered. It is a tire I can be very confident in and I feel like I can attack like the corners with zero thoughts of the front pushing or plowing. I can’t wait to get some more track time on these awesome tires from the great people at Pirelli.

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If You’re Gonna Flag…FLAG!

Before I call it a day, I’d like to go on a small rant. Attention, flaggers: You are there to do a job and ensure the safety of the riders paying good money to practice or race in the safest environment possible! You are our eyes on blind jumps, and we put our trust in you. You are also getting paid to do this, or volunteering your time. You are not forced to do this job. Please stay off you fricken cell phones and do your job!

I had to pull over on Saturday and let an official know that a certain flagger was too busy taking pictures and videos with his cell phone to do his job properly. To make things worse, Women’s National #7 East, Alexandra Raymond, is out after having surgeries on both elbows due to a flagger’s error. Alexandra is great rider and even greater person, and I ‘d personally like to send out a big get well soon, Alexandra!

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That’s it for me this week. Check out the Shrader’s ‘Out Of The Blue‘ featuring Marika Hamel. And if you have an hour to kill, we have a good 2016 pre-season PODCAST with Bigwave, Brett Lee and myself.  Have a great day and always #smileforBC!

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Billy Rainford

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Thanks, Jeff. Wow, I had no idea about the crash Alexandra Raymond had last week. I wasn’t there and don’t know the whole story so I can’t really comment on how it happened, but if distracted flagging is why it happened then something definitely needs to be addressed!I hope you’re on the mend.

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MX vs. ATV Supercross Encore Coming in July

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Quebec Provincial Championships – Challenge Quebec

Things are underway in Quebec with their always-competitive Challenge Quebec Provincial Championships. Here are a few results from last weekend at Franklin Motosport.

Who to watch in…

Intermediate MX3:

Supermini:

Women’s A:

Junior MX3:

This weekend, the Provincials head to Tring-Jonction.

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Video: New Era Motopark Cup – Round 2|Pro Am/Under 30

Last weekend up at Motopark in Chatsworth, Ontario, was where you should have been if you wanted to see a few top-level Pro riders shake out the cobwebs in race conditions. The rider to beat was #15 Big Steel Box Fly Redemption Racing KTM’s Shawn Maffenbeier on his 350. Michigan’s Monster Energy Kawasaki rider, #335 Joey Crown, was under-powered on his 250F but managed to take the Pro Am overall after a flat tire slowed Maff’s chances at that class. #56 Nathan Bles was always up near the front off the start on his 450, #713 Zeb Dennis, #17 MX101 FXR Yamaha’s Dylan Wright and his teammate #35 Hayden Halstead were also in the mix. Check out some video of the action:

New Era Motopark Cup – Round 2 (Pro Am/Under 30) from Directmotocross.com on Vimeo.

Rounds 3 and 4 take place July 2-3 at Motopark.

If you’re interested in seeing the Photo Report we posted of the weekend, you can click HERE to see it.

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DMX Poll Results

Heading into the summer, there seemed to be a lot of questions about which series to dedicate your hard-earned money and time to at the amateur level. With new organizations coming on strong and established ones fighting for your gate spot, we thought we’d put it out there and ask people where they planned on racing this year. Here is the graph of the results:

Wherever you plan on racing, good luck and have fun. Stay tuned for a new Poll Question here on the site.

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Monster Alpinestars Kawasaki – Jason Hughes

I grabbed Monster Energy Alpinestars Kawasaki Team Owner/Manager, Jason Hughes, for a quick chat this afternoon to check in on how his formidable team of #800 Mike Alessi, #55 Vince Friese, and #100 Jacob Hayes is looking with just over 1 week to go until the first gate drops on the Canadian season.

Were it not for a few problems two years ago, Mike may have been the 2014 MX1 champ. Vince Friese showed up in Calgary last summer and took the MX1 overall. And Jacob Hayes won everything is sight last fall in the Canadian AX Tour. It’s a very solid squad.

Jason calls round 1’s host city of Kamloops, BC home and mentioned that it’s been raining there the past couple days but that the long range forecast is calling for 30 degree C, so it’s gonna be hot!

Jason is quick to point out that North Carolina native, Jacob, is one of the best guys he’s ever worked with – hard-working and polite are two very appreciated qualities in a rider. Jason feels Jacob will be right there every week fighting for wins and this MX2 championship. Jason says, “Jacob is a racer and will work hard to do what it takes to win. He looks amazing on the 250!” If last year’s AX Tour was any indication, I think I’d be inclined to believe him.

Vince Friese’s win in Calgary may be difficult to duplicate this season, with the number of established riders competing, but you would have said that last summer, too. Jason feels Vince will be a consistent podium threat this summer.

Like I said earlier, Mike could have been your 2014 MX1 champion. Heading into this summer, Mike will again be one of the odds on favourites for the title. When I asked Jason if there is a #1 and #2 rider on the team, he was quick to point out that they will both be “treated equally and get the same support needed to take a run at this title.”

#61 will be Kamloops local Josh Allen‘s number when the racing starts. The team will take his bike to each round and he will be pitted under his tent just beside the rig’s awning.

Also, the team will be offering help to Kawasaki riders at every round with their ‘Team Green Trackside Support‘ area. If any Kawasaki rider needs some assistance on race weekend, a qualified technician will be on site to help with anything that a racer may need to keep his or her bike race ready.

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Eve Brodeur West Coast Race Report

May 27th,

Laval, Quebec, Canada

So far, 2016 has been great for Eve. As her first year racing the US WMX series, it is a learning year for her. She is the youngest in the class (16 yo) and she is racing experienced women she has never raced before except at one occasion when she was 14 years old. She has to adapt to race tracks with much different soil and obstacles then what she usually races in Canada. After the first two rounds in Daytona and Freestone where she was riding timid and made a lot of mistakes, Eve was offered the opportunity to have her race bike hauled to California (thanks to Marissa Markelon) for round 3 and 4 at Pala and Hangtown.

Eve flew in to Pala a week before the race and got to hangout and ride with Marissa thorough the week at tracks like Chaney Ranch and Pala.  Came race day, Eve knew the concrete pad start would be an issue as we never get to experience these in Canada. She spun out really bad on the first start, but quickly made some passes and was keeping up with the leaders and even battled with the 2015 champ and point leader Fasnatch for a couple of laps. She ended the day with a 6-6 score on the overall of both motos.  Realizing she could run the leaders pace for a couple of laps got Eve fired up and she couldn’t wait to be back home for a couple of week to train even harder.

Last week was the 4th round at Hangtown in conjunction with the AMA Pro National. Despite struggling with the track conditions in the morning free practice where she couldn’t find her groove, Eve rode smart in the time qualifying practice, she manage to find a clear track ahead of her for a lap, found some good lines and clinched the pole position by 1.26 sec over the 2nd qualifying time.  The stress kicked back in moto one and Eve rode tight, but managed to do her first top 5 moto finish. She felt a little better in race 2 and was even running in 3rd in the closing laps and ended up crossing the finish line in 4th place for an overall race score of 4th place.

Eve will head out to the Loretta Lynn’s Regional qualifier at High point next week where she will try and qualify for the Nationals in the men’s B class and have some valuable practice time before the next WMX race at that same track June 19th.

Eve would like to thank everyone behind her, but more importantly Motovan.com and their Black Rider program (#BLKRDR80), we wouldn’t be able to travel the country without their support. Dunlop for the great support at Hangtown, FMF, Zox helmets, TCX boots, Five advanced gloves, Oakley, Boutique-VR, KTM Canada, Duroy, Jimmy and Trevor at JWTF and Axxel suspension

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OK, there is so much to do before I hop into the #DMXVan and head west Sunday morning. Actually, as soon as I get to Kamloops, I have the opportunity to fly to Glen Helen to test the new KTM line-up of 2-stroke mx bikes. I’m really looking forward to riding the bikes on the famous track that I’ve never actually been to.

Be sure to check back for some updates along my drive west. I still haven’t decided which highway I’ll go for this time. Any suggestions?

Have a great weekend and good luck wherever you line up to race or ride.