Frid’Eh Update #23 | Jamie Powell | Brought to you by Yamaha Motor Canada
By Billy Rainford
Welcome to Week #23 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update this week brought to you by Yamaha Motor Canada. The travelling Canadian MX Nationals circus is currently on its way from Kamloops, BC to Drumheller, AB. I sort of wish every transition between rounds was like this one; you’re not going to find a nicer drive in the country.
I stayed in Kamloops as long as I could to spend a little more time with my sister and mom. I’ve been away from home and Emily far too long, but this feels like the first step in making my way back to our place.
I got a text message from Dave McGregor the other day. He said he has a nicely restored and hooped up 2004 Yamaha YZ 250 2-stroke for me to ride if I were to make it to Wild Rose MX in Calgary. He messaged me Thursday afternoon and asked me how many bikes he was loading up on his way over to the track. I took a look at the map and then my watch and decided it just wasn’t in the cards. Thanks for the offer, Dave. It would have been a blast to rip that track on a 2-stroke with you. But I guess you don’t know my stance on black swingarms…
I made it as far as Canmore last night and decided that was close enough. I wanted to stay in the mountains for as long as I could and it’s only about 2 1/2 hours to DORVA MX in Drumheller, I think.
I decided to take the time to go for a cycle this morning. I considered going back to Kananaskis like I have in the past but then decided the time I just had to take off the bike in Kamloops meant I was in no shape to be pushing it up mountain trails yet. I decided to do the Legacy Trail that runs alongside Highway 1 between Canmore and Banff on my Scott Addict road bike instead.
It was uphill into the wind on the way out. It was definitely a grind, but I knew what it meant when I finally turned around, so I pressed on. What a great ride that was! No cars and limited other cyclists out when I was there. I did hit some bike traffic when I started getting closer to the Information Centre where I started. If you’re in the area and want to go for a road ride but don’t want the hassle of car traffic, this is a great choice.
Jamie Powell is the rider with the #23 for 2022. As far as numbers go, I’d say that’s about as good-looking a digit as any. I’m old so I assume I like it because I was so used to seeing it do amazing things back in the 1990’2 when Michael Jordan wore it. Chase Sexton runs it for that same reason.
Unfortunately, we haven’t had the chance to see Jamie race the number yet, but we’ll get to that later. Jamie is the rider who has been connected to Kevin Tyler and his MX101 FXR Yamaha team for a number of years. They are a great fit.
If you don’t know Jamie, let me just tell you that he is one of the characters in our Pro ranks. I don’t know him all that well, but every time I talk to him or see him doing something it cracks me up. You saw his roller skating Instagram posts, right?
Let’s have a look at his 2021 season:
250 MX:
250 SX:
He’s been fighting a foot injury that has kept him away from the Nationals so far. Let’s see what he had to say when we spoke with him this week:
Direct Motocross: Hello, Jamie. Let’s start off by talking about the 2021 MX season. You earned yourself #23 for 2022. Can you tell us how your 2021 MX season went for you? Your best MX results was a 9th overall. What was the highlight?
Jamie Powell: Season went alright, wasn’t much better then the season before so wasn’t exactly the way we planned it. I definitely had a few good motos and moments so it wasn’t a bad season, but there was lots of room for improvement. A highlight? I don’t really know, to be honest, but a funny one was probably Deschambault when me and (William) Crete came together and did a few flips. That got the boys all fired up! Haha
And then in the SX portion of the season your best result was also a 9th. How did SX go for you?
SX wasn’t bad. I never really got much practice before so rounds 1 and 2 were basically practice. I always love riding SX, I just never had the experience on it to do well.
Is AMA Supercross something you’re interested in? Are you ever going to try it?
It would be sick to do for sure but at this point I don’t believe it’ll be a thing I’ll go to other than to spectate. Haha!
What did you get up to when the season ended?
Season ended and I just kind of sat back and relaxed for a bit and then the injury wasn’t short after the last Supercross race, so from then it just bed ridden and in wheelchair and crutches for 2 months then started to be able to walk in a boot around Christmas.
So, you weren’t able to head south to train this winter. What happened?
Dumb mistaken over the winter which ended up snapping and shattering my heel bone, and now there are 11 screws and a titanium plate in my heel bone.
And how are you doing now?
Doin good, working lots and trying to enjoy life outside of moto!
The 2022 season has started out west and you’re not here. Did you watch the first round?
I was at the cottage with no service so unfortunately I didn’t get to watch it, but I did see results and times and it looks like it’ll be some tight racing all year!
Will you join the series when we get east later in the summer?
At this point, it’s not looking like it with the foot still not healed 100% and even if the time came and it was better I’d have 0 hours on a bike in 8 months.
What is it that you do for work?
I run heavy equipment/drive dump truck for my dad’s company Powell Contracting. We do excavation and septic systems.
I guess the injury has also hampered your roller skating activities? Are you on team Jack Tripper or Larry Dallas? (Google it, Bowker!)
It really took a toll on my roller blade activities for sure. It’s been sad few months without my weekly roller blading. Larry Dallas for sure just from his style.
What are you going to do for the rest of the summer?
Working, mainly! Lots of boating and golfing for sure. It’s always an exciting time.
Is your plan to keep chasing the MX dream?
It was, for sure, but even before the foot injury the dream was fading away. We’ll see what happens in the near future, I guess.
What are you able to do for fun these days while you’re off the bike?
Going out on the boat and golfing has been the main two for sure. I’ve gotta work on some golfing skills, but we’re getting there.
Well, good luck getting back to 100%. Hopefully, you’re back soon, if that’s what you decide you want to do. Who would you like to thank?
Ya, thank you. First off, I want to thank Kevin Tyler for everything he’s done for me up to this point and believing in me and my riding. He’s helped me out since I was starting racing and then ever since I got on Yamaha he was a big support to the program. My parents, of course. Same thing, super supportive and helped me through all of this, and anyone that’s ever helped out along the way, there’s a bunch of people out there who have helped me come to where I have today, and, of course, you Billy, for this interview. Haha!
Connor Stevenson Racing First AMA Pro Motocross National
We’ve got some riders to keep an eye on in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships this weekend at Lakewood MX in Colorado. Connor Stevenson is the 17-year-old from Canada who has called Colorado home for the past few years, but he never let’s anyone forget that he still bleeds the red and white of Canada.
Connor got accepted for his pro card this season and will line up this Saturday. He sort of announced that he’s stepping away from the sport a little but with the national right in his back yard, it’s pretty hard not to check that one off your bucket list.
Connor is another rider down south who I’d love to see get a shot on a team up here. Next summer maybe?
Here’s his IG post:
Good luck this weekend, Connor!
William Crete – One More AMA National
You’ll have a hard time finding a nicer person than William Crete. In fact, Jeff McConkey always joked that he’s probably just too damn nice to make it in this sport. Well, William has lined up for the first 2 rounds down south and will try his hand once more before heading north.
He qualified 47th at Round 1 at Fox Raceway. He finished 8th in the consolation and didn’t make the gate drops.
One week later at Hangtown MX, he qualified 32nd and headed to the motos. He finished 32nd (32-29).
We went back and forth a couple times this week and decided we’ll wait until after this weekend to do a podcast interview and talk about the whole experience. We’ll grab him on Monday.
Good luck this weekend, William.
Canadian Triple Crown Round 1 in Kamloops
Greg Poisson made the trip out for round 1 and it was great to have him there. We posted a ton of content throughout the weekend. If you’re reading this from down south or from another part of the world and didn’t see any of it, here’s your chance:
I’ll be solo this weekend but I’m hoping to have our Off-Road guy, Jared Stock, step in and help out on camera with me.
I spoke with him and he’s dusting off his MX leathers and racing the 450 class in Drumheller on Sunday. Excellent. Watch for some great insights from the Alberta multi-discipline racer.
Who impressed me last week, you ask? Well, I thought you never would!
Thor WMX
#912 Kaylie Kayer really stood out for me. She has a ton of skill and rides the style needed to keep improving. She looks comfortable going fast and will keep improving if she keeps racing.
#09 Annalyse Lopushinsky is only 15 and is the future of the WMX in Canada, I would say. She’s pretty tall and is getting taught by Brock Hoyer. Keep an eye out for her this weekend.
FXR Premix
What can you say about #58 Blake Davies?! He’s only 13 and is over 6-feet tall! The sky is the limit, literally, for this rider out of Mission, BC. Oh wait, I know what I can say, look out Junior classes at the TransCan this year!
#48 Jayden Riley pulled holeshots on his Supermini against the big bikes. I’m told he’s on one of Noah Viney’s bikes and that it may be pretty fast… Jayden is another rider you need to have on your amateur radar.
250
#30 Sebastien Racine and #510 Marcus Deausy deserve to be mentioned here. Sebastien was 3rd in the first moto and Marcus ran up in 4th for a while! Well done, guys.
450
#13 Daniel Elmore was the stand-out for me up there in 5th place with a 9th in moto 1 and then a very solid 4th in moto 2. Let’s see if he can continue to be the rider just off the podium or better.
Good luck to everyone this week.
It’s time to finish this drive to DORVA MX in Drumheller and say good bye to the mountains for another season. My plan is to do a lap of the track on my Scott MTB with the GoPro to give everyone a look at what we’re dealing with. Whether I’m able to do that or not remains to be seen.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.
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