Frid’Eh Update #29 | Tee Perrott | Brought to You by Yamaha Motor Canada
By Billy Rainford
Welcome to Week #29 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update this week brought to you by Yamaha Motor Canada. As I edit this week’s interview, I’m making my way from Ontario to Moncton, New Brunswick, taking the American route. If you’re a running shoe geek like I used to be (and still am a bit), this way takes you through some pretty hallowed ground.
Back in the day, I was a tri geek and was sponsored by New Balance. We got a trip to Boston to check out their head office and also took a short road trip to one of their manufacturing plants in Lawrence, Mass. As I drove through the area earlier today, I found myself having to resist the urge to pull off the highway to take another look. I think the last time I did the trip was in 1995 or 1996 or something. However, all I did this time was snap a pic of the sign from the interstate.
Later this afternoon I’ll be passing through Bangor, Maine, which used to be where Saucony made a bunch of their running shoes. I have no idea if they still do or not, but there’s an outlet store there so I think I’ll have to stop in and take a photo for a friend of mine who is the biggest “Swift Flowing Water” fan in the world. He’ll go nuts!
Oh, you’ll learn something else about me in the middle of our interview this week, so hold all your judgements until then because it’s likely about to get worse…much worse. 😬
Tee Perrott is #29 for the 2023 season but we haven’t seen him on the track yet because of a training injury he suffered this past winter. Tee is the rider from just south of Calgary in a place called Cayley, Alberta. He’s also the rider whose name is actually very simple but we all try to fancy it up somehow…until we’re finally corrected. Yes, I ask him about that for clarification.
We have to go back to 2022 to see a full season from Tee:
Tee was one of the riders in that big group who were fighting for top 10’s every week. He was hoping to show himself to be at the top of that list in 2023, but we’ll have to wait a little longer to see that.
We grabbed him for an interview this week to see what he’s been up to. We have seen him at the races and spoken with him this year he’s just not been racing. Here’s what he had to say:
Direct Motocross: Hello, Tee. Thanks for talking with us this week. I want to back it up to 2022 first. You had some solid top 10’s in the 450 class. Were you happy with your progression last summer?
Tee Perrott: I was pretty happy with how last summer went. Had my ups and downs but learnt a ton. Those damn sand track killed me but I figured out what I had to work on.
And has it already been a couple years since your weird crash at Walton? What happened there?
Yeah, the Walton crash was a wild time. Got caught up with Ryan Derry going past the mechanics area and went down pretty hard. Went to the hospital near Walton to get x-rays. The doctors came back, saying everything was fine, gave me some drugs and sent me on my way. Got a flight home the next day and walked around for 3 days and was still in pretty rough shape. So I went to get a check-up to make sure everything was good and they came back and said I got 5 broken vertebrae! I got 2 plates and 6 screws holding it all together.
So now we head into 2023 and you’re looking to keep improving, but we have yet to see you on the line. Can you tell everyone what happened?
I went down to Dreamland in Florida for the winter and was feeling good. With about a week to go before I headed home, I had a crash where I ended up breaking my wrist and forearm. Was in the hospital for 5 days and got 2 plates 12 screws and 5 pins. Hopefully getting back on the bike this week tho.
You’ve been coming to the races still though. What have you been doing on race days?
I was just there to help the boys out in any way I could. Helping with prepping the bikes and cleaning shit. It’s always nice having an extra set of eyes to watch for lines and stuff like that. So I would talk to them in between qualifying and motos about what was working and not.
Looking at the 450 results, so you think you would have been steadily improving this year with your results?
Yeah, I felt like I could have really done good this year. The sand was my biggest struggle last year so I worked a lot on that this winter and felt a lot more confident.
What have you been able to do to stay fit and sharp for when you’re back?
The wrist really set me back for sure. I’ve been riding the stationary bike quite a bit and just trying to stay active. These last couple weeks I’ve been able to get on the MTB which has been helping a lot.
When will you be back on a bike, or are you already?
I’m hoping this week. I lost a lot of grip strength with this injury, so we’ll just have to see how everything feels.
Do you think we’ll see you on the line this MX season?
I’m trying for Walton. I’d love to get back on the line but at the same time if it doesn’t work out then that’s just the was she goes.
Who has impressed you so far this summer?
Man, the Manluk boys have been killing it. Zach (Ufimzeff) has been riding unbelievable and Andy (Truyts) is crushing it. Daniel Elmore it flying this year. I was watching the Sand Del Lee motos this weekend and he did unbelievable.
What else do you do besides moto? Any winter sports or other hobbies that keep you busy?
In the winter I snowboard and that’s really it. We go to the ODR in the winter but I’m shit on skates. I enjoy mountain biking and playing some Call of Duty.
To end this, can you tell us something about you that you think might surprise people? I listen to classical music while I do crosswords. Can you top that?
Nothing too crazy. I grew up in a big rodeo family so I’ll ride a horse every once in awhile but that’s really it. I was actually named after a world champion team roper, Tee Woolman.
Oh, one last thing then, to pronounce your name it’s just Tee like the hot beverage and Perrott like the exotic bird, right?
Haha yeah, pretty simple, but everyone likes to try and French up my last name.
OK, we look forward to seeing you back on the line soon. Good luck and who would you like to thank?
I’d like to thank the whole Manluk Rock River JCP team, Fox Canada, Enzo, Lime Nine, Matrix Canada, FMF Vision, XPR, Yamaha Canada, my mom and dad, the Seitz family, Pat Shippit and the Luebke family!
Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals Points
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Things to watch for:
- #1 Sam Gaynor is running the #1 and racing PreMix and the 250 Pro/Am class. He’s definitely the one to beat and we’ll have to watch to see if he can go undefeated this series.
- #327 Brandon Gourlay is likely the next fastest rider in this field but suffered a couple mechanicals. If he makes the trip east to River Glade he’s likely the only one who can keep Sam in sight.
- #613 Cole Pranger is the young up-and-comer who went from last to 2nd in moto 1 at Sand Del Lee. I’d like to see him grab a start and see if he can latch on to Sam’s pace and run it for a while.
- #26 Ethan Darrach made the trip west to Ontario and has good speed. He’ll be on home turf this week, so we’ll see it that means he’s the 2nd-fastest rider this week. My money says yes.
- Will a local grab a 2-stroke and jump in? Mitch Cooke?
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Things to watch for:
- #1 Eve Brodeur could be on her way to racking up her 9th Canadian title. That’s a lot!
- #2 Jamie Astudillo is visibly pissed at not being able to beat Eve yet this year. As we head to clay, maybe this is the place she sinks her teeth in and pushes Eve to a mistake for a win?
- #36 Avrie Berry also expects a lot from herself and will be pushing to be in this conversation. She’s running out of time and this may be where she matches the pace.
- Watch how #192 Amelie Croteau rides the bike. Of all the riders on the track, I’d say she’s the one who could make the most speed gains. I’d like to see her run with the top 3 this week.
- I’m actually sitting in #7 Brooke Merrow‘s home state right now – Maine. Let’s see if this proximity helps her move forward this week.
- #3 Malia Garant is still fighting to come back from a back injury earlier this year. She crashed in the first turn in moto at Sand Del Lee and came back to 11th. Hopefully, another week will get her closer to riding like herself. She’ll definitely be the one to do the big finish line section on lap 1 this week!
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Things to watch for:
- #1 Ryder McNabb is on a winning streak. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have put so much weight on his leg injury affecting his results. He’s obviously fine and I feel pretty silly not having picked him for this title.
- #126 Kaven Benoit beat himself up pretty good in both motos last week. He’ll be coming in from a pretty tame week in recovery mode. Let’s hope he’s not feeling any ill-effects from last week and is in the mix again in Moncton. He will be.
- #23 Josiah Natzke sits 3rd and is losing touch with McNabb. He’s close to Kaven and will need to show his speed and make a move for 2nd in this championship fast if he wants it to happen.
- #8 Mitchell Harrison dug himself a hole early this season. However, he’s got the speed to win motos and is now beginning to gap 5th place in the points. A podium in points looks like it’s out of reach but you never know!
- I expect the clay this week to bring a few of the western riders into the mix this week. Watch for Zach Ufimzeff and Blake Davies to be faster.
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- What can I say about #1 Dylan Wright? We don’t often have a rider who would be competitive elsewhere in the world, but we do with Dylan. I know this pisses off riders like Jess Pettis, Tyler Medaglia, and Shawn Maffenbeier, but Dylan is in a class of his own right now.
- Speaking of Shawn, his crash at Gopher Dunes resulted in a pretty solid concussion, but he’s back this week! Hopefully, he’ll be right back in the mix, making the top 4 more exciting.
- I think Jess Pettis has the runner-up spot on lock, but the fight for 3rd is where the action will be between Shawn and Tyler, but we’ll see…
- #25 Daniel Elmore landed on the podium last week at Sand Del Lee. Let’s see if he can keep the ball rolling this week. I think a couple things will need to line up for him, but he should be riding with some added confidence after last week.
- At this point, I think we’ve got our top 5 sorted out: Dylan Wright, Jess Pettis, Tyler Medaglia/Shawn Maffenbeier, and Daniel Elmore. #20 Jeremy McKie would like to be in this conversation, too, so let’s see what he can do to make that happen this week.
- #22 Tyler Gibbs is a rider on the way up in the 450 class. He gets great starts and should be able to hang at the top pace longer this week. Let’s see what he’s got for us.
- #26 Julien Benek has been riding well within himself on the big 450 and it showed in his 7-7 for 6th last week.
- #787 Lars Van Berkel was a fun addition to the last 2 rounds. He was a podium threat but had a flight to catch back to The Netherlands on Monday. He didn’t have a ride to the airport so maybe he’s still wandering around Canada?! Lol.
AMA Pro Motocross Heads to Washougal
The AMA Pro Motocross Championships head to Washougal, Washington, this week. When I lived in Vancouver I never missed this round for 11 years. I have some pretty amazing stories from those road trips down the I-5 to the Columbia River and then left! We’d usually bring surf boards and head to the Oregon or Washington coast after the races. Good times. 🌊
Anyway, I usually snipe facts from these MX Sports mailers and try to look like I knew these facts without being supplied, but this week the secret is out. I don’t have time to go through and post cool facts on Instagram, so you can have a look for yourself as I continue my drive to Moncton. I’m sure most of you already knew I’m not that smart…
OK, my coffee at this Starbucks in Brunswick, Maine, has gotten cold so it’s time for me to make tracks and complete this road trip. So far, the #DMXVan has performed like a champ and she’s almost at the distance that will make her an official “moon car.”
Enjoy your weekend and be sure to check in with us throughout the weekend and afterward for all our coverage from one of the best rounds of Canadian Triple Crown Series Motocross Nationals of the season – River Glade.
Oh, I’ll leave you with all our videos from last week at Sand Del Lee in case you’re reading this from down south and our link on Racer X Racerhead and haven’t watched yet:
Faces at the Races HERE.
MTB Lap of the track at the end of the day:
Bigwave’s Walk and Talk:
FXR Race Recap:
OK, now go have a good weekend.
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