Frid’Eh Update #29 | Tim Tremblay | Brought to You by Race Tech

Frid’EH Update #29 | Tim Tremblay | Brought to You by Race Tech

By Billy Rainford

Brought to you by Race Tech

Week #29 belongs to Tim Tremblay from Quebec. | Bigwave photo

We’re coming to you from Sussex, NB this week. The traveling circus we call the Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals are as far to the right side of Canada as we’re going to get. We’re at River Glade in Moncton, NB this weekend. Will I go to Magnetic Hill again? Likely.

We haven’t been out here since 2019. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long, but the pandemic started in 2020 and this is our first time returning to the maritimes since then.

Tim Tremblay is #29 for 2022. He had that scary crash at Deschambault last year on the far side of the track that took him out of the rest of the season. The funny thing is, he didn’t even realize he was #29 for this season when I first got in touch with him for this interview.

Tim is the rider who, over the years, always made the bulk of his earnings winning snowmobile races and only sort of dabbled in MX enough to keep himself safe for the winter season. You can see why now!

Anyway, we got in touch with him this week to see how he’s doing after his latest get-off left him pretty banged up again. Here’s what he had to say:

Here’s what Tim Tremblay had to say when we spoke with him this week. | Bigwave photo

Direct Motocross: Hey Tim, we haven’t seen you in a while. You were set to race the entire MX Nationals in 2021 and had a couple 6th place overalls in the 450 class, but then Deschambault happened. Can you take us through that crash and resulting injuries?

Tim Tremblay: Yeah, that one hurt me good. Like everybody saw the crash video. I started to lose the front end on the face of that long step down. I was going to let it go and just slowly crash on my left side but then the front got traction again so it caught me off guard and I just pretty much got ejected over the bars for 50 feet long in the air and the rest is history. I ended up perforating my right lung, which I got surgery right away at the hospital because of internal bleeding. I also broke a rib and my sacrum but I’m all good now.

How long were you out of commission?

I was out of riding for 4 weeks.

What is it you do for a 9-5 job these days?

I actually started a new job 2 months ago. I’m working at the SAQ (alcool store) 3 minutes away from my house. And I’m still either going to the gym or going on a bicycle ride everyday.

And then you were planning to do some more racing to start this season but had another injury, right? Can you take us through that one?

Yes, I was planning on doing select races this year but no championship. But then I went to do the first provincial race of the Challenge Quebec series and had a bad crash in practice and ended up breaking my sternum and a rib. So, 6 weeks out again.

You didn’t think you were hurt that badly but had some breaks you found out about later, right?

Yeah, after I crashed I knew I hit my head pretty good and my shoulder was hurting me. I decided to sit out for the day. So I packed all my stuff and I was taking care of my 2 girls all weekend because my girlfriend, Cindy, was working that weekend. So got back home. After 2 weeks it was still hurting pretty good so Cindy convinced me to go get checked at the hospital and then they found out I had a broken sternum and a broken rib.

Tim mid-crash last year at Deschambault. | MX Deschambault photo

And now you’re back on the bike. How has it been going?

I only rode 4 times since I got injured. I’m working almost every weekend now so it’s harder to ride. But it feels good to be bike on the bike.

So, now we’re heading to Quebec in a couple weeks for Deschambault again. Are we going to see you on the line?

I will not be on the line for sure. My plan now is to get fully healthy and back on bike shape before I can think to line up again.

Have you been watching the series so far? What have you thought of the racing?

Yes, a little bit seems like Dylan Wright is on another level. Good to see The Dags (Tyler Medaglia) for the runner-up guy. Lites class has been fun to watch. Nice to see so many guys winning in the same class.

Tim at Deschambault in 2021 over the big jump. | Bigwave photo

What are your plans for the rest of the summer?

My plan is to ride is to try to ride and get back in shape. No racing planned yet. And I’m planning to spend my free time with my kids, family and friends. We love to go camping with the motorhome and all our toys.

How many more years of competition do you have in you?

Not sure if I have any more. I have been really injured the last 3 years. I still enjoy to ride but I want to get healthy and no breaking bones all the time.

Will you move on to being a full-on moto dad? There are a lot of ex-Pros in that position right now.

My girls are not really interested in full riding and racing. They ride once in a while just for fun. But if they want to take it more seriously for sure I would love it. They are still young 7-9 so they might be more interested later but if not I wont be pushing them to moto. They do dance and gymnastics for now and they love it. So we are helping them if they put time into it for anything we can.

Thanks for talking with us today. Good luck and who would you like to thank?

Thanks for reaching out to me. Yes, for sure thanks everybody in my corner and especially my family to support and help me to be a better human. KTM Canada, Groupe Imperium, FXR Moto, FXR Racing, RideDunlop, FMF73, CTI, Oakley.

I thought we should also include this retirement post from www.snocross.com when they announced his retirement from racing back in 2019:

Long-time Ski-Doo snocross star Tim Tremblay announced today that he’s officially retiring from snowmobile racing. Tremblay has been a fixture on the ISOC starting line and podium for ten years with two of the highest profile teams, Warnert Racing and Scheuring Speed Sports.

Tim leaves the sport having collected 17 wins and 90 podiums in national snocross competition and three overall points championships over the course of his career.

“The last 2 seasons have been hard on my body and I feel now is a good time for me to retire. I’m happy to leave the sport in good health to spend more time with my two kids and beautiful wife at home writing our next chapter. I accomplished more than I thought in this sport with a very late start (20 years old). I had a lot of success in this sport and worked really hard to make it happen,” said Tremblay. “I also had great people in my corner to help me achieving my goals. Thanks to my family who let me travel around the world without asking anything back and letting me live my dream. Thanks to BRP for believing in me since Day 1, and the two teams I worked with: Warnert Racing and Scheuring Speed Sports. I met a lot of amazing people throughout my career and I feel blessed I could realize my dreams and be a professional racer as a job,” he added.

With the size and strength to manhandle a sled, complimented by the finesse and focus he learned from motocross, Tremblay was always in the fight for wins and podiums. A competitor who was always considered a threat from any starting position, Tremblay has always raced right up to the checkered flag, making more last lap passes for position than anyone can recount. It was that determination and professionalism he will be most remembered for.

Tremblay has been racing at the highest levels in the sport since 2008 when he signed with Ski-Doo snowmobiles after only four races in the smaller Quebec based SCM circuit. He didn’t set his sights on being a snocross star, it just kind of worked out that way when he was chasing a motocross dream where the off-season training was long and expensive, having to move to Florida for months. So, he and his father thought snocross would be a good alternative, and that’s when he was “discovered.”

“Marcel Imbeault called me and said, ‘Get to the Valcourt Grand Prix a couple days early, we need to sign a new racer – he’s going be a star,’” stated Steve Cowing, Ski-Doo Race Manager at the time. “So after only hearing about him two weeks prior, then meeting him and his father in Valcourt where you could sense the purpose and dedication they had – we took a leap and signed him to a contract that seemed out of proportion. But we’ve never looked back or had any regrets. Tim has been a class act all the way, and race fans will miss him” added Cowing.

“Tim’s determination and drive are what always stood out for me. On the track, his never quit attitude would show in the latter stages of the race. He was a threat every time he lined up,” said Sebastien Thibault, Ski-Doo Race Manager. “He will be missed on the race weekends by his fans and friends he has amassed over the 10 years on the National ISOC Circuit. He can rest assured he retired as one of the toughest and most competitive riders to ever race a sled.”

We’re now heading in to Round 7 of the MX Nationals and we’re back at the track that usually has some of the best crowds in the entire series. Last time we were here, I remember telling someone how great it was to be bumping into people in the crowd. Maritimers really come out and support our sport. Let’s see if they come back this year after being away for so long.

Let’s have a look at the classes for River Glade:

WMX

7-time champion #1 Eve Brodeur and her longtime rival from south of the border #49 Jamie Astudillo have gone back and forth for wins. They are glued together throughout most of the racing action. It’s something we haven’t seen in a long time in the WMX class.

The winner is the one who makes the fewest mistakes, and that will likely be the case again this week. I don’t see either of them making the same amount of mistakes at River Glade simply because it is another clay-based track unlike Sand Del Lee and Gopher Dunes. I think this will be some of the best racing between these two that we’re going to see. Be sure to watch these motos.

Behind them will likely be #2 Sarah-Kim Villeneuve who I see separating herself from her rival #3 Malia Garant. I could be wrong, but I think SKV will ride alone in 3rd this week.

Watch for #73 Brooke Merrow to try to attach herself to the #3 and go with her in both motos. These will be the races behind the races for wins and should provide some good racing entertainment.

FXR PreMix

I don’t think we’ll be seeing #26 Kaven Benoit out here in New Brunswick so watch for the action to be between #211 Jack Wright and points leader #28 Sam Gaynor.

I also think #111 Gavin Forsbrey is closing in on the speed of these guys so let’s see how close the 12-year-old can keep these two seasoned Pro veterans.

If #327 Brandon Gourlay has made the trek east, he’ll be one to watch, too. Him keeping Kaven behind him last Saturday was entertaining.

250

Here is where we have a number of riders looking to separate themselves from the rest. The 250 class has brought a ton of action this season. We all knew going in that we were going to have at least 3 riders going for wins, but the addition of #533 Josiah Natzke has brought another rider into that conversation. He’s not in it for the championship (he joined the series in the east) but he can play spoiler and close the points up behind him even more if he continues to run off wins.

#229 Mitchell Harrison now has just a 1-point lead in the series over #64 Ryder McNabb. You can usually “throw a blanket over” them out on the track and it’s been great to watch.

Defending champion #1 Jake Piccolo will need to get himself back in this battle after a rough moto last week now sees him on the outside looking in 20 points adrift. Even if he wins out, he will have a difficult time repeating as champion. He will now have to rely on mistakes from his other top rivals, and that’s a tall order.

There’s a huge points gap behind Piccolo to a good 3-way battle between #14 Quinn Amyotte, #30 Sebastien Racine and #46 Marco Cannella who are all just 4 points apart. They are the other race within the race to keep an eye on.

250 PRO

Place – Name Number – Hometown	6/5/2022 Finish	6/12/2022 Finish	6/18/2022 Finish	6/19/2022 Finish	7/2/2022 Finish	7/10/2022 Finish	7/17/2022 Finish	Total Points
1st – MITCHELL HARRISON #229 – LEESBURG, FL	3rd	1st		1st	2nd	5th	2nd	253
2nd – RYDER MCNABB #64 – MINNEDOSA, MB	1st	4th		3rd	3rd	2nd	1st	252 (-1)
3rd – JACOB PICCOLO #1 – ABBOTSFORD, BC	2nd	2nd		2nd	5th	3rd	5th	233 (-20)
4th – QUINN AMYOTTE #14 – BLACKSTOCK, ON	7th	5th		5th	6th	6th	4th	189 (-64)
5th – SEBASTIEN RACINE #30 – CASSELMAN, ON	6th	3rd		6th	10th	8th	3rd	187 (-66)
6th – MARCO CANNELLA #46 – WATERDOWN, ON	5th	6th		4th	9th	4th	8th	185 (-68)
7th – TYLER GIBBS #22 – MISSION, BC	4th	14th		8th	4th	10th	6th	159 (-94)
8th – JEREMY MCKIE #33 – BELOEIL, QC	12th	8th		9th	7th	11th	10th	136 (-117)
9th – JOSIAH NATZKE #533 – NEW ZEALAND					1st	1st	9th	127 (-126)
10th – WYATT KERR #34 – CAMBRIDGE, ON		9th		7th	12th	9th	12th	115 (-138)

450

In the 450 class, all eyes are on #1 Dylan Wright to see if he can do the unthinkable and run the table for a perfect season. Taking every overall is likely not a problem, but winning every moto is what will blow the minds of all of us. If you were a betting person, I don’t think you’d bet against it though.

Dylan proved that he can come from near the back of the pack to still win against the 450 field. It’s not something that the other top riders want to hear or believe, but it’s simply the truth – Dylan is the class of the field in 2022.

#5 Tyler Medaglia and #3 Shawn Maffenbeier are the race within the race in the top class. Tyler has finished 2nd at every round so far, but Shawn has been able to best him in a moto here and there. They are separated by a big gap (50 points) but individual races have been fun to watch between these tow guys.

Actually, Tyler is closer to Dylan in points (38) than Shawn is to him so let’s keep an eye on those gaps.

#84 Tanner Ward is behind them in 4th and looks to have everyone but the top 3 covered, speed-wise. He wants to be in the podium conversation so watch for him to keep pushing until he makes that happen.

The field seems to spread out behind these 4 riders but #573 Chris Blackmer (likely won’t be on the line this week after a heavy crash after connecting with Wright at Sand Del Lee), #26 Westen Wrozyna, and #577 Felix Lopez all want to be the #5 guy or better.

I’ve been impressed with #13 Daniel Elmore who has been riding injured since his crash at Walton One. He also wants to be in that top 5 group, so let’s see what he can do with another week of healing under his belt.

450 PRO

Place – Name Number – Hometown	6/5/2022 Finish	6/12/2022 Finish	6/18/2022 Finish	6/19/2022 Finish	7/2/2022 Finish	7/10/2022 Finish	7/17/2022 Finish	Total Points
1st – DYLAN WRIGHT #1 – DRUMMONDVILLE, QC	1st	1st		1st	1st	1st	1st	300
2nd – TYLER MEDAGLIA #5 – BROOKFIELD, NS	2nd	2nd		2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	262 (-38)
3rd – SHAWN MAFFENBEIER #3 – KAMLOOPS, BC	10th	3rd		4th	5th	3rd	3rd	212 (-88)
4th – TANNER WARD #84 – BERSLAU, ON	13th	7th		3rd	4th	4th	4th	189 (-111)
5th – CHRIS BLACKMER #573 – MUSKEGON, MI	4th	5th		8th	6th	5th	13th	168 (-132)
6th – WESTEN WROZYNA #26 – NEWTONVILLE, ON	6th	6th		7th		9th	7th	136 (-164)
7th – FELIX LOPEZ #577 – MEXICO	12th	9th		5th	17th	13th	5th	125 (-175)
8th – DANIEL ELMORE #13 – TELKWA, BC	5th				9th	7th	8th	107 (-193)
9th – YANICK BOUCHER #17 – HEARST, ON	11th	15th		10th	14th	8th	18th	96 (-204)
10th – RYAN DERRY #19 – THORNHILL, ON	18th	12th		11th	11th	10th		86 (-214)