Frid’Eh Update #34 | Devyn Smith | Brought to You by RP Race Performance

Frid’Eh Update #34 | Devyn Smith | Brought to You by RP Race Performance

Week #34 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update belongs to Devyn Smith from Maple Ridge, BC and is brought to you by RP Race Performance

By Billy Rainford

Welcome to Week #34 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update brought to you by RP Race Performance. It’s an interesting week in our sport because we just finished our Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals and now we’re heading into the final round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championships south of the border.

Here is Canada we crowned #26 Kaven Benoit in the 250 class and his Red Bull KTM Canada teammate #15 Jess Pettis in the 450 class.

Kaven is now a 3-time 250 champion. I don’t think this one was as stressful for him as the season against Vince Friese. That season it was an every weekend battle. This year, Kaven knew he didn’t have the same speed as Drew Adams and went into each week just trying to ride his best. Fortunately for him, Drew had that DNF out in Raymond, AB and it made the difference in the championship. I will say, however, that the final moto at Walton made up for any lack of stress Kaven felt throughout the rest of the summer! Yeesh!

And just think, if neither Drew nor Gage Linville (or a couple other international riders later in the season) were at the races this summer, Kaven would have won by an average of 27.8 seconds over the next Canadian rider (in races where he was top Canadian, which was 14 of 16). That’s pretty wild!

In the 450 class, Jess Pettis finally grabbed the title. He’s been the next fastest rider to perennial champion Dylan Wright over the past few years, but when Dylan went out with injury in that big crash at Round 2 at Temple Hill MX in Alberta, that left Jess as the favourite to win.

His teammate #23 Josiah Natzke from New Zealand proved to be the one who was his biggest threat and the two of them went at it pretty fiercely to the final round at Walton Raceway. In the end, Jess was able to take it with an 11-point cushion over Josiah and celebrated his first 450 title.

Now Kaven and Jess will represent Team Canada MXON at Matterley Basin in England in October. Keven will be our 250 rider and Jess will be our MX1 rider.The MX1 rider is the Captain of the team, so this will be a new role for Jess.

Tyler Medaglia was picked as the MX3 rider due to the fact that Dylan was injured and it looked like he may have a long road to recovery ahead of him. It’s no secret that Dylan is our fastest rider right now. Dylan came back at the final round to prove that he was ready to represent the country again and took the sword that goes with the 450 overall at Walton. Now what?

Well, Team Manager Kourtney Lloyd wasn’t about to boot Tyler off the team. Tyler is the one who stepped down to allow Dylan to go in his place. I think this selfless act just adds to the legend that is Tyler Medaglia.

Tyler will defend his Corduroy Enduro title, then be in England as his son, Talon Medaglia, will ride the Yamaha 85 in the bLU cRU Super Finale, and then represent Canada at the ISDE. He’s busy enough!

I didn’t want to put words in his mouth so I gave him a call this morning. He didn’t answer but then called me back a little later. He’s in England for the VetMXdN at Fox Hill. I had completely forgotten about this race!

I was right about him realizing Dylan is THE rider in Canada right now, but he added that he really wants to focus on Talon’s time at the big race in England and not being on the team will give him the time he needs to fully soak in this meaningful time with his 13-year-old son.

Down south, #38 Haiden Deegan clinched the 250 title last week at Budds Creek, so that one is done as we head to ironman MX this week.

In the 450 class, #4 Chase Sexton leads #96 Hunter Lawrence by 28 points. No, it’s not a done deal mathematically, but Chase would have to have something really out of the ordinary to lose this one.

Devyn Smith from Maple Ridge, BC is #34 for the 2024 season. Devyn and his parents’ (Sandra and Troy) pits are one of my first stops when I arrive at a race and wander about to get the lay of the land. I’ve sat and enjoyed a tasty beverage with them from one end of the country to the other.

I don’t think Devyn had the season he was hoping for, as he’s one of our younger riders on the rise. He had some mechanical issues as well as some falls, but he doesn’t let that get him down. He’s also a budding chef and does most of, if not all, the cooking when they’re on the road. I still haven’t tested his spaghetti sauce, however.

Here’s a look at his season:

Right now, Devyn is in Indiana for the final round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Ironman MX. I’ll be seeing them in the morning. I’ll pull out of the driveway later this afternoon to miss the traffic in Detroit as I do the 7-hour drive from London. Yep, “one more time” in the #DMXVan …

I spoke with him as he was touring around Cincinnati earlier in the week. Here’s what he had to say:

Direct Motocross: Hey, Devyn. We have a few things to chat about so let’s get to it. You finished 23rd in the Canadian Triple Crown Series Motocross Nationals 250 class. How would you sum up your season?

Devyn Smith: Well, it wasn’t what I was hoping for. My fitness was good but I struggled all season finding a good flow in the motos. 

I know you were also struggling with a few mechanical issues. Can you take us through that?

Yes, I had a few bike issues this season. At Gopher Dunes my race bike over-heated in moto 1. At MX Deschambault my bike cut out in qualifying, so we went to the practice bike for the rest of the day. It ended up being a broken spark plug [You see this, Kevin Tyler?]. Moto one we had another mishap with the bike from rushing to get it together for the moto. 

Your best result was a 14th at Prairie Hill MX in Pilot Mound, MB. Was that your best ride of the summer or did you feel better somewhere else?

That was probably my best ride I can think of. There might have been motos I felt better on the bike, but that doesn’t matter too much if I didn’t finish any better than 14th. 

What happened when we got out to Riverglade in Moncton, NB? 

Moto 1 I just felt off. I couldn’t get around the track without tons of mistakes. I fell 3 times that moto. Moto 2 same thing struggling with finding a groove and went down pretty hard on the last lap. I hit my head pretty hard so I was laying there for a little bit I think before finishing the race. 

You raced the TransCan at Walton Raceway. How did that week go for you?

The TransCan week wasn’t too bad. Wednesday the track was lacking a lot of maintenance that needed to be done, but the rest of the week the track was pretty good practice for Sunday. The TransCan week was just about having some fun on the bike and getting some seat time in. 

But you turned things around and managed to head to Budds Creek to give AMA Pro Motocross another shot. Can you take us through that experience? I think the 250 B Group got sort of screwed for qualifying?

Yes, Budds Creek was a good time. It rained during the night and more in the morning before qualifying so the track was really deep and wet which made it tough to get a clean lap in. The track was good for the LCQ. I ended up 13th in that. I probably felt the best in that LCQ than I did all year, but a qualifying time and bad start doesn’t help much when you only get 4 laps to finish in the top 4 to move onto the main.  

How would you sum up the difference between our series and the AMA?

Well, AMA is definitely a whole different level – more fans, more racers, pretty much more of everything. It’s a whole different vibe being there. With all the hard work we do in the off season, it feels like I’m racing towards something bigger. It makes it more enjoyable to me and I think that makes me a better rider. 

I know you stayed south in Ohio, I believe, for this week. Where were you and what did you get up to? Who are you with?

Leading up to Ironman my dad and I were staying at a campsite in Lebanon, Ohio, just hanging out and doing some tours in Cincinnati.  We have never been in the area before so we took some time to check out the towns. 

And now you’ve made it into the final round at Ironman MX in Indiana. You tried to qualify there last year, too. How do you like this track? How did last time go?

Yes, I tried to qualify last year but didn’t make it into the motos. I’m definitely excited to give it another shot. It’s a super fun track to ride, cool jumps and gets pretty gnarly. 

What have you learned that you’ll try to put into practice this week and maybe make the motos?

I’ve struggled quite a bit with sprinting. It always takes me a couple laps to get my speed up which isn’t very ideal when you only have 4 laps in the LCQ. The goal is to get a good time in during qualifying to either automatically get me in the motos or get me a good gate pick for the LCQ to set me up with a good start.

What will you do afterward?

After Ironman we’ll head straight home. I’ll probably take a week off and starting working. We’ll see what the plan is for next year. 

What does the rest of the season look like for you? AMO Arenacross in Chilliwack, BC?

The AMO Arenacross series is the plan. It’s only 40 minutes from home for me and always fun to do. 

Will you and your dad, Troy Smith, do this again in 2025?

I’ll definitely be racing next year, but I haven’t really thought too much about what the plan is. I’d like to do some AMA rounds. I have a lot of fun doing them. 

How about AMA Supercross? Any thoughts about giving that a shot in the future?

Not too sure about SX. That’s not really my thing. But you never know, I might give it a shot in the future.  

OK, thanks for the chat and good luck this weekend. See you there! Who would you like to thank?

Thanks, Billy!

Without all these people I wouldn’t of been able to do what I did this year!

Maple Ridge Motorsports

Bartek Construction 

Tri-City Plumbing and Heating

Applewood Auto Group

Fox Racing Canada

Matrix Concepts Canada 

Ride 100%

Mobius Braces

Tyler Ross at Snap-On Tools

Showtime Detailing

GrampasRV repairs

Canadian Kawasaki

Rynopower Canada

Sky Racing Suspension

Seco Seat Covers

Pro Circuit

Mongoose Parts

2UNDR 

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VetMXdN

As I mentioned earlier, Tyler Medaglia is over in England at Fox Hill for the Vet MXdN. Team Canada will be led by Steve Matthes and the riders are Tyler Medaglia (on a 2001 Honda CR250), Ryan Lockhart (on a 2002 Kawasaki KX500), and Ryan Gauld (on a Honda CR250).

Tyler was just about to do some testing on his bike and said the other guys left him stranded as they headed to a practice track. I guess out of those 3 riders Tyler is the one who needs the least prep anyway. Having said that, Tyler said he actually does need time on the 2-stroke!

He said they’ll do 3, 6-lap motos over the weekend. He added that all 3 of them will fly straight over to Las Vegas to sit in with Steve on his Pulp MX Show on Monday, so be sure to check that one out.

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Zane Mellafont Biographical Video

Check out this little biographical video piece on Zane Mellafont from Vancouver Island, BC. It’s always interesting when these things are done by someone not involved in our sport. Dusty Klatt even plays a big part in the video!

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Rumour Mill

It’s a little bit early to start things off for the upcoming Silly Season as a lot of riders are still under contract until either the end of this month, next month, or December 31st. However, the old Rumour Mill is starting to spin…

It sounds like the new AVL racing team from the maritimes is looking to up their game for 2025. Names like Sam Gaynor (with them in 2024), Daniel Elmore, and Julien Benek have been thrown around. Whatever happens, watch for them to factor in next season.

Rumours have been swirling that #84 Tanner Ward will be moving. Sounds like Priority MX is the new home for the talented Ontario rider. If this ends up the way it goes, it will be great because it usually comes with an apprenticeship for a future career.

Red Bull KTM Canada has a decision to make. With them holding both #1’s for next season, Kaven can’t race the 250 class. Jess Pettis is in free agency for next season. So, if Kaven wants to race, he’s a 450 guy. Does Josiah Natzke move down to the 250 class? You have to think they want at least 1 #1 on the track next year!

I also heard they’re are looking at maybe increasing to a 9-round series for 2025. It would be nice to find something in BC to even things out a bit better. And Quebec deserves 2 rounds again! Oh wait, that’s east…

All of these things and more should make for an exciting off season. I know some riders want to race Supercross, so we’ll have to see how this all plays out with more names to be added to the Rumour Mill.

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OK, it’s time for me to hit the road soon. Have a great weekend and be sure to check in throughout the day tomorrow as I bring you updates from trackside at Ironman MX.