Frid’Eh Update #34 | Wyatt Kerr | Brought to You by Race Tech

Frid’Eh Update #34 | Wyatt Kerr | Brought to You by Race Tech

By Billy Rainford

Welcome to Week #34 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update this week brought to you by Race Tech. This week, I’m starting my typing from London International Airport waiting for my first flight to Toronto before boarding for Calgary.

I on my way to check out the Red Bull Outliers event which is now part of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. This is the gnarly series that includes Erzberg, Romaniacs, and now Outliers here in Canada.

2022 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship Schedule

Round 1: Minus 400 – Israel, April 5/6/7
Round 2: Xross – Serbia, May 18/19/20/21
Round 3: Red Bull Erzbergrodeo – Austria, June 16/17/18/19
Round 4: Red Bull Abestone – Italy, July 9/10
Round 5: Red Bull Romaniacs – Romania, July 26/27/28/29/30
Round 6: Red Bull TKO – USA, August 13/14
Round 7: Red Bull Outliers – Canada, August 27/28
Round 8: Hixpania Hard Enduro – Spain, October 7/8/9

I’m looking forward to covering something a little different; something I’ve never actually been to before with riders and teams I’m unfamiliar with. Like I always say, a little discomfort in new situations is what we miss out on as we get older, and I always look forward to putting myself in these new positions.

I’ll meet up with JSR and Matt Deroy in Calgary and then hit Day 1 on Saturday which is in Downtown Calgary. Day 2 will take place out in the Canadian Badlands a couple hours east of the city.

We have a few of our top off-road riders over in France getting set for the 2022 ISDE (Aug 29-Sept 3) so we’ll be missing them, but we’ll have a bunch of other top riders to cheer for.

Here’s Team Canada ISDE:

Good luck over there, everyone. You can follow along with them on their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/147120358745039

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#34 is Wyatt Kerr from Cambridge, Ontario. Wyatt came up through the ranks as one of the top amateurs to keep our eyes on. We awarded him our DMX Total Devotion Award Presented by Club MX in 2021 and he made very good use of it as he prepared for his first year as a full-time pro rider.

Wyatt and his dad, Andy Kerr, are two staples at the races and I’ve gotten to know them pretty well the past few years. Like many others, their pit is on my morning hit list in search of good conversation and good coffee before race days get so busy that visiting with people becomes next to impossible.

In fact, Wyatt and Andy were the 2 people who we did our on on-the-line photos with at every single round of the Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals this summer. We almost missed the final round at Walton Raceway but I think we would have made Wyatt miss the start of the first moto before we were going to break our streak, and we made it happen…barely.

Here’s a look at Wyatt’s series this summer:

Wyatt seemed to gain more and more confidence as the summer progressed and he was a regular up in the fast end of the final few motos. We got in touch with him this week to talk about his first year crossing the country. Here’s what he had to say:

Direct Motocross: Hey, Wyatt, thanks for chatting with us today. You and your dad, Andy Kerr, finally got the chance to go across the entire country for the Pro Nationals. I’m guessing this has been a dream for both of you for a long time, right?

Wyatt Kerr: Yeah, for sure, it’s been a trip, almost seems unreal. Feels like just yesterday I was lining up for local races. The whole thing is very surreal for both my dad and me. Being able to travel and race the west made me realize how much I loved the west coast. It’s everything that I enjoyed doing and I’m very thankful to have the opportunity to travel there with my dad and Papa.

We hit a couple new tracks that other riders hadn’t seen either (Drumheller and Pilot Mound). Of course, you hadn’t seen any of them, so how did you like the Western swing of the series? Did you have a favourite track of the 3?

I really liked being on new dirt and new tracks that I’ve never ridden. It was a challenge to figure them out and make the tracks flow but we got it done at round 2 and 3. I really liked Pilot Mound. I found the whole track to have lots of different line choices and lots of sections and features we don’t have on our tracks back home. I also really liked seeing how much they put into the event.

Was Manitoba the hottest conditions you’ve ever raced in? How did you feel in that second moto?

Pilot Mound was a close second in comparison to Loretta’s in 2019. The heat doesn’t seem to bother me or impact my riding. Second moto went really well for me, I got off to a top 5 start and the moto flew by. I didn’t notice the halfway mark durning the moto, I just saw the white flag and kept pushing. 

Did you guys do some sightseeing stuff while out in the mountains, too?

We did a little bit of sight seeing between round 1 and round 2. We camped in Banff, and I cycled up to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. I was fortunate enough to golf with Chris Egan in Banff. I spent a lot of time mountain biking in Kamloops as well.

You won our ‘DMX Total Devotion Award Presented by Club MX’ and got to spend some time in South Carolina at the facility leading up to the season. Can you tell us how you think that time helped you become a better-prepared Pro heading into this 2022 season?

I think the time I spent at Club MX helped me become mentally stronger. I had some struggles but Alex Martin helped me clear my head  and get my fitness back to where it needed to be. It was also great to ride with a bunch of fast Canadian and American riders. Also, I was able to hit a few rounds of golf with Marshal Weltin and Zach Ufimzeff on our off days. 

And then we headed into the eastern swing of the series where your best overall finish was a 6th at Deschambault. Can you tell us how you think the final rounds went for you?

The eastern rounds went good. I was really able to settle into the racing with good starts and was able to build my confidence to run with the top 250 guys. I came away with some good results. I went into Walton with a good mindset. Unfortunately, I made good friends with the ground in both motos which had a negative impact on my results.

And I also have to make mention of you guys helping out the Filipeks with their travel situation. Max jumped in with you guys, right? How did that whole thing go?

Yeah! We were traveling together on the east coast when the Filipeks had some mechanical troubles with their vehicle. Both Breanna Rose, my dad and I were able to help Max (Filipek) get to Deschambault  for the beginning of ECAN.

So, you ended up 8th overall in the 250 MX series. How do you feel about your overall performance this summer? Do you think you know what you need to do to keep moving toward the podium?

I feel good about how I did. I was able to accomplish all the goals I set for myself, so I’m ready to set new goals for 2023. As the season went on I feel like my confidence grew every round and I began to ride more like myself. Once I realized that I belong inside that top 8, everything clicked and started to come a lot easier. I’m ready to set my goals high for next year aiming for a top 5 overall in the series and potential podium finishes.

What have you been up to since the series ended a couple weeks ago?

I’ve been riding mountain bikes like mad and cycling lots. I’ve ridden a couple times since Walton and have been just letting my body rest before going back at it for the last couple rounds of the Triple Crown series.

So, you’re planning to race the SX/AX series, too?

I am planning on racing Gopher SX and the AX round in Sarnia. I’ve been trying to find tracks to ride to prepare but unfortunately there’s very limited SX or AX tracks that are open to practice on. 

What are your training plans for this coming winter?

My plans are to work from September till February before I go to Florida where I’ll be training out of my friends house and riding MX Sandbox for a couple months before coming home and getting ready to head west.

Are you interested in taking a shot at AMA Supercross in the future?

I would like to someday try to qualify. I’m planning on doing a couple SX Futures rounds if it all lines up this winter.

Nice! OK, thanks for taking some time with us today. Good luck and who would you like to thank.

Chris_Egan Guaranteed Comfort, Hudson Motorcycles, MP1_Suspension, Andy kerr, Eddy_ellis_chef, Dialed.mx, Ogs_optics, thenewf9, Hall Racefuel, Funnelweb Filter Ontario, Funnelweb_filter, Seco Seatcover, Atlas brace, Matrix Concepts Canada, Mobius braces, renthal moto, Dnd Moto, York AC, Lennox AC.

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Good luck to Dustin Burbridge, Jayden Riley, and Brennan Schofield at the Jr. MX World Championship in Finland this weekend. The Rippin_Rileys Instagram page is posting a lot of content, so be sure to check in with them throughout the weekend to learn how things are going. And we’ll be sure to get in touch with our riders as soon as we can!

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Oh, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, we finally got ‘Faces at the Races‘ up from the TransCan and Walton 2. You can check it out HERE.

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OK, that was a day of flying and I’m now in the hotel in downtown Calgary. The clouds look a little daunting but it’s not supposed to get ugly. Have a great weekend, everyone.