Frid’Eh Update #41 | Brendan McKee | Brought to You by Canadian Kawasaki
By Billy Rainford
Welcome to Week #41 of the DMX Frid’EH Update this week brought to you by Canadian Kawasaki. Head over to Canadian Kawasaki to see which 2022 models you can save big $$$ on.
This is the first week in a while that I’ve been home for the few days leading up to it. We got home from France Monday evening and I really thought that if I simply forced myself to stay up to a normal time before going to bed that I’d get myself back on this time zone easily. Unfortunately, both Emily and I have felt like zombies for most of the week and we’re just now getting back to feeling like normal, 4 days later.
Brendan McKee from Saskatchewan was #41 for the 2023 season. We only saw him at the first 3 rounds out west, but he came very close to getting his first top 10 finish on the hardpack dirt of round 1 in at RAD Torque Raceway near Edmonton, Alberta. Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of the friendly rider from the prairies.
We’ve gotten to know him over the past few years and he’s always got a smile on his face and time to give us a chat on race days. Here’s a look at his short summer season:
Brendan’s riding career is on an up-curve, however, it looks like we’ll have to wait a while before we see if he chooses to do anything with his potential because “real life” planning looks to have crept into his life, as you’ll read.
Here’s what Brendan had to say when we spoke with him this week:
Direct Motocross: Hey, Brendan, you’ve become a friend of DMX and I’ve gotten used to seeing you more often the past couple years but we didn’t see as much of you in 2023. You raced the first 3 rounds out west and came out swinging with an 11th in Edmonton. I have to ask you what you thought of that first round? It caught a lot of people off guard.
Brendan McKee: Hey Billy, here in Saskatchewan I ride a lot of hard pack dusty tracks, so I actually did not mind Edmonton at all. I really enjoyed the inside track as the corners were tight and I was able to stuff a few guys. I really thought I was going to get a top 10 that race but my darn google lens popped out and the roost was unbelievable.
Oh right, I remember that. That was close! So, you’re like Shawn Maffenbeier and thrive on that hard stuff?
Yes, you are correct. Many of the tracks in Saskatchewan are hard pack, so I do feel most comfortable riding in those conditions, but since do the Nationals out East I have come to love the sand tracks as well.
How did Kamloops and Calgary go for you?
They both went pretty decent, I definitely made a few mistakes but overall, I was happy with my performance.
But you didn’t head east this summer. What not? What kept you away?
That’s right. Unfortunately, I started my apprenticeship in Millwright, so I spend most of my time working and farming.
I checked out you Instagram page and I see that you like to golf. How’s your game? What do you shoot for 18?
I hit some courses this summer. Hmmm, I love the game but let’s just say I am better at motocross.
And the lake? Are you a wakeboard guy or a fisherman?
Yes, I loved the amount of time I got to spend at the lake with friends this summer surfing and just messing around on my Sea Doo. The last 10 years I was always racing some where so really did not get to spend much time at the lake, so this summer was great.
You mentioned you’ll be getting your Millwright ticket earlier. What do you do for work now?
Yes, like I mentioned above, I am working towards getting my Millwright ticket heading to school in the next week for a few months. I am currently working at Redhead Artificial Lift working on pumpjacks, and then head to my second job working for farmers running combines.
I also see that it looks like you may not be able to handle your boots or cowboy hat! What was up with that BBJ post? We’ll get you some new followers with this. Haha.
Yes, when I was racing, I followed a pretty ridged regime and really did not drink at all. So this summer I let loose a few time and at BBJ was one of those times. I can’t wait till BBJ 2024. VIP, baby!
I also see that you got a chance to rip a new Stark Varg electric. I’m hoping to get a chance in the near future. Can you give us your thoughts on the whole thing?
I thought the Stark was very impressive, insane amount of power. It handled and felt really good, for not having much seat time on it. I’m really looking forward to spending more time on the bike and learning more what it has to offer.
OK, what about your winter plans? South to train?
Unfortunately, no plans to head south. I’ll be working and spending some weekends in BC sledding in the back county.
So, are you finished chasing the series across the country or will you be back for a full season in 2024? What are your racing plans?
I for sure would love to hit the West rounds again next year. I think the whole series would need to be on pause until I finished my apprenticeship and then you never know.
Well, thanks for taking some time with us this week, Brendan. Good luck in the future and I hope we see you somewhere soon.
Yes, Billy, thanks for touching base, I am sure I will see you again in the future. Racing is still a passion, I just need to get an education and then I will be back.
It’s great to hear that Brendan has a plan away from the dream of becoming a motocross star. It never hurts to have a solid backup plan!
Cole Thompson Takes 4th at Round 1 in Australia
Cole Thompson from Brigden, Ontario, is back with his same team from last season where he finished 2nd in the Fox Australian Supercross Series to Max Anstie. Round 1 of the series took place last weekend while we were in France, so we really didn’t give it the attention we wanted.
SX2
- Max Anstie
- Robbie Wageman
- Wilson Todd
- Cole Thompson
- Jayce Cosford
- Liam Atkinson
- Ryder Kingsford
- Noah Ferguson
- Nathan Crawford
- Reid Taylor
- Rhys Budd
- Haruki Yokoyama
- Kaleb Barham
- Mackenzie O’Bree
- Blake Fox
- Mitchell Norris
- Ryan Kohlenberg
- Kobi Wolf
- Brock Flynn
- Luke Tisdale
SX1
- Dean Wilson
- Justin Brayton
- Matt Moss
- Josh Hill
- Luke Clout
- Aaron Tanti
- Kyle Webster
- Luke Zielinski
- Jackson Richardson
- Bailey Malkiewicz
- Dylan Wood
- Elijah Wiese
- Liam Jackson
- Robbie Marshall
- Blake Cobbin
- Joel Wightman
- Corey Watts
- Navrin Grothues
- Nathan Crawford
- Ricky Latimer
And how about our buddy Parker Ross taking the win in the SX3 class?! Congratulations, Parker.
Round 2:
McDonald Jones Stadium
Newcastle, NSW
Saturday, November 11.
Strong Roster for Partzilla PRMX in 2024
Julien Perrier‘s Partzilla PRMX Supercross team continues to tighten and improve heading into the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season. Check out his upcoming roster:
250 West – Hunter Yoder
250 East – Mitchell Harrison
450 – Cade Clason and Aaron Tanti.
The team will be based out of South of the Border in South Carolina again this winter.
RACE DETAILS : – 10AM riders meeting for 50,65,Novice85s. -10:30AM Start for those classes (6 individually timed tests on the top grass track. -11:30AM Riders meeting main race. -12:00PM Start. You will have until 4PM to complete 5 (6 Inter./Exp) laps of the 8km loop. Can go consecutively or take breaks between laps. All the tests (laps) count towards your overall time. Awards and prizes after the final sweep. Sign up is done through NSORRA no memberships needed Link will be in bio. The timing system is through NSORRA and they need to add everyone into it so please register by Friday night! Full preview video will be posted shortly to see what’s to come. Thank you @truromotorsports @bikemonkey.ca @callusmotomtb for event sponsorship I should have had @idealgoods.ca do this flyer a while ago but thank you and please share, let’s make this the biggest one yet !
Yamaha Ride Day at Sand Del Lee
Yamaha Motor Canada Ltd. is showcasing the all-new 2024 Yamaha YZ250F at their Ride Day at Sand Del Lee Thursday and Friday. I wasn’t able to be there in person this time but we’ve got a huge upgrade with 12-time South African motocross champion Richard van der Westhizen doing the riding and writing this time.
Leatt and Kimpex were quick to step up and set Rich up from head to toe in some very sweet Leatt gear, so I’d like to extend a sincere thank you to them.
They rode Thursday and again today, so watch for some reactions and reviews from Rich in the coming days. Here are a couple pics and a short video from Thursday, thanks to the gang at RydeTV.
2023 MXON in Ernée, France
Ernée, France
Sunday, October 8, 2023
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Nations Classification
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I’m putting together a video covering Team Canada MXON‘s time in France so keep an eye out for that.
Rumour Mill
Issac Gifting, the 2023 MX2 British Champion is said to be linked to a team in Canada, according to Lewis Phlilips of Vitalmx. Gifting had a tough MXON riding for Sweden but will be a good addition to the Canadian series, if it is true.
Mitchell Harrison who still has two rounds on his Gas Gas Canadian deal to go, will switch over to the green bikes. Then, in spring will switch back to the Gas Gas bikes for the outdoor series. In 2023 Supercross he did ride West coast for AJE GasGas, so the change wasn’t as big. Let’s see how he adapts to and from the Kawasaki.
This just in…
We’ve now been told it was said on a Vurb Moto podcast that Mitchell will stay with the Partzilla PRMX team for the Canadian MX National season in 2024?
Mitchell wasn’t exactly clear on his Canadian part of the conversation, but he definitely did not mention the Thor GasGas team.
Hmm, if Harrison is going green and Gifting is already a GasGas rider…
I spoke to Thor GasGas team owner Alex Parker and he said, “the first one is false, but the second one might be true…“
It’s new used old bike season right now. MX101, WLTN Kawasaki are two examples who have bikes up for sale. The team race bikes are usually great bikes to buy. They have low hours, some cool parts, usually well looked after, and most have fresh engines in them.
Click the links to check it out:
https://www.waltonraceway.ca/forsake
They’ve got bikes and suspension up for grabs.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=975635563469642&set=pb.100030696235558.-2207520000
They’ve got a Yamaha 450 for sale.
Speaking of WLTN Kawasaki, the rumours around Quinn Amyotte finding a home there seem to be real.
The word is that Quinn will ride out the remaining Canadian Triple Crown Series Arenacross for Manluk Yamaha and his long-time gear sponsor Fox. Look for an announcement to come out mid-November about Quinn on Kawasaki 250 in Seven gear.
Both he and future teammate Tanner Ward are in talks with a few BC Kawasaki shops about racing the AMO Arenacross Series in Chilliwack at the end of November. I hope we get a bunch of our top riders doing that series.
The last of the big names to sign in Canada is Jess Pettis. Pettis, who is based now in Quebec, has two strong suitors – MX101 Yamaha and KTM Canada. He has been with KTM for many years now and enjoyed success. MX101 is where his career really sprung forward. The next couple weeks will be busy around one of Canada’s top athletes.
AMO Arenacross Schedule
The 2023 AMO AX series dates:
Heritage Park, Chilliwack, BC
November 24-25 – Rounds 1-2
December 1-2 – Rounds 3-4
You only have to stay in BC for 10 days and you’d get the whole 4-round series in, so I hope we get a good group of Pro riders there this fall.
Dubya World Vet Championships
The next trip on my hit list is the 2023 Dubya World Vet Championships at Glen Helen Raceway, November 2-5. Ryan “Skippy” Mobbs has put together quite a program again this year and I’m happy to be a part of it!
I know a bunch of other Canucks are making the journey, including Kyle Keast and Jamey Keast, so I’m really looking forward to this trip and to cover all the riders.
Vet & Vintage Race at Gopher Dunes
I rarely post about regional Vet races across Canada, but sometimes something gets included that just grabs my attention, and I think you’ll agree that this is one of them.
October 21st is the date of the 2023 Vet and Vintage races at Gopher Dunes, but that’s not what drew me into this one. I’ve been told that none other than Ross Pederson will be in attendance and will be the special guest of honour at the dinner on the Friday night before the event.
I may even have to dust off the #739 Jeff McConkey YZ250 2-stroke for this one, but only if they’re racing on the main track!
For more details, click HERE.
Major Milestones Achieved During Historic SuperMotocross World Championship Inaugural Season
Supercross and Pro Motocross Both See Growth in Attendance and International Competition
ELLENTON, Fla./MORGANTOWN, W.Va., (October 12, 2023) – The landmark inaugural season of the 31-event SuperMotocross World Championship Series (SMX) recently concluded with the culmination of the historic postseason (Playoffs and Final) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where two of the sport’s youngest and brightest stars cemented their place in the history books.
On the heels of an impressive Rookie of the Year campaign, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan, 17, captured the 250cc World Championship while Australian, Team Honda HRC athlete Jett Lawrence, 20, became the first-ever 450cc World Champion, which capped off his historic rookie season in the premier division.
As champions, Deegan and Lawrence were the two biggest financial benefactors of the SMX World Championship, which awarded the sport’s largest prize payout of $10 million – $5.5 million of which was available for the final three postseason races. Deegan collected $575,000 in postseason earnings while Lawrence received $1.2 million, both of which included individual race purses and championship point funds.
Collectively, more than 110,000 fans made their way through the postseason turnstiles in Concord, North Carolina, for SMX Playoff 1, Joliet, Illinois, for SMX Playoff 2, and in Los Angeles for the SMX World Championship Final, adding to the 192,000 that attended the 11 rounds of the Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing this summer.
As a result of the creation of the SMX World Championship and the enhanced broadcast and streaming coverage, the outdoor season welcomed record attendance at several schedule staples – the Thunder Valley National in Lakewood, Colorado, the High Point National in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, the RedBud National in Buchanan, Michigan, the Southwick National in Southwick, Massachusetts, and the Washougal National in Washougal, Washington. Legacy races at the Spring Creek National in Millville, Minnesota and the Unadilla National in New Berlin, New York saw capacity crowds of more than 20,000 apiece, the strongest attendance on the schedule.
As announced earlier in the year, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship hosted 850,000 fans across its 17-round season this past winter and spring, bringing total combined attendance for the inaugural SMX World Championship to 1.152 million across all 31 races.
Official Monster Energy Supercross, Pro Motocross and SuperMotocross World Championship social handles have already generated more than 750 million impressions during 2023 and impassioned fans have engaged with the sport’s racers over 50 milliontimes.
Domestically, NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2023 SMX World Championship season surpassed 23 million hours of viewership consumption across NBC, USA Network, and Peacock, up 111% versus the comparable programming in 2022. Powered by Peacock, over 17 million digital hours of viewership were consumed – up 307% compared to last year.
Internationally, the SuperMotocross Video Pass, powered by the best-in-class service of Endeavor Streaming, brought the SMX World Championship into more homes around the globe than ever before as the platform hosted subscribers from more than 135 different countries. The top 10 countries for international streaming included Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, France, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The subscription base is also reflective of the international intrigue of the athletes competing in the SMX World Championship. A record number of 83 international competitors from 25 different countries registered to compete in either Supercross or Pro Motocross to try and earn a spot in the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals, fueled by Monster Energy. The top-20 in combined points were automatically seeded into the postseason races, while the final gate positions were determined through a Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) race. The largest number of entrants came from Australia, Canada, England, and France, which is symbolic of the international streaming audience.
A younger demographic eager to consume social media content and shoulder type programming drove the creation of new media platforms to keep fans informed and engaged throughout the nine-month season. NBC Sports play by play commentator Jason Weigandt and reporter Jason Thomas anchor the weekly SMX Insiders show, while broadcast analyst Ricky Carmichael and multi-time AMA Champion Ryan Villopoto host the weekly Title 24 podcast. Fan engagement for the new episodic programs have surpassed 1.2 million and 883,000 views respectively and will continue to be a cornerstone of future programming.
From a pop culture standpoint, the sport hosted some of the biggest names in music, film, television, and entertainment as its lifestyle relevance continues to rise. Hip Hop icon and grammy award winning Wiz Khalifa joined reality TV star Christina Hall, IndyCar drivers Marcus Ericsson and Pato O’Ward, Green Day’s Tré Cool, pro skateboarder Nyjah Huston and Columbian musician Feid in Anaheim back in January for Round 4 at Angel Stadium (Supercross’ Anaheim 2).
As the SMX World Championship Final came to an iconic close at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in September, Hollywood showed up in force to witness the crowning of the sports ultimate two-wheel champion. Film star and podcast personality Dax Shepard, Stephanie Beatriz of Brooklyn Nine Nine and Twisted Metal, Amanda Schull of Suits, Tiffani Thiessen of Saved by the Bell, and Justin Baldoni of Jane the Virgin were all in attendance. Other notable entertainers included Nathan Kress of iCarly, Kel Mitchell of Keenan and Kel, Beverley Mitchell of 7th Heaven, Gilby Clarke of Guns N’ Roses, and icons of their respective sports – skateboarder Steve Caballero and former freestyle motocross star Carey Hart.
Tickets are on sale now for the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. The 2024 SMX World Championship Playoffs and Final locations and venues will be announced at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California on January 5.
OK, I hope you enjoyed that one. i dove in more than I have in a few weeks simply because I actually had the time this week.
I just took a short break to walk our new dog around the block and check our mail. We got home, I sat down in the office again, and heard her coming up the stairs. I went down to find she’d pooped and peed on the carpet immediately after we’d just been for a walk. Good times.
A few of us were supposed to be doing a 50K MTB race at Turkey Point this weekend, but I didn’t get to ride at all over in France, so I’m not ready. The weather is also questionable this weekend around here, so all of my vet friends have already pulled the plug as they are self-admitted “fair weather riders” these days. Oh well, I guess I find myself with some spare time on my hands.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
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