Frid’Eh Update #51 | Seth Hughes | Brought to You by RP Race Performance
By Billy Rainford
Well, we’re coming down to the wire now! It’s Week #51 which means we only have this one and one more to get us to the end of 2024. I always seem to start out with a weather report from my neck of the woods here in London, Ontario, so let me tell you that it’s been a rollercoaster of a ride so far this winter.
After getting almost 2 feet (Hmm, this reminds me of the Nate Bargatze George Washington SNL skit…) of snow when I got back from the Mini O’s at the beginning of December, we’ve since lost it all, except the snowplow snowbanks, and now we’re getting more again today. There’s still a good chance at a white Christmas here in SWO.
It’s also that time of year when we start seeing all the awards posts, so I’d better get to work so I have the DMX Awards – The DMXies ready to go on New Year’s Day!
If you’re curious how they went last year, you can click HERE to check them out.
Seth Hughes was #51 for the 2024 season. It’s a bit special because this will likely be the final time he makes an appearance as the Update’s Honouree. We did one of these with him back in 2022 when he was his career high #38, but we’ll have to give him the full treatment in our interview and go back over his career a bit.
Seth is another rider wh owe watched grow up and progress through the ranks to this time now when he will be taking a step away from the Pro National Series to pursue his working career, which we talk about.
He’s always been know as a great starter and could usually be found out front after the first corner wherever the race was. Here’s a look at his 2024 season results:
As you can see, he didn’t do the entire series last summer. He actually came back to racing after a very scary crash and injury, which we also talk about.
Here’s what Seth had to say when we spoke this week:
Direct Motocross: Hello, Seth. You’ve been around a long time but some may not be familiar with you so we’ll go back to the beginning and work our way forward. Can you tell us how old you are, where you’re from, and how you got into Motocross in the first place?
Seth Hughes: Hey, Billy. I’m 23 now from Kitchener, Ontario. I got into moto I think like every other kid, dad had a dirt bike and I wanted to be like dad. Got a bike for my 3rd birthday and I’ve been hooked ever since!
And who did you come up battling in the amateur ranks?
Coming up through the amateur ranks I battled a bunch of guys. It changed every year but, Nick Cryer, Jake Tricco, Matthew Cemovic, Jamie Powell. There was a bunch of us!
What year did you turn Pro and how did that go for you?
First year Pro/Am was 2021. It had its highs and lows and I definitely learned a lot. Was really cool to get a holeshot in one of the motos at Walton 1 that year. Had some success is Supercross and just got all around great experience!
I think your highest national number was 38 in 2022, so we’ve done one of these before. You had that terrible crash last year. Would you mind taking us through what happened?
Yes, my highest national number was 38. Ya, of course. I was out at a local private track doing some early spring riding. I got some wheel spin going up the face of one of the step ups and I ended up nose picking the landing. It threw me forward, and while I was rolling, the bike ended up landing on top of my head and the foot peg made its way in between the cheek pad and the outer shell. Caused a pretty deep gash in my cheek, ended up shattering my cheekbone and cutting 4 of the nerves that control your facial expressions. Was definitely a scary one!
And it was this crash that sort of got in your head and made you take a step back, right? How did the problem show itself?
It was and wasn’t. I had thought about a lot over last winter and where I wanted to go with my life. It definitely had an impact on me and my riding this summer, but it definitely helped seal the deal.
“The fear” seems to hit people at different ages. But you’ll keep riding and racing locally or what is the riding plan for you?
Ya, I don’t know how much the fear came into play but I’m 23 now and I’m slowly dipping into life after moto and “growing up.” lol. 100% I’m going to keep riding. I went out and got a KTM 250 2-stroke to have some fun on. 2-strokes are where my hearts at. As of right now on the racing side of things it probably won’t be much racing in Canada. My little brother wants to try for Loretta’s again so I will be going with him to the area qualifiers and some state championship races just racing the Pro Sport classes.
Oh, great. You’re busy with work life now, right? Can you tell everyone what it is you’re doing now?
Ya, full-time work now at Priority Mechanical. I’m going through to complete my Gas license and starting my sheet metal apprenticeship!
Since you’ll likely not cross the country doing the series anymore, looking back, what is the highlight of your racing career?
Definitely 2 highlights of my racing career would have to be the holeshot in my Pro/Am year and in 2023 at Sand Del Lee 450 moto 1 I got 10th!
What would you say is the thing that makes a champion in our crazy sport?
Hard work and dedication!
In your opinion, who is the best rider you ever saw?
Gotta be James Stewart! Have been watching a lot of old races recently and his talent, speed, and his ability to hit a rhythm section no one would ever think of doing halfway through a main event still blows my mind.
What are your Christmas/Holidays plans? Do you guys have any traditions?
Not too many traditions – see all the family Christmas Day. Just ready to have a nice little break from work! Maybe squeeze down to Ohio to do some indoor riding. I have been getting the itch!!
Hey, I never got to see one of your patented holeshots last summer! Besides being light, is there another secret to your good starts? Some say a lot of it is mental.
I was bummed not to get one to end it off. I’d say it’s all mental. Me being light definitely helps though! Just when your sitting on the gate envisioning and believing your gonna be up there. I always knew if I hit my marks and hit my shifts at the right time I could nail a start!
Anything you’d like to say before we let you go for what will no doubt be your final Frid’Eh Update interview?
Just that I wouldn’t have wanted to grow up any other way than at the moto track. The relationships you build with people there are completely different than anyone outside of racing; ones that will last a lifetime! We are all there for the same goals but we can all come together when we need to, to help anyone!
That’s a nice place to leave it. Thanks for taking some time with us this week, Seth. Happy Holidays, good luck in the future, and would you like to thank anyone?
The pleasure’s mine! Bummed it will be my last Frid’Eh Update, but I’m excited for what’s to come in the future! Just a massive thank you to my parents and brother for their sacrifices my whole career. Definitely hasn’t been easy but it makes us who we are. A big thank you to all the individuals and companies that have helped me achieve my goals in the sport: The 15 practice track family, Zeb Dennis, Iain Hayden, Motopark. Fox Canada family, the Waters family, just to name a few! Thank you all. Thanks Billy for having me on! Happy Holidays to you and everyone!
Canadians at Anaheim 1
With Round 1 of the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series closing in fast, we’d like to point out that we should have at least 5 Canadians on the line in 250 West to keep our eyes on.
Cole Thompson returns to his familiar team – Heartbeat Hot Sauce Leatt Solitaire Yamaha – led by former Canadian (he got his US citizenship last year) Chris Elliott from Thunder bay, Ontario.
Cole has been busy all year jet-setting around the globe racing the WSX Championships and the Fox Australian Supercross series. Cole will still be our fastest rider on the line in 2025, but we’ve got some rookies looking to change that in the future!
2 riders will make their SX debuts at A1. Preston Masciangelo will race for the AEO Motorsports GasGas team after racing the SX Futures last season. Beside him will be young (and tall) Blake Davies from Mission, BC on his MVP Triumph also making his long-awaited debut.
I say that because Blake is another rider from BC who grew up battling elbow-to-elbow in the confines of Chilliwack Heritage Park in Chilliwack, BC, so he knows what indoor racing is all about.
Guillaume St Cyr is out on the west coast and enjoying his time hitting the SoCal practice tracks. He’s no stranger to racing SX, so he’ll be looking to continue his improvements and get himself in the night shows and Mains, if he can.
The longest story here is regarding BC rider Julien Benek who should be way ahead of where he is but isn’t due to injuries.
Because of his situation, I gave him a call this morning to see how he’s doing.
The Mission, BC rider was training at the Triumph practice facility in Georgia this fall when he “nose-picked a triple” and hit the face of the following jump. The crash resulted in a broken wrist. He also hit his head hard and did damage just above his knee.
His plan was to be on the line with his MVP Racing Team teammate Blake Davies at Anaheim 1 and to be honest he won’t say that still isn’t going to happen.
He’s been seeing a concussion specialist while waiting for his wrist to get better. He had the cast off last week, but the main problem he’s having right now seems to be just above his knee where the hit has been shutting off the nerve that works his vastus medialis muscle in his thigh.
He tried riding at his house but the pain was too high to make it worthwhile. But in true Julien fashion, he said if he’s at A1 “it won’t be to watch!” We tried for a percentage but all we can give him is 50/50 right now.
Heal up, Julien, and we’ll see you on the line when you’re ready.
2015 Ulverton MX Supermini Video
I went looking for an old photo the other day and stumbled onto some video I hadn’t done anything with, so I cobbled together a little video from the 2015 Supermini Championship. We did 3 rounds in the west then 3 rounds in the east on the day before each Pro National.
And if you’re too young to have enjoyed any racing at the beautiful track in Ulverton, Quebec, well…you missed out.
This video features Tanner Ward, Cameron Wrozyna, Jeremy McKie, and Nick Cryer.
MX101 Names Racine and Kilroy as 250 Riders
MX101 FXR Yamaha has named Sebastien Racine (Ontario) and Preston Kilroy (Wyoming) as the team’s 250 riders for the 2025 Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals alongside defending 450 champion Jess Pettis on the big bike.
Here’s their announcement on Instagram:
Tyler Medaglia Update
With all these updates, I realized we haven’t talked to Tyler Medaglia in a while. Tyler crashed at the ISDE and badly broke his elbow. Tyler and I have known each other for a long time, so our conversations usually tangent all over the place, and this one was no different. Hmm, where do I even start?
My first question was about how his elbow is doing and he said he’s passed the 6-week mark since the second surgery and has had the cast off for just over a week. He added that he’s got full range of motion in it which is great news because from all accounts it was an ugly break. He had the pins out and had a plate put in so the bones and joint are solid, moving forward. His next check-up is January 20th.
My next question was about what he had planned for the 2025 season. To this question, he didn’t really have an answer because he was still waiting to hear from the gang over at Honda Canada GDR Honda.
I reworded my question to, “What would you LIKE to do next year?“
He said that he’s not really in a rush to finalize things but that he would really like to do the entire FMSQ Cross Country series in 2025 as well as defend his title at The Corduroy, select Canadian MX Nationals, and maybe an AMA MX National or two that he likes, like Southwick (see photo above…).
He had nothing but praise for the tracks and organization of the FMSQ series and added that it’s become almost like a national series in that it goes to Ontario, New Brunswick, and of course, Quebec.
He’s got promotors and races asking for his appearance but he isn’t really able to commit to anything at this point until he knows what he’s actually be on.
Talon Medaglia is progressing nicely and Tyler said he’s ripping a 125 now. He’ll spend some time with Talon down south and getting ready to make another run at Loretta Lynn’s. It sounds like Talon is stepping away from competitive hockey and that MX is now the entire focus.
I always have to ask him how his brother, Jeremy Medaglia, is doing too. He always tells me that Jeremy is still ridiculously fast and that the whole Medaglia/Cooke clan is incredibly competitive. That is one fast clan!
I told him that whenever we post something about Jeremy that it usually gets a ton of attention because people still really like him and are curious about what he’s doing these days.
Well, I’m sure everyone is pretty booked this weekend for Christmas Parties and family/friends get-togethers. I know we are!
I just dropped another bunch of DMX/Team Canada tee shirts in the mail yesterday after the strike ended. If you haven’t received yours yet, make sure you’ve sent me your mailing address. I’ll go over the list and investigate whose address I still need.
I’ll leave you with this question: Can a stronger, 100% healthy Eli Tomac battle for wins and the title against Jett Lawrence this winter? Who is your 450 money on? And does anyone have anything for Haiden Deegan in 250 West this year?
Back in my running days, we used to host a Pub Run near Christmas. Well, just because I can’t run anymore doesn’t mean the runs have ended. I’m going to grab a buddy who also can no longer run and we’re going to meet the gang at their final pub for a tasty holiday beverage tonight. I’m looking forward to it because I don’t think I’ve done one here since…oh…1994. Ouch!
This will be our last Frid’Eh Update before Christmas Day, so I’d like to end this one with a heartfelt Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
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