Frid’Eh Update #52 | Tyler Shewchyk | Brought to You by Yamaha Motor Canada
By Billy Rainford
Welcome to week #52 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update this week brought to you by Yamaha Motor Canada. Yamaha has been a partner with us here at Direct Motocross since Day 1 and we look forward to another great year with the gang at bLUcRU in 2023.
We’re in the final couple days of 2022, so that means it’s almost time for another first round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross! I’ll be hopping into the #DMXVan early on New Year’s Day for one more trip to California for the first 4 rounds. We may have reached the point where I’ll ask everyone to cross their fingers for me. I’m now north of 340K kilometres on the red rocket so we’re at the distance where anything is really possible. How much longer will this thing keep running?!
After making it through some really bad winter storms here in Southwestern Ontario, it’s now 11 Celsius outside. It’s wet out there but the snow is already almost all gone, so the drive shouldn’t be too bad to start out.
I-80 is listed as 1 hour shorter than heading south to warmer weather, so I’ll check the forecast and see if that time saving is worth the risk of cutting across Wyoming and down into Utah instead of New Mexico and Texas.
I always have a soft spot in my heart for the final number of the year. Snagging #52 means you make it into one of these Frid’Eh Updates and it means you’re the last one to do it.
Who is it this year that just missed making it, you ask? None other than Mitch Cooke. Sorry, Rich (Old School reference). It looks like you should have done that one more race in 2021 after all.
Tyler Shewchyk is the rider who lands himself in the final position for 2022. I’m happy he made it, too, because the more I learn about him the more I like him. He’s been through a couple very difficult years and looks to be getting himself back to where he belongs – on the track.
His ugly leg break forced him away from the MX series this past summer, but he made it out for some Supercross at Gopher Dunes to give the indoor game a try for the first time.
I remember commenting at the track that Tyler was the only one who looked like he was having fun and throwing some whips for the fans and my camera. I liked him immediately. It’s funny how that works. Just ask the Team Solitaire riders from last year’s Supercross series about it. Their whips and nac-nacs won the crowds over immediately.
I didn’t know much about Tyler before this interview. Because of that, we started at the very beginning in our chat, so let’s get to it.
Here’s a look at his results in the SX/AX series from 2022, first:
Direct Motocross: Hello, Tyler. Since this is our first time doing one of these with you, let’s take it all the way back and give people a chance to get to know you a little better. How and when did you get your start in motocross?
Tyler Shewchyk: Well, originally, I started riding an ATV when I was about 3 years old. But when I was around 5 my dad and I went riding with my cousin who had a dirt bike. I asked if I could try and ride the dirt bike and he let me try it. From that point on I was hooked. There was nothing I would rather be doing than riding a dirt bike. And it worked out well because my dad was also hooked. He had never really ridden dirt bikes up until that point. So, we both got dirt bikes and learned to ride together. The passion just kept building from there.
We started track riding together the year we got the bikes. Then after a couple years when I was around 7 years old, we got introduced to the world of motocross racing by competing in what I believe was a local race at a track I can’t even remember the name of. But from that point on pretty much every weekend all summer for as long as I can remember was trying to go racing.
What was your first number and how did you choose it?
My first number was 777. I chose 777 together with my dad. We both had hockey number 77 and when we went to sign up for our first year of racing 77 wasn’t available so we figured what’s better than two 7’s is three 7’s. And from then to the current day my number has always been 777. Despite having a pro number to run during national events you will always see me with a 777 graphics kit as well. I will always be 777 at heart.
Who did you come up through the ranks battling?
Theres been so many different racers I grew up battling. I would have to say in the earlier days on 85’s it was Seth Hughes, Daxton Moerman, and sometimes when I had good races Jake Tricco and Sam Gaynor. But the names seemed to change as I got into different classes. Just as people left the sport or may have moved up into different classes. When I moved onto big bikes and started racing Junior and Intermediate, I was still battling with Seth Hughes, but also with Keenan Peterson and Jeremy Mckie.
I took a look at your Instagram page and saw how rough your year was. I’m very sorry to hear about the loss of your father. And then you broke your leg! Can you talk about what it took to get you back on the track this season?
Yeah, it was definitely a really tough year for me. I mean, the whole thing with my dad passing away was heart-breaking, and I miss him every day. I spent a long time with my family to reflect and cope for me, and for us as a family. But there came a point in spring 2022 where I knew to myself that he would want me to continue following my passion to ride and race and continue doing what we had done for so many great years. And so, after some thought, I started trying to train for the 2022 season.
Unfortunately, a dumb mistake about three rides into the year lead to me breaking my tibula and fibula and having them poke out of the skin. This set my year on standstill while the bone healed. It was about 2 or 3 months before I could even try riding again. After countless physio sessions and a ton of strength training, I did find my way back to where I belong riding at the track, and I am very happy I did.
You headed to Deschambault for the ECAN. How was that week?
The week was super fun. I headed there not having touched a bike in about 2-and-a-half months, so the expectations were low. It was like a test for me to see how the leg was doing and how it would hold up under riding conditions. I was supposed to wait 4 to 6 months before riding, but I was kind of feeling good about my leg and getting sick and tired of missing races. So, we went to ECAN to race.
I raced the full week plus the pro day and my leg and body were definitely not ready. I was in pain every jump I landed and was not going near the speed I should have been. In addition, my fitness was not quite where I needed it to be during the 35-minute pro 450 motos. Though despite all that I had a blast during that week. After being home for a good chunk of the year between losing my dad and breaking my leg it was so nice to get out see some friendly faces and just hang out at a motocross track with the coolest people I know.
And then I noticed you racing Supercross. You looked like you were having a ton of fun out there, throwing whips everywhere. How did that series go for you?
This was my first year trying to race Supercross. And by this time in the year my leg had healed to the point where I could actually ride without too much hesitation. So, it was awesome and so much fun. As you saw me throwing whips and just enjoying riding as much as I possibly could. Now, the results weren’t exactly what I was looking for, but, as I had never ridden Supercross till pretty much the day before the race, I was happy to leave the track smiling healthy and having a great time.
The other rounds were pretty similar. I found that every time I rode/raced I was faster, smoother and more comfortable with the new form of racing. The results did seem to improve a bit. All in all, it was a great series and probably the highlight of my racing in 2022.
And now you’re down in Georgia and Florida riding. How is the trip going? What tracks have you been at and where are you going next?
The trip is going amazing. I am currently just outside of Daytona, Florida, at a place called Pax track, where we just stopped to ride for the day. We started at GPF in Georgia for our first day down here on Tuesday. Then went to WW Ranch to ride for a day. And now we are thinking of heading to Tampa MX.
We don’t exactly have a plan for after that except to be down here riding until we head home on January 7th. The hope is to try and do a week of AMA spec Supercross training next week but it all depends on where we can find to ride.
What will you do for the rest of the winter? What do you do for work?
During the majority of the rest of the winter I will be working. I am currently employed full-time as an electrician apprentice. I also have my own small general contracting business I do on the side to make some extra racing money. I also hope to make it back down south for three weeks in late February/early March to train for AMA Supercross. I am planning on trying my best to compete in Detroit for my first ever round of AMA Pro Supercross.
What are your plans for racing in 2023?
To be completely honest, I don’t know 100 percent. I will definitely be racing I just don’t know where or when. I am hoping to race most if not all of the Triple Crown Series, but I also would like to compete in an AMA Supercross round as well as possibly some outdoor pro motocross rounds in the states. I am keeping my options open as of now. Whatever it is I decide to do though it will be back aboard a 2-stroke again for this year.
Well, thanks for taking some time with us today. Enjoy the rest of your trip and who would you like to thank?
Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to do this. I would like to start by thanking my mom and dad for always sticking behind me no matter what and always encouraging me to follow my dream. Without them I would never have gotten to where I am today. I would also like to double thank all my sponsors for the year as they all stuck behind me through everything. Thank you to OGs optics, thank you to Brantford motorcycles, thank you to bLUcRU racing, thank you to Haber mx design, thank you to MD distributions, thank you to Works Connection, thank you to Superior Suspension Settings, thank you to Torc 1 racing, and to anyone I forgot, thank you.
OK, not so fast! I was speaking to the Kerr family, who you are very tight with, and Andy Kerr told me I had to ask you about some of the crazy travel stories you have. How about you tell us your craziest one?
My craziest travel story has to be the trip to and from Sand Del Lee in 2019, I believe. That year I didn’t quite have a rig capable of towing my bikes, gear and needed parts all the way to Ottawa to race. So, I went on a hunt to find something. A couple days before leaving I found this cube van – looks mint. So, I go check it out and it seems to check out. I pick it up with plans on leaving pretty much the next day.
Well, we pack up and leave on our 5-hour drive to SDL. Little did we know, 21 hours later I ended up having to drive right through the night and show up to the track with no sleep just to make it in time for qualifying.
The cube van spit belts on the way there, it broke lines and just wouldn’t run right. We spent hours just doing 30 km/hr on back roads, wrenching on the side of the road trying desperately to make it there.
During that weekend we raced and fixed what we thought was the issue with the cube van. So, after the weekend we headed home, which wasn’t any better of an experience. We seemed to be able to go faster now but it just broke down time and time again until finally, after 20-something hours into what should have been a 5-hour drive, it started to run right and we could do highway speeds.
It was very exciting and lasted all of 10 minutes until the wheels on the back driver’s side decided they no longer wanted to be part of our convoy and took their own route. So, we arrived home 36 hours after we left Sand Del Lee on the back of a tow truck. But hey, at least we got to go racing!
Dakar Rally Starts this Weekend
From Red Bull:
Before picking out the best in class in the bike race it’s vital to highlight a rule change for 2023. A system of time bonuses is now in place to reward the bikers who ‘open the road’ on each stage. The bonus sections are in place during the first 200km of the timed special stage. It will be possible for a rider to have a total of five minutes deducted from their daily time if they lead the way throughout the opening 200km. It’s a huge prize to aim for, but also comes with a massive amount of risk – with no tracks to follow the chances of getting lost is bound to increase.
Will the new chapter of the rulebook help Red Bull KTM Factory Racing get back to winning ways? The Austrian manufacturer won 18 consecutive editions of the Dakar before the rally relocated to Saudi Arabia. Team riders Toby Price, Matthias Walkner and Kevin Benavides already have four Dakar victories between them and all have a shot at winning in 2023.
For any of the KTM trio to win this time in Saudi Arabia they will need to beat the pair of riders representing Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing. Sam Sunderland is the Dakar’s defending champion while Daniel Sanders is part of a new generation of bikers tipped for Dakar success in the near future.
As well as KTM and GASGAS, there are strong factory line-ups from Honda, Husqvarna and Hero also in the mix for top honours at this Dakar. The word inside the Yanbu Sea Camp is that there are more than 15 bikers on the start line of this Dakar with a realistic chance of winning the thing.
Hammertime at Hemet SX Practice
I’ll be joining Rick ‘Hammertime’ Hamer-Jackson out in California this week, but he’s already been there for a few days. He stopped in at the practice track in Hemet on his way over to Palm Springs and snapped a few phone photos of #1 Eli Tomac.
The 450 class is stacked this season, again, but it’s going to be difficult to bet against this guy, no?
He also sent over a few of his favourite bikes during his stop in at Pro Circuit in Corona.
OK, my break is almost over. Things are about to get extremely busy around here. Happy New Year, everyone!
No comments!
There are no comments yet, but you can be first to comment this article.