Frid’Eh Update #8 Presented by The Toronto Supercross
By Jeff McConkey and Billy Rainford
Week #8 goes out to Lindsay, ON native, Kyle Keast. – Bigwave photo
Welcome to a rather groggy DMX Frid’Eh Update #8 this week presented by The Toronto Supercross, March 12th at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto. For 2016, #8 will belong to the Lindsay, Ontario, rider that really needs no introduction…
OK, for the sake of content, let’s introduce him. If you’ve only been around Canadian Motocross for a few of years, you can’t imagine a moto world without the hard-working, 9-5er, Kyle Keast, at our nationals. Kyle has pretty much seen it all in his career, including Supercross, Arenacross, Motocross of Nations, and AMA Motocross. If there was a race happening somewhere, and Kyle wasn’t working his day job, you could be sure ‘The Dozer’ would be on the line if he could.
Keast at the Calgary National last summer where he placed 9th overall for the 3rd time in a row. – Bigwave photo
Kyle has been busy getting his company going the past few years and has it to a place where he can leave the work in capable hands and head south to train, and west to race. Well, he did last year, anyway. Having said that, he was super-busy when we tried getting in touch with him this week for the intro, so we won’t be hearing from him here today.
So, here’s a video featuring Kyle and a few other Canadians who made the trip to the final round of AMA Motocross in Indiana late last summer:
Canadians at the 2015 Indiana National from Directmotocross.com on Vimeo.
Kyle’s 2015 Rockstar Energy MX Nationals results:
9-9-9-9-11-8-9-10-9-13 = 217 points for 8th overall in MX1
Good luck with your winter training, Kyle, and we’ll be sure to get in touch with him as soon as he is able.
Week #8 is brought to you by the Toronto Supercross, Saturday, March 12th. Get your tickets now.
Jeff McConkey
Hi, guys. It’s a beautiful Friday here in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m down here with the big boss Billy. I’d like to tell you that no expense was spared, but by the look of the king size bed we are going to share, I’d be lying. The 250 East Coast kicks off tomorrow and there isn’t really a true favourite, yet. There are still a lot of unknowns going into the first East round. Who’s put in the hard work? Who’s dealing with injuries, and who’s ready to make it ‘their year.’
Back in December, Adam Cianciarulo looked to be the favourite by far. He was finally healthy and in full swing at the Baker’s Factory. Fast forward to now, and Adam has left Aldon Baker and is out with an arm injury. Adam has been under the spotlight since his early days on 65’s, and most had him picked as a ‘can’t miss’ future champion. Unfortunately, Adam is still without a professional championship and has a very large injury list instead. He still has all of the talent and drive, but has had to sit out more races than most. I, myself, like most, have watched and cheered on Cianciarulo since the early days and truly hope this young star gets to reach his full potential in the sport.
Adam Cianciarulo has been pegged to be a champion since he was a young child. Unfortunately, injuries have kept him sidelined for much of his Pro career. – Bigwave photo
Atlanta Supercross
250 East
Going into the 250 East this season, we have a very solid group of racers. Here is a quick look at few of the guys we need to keep an eye on.
#6 Jeremy Martin: Jeremy will win races and be on the podium. He has had some ‘brain fart’ issues in the past, but I’m willing to bet they are long gone. He won’t win the title, but he will be in the fight.
#23 Aaron Plessinger: I’m calling it right now, this guy will be our 2016 East champ. He will win with consistency and limiting his bad races to a 4th or 5th place.
#30 Shane McElrath: Had he not been injured, I would have had Shane fighting for wins. I think he may be a tad off of the leaders’ pace, but he will get a few podiums.
#31 R.J. Hampshire: I’m just very happy to see this guy back after a very scary head injury. I think top 5’s will be a win for him considering how serious his injury was.
#36 Justin Hill: I thought last season was going to be his year. He’s too good not to win a few and fight for the title.
#48 Anthony Rodriguez: ‘A-Rod’ has the speed, but he has hit the dirt a lot in the past. If he can slow down to go faster, he should get a podium, maybe 2 this season.
#49 Martin Davalos: Going into his 11th season in the class, Martin should have freed himself of any jitters. He has always had incredible speed, it’s just putting it all together. He could win the whole darn thing, or he could have issues. It’s up to Martin to see what will happen.
#50 Malcolm Stewart: Stewart is an incredible talent and busts his butt. I, personally, would rather see him on a 450. If he can get a start, he can match speed with anyone.
#53 Tyler Bowers: Tyler is a 4-time AX champ. He knows how to win. If fully recovered from back surgery, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him fight for wins and podiums.
#66 Arnaud Tonus: I don’t know what to expect, to be honest. I would like to see him fight for top 5’s and maybe sneak onto the podium.
#159 Darryn Durham: Darryn may be the biggest question mark going into the East. Is he fully healed, and will we see the magic he once had?
#519 Josh Cartwright: This guy is one of my favourites. How can you not get behind him? He is a full-time University student and races Pro Moto. Every parent should take a good look at this guy and show their kids that it can be done!
OK, that is just a few of the guys on my radar. Let’s take a look at my predictions for Atlanta:
Holeshot: Jeremy Martin
1st Jeremy Martin
2nd Aaron Plessinger
3rd Malcolm Stewart
4th Justin Hill
5th Tyler Bowers
450 Class
Holeshot: Cole Seely
1st Jason Anderson
2nd Ryan Dungey
3rd Ken Roczen
4th Cole Seely
5th Eli Tomac
That’s it for me this week, be sure to check out this weeks ‘On the Radar‘ with Brandon Brown, and our ‘Out of the Blue‘ with Suzy Greenan. Have a great weekend and #smileforBC!
Billy Rainford
Thanks, Jeff. I called this a “groggy Update” because Jeff and I have just arrived in Atlanta for this weekend’s Supercross after leaving Ontario last night at 10pm. Some people ask why I bought a small van as a vehicle. After sleeping comfortably in the back while the other person drove, I think the answer is pretty obvious. Not to mention, we did this while also not having to pack lightly and with the Scott Solace 15 standing upright to the side. #minivannation!
Anyway, we left Ontario in a windy snowstorm and have arrived here in Atlanta under sunny skies and double-digit temperatures. It’s not hot, by any means, but there is no threat of frostbite on exposed skin either.
We haven’t made it over to the Georgia Dome to see the track yet but it is always a good one and the fans here in Georgia really do support Supercross. I think the fact that there is only one round here this year should make this a very popular destinations for anyone within driving distance tomorrow. 70 000 fans is not out of the question here.
OK, we’re running short on time, so here is what’s going on in Canadian moto this week.
Toronto Motorcycle Show
We headed into downtown Toronto last weekend for the annual Toronto Motorcycle Show in the Enercare Centre at Exhibition Place. This one-room-only exhibition is well laid out and gave us a great opportunity to see new products and chat with some industry folk. Here are a few pics from last Saturday.
The Enercare Centre at Exhibition Place is the home of the Toronto Motorcycle Show.
The first smiling faces we bumped into were those of Claudie Lapointe and Tanner Ward, there representing KTM Canada.
Of course, Mark Perrin was there roasting marshmallows by the fire at the Parts Canada TransCan booth.
There will come a day when we look back and wonder why this didn’t happen earlier, on and off road…
The size of this back wheel was impressive.
When started, this new Yamaha probably revs with an Austrian accent and tells you it will be back, often.
It was nice to see 2015 MX1 Champion, Matt Goerke, in Toronto in his new Fly Racing gear.
Some Scott goggles on display.
Claudie mentioned something about a bunch of us getting together on a race track somewhere and riding a few of these things. I heard it, Claudie!
OK, I’m off to get some groceries…
Don’t worry, I’ll wear my new helmet.
Canadian Rider, Dave Blanchet, to Line up in Atlanta
This is how we first reported the story:
Canadian Dave Blanchet has been denied his 450 Supercross license for this weekend in #Atlanta. The #CMA has given the OK for him to race the 250 but will need to see some results before he is given the chance to race the best in the world in the premiere class.
Dave and the Pr-mx.ca team are currently scrambling to find a 250 for this weekend’s first round of 250 East.
Since then, they have gone from not racing at all, to racing Logan Karnow‘s practice 250, to now building up their own 250 to race round 1 of 250 East. What this means is that we will, indeed, have a Canadian to cheer for when the riding starts here tomorrow. If Dave can put in a good results here in Atlanta, he will be given consideration to race his 450 in Daytona next week. He has been down south getting ready on his 450 for quite some time now, so that would be a great step for him and the PR-MX Team. Good luck this weekend, Dave.
With a good result this week in the 250 class, we could see Dave up in the 450 class for Daytona. – Bigwave photo
MXGP Starts this Week in Qatar
DMX Toronto SX Party at The Houston
It’s coming! After taking a year off, the AMA Supercross series will return to Toronto in two weeks and we’ll be ready with our now-traditional pre and after parties at The Houston on Yonge St. in downtown Toronto. Be there, but be there early!
Team Canada MXON Team Raffle
Jeremy Pronovost Update
We hadn’t heard a lot from the fast, up-and-coming Pro rider out of Quebec lately, so we got in touch with him to find out what he’s been up to and what his plans are.
Last summer’s MX2 results:
#29 – ST PHILIPPE, QC 18th-17th-19th-12th-13th-14th-20th-11th-24th = 172 (-396)
This winter I’ve been working on roofs with my dad and been racing snowcross, too. It was my first year racing on those machines. I had a lots of fun and I won a couple of heats, but never won a main – the competition was tough.
Next week, I’m leaving for Florida to go ride and then going back to JWTF to train for a month. I can’t wait to get back on the bike. It’s been a while, my head is feeling good and this year I know that we are going to have a good season. A little confidence never hurts (Laughs).
Jeremy Pronovost will be back at in 2016 again running #29. He’s been racing a little snowcross and will now head south to get back on 2 wheels. – Bigwave photo
R.I.P. Chick
I took this from Brett Lee’s Facebook page. R.I.P. Chick:
The man known as Chick. His battle is very tough right now. There isn’t a person in Canada who has shaped more tracks and more importantly made more people laugh. Keep battling friend, there is more stories to share.
Chick passed early this morning at home, with people around. I am glad so many of you have been thinking of him, sharing a positive thought. I will be passing on what service details there may be.
OK, pretty short this weekend. We had a couple other things on tap but they will have to wait until we receive the official PR later tonight. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @directmx and Instagram @DirectMotocross as bring you the action LIVE from here at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Happy Birthday, Guy Giroux!
