ICYMI | Catching Up with Tyler Gibbs | Fox Racing Canada

ICYMI | Catching Up with Tyler Gibbs | Fox Racing Canada

By Billy Rainford

#22 Tyler Gibbs from out in Mission, BC. Tyler is another one of the fast riders who cut his teeth on the indoor tracks of the Future West Arenacross series in BC, so he definitely excels on the tight tracks. In fact, he went through the Supercross Futures series a couple years ago and is ready to his the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series whenever we can freely move across the border again.

On a side note, it sounds like his dad, Paul Gibbs, and I ran in the same circles way back in our youths up at the beach town of Grand Bend, Ontario. We never knew each other back then, but it was like a second home to me as I went up to play beach volleyball every weekend and his relative owned most of the beach up there! We also knew a ton of the same people. Small world. I always think it would be funny if we could go back in time and watch some drone footage just to see how often we really did cross paths.

Tyler raced the MX portion of the Canadian Triple Crown Series last summer on his Yamaha. He did pretty well, despite all the mud we had to deal with.

He headed home at the end of the season just in time to repack his bags and come back to Ontario to race the SX portion of the series on a loaner Honda from the GDR Honda Fox Racing team.

Here’s a look at his 202 results:

He’s a rider with a ton of potential. Unfortunately, with the way things are in the country right now, he may be a rider that slips through the cracks this season, as the pandemic restrictions continue to affect riders, sponsors, and series.

We got in touch with him to talk about last season and find out what he plans on doing for racing this season.

Direct Motocross: Hey, Tyler. Haven’t spoken to you in a little while. Let’s first back it up to the 2020 season. In MX your best finish was a 7th overall. Can you tell us how that part of the series went for you?

Tyler Gibbs: The outdoor series was pretty good for me. I had a lot of good results and I was happy with that. It would have been nice to not have so many mud races but that just how it goes sometimes. 

And then it looked like you sort of found your groove in the SX portion of the series, never missing the top 10. How did that go and were you happy with your results?

I wasn’t to pump on my SX riding. I know I could have been running up there for wins. Switching bikes wasn’t ideal but I was happy to get to race.  I only got two days on the Honda before the first race. And I just want to say thanks to GDR and Derek (Schuster) for letting me ride their bike. 

I know you were interested in racing the AMA Supercross series this year, but it didn’t happen. Can you tell us a little bout that?

Just with COVID and the borders being closed it was just too hard to get down. Hopefully, it opens up so I can do it again. 

So, what did you get up to all winter? What do you do for work?

I went snowboarding and rode my BMX at an indoor park a lot. I just help friends with jobs if they need me, so that’s mostly construction.

I saw you on a new colour in your social media videos. Why the change?

I just want to try it out and I like it but not sure if I’m going to stick with the red bike yet. 

And how has your riding and training been going this spring?

I’ve been going to the gym quite a bit for the last 2 months but I haven’t been riding that much. I’m going to start getting back in the motos soon. I’ve been doing a lot of free riding and I am really like that type of riding. 

Where have you been riding and who have you been riding with?

Not too many tracks to ride beside Popkum or Kamloops, but I’ve been doing a lot of free riding. I want to get into that stuff more. I like that type of riding. 

And what’s your plan for this coming racing season? Will you be heading and staying east again this summer?

I’m not going across this summer. I would like to but it’s not in the cards this year. I will be doing the local races this summer. 

You’re a rider who, like many BC riders, excels at the indoor game. Will you make an effort to get south in 2022?

Yes, that’s the plan. 

How’s your little brother, Travis Gibbs, coming along? Is he nipping at your heels yet?

He’s doing good. He’s actually riding quite a bit which is good for him. He’s getting closer to me but he won’t ever beat me. Hahahaha. 

OK, thanks for taking some time with us. I’m sorry we won’t be seeing you in the Triple Crown Series this summer, but good luck this season and who would you like to thank?

Holeshotmotorsports, Fox, Ride 100 Precent, Lime Nine, Seco seat covers, Sky Racing Suspension, Renthal Moto, John my trainer. There’s a bunch more people that help me and I’m super thankful that they help me.