McThoughts|Gopher Dunes National|MX1

By Jeff McConkey

We have never had a stacked field like this, ever, not to mention this many guys that are great in the sand. Obviously, Matt Goerke was the heavy favourite going in, but then there is Davi Millsaps. Davi has looked incredible at every round up to date, so why would Gopher Dunes be any different?

The weather was hot, like always, and it got rough…really rough. This is really a test of a rider’s fitness. You can B.S. everyone on how hard you are working, but the truth comes out at Round 5. This was by far the most exciting racing, and the large Gopher crowd loved every minute of it. Let’s look at the results and see my thoughts.

MX1 Podium: Matt Goerke, Brett Metcalfe, Davi Millsaps|Spikman photo

1st Matt Goerke (1-3): Does anyone ride sand better than this guy? I doubt it. Matt made it a little hard on himself with a stall in moto 1, but don’t kid yourself, he was still going to pass Millsaps even if Davi didn’t go down. After Matt’s crash while leading in moto 2, he hung it out and said he even impressed himself on how fast he went. Yes, it was that fast.

2nd Brett Metcalfe (4-1): Metty finally got his win with a great ride in the 2nd moto. He’s starting to look really good on the Yamaha, and expect him to be there every moto for the remainder.

3rd Davi Millsaps (3-2): Davi was a question mark coming in. Obviously, he’s a super talent, but sand is usually the great equalizer. Davi looked great as always. He did go down twice, but he still has a great points lead with 5 rounds to go.

#118 Davi Millsaps|Spikman photo

4th Colton Facciotti (2-6): Colton had a good but quiet ride in moto 1. Moto 2 was solid, but he was just a little off the pace. He doesn’t look like Colton we are used to…I’m sure he will bounce back and show us why he’s the man.

#2 Colton Facciotti|Spikman photo

5th Kaven Benoit (5-4): Wow, Benoit looked great when he was out front! I keep saying this, but he is going to be our top Canadian very soon. He had a big get off, but was lucky to escape injury. I can’t wait to see him on home soil. Can you say overall podium?

#11 Kaven Benoit|Spikman photo

6th Mike Alessi (6-5): Mike has found his starts. He rocketed off the line in both motos. He went backwards a little, but still rode well. I think Ulverton will be a good race for him to bounce back on the podium.

#800 Mike Alessi|Spikman photo

7th Tyler Medaglia (8-7): Tyler had to come from last after a first corner crash in moto 1. He rode good both motos and is having fun. Doesn’t get much better than that.

#5 Tyler Medaglia|Spikman photo

8th Cade Clason (7-8): Cade agrees that he is the guy on the bubble. He doesn’t want to be that guy. He came into Gopher prepared this year and looked good. I wish he could get a start and run the pace with the top guys. I feel after he can do that and see their pace and some lines, it will help him get into that next group.

#6 Cade Clason|Spikman photo

9th Shawn Robinson (9-9): Finally, the ride from Shawn that we have been waiting for. For years I have been saying that Shawn has top-10 speed and talent. Now he just has to do it for 2 motos, back to back, week in and week out.

#27 Shawn Robinson|Spikman photo

10th Morgan Burger (10-10): I feel like a 10-10 at the Dunes in this stacked field is a win for Morgan. No disrespect to Burger, but I feel he’s more of a stylish rider than a grind it out sand guy. He looked good both motos [came from last in moto 1], and is probably really happy to be leaving the Dunes.

#19 Morgan Burger|Bigwave photo

Biggest Stud: Goerke gets Stud status this week. He made it hard on himself, but was still the best guy on Sunday and one of the best sand riders in the world…….ever!

Biggest Dud: I’m calling myself for the Dud this week. The reason being, I did a podcast interview with Matt Goerke and the batteries died on the recorder during. It’s a real piss off, because it was honestly Matt’s best interview yet. To see the heart this guy has, and to hear him say that he let the team down, is a real indication on how hard he is trying. The best part was when he was talking about his crash while leading in moto 2. He basically said F**k it, and rode as fast as he could and didn’t care if he crashed or not. Well, it worked as he rode absolutely amazing and stole the overall.

Biggest Surprise: Davi Millsaps was my surprise. There were some rumours of possible broken or bruised ribs leading into Round 5. Well he didn’t act like a guy that was hurt and hadn’t raced sand forever. Great ride by the 118.