By Billy Rainford
Well, we’re shut down here in Ontario. That’s right, we’re on to our 3rd full lockdown all across the province for the next little while. Even tracks that tried to stay open through the last one have decided to close this time.
Who would have thought that I’d finally get back on a bike and look forward to hitting a bunch of local tracks and a global pandemic would be the thing that derails my progress?! And just when I was fixing to hit Mount Ugly at The Pit on the second lap…
Ontario checkpoints are in effect today. Province limiting interprovincial travel with Quebec and Manitoba to help curb the spread of COVID-19. @NataliaGoodwin tells us what it's like at the border in Ottawa. #CBCNN pic.twitter.com/77mkwMpzYX
— CBC Morning Live (@CBCMorningLive) April 19, 2021
We heard the weekly meeting between team managers and Jetwerx was canceled this past week as they try to figure out what this latest tightening may or may not mean for our series in 2021.
At this point, the series looks like this:
By the way, change your series bookmark to this:
Right now, we are 2 months away from the proposed first round in Drumheller, AB (June 19th). That’s a lot of time for things to get better, but, as we’ve seen, it’s also a lot of time for things to get even worse…if that’s possible at this point.
We’ll try to keep everyone up to date on what the schedule is doing. Last season, you’ll remember, Jetwerx was forced to give us Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, etc.. We all have to realize the situation they’re in as they try to set a schedule that we think we can actually follow. It’s a fluid situation, so buckle up.
Did everyone watch Atlanta #3/Round 15 on Saturday?! I’m not sure I’ve ever seen more chaos in a night of 250 racing than that. Have you? That was completely bonkers for a while.
Highlights:
250 West
Thoughts:
1. 91 Nate Thrasher YAM: Once again, Nate came from winning the LCQ to winning the 250 Main. There’s no way that’s ever been done before, especially for a rookie, is there?! Win your first two Mains after winning the LCQ?? I remember back a bunch of years and seeing the name “THRASHER” on the back of a jersey at the Mini O’s and thinking, “How cool would it be to have a guy with that last name winning a Supercross?!” Well, here we are.
Nate caught a few breaks again for this one, but if you look at his lap times, it’s simple…he was the fastest rider on the track! Confidence is a powerful thing at the Pro level of any sport, and Nate is full of it now.
2. 32 Justin Cooper YAM: Justin is Nate’s teammate and is supposed to be showing him the ropes. He said in the Press Conference that he just couldn’t get comfortable, that the track was brutal, and that he “didn’t want to throw it away.”
Justin is the points leader and Nate isn’t a threat to the title. Also, maybe there’s a part of him that realized just how cool it was that Nate was going to win another Main from the LCQ. Maybe?
3. 150 Seth Hammaker KAW: Seth ended up riding with 10 seconds in front of him and 10 seconds behind him in 3rd place. 5 riders have separated themselves from the rest and Seth is one of them. He’s doing really well as a young Pro and has a solid future.
4. 41 Hunter Lawrence HON: Hunter was up with the leaders early and tried to go inside #31 Cameron McAdoo over a jump. He didn’t have room and ended up landing just off the track and crashed on a Tuff Blox, dropping back a few places. He came back to 4th and salvaged a good result.
5. 56 Kyle Peters HON: Kyle got out to a top 10 start and ran very consistent lap times to take 5th place. He’s always a threat to end up on the podium if the stars align for him.
Notable: The hit from #48 Garrett Marchbanks on McAdoo was something. There’s obviously more to this story than we saw on TV because I just can’t imaging anyone would make that move if there wasn’t, would they??? He didn’t just force him wide, he chopped him off and they both went down.
Also, when McAdoo got forced wide off the start in the Main, he then came back into the middle of the track and #60 Chris Blose glanced off his shoulder and crashed hard, ending his night and sending him to the hospital.
From Chris:
“First of all, I just want to say thank you everybody for reaching out to check on my well being. Good news is I am back home after a big crash that wasn’t even my fault. After taking a helicopter to the hospital and getting scans to my head, neck and chest everything turned out to be ok with those. I got lucky enough to only get a broken thumb and fractured a couple ribs. I can’t thank everyone enough for the love and support through this time. I’ll keep everyone in the loop as I find out if surgery is needed. Thanks again.“
Great news.
And here’s summary of Cameron’s Atlanta:
It was a rough week in Atlanta for Cameron McAdoo 😬 #SupercrossLIVE #DropTheGate pic.twitter.com/lCwQbP1Qfp
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) April 19, 2021
450 Class
Thoughts:
1. 2 Cooper Webb KTM: I have a friend that I used to play a lot of pool with. If our opponent happened to run the table down to the 8 ball, Terry was the guy you wanted shooting next because he just thrived under pressure and would always play better. Many people do the opposite. Cooper is like my friend Terry. He has everyone beat, mentally.
Cooper took advantage of the fall by #94 Ken Roczen, ran consistent lap times, and basically stole this win. He’s got ice running through his veins and that won’t melt until he’s crowned 2-time champion in a couple weeks in SLC.
2. 94 Ken Roczen HON: Ken was the class of the field and looked unstoppable out front as he smoothly pulled away from the field. And he needed this win. Instead of making this a fight to the finish, he sort of handed this title to Cooper. It’s too bad for him because winning this title is not going to be any easier in the future.
It was really surprising to see him run laps that were 4 seconds slower after his tip over than he was running early in the race and let Cooper by so easily.
3. 1 Eli Tomac KAW: I wouldn’t say I’m a “fanboy” or anything, but you just sort of get used to Eli winning from the back and that just hasn’t been happening lately. I wanted to ask him about that in the press conference but it’s been asked before and he didn’t seem thrilled to answer it. He says he’s still as motivated as ever but that the top two riders are just going too fast for him to cut through the field and take wins as regularly as he used to.
I did ask him about that sand-clearing jump he did earlier in the program. He said it was cool but that it ended up being slower. He also said he thought most of the other riders tried it at one point in the day. It sure looked cool.
4. 7 Aaron Plessinger YAM: Aaron said at the beginning of the season that he was going to surprise some people with his speed, and I’d say he’s done that. Not that I thought he was finished, but running at the front is not what I saw him doing in this class.
5. 51 Justin Barcia GasGas: Races are just more entertaining when there’s a chance Barcia is going to be fighting for a podium. Things don’t always happen but that feeling that they could makes you move closer to the edge of your seat. He looked good but fell and ended up 5th. Just when I don’t think he’s going to win another Main, he goes out and does it. Let’s see what these last 2 rounds have in store.
Notable: It looked like #14 Dylan Ferrandis was going to have a good night but then he doubled into that corner, hit #21 Jason Anderson and they both went down. He’s due.
And wow, I didn’t see this from the earlier round! Are 450 race bikes fast, you ask?
Jason would fight back in the pack after being up in 3rd place early. 14th can not make him happy.
A bunch of people had #23 Chase Sexton picked for this win, but he had a tough night back in 10th.
GNCC Racing Round 5
| Tiger Run Union, SC – Round 5 | ||||||
| 17. WXC – Bike – Class Results | ||||||
| Place | Nbr | Name | Hometown | Brand | Laps | Elapsed |
| 1 | 001 | BECCA N SHEETS | CIRCLEVILLE, OH | YAM | 4 | 02:00:52.738 |
| 2 | 444 | KORIE STEEDE | BELOIT, OH | KAW | 4 | 02:02:58.217 |
| 3 | 713 | TAYLA JONES | BELTON, SC | HQV | 4 | 02:03:29.118 |
| 4 | 650 | RACHAEL ARCHER | NEW ZEALAND, // | YAM | 4 | 02:04:25.438 |
| 5 | 828 | MACKENZIE TRICKER | TRAVELERS REST, SC | KTM | 4 | 02:05:22.759 |
| 6 | 653 | SHELBY A TURNER | CANADA, // | KTM | 4 | 02:09:24.192 |
| 7 | 417 | RACHEL GUTISH | TERRE HAUTE, IN | BET | 4 | 02:11:21.779 |
| 8 | 205 | PRESTIN RAINES | TRAVELERS REST, SC | YAM | 4 | 02:13:58.499 |
| 9 | 715 | MARINA CANCRO | HUNTINGTON, NY | YAM | 4 | 02:21:55.699 |
| 10 | 869 | JAMIE ASTUDILLO | GILBERTSVILLE, PA | KTM | 4 | 02:25:02.170 |
| 11 | 442 | TAYLOR TAYLOR | LAWRENCEBURG, KY | YAM | 4 | 02:26:49.090 |
| 12 | 230 | ANNELISA DAVIS | BIRCHRUNVILLE, PA | YAM | 4 | 02:34:45.079 |
| 13 | 277 | ABBY DEFEO | MYRTLE BEACH, SC | KTM | 4 | 02:36:59.100 |
| 14 | 483 | ELIZABETH PEREZ | BLOOMINGTON, IN | HQV | 3 | 02:04:10.171 |
| 15 | 682 | RAMSEY HENDERSON | EUSTIS, FL | KTM | 2 | 01:21:24.131 |
| 01. XC1 Open Pro – Bike – Class Results | ||||||
| Place | Nbr | Name | Hometown | Brand | Laps | Elapsed |
| 1 | 514 | STEWARD BAYLOR JR | HODGES, SC | YAM | 6 | 02:49:45.576 |
| 2 | 212 | RICKY A RUSSELL | DUVALL, WA | GAS | 6 | 02:50:28.650 |
| 3 | 530 | BENJAMIN M KELLEY | HARWINTON, CT | KTM | 6 | 02:50:55.558 |
| 4 | 314 | GRANT BAYLOR | HONEA PATH, SC | GAS | 6 | 02:51:53.678 |
| 5 | 523 | LAYNE MICHAEL | BOONVILLE, NC | YAM | 6 | 02:52:28.479 |
| 6 | 003 | JORDAN ASHBURN | LIVINGSTON, TN | HQV | 6 | 02:54:04.973 |
| 7 | 739 | TREVOR BOLLINGER | MORGANTON, NC | HQV | 6 | 02:57:04.379 |
| 8 | 206 | JOSHUA M TOTH | WINSTEAD, CT | KTM | 6 | 02:57:25.638 |
| 9 | 121 | CORY BUTTRICK | LOGAN, OH | BET | 6 | 02:59:11.071 |
| 10 | 543 | BENJAMIN HERRERA | CHILE, // | SHR | 6 | 03:02:52.174 |
| 11 | 114 | JOSH V STRANG | AUSTRLIA, // | KAW | 6 | 03:06:13.715 |
| 12 | 989 | THADDEUS DUVALL | WILLIAMSTOWN, WV | HQV | 4 | 02:19:17.285 |
Have a great week, everyone. We’ll try to snag a few riders and team personnel for interviews and maybe some Zoom videos this week, since it doesn’t look like I’ll be leaving the house to go to any tracks.
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