Monday Morning Coffee

Bigwave · January 19, 2015

Monday Morning Coffee

By Billy Rainford

Hola! I’m finally back from my 8-day, all-inclusive, non-moto trip to Cuba. I have never been one of those people who travel like this. Typically, my ‘warm destination’ trips have included a surf board and a back pack. I generally like to head to a place and make an attempt at living like the locals do. I don’t stay in a fancy hotel. I don’t eat three full meals a day. I have a beer of two at the end of a full day of hitting the waves. I walk the streets of the local fishing village and try to get to know a few locals.

Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed this trip to Cuba. I had free food any time I wanted. I had as many fresh drinks as I ‘needed.’ I had a very comfortable king-sized bed to sleep in. I had…well, I basically had anything I wanted! Now, here’s the weird part: I couldn’t wait to get home to Direct Motocross.

My point is that if you can find yourself a job you love, you never work a day in your life. Yes, that’s an old adage, but it is an ‘adage’ because it is spot on. My girlfriend, Emily, and I had an amazing time in the tropics, and I don’t want that point to be missed. My point is simply how cool it is that no matter how cushy the service was, I couldn’t wait to get home and back to moto.

I guess there’s a reason I hadn’t taken a non-moto trip since 2004!

Kyle Keast and Westen Wrozyna on ‘Red Rider Support Program’ with GDR

Westen Wrozyna had his rookie Pro season in 2014 with the Honda Canada TLD GDR team and raced the entire Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals in the MX2 class. Westen would be the first (OK, maybe second after his dad, Wes.) to admit he didn’t have the season he wanted or expected. Westen has spent his life hitting all of the big American Amateur Motocross Nationals and was ready for his debut in the Pro class. Somewhere along the way, he seemed to forget that he was arguably one of the most well-prepared rookie Pro riders we’ve seen here in Canada. Uncharacteristic falls resulting in less-than-stellar finishes sadly became the norm for his 2014 summer.

Moving forward, the team has gone with a proven contender in Jeremy Medaglia to represent the team in the MX2 class, leaving young Westen on the outside looking in. (Team owner, Derek Schuster, had many riders – some VERY proven riders, truth be told – approach him for a ride in 2015.) Fortunately, Wrozyna will get another chance to prove himself worthy of all the pre-season attention he received in 2014 as he teams up with perennial fan favourite, Kyle Keast, next summer.

The two will travel the entire circuit in Keast’s trailer in 2015. In my opinion, these two will be the perfect tandem: Keast is the rider that comes to mind if you think of someone who possesses a strong, never-give-up attitude and Wrozyna’s machine-like training schedule could blend to form two perfectly ready riders.

We’ve all seen Keast at the races pushing himself and his machine to the limits in an attempt to get the best finish he can. He will surely do that again in 2015. What a lot don’t realize is how hard young Wrozyna works at moto. Westen has been known to ride his bicycle 40K from his house to Kyle Carruthers’ house to go to school! I don’t think there are many out there who can make the claim of a daily 80K round-trip bike ride to and from school! That’s impressive.

Kudos to Schuster, Honda and all their sponsors for continuing to grow the team and their commitment to the sport.

Kyle Keast and Westen Wrozyna will be on the Red Rider Support Program with GDR in 2015. – Schuster photo

The AMO and Ontario Amateur Motocross

If you’re looking for an interesting read (or would like to get involved in the conversation) head over to MX Forum and check out what’s going on regarding the newly formed AMO and what it means for Amateur racing in Ontario. I’m not saying I agree with everything being said, I’m just saying it’s interesting to hear all the different perspectives on what may or may not be happening in the most-populated province in our country regarding Amateur MX. You can read the ‘discussion’ HERE.

FYI: You do have to a member to comment on the discussion, but that is free.

Ross Johnson Wins in Holland

Uitslagen SX:
1 Ross Johnsson USA Honda
2 Carlos Fernandez Macanas E KTM
3 Kristof Salaets B Kawasaki
4 Mike Kras NL Husqvarna
5 Jeffrey Meurs NL Suzuki
6 Danni Hojris DK Suzuki
7 Jurgen Wybo B Kawasaki
8 Bram van den Hoek NL Kawasaki
9 Mark Boot NL KTM
10 Maarten Govaert B Yamaha

Dylan Schmoke Races WORCS Event in California

I saw on Facebook that near-Canadian, Dylan Schmoke, lined up at a WORCS race in Taft, California, over the weekend. According to his FB post, the “First round of the worcs didn’t go as planned . Was running 4th with 3rd in sight about half way through the race when a bike malfunction put me out of the race. Pretty bummed but I showed I can run up front with the top guys.”

I got in touch with him this morning and he says his plan is to do the first 4 or 5 in the series and then he’s “hoping to go back up to Canada if I can get a ride lined up.”

He’s riding the WORCS races with the help of a local shop called All-American KTM.

Taft Results:

Pro (MC)

1. 32 Robby Bell KAW

2. #1 Gary Sutherlin KTM

3. #3 Justin Jones HON

4. #213 Justin Seeds KAW

5. #4 Eric Yorba KTM

DNF #670 Dylan Schmoke KTM

Amsoil Arenacross Round 2 – Grand Rapids, MI

We had several Canadians head to Michigan this past weekend to race round 2 of the Amsoil Arenacross Series in Grand Rapids.

Of note, young Preston Masciangelo won the 50cc (4-8) Limited and 50cc (7-8) Sr. Limited main events on Amateur day and took 2nd in the 65cc final. Congratulations to you, Preston!

DMX videographer, Mitch Goheen, took 3rd in the Open C main and 5th in 250 C.

You can take a look at the rest of the results and the Canadian finishes HERE.

Well, it looks like I’m actually going to have to cook my own lunch. I could really get used to the 5-star service of an all-inclusive! Anyway, have a great week and thanks for reading.