Monday Morning Coffee this week is a mid-season report card on the top 10 in 250 and 450 at the Triple Crown Series Motocross Nationals
By Billy Rainford
Welcome to Monday Morning Coffee. We just went through an off weekend for both our Canadian Triple Crown Series and the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. What the heck am I going to talk about this week???
Well, we could do a little Report Card treatment of the western swing of our series. No, we’re not at the halfway point, but this seems like a good place to check in on how I think everyone is doing as we take our 2-week break. OK, let’s do it. I’ll look at the top 10 in the 250 and 450 classes.
250
10. #316 Evan Stice – Carmen, Idaho
B+
I’d heard the name before but will admit I wasn’t familiar with his results or potential. He had to take all of last year off to get his wrist fixed. Having said that, he must have been nervous when he had to pull off last week in moto 2 because he jammed his wrist!
He ran up front and looked comfortable doing it in the first moto, so it shows he’s got the speed. He’s qualified for Loretta Lynn’s and said on his Instagram that he’s heading to Round 4, so that’s great. His potential is high, but he scores low on the report card for not reaching it. But his 5-5 at rounds 1 and 2 keep him with a decent grade.
9. #25 Tanner Scott – Oro Medonte, Ontario
A
Tanner is the first rider in the top 10 who is doing this thing basically on his own. He’s in a truck and trailer with his buddy, Crayden Dillon, and took some time off between rounds because they didn’t want to do anything bad to the bike. They are truly doing this the privateer style.
10-12-8 are his results. If you look above him on this list, it would be pretty impressive if he were to be ahead of any of these riders, so he’s doing great. Let’s see what he can do on more familiar and softer tracks in the earst.
8. #30 Austin Jones – Perth, Ontario
A+
I don’t want this to sound wrong but I wasn’t expecting to see Austin running up in the top 5 in motos this season. He’s had his best results of his career so far this summer and will only get better as he gets used to being up there and gains the confidence that comes with doing so.
Round 1 was a bit of a blip, but his score card looks like this: 14-7-5. That’s A+ material if you ask me.
7. #143 Tiger Wood – Australia
B+
Considering Tiger hasn’t even raced his B year down south, he’s doing well. I’ve seen him rip at the big American Amateur Nationals, so I know his potential. He had a big get-off in Manitoba and 7-6-10 is his season so far.
He’s using this summer as experience and I think he’s getting a truckload of it! He’ll likely have a breakout ride and land on the podium this summer. He hasn’t done that yet so he gets a B+.
6. #14 Quinn Amyotte – Blackstock, Ontario
C+
This is Quinn’s year to impress us again. By that, I mean he’s been on the upward trajectory every year for the past few and this is the one that should see him consistently on the podium of close to it. Mistakes have cost him.
12-2-7 is sort of all over the map, so that’s why he has to show his parents a C+. Actually, knowing Quinn he’s probably never shown them a report card in his life!
This grade isn’t an insult, it just means he’s got the potential to be a consistent podium threat.
5. #59 Wyatt Kerr – Brantford, Ontario
A-
If Wyatt could get a start, he’d be on the overall podium at these things. He’s passed more people than everyone else combined I think!
After last year’s crash and injury in Calgary, seeing him at the races at all is great. He worked hard and is ready to go this summer. 9-4-6 is impressive but he’s got to get his starts dialled to remove the only negative on his report card.
4. #12 Sebastien Racine – Casselman, Ontario
A
I want to give him an A+ but then he’d have nothing to strive for in the east. Sebastien is showing he can fill the shoes of the older riders when they finally step away. He should be a rider who starts racking up titles soon.
I saw him in the off season and knew he was going to have something this year. 4-10-3. That mechanical in Alberta hurt his point score but check out the speed of Sebastien when he comes to a National near you.
3. #300 Drew Adams – Chattanooga, Tennessee
A
I’m leaving a bit of room for improvement for Drew here too. Hmm, guess what? The top amateur prospect in the USA is fast! Of course, that comes as no surprise but you just never know until you see them lined up against good riders at the Pro level.
Drew has the speed to be 20-30 seconds ahead of everyone, he just need to clean things up a little, but you know that’s coming. I’m looking forward to seeing what he has for the sand at Gopher Dunes.
2-8-1 with a DNF tells you he’s the one to beat.
2. #402 Gage Linville – Lake Park Georgia
A+
Gage gets an A+ because I didn’t expect him to be in the top 3 at this point. I have seen him race since he had a stacker trailer full of Cobras, so I know he’s got the potential. I just thought he’d take a little longer to get it together up here.
He’s had to work his way forward and make passes too so he’ll likely get a win if he gets a start and Drew falters again. 3-3-2 is a consistent score.
1. #26 Kaven Benoit – St Perpetue, Quebec
A
Although Kaven is leading the points right now, I’m not giving him the + because I think he’s left a few points on the track. He mentioned he wasn’t comfortable last week and it will cost him the lead further into the summer. We all know Drew is coming, but a few more points may have held him off a little longer.
By rights, Kaven should not be leading the 250 class, but he gets great starts and can run everyone’s pace except Drew’s. 1-1-4 so far this summer is good but the kids are coming!
450
10. #377 Daniel Elmore – Telkwa, British Columbia
C+
Daniel came into the season as the rider a lot of people thought should be under an awning this summer. Unfortunately, arm pump has been an issue for the hard-working privateer.
12-12-8 results are not what he was expecting either, so I’m not going to beat him up here. His little brother (and travel partner), Orrin Elmore, just broke his femur in Manitoba, so he’s got an interesting summer ahead of him. He said he’ll be hanging out with the Merrick gang in the east, so he should have some help.
Lots of room for improvement for Daniel and it will come.
10. #670 Gavin Brough – Mesquite, Nevada
A
We’ve known the Brough family a ling time. Riley and McCoy have also raced up here. If you didn’t already know, Gavin has been racing the AMA Nationals in the 250 class and then heading north to race our series in the 450 class. That’s pretty badass!
8-13-9 under those conditions deserves an A in my book. And this IS my book, so…
I don’t know what his plans are for the rest of the season but it’ll be cool if he doubles up a few more times as we head east.
9. #18 Parker Eales – Maple Ridge, British Columbia
B+
I think Parker could start anywhere in the field and finish where he’s finishing. Kind of like what Kyle Keast used to do. 10-10-10 is his score so far. I had him picked for exactly here but I’d like to see him hang it out from time to time and get ahead of a couple of the riders he’s racing with.
He works full-time and flies in each week, so he’s definitely one of the busiest riders on the line, so we cannot beat him up for sitting in 9th place.
8. #17 Julien Benek – Mission, British Columbia
A-
If Manitoba didn’t happen, Julien would be below an A-, but he showed he can run the pace of the top riders and I think it’s exactly what he needed to do to actually do it on a consistent basis.
11-6-5. That first round hurt him but I think we’ll see him keep moving towards the front. He actually made it look pretty easy!
7. #84 Tanner Ward – Woodstock, Ontario
B
Tanner is the one who would give himself a lower score than this, and that’s what I like. He is not happy with his results. I’ve seen the odd pit board that tells me they’re trying to get him comfy and confident on the bike, so I think this break will help the team get him where he should be.
5-7-6 is not bad, of course, but he expects more from himself and so do we. He’ll get there.
6. #8 Mitchell Harrison – Leesburg, Florida
B+
I’m not sure why I wasn’t expecting Mitchell to be comfortable at the front of the 450 class, but I wasn’t. He’s been in the mix every round except for last week when he suffered a mechanical while running up with the leaders.
He’s made tons of passes and will likely keep moving up in the standings as we head east. He’s a former 250 Triple Crown champion so 6th doesn’t give him an A, but don’t hold your breath!
5. #1 Dylan Wright – Drummondville, Quebec
C
Hey, what can I say? 2-8-7 is the reality of Dylan’s situation. Yes, he crashed his brains out in Raymond and then made a heroic return to salvage 26 points in Manitoba, but this guy is world class and should have 1’s across the board again.
I can’t give him anything but a very sub-par C, even though it hurts me to type it. Nobody needs this break more than he does. Will he come back and run the rest of the table? Probably. Will that give him a better report card at the end of the season? Yes.
4. #109 Aaron Tanti – Brisbane, Australia
A
After Aaron’s 7th at round 1, I wasn’t sure what to think of the 2022 Australian 450 champion. But then after his 2nd moto battle with Natzke in Manitoba, I think we’re seeing what the rest of the summer should look like.
7-3-3 has him close to 3rd and he will also just keep getting faster as we move east and he gets healthier and more used to the bike.
3. #808 Preston Kilroy – Afton, Wyoming
A+
Kevin Tyler has to be happy with how things are going heading into this break. Nobody really knew what to expect from Preston and I think he is doing better than we thought he would. Certainly in this class.
6-4-4 is what’s he’s got. He seems happy and like he’s fitting into our way of doing things nicely. Coming in a little under the radar probably helped him, but now he’s got to keep performing like this because it’s expected. THis should be a very entertaining 2nd “half” of the season.
2. #23 Josiah Natzke – Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
A+
I’m giving the top 3 riders all A+ scores because nobody is supposed to be ahead of Dylan Wright. Josiah has looked extremely comfortable and solid at the front of these races. He gets great starts and will be at the front just about every time the gate drops.
Pre-season chatter said he was flying and it was spot on. 4-2-1 has him 13 points out of the lead. This is going to be good!
1. #15 Jess Pettis – Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby, Quebec
A+
We had Jess picked as the rider who would be challenging Dylan for wins this summer, so I’m not too surprised he’s at the top after Dylan’s crash. Jess also gets great starts and the two KTM riders will be at the front every time.
1-1-2 is his score sheet. He’s 13 points out front and will not settle for anything less than first, even when #1 is back at full strength. Like I said, this is going to be good!
We’ve got another weekend off here in Canada. It’s Southwick south of the border. I wonder if anyone makes the trip?
Canadian-living-in-Colorado Connor Stevenson has qualified for Loretta Lynn’s on his Beta.
OK, well, the humidity we’ve been having here the past week has gone away. It’s perfect riding and cycling weather now here in Southwestern Ontario, so I’m going to take advantage of it. I know a bunch of riders are lurking in the area so i’ll find out where they are and go check it out and report back.
Have a great week, everyone.
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