By Billy Rainford

Happy New Year, everyone! Let’s see if we can make the Jimmy Kimmel Show by saying, “Can you believe it’s already 2025?!“

I saw one of those year memes the other day that pointed out that from now back to 1980 is just like from 1980 back to 1935. That’s pre-WWII! That one kind of sunk in because I remember 1980. I was thinking about dirt bikes 24 hours a day and plotting my domination of Hully Gully Houseleague in the 80cc class. Hahaha I’m the Uncle Rico of the 80B class… (Google it, Bowker!)

We’re getting some actual winter weather here in SWO with the temperature hovering around -7 C throughout the days lately. I know that’s nothing compared to what you’re seeing out in the prairies, but at least it’s not raining!

Some great content from Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing this morning. 2-time Canadian 250 MX Champion Ryder McNabb is back with the team. He put out a cold water plunge challenge to 450 champion Jess Pettis and multi-time 450 champion (and his teammate) Dylan Wright. Derek Schuster said he managed to stay in for a minute while Ryder was in the freezing water for 3 full minutes!

I guess it’s your move, guys!

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Speaking of Derek, I spoke with him this morning to get the goods on the 250 ruling situation. He told me that as of right now he’s planning on having Ryder go for another 250 championship this coming season.

He has signed a 3-year contract that will keep him in Canada unless a good ride from the USA becomes available to him.

Hopefully, that will also open the flood gates for high level riders from south of the boarder to consider coming north to race our series. Jeremy Martin, anyone???

We also haven’t seen a schedule for the upcoming season yet, but we’re expecting all of these decisions to come fast and furious now that the holidays are finished and we’re back to reality.

Red Bull KTM is still looking to fill their 450 ride. When Josiah Natzke announced he’d be staying home in New Zealand to race, it meant the orange team was left with an opening on the big bike. Dylan Rempel will be good on the 250, but now they need someone to compete with Pettis and Wright on the 450.

Will Quinn Amyotte be the choice? Quinn is currently fielding offers from a couple teams, so it will be interesting to see where he lands. I’m looking forward to seeing what this guy can do on the big bike.

And what happens over at WLTN Kawasaki moving forward? I know they are currently in the hunt for a championship contender to take the green team to the next level in Canada, but who do they get?

Just kidding.

I know you don’t come here to read my book reviews, but I get sent books to read and give input on. The latest one I received was called “Played – The Games of the 1936 Berlin Olympics” by Glenn Allen and Richard Kaufman. Published by WordServe Publishing.

If you’ve ever been curious about these games that preceded the Second World War, I strongly recommend this book as it really gets into the details of how they came to actually take place in such a tumultuous time. It’s deemed a Historical Fiction piece, but it is all based on fact.

I was involved in Athletics for a long time after motocross and this book kept me glued to the pages, which I can say doesn’t happen very often. It’s available in paperback, so check it out.

Did you check out the 2 rounds of AMA Arenacross that were broadcast on MavTV over the weekend? It was rounds 5 and 6 from Blue Arena in Loveland, Colorado.

One thing that may have caught your eye was that #50 Wyatt Hasil from Alberta was on the line in the Stark Varg X Pro class.

He ended up finishing 6th (6-6) on Friday and 5th (5-5) on Saturday.

Full results HERE

Next Round: Round 7 – Jan 24th, Lazy E Arena – Guthrie, OK

Michael Hicks finally made a pass on Vince Friese and took Main #2 win over him with a gutsy last lap pass. Friese hit lapped traffic and wasn’t able to hit the triple, triple while Hicks went for a jump on this inside and came down right beside Friese on the inside with just 2 corners to go.

Vince tried to cut under and get him back but ended up sliding out and dumping the bike, letting Hicks head to the flag for the win.

I’m sure it upset a lot of Vince haters, but he was super gracious in defeat in his podium speech afterward.

A bunch of these guys will now turn their attention to Supercross while the AX series takes a break until January 24th.

The Dortmund Supercross also takes place this coming weekend over in Germany:

Who will win the titles at the anniversary edition of the ADAC Supercross Dortmund?

Seven more days and then things will literally be happening again in the Westfalenhalle. At the anniversary edition of the 40th ADAC Supercross Dortmund from January 10th to 12th, strong riders from all over the world will compete in the SX1 and SX2 categories. Tickets for the four-hour spectacle of racing and a breathtaking freestyle show are available from just 60 euros.

There are two reasons to celebrate at the ADAC Supercross Dortmund. On Saturday evening – at the end of the second day of the event – the new champions of the ADAC SX Cup will be crowned in the SX1 and SX2. The winter series includes the events in Stuttgart and Dortmund. On Sunday, the titles of ‘King of Dortmund’ and ‘Prince of Dortmund’ will traditionally be up for grabs.

Greg Aranda (Sturm Racing TEAM) is once again the clear favorite in the SX1 class this year. With two wins at the start of the ADAC SX Cup in Stuttgart, the Frenchman comes to Dortmund as leader of the table. In the chasing positions are his compatriots Jordi Tixier (KMP-Honda-Racing powered by Krettek) and Maxime Desprey (Sturm Racing TEAM), who finished second and third in Stuttgart on both days. Aranda also came to the Ruhr metropolis as leader of the table in 2024. He was able to secure victory in the cup, but when it came to the crown, he was left behind and lost to Cédric Soubeyras (Kawasaki Team Pfeil). The Frenchman is celebrating his comeback in Dortmund after an injury-related break.

Tixier is also a hot candidate for the king’s title. The 2014 motocross world champion crowned himself ‘King of Dortmund’ in 2023. The Frenchman took the daily victory on Friday and Sunday, leaving Aranda, among others, behind on both days.

However, a Scot wants to thwart the French duo’s plans. With clear ambitions for the crown, Dean Wilson (Lukes Racing – Hertrampf Group) is celebrating his debut in the Westfalenhalle. As SX Champion of the 2023 Australian Championship and US SX Champion in the 250cc class in 2011, Wilson clearly has what it takes to end up at the top.

Two German pilots are taking part in the premier class SX1. Maximilian Spies is starting for Becker Racing. To the delight of the fans in the Westfalenhalle, the 20-year-old is using a two-stroke machine from KTM – the sound will be amazing. In Stuttgart, Spies finished the first final in seventh place. On the second day, he missed out on a place in the final after a driving error in qualifying. In Dortmund, Spies wants to make it to the final on all three days and compete with the experienced top stars.

The second German driver also knows how it’s done. Dennis Ullrich (KTM SARHOLZ RACING) is the last German driver to win a day in Dortmund. Spurred on by 10,000 fans, the now 31-year-old finished first. After celebrating his retirement from retirement last year, the five-time ADAC MX Masters champion is highly motivated.

Everything is still open in the SX2

While in previous years the tricolor dominated the action in the SX2 class, this year a US boy is in the lead. After the two finals at the start in Stuttgart, Preston Boespflug (Kawasaki Team Pfeil) is in first place. In the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle he took second place on Friday and third on Saturday. The daily victories went to the Frenchmen Brice Maylin (Meyer Racing powered by DirtScrub) and Calvin Fonvielle (KTM Sarholz Racing Team), who are in third and second place in the championship after two races.

The German Nico Koch (Becker Racing) also has good prospects of shining in Dortmund, as he is tied on points with the two Frenchmen in fourth place. The 25-year-old from Braunschweig is only two points away from the top. In Stuttgart, the KTM driver drove like a wild horse and, after finishing fourth on Friday, crossed the finish line a day later in second place behind Fonvieille. In addition to Koch, another 14 drivers from Germany are starting in the Westfalenhalle, making up the largest group. Paul Bloy (S-Tech Racing Products) and Paul Haberland (Motorrad Waldmann) also have a chance of podium places or even a win.

Get your tickets for the birthday party now!

Advance ticket sales for the 40th edition of the ADAC Supercross Dortmund are available via the website supercross-dortmund.de, Eventim, the Westfalenhallen and all ADAC offices. On Friday (event starts at 8 p.m.) there is a discount of up to ten percent for ADAC members in all categories and a special offer for groups. Anyone who buys seven tickets gets one free on top. The ‘Night of the Fans’ begins on Saturday at 7 p.m. On Family Sunday (from 12 p.m.) there are reduced tickets for children and young people up to and including 14 years of age. Races in the SX1, SX2, SX4 and eKids classes take place on each day of the event. The spectacular freestyle aces will also be in action twice in the evening, including the half-hour show at the end of each day. Admission to the Westfalenhalle is two hours before the start of the event.

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Have a great week. I’ll be leaving for Anaheim 1 bright and early on Thursday. I spoke briefly with Julien Benek on the weekend and he told me that he’s not going to be ready to race at A1 and expects to be ready to go in late January, so we’ll keep an eye on that.

We’ll have Cole Thompson, Noah Viney, Guillaume St Cyr, Preston Masciangelo, and Blake Davies to cheer for this weekend.

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I didn’t know Pat Beasley but I definitely saw him around at the races. He passed away recently and I’d just like to pass on my condolences to his family.

I was going through some old photos over the weekend and I happened to come across a few of Pat doing what he loved at Motopark back in 2008.

RIP Pat Beasley.