By Billy Rainford
First off, happy St Patrick’s Day.
The big news to talk about right now is, of course, the signing of Phil Nicoletti to the WLTN Kawasaki team for the 2025 Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals. In 2019, Phil was the 450 Triple Crown Champion. He was 3rd in 450 MX behind Colton Facciotti and Mike Alessi. He won the SX title ahead of Matt Goerke and Cole Thompson who tied for 2nd just 4 points back. Phil actually went 4-2-2 for that title.
He was up against Dylan Wright in 2020 when we were just at Gopher Dunes, Walton Raceway, and Sand Del Lee for the COVID Championship.
It was at Round 4-5 at SDL where things went south for the American rider. He’d finished 2nd at Round 4 (6-1-1) behind Dylan’s 1-3-2, but it was the following day at Round 5 when things got scary.
Wright and Nicoletti came together over the tunnel jump before rider head into Hell’s Kitchen. Dylan came down on Phil’s hand and ripped it up very badly. Phil handled it like a champ and you never would have known it was as bad as it was until it was seen later. Of course, it resulted in a DNF for Phil and Dylan went 1-1-1 on the day to secure his first 450 MX title.
All of the other top contenders from that season have since retired or moved on to other racing, but Dylan and Phil will go head-to-head again for 2025.
With Jess Pettis winning the 450 title in 2024 and moving to the MX101 Yamaha team, you can be sure these 3 will see a lot of each other on the tracks as the season moves from west to east.
What a lot of people aren’t talking about is the addition of Lars Van Berkel on the Guaranteed Comfort Hanover Honda team. The Dutch rider came over and made his presence known a couple years ago in the sand on a borrowed bike. This season, he’ll be on his own bike with time to test and train on it. You have to think that by the time we get to the softer tracks in the east that this beach racer will be a factor for wins.
I know a lot of people think this title is simply Dylan’s to lose, but with Phil, Jess, and Lars on the line, there should be a lot more to talk about…I hope.
The team over at WLTN Kawasaki were working hard to find a rider to fill the 450 spot beside Dylan Walsh on the 250. A few names were being tossed around in the process. Obviously, getting a rider as popular as Phil would be the goal, but I didn’t think it was going to happen, so I was on board with a couple of the others being considered.
Fast forward to last week and they were able to make the deal happen with Phil. Win or lose, he will be a fan favourite that will bring people through the gates at the races and then over to the Kawasaki pits at each round. It’s win/win for the team and the series.
I think a big deal for our series is having American and international riders that catch the attention of viewers from south of the border. Without Phil, the number of eyes from the USA would have been low, if we’re being honest. The addition of this famously crusty curmudgeon will be the injection we need to keep eyes on our series from the Americans.
A lot of fast riders come north to give our series a shot. Many think it will be an easy win but then find themselves struggling to beat our top riders. Phil has raced here and proven he can win, so this should be good.
Canadians at the Spring A Ding
#327 CONNOR ETCHES
COBOURG, ON
 | 65 (7-9) LTD | M1: 11th M2: 24th | |
| 25th | | 65 (7-9) | M1: 12th M2: 25th |
| 65 OPEN | M1: 25th |
#312 KADE DUPUIS
FOOTHILLS, AB
| 22nd |  | 65 (10-11) LTD | M1: 22nd M2: 23rd |
| 25th | | 65 (10-11) | M1: 26th M2: 21st |
| 33rd | | 65 OPEN | M1: 13th M2: 35th |
| 30th | | 85 9-11 LTD | M1: 16th M2: 28th |
#322 MALCOLM SIGVALDASON
WARREN, MB
| 22nd |  | 85 9-11 LTD | M1: 13th M2: 23rd |
| 28th | | 85 C BEGINNER | M1: 14th M2: 29th |
| 85CC 9-12 MOD | M1: 23rd |
#99 EVAN THALMAN
WEST ST PAUL, CANADA
Sponsors
THALMAN LOGISTICS, SIGVALDASON, REFRIGERATION, FSUION, INDUSTRIES
| 12th | | 85 OPEN | M1: 8th M2: 10th |
| 32nd | | MINI SR 1 (12-14) | M1: 16th M2: 30th |
| 19th | | SUPERMINI 1 (12-15) | M1: 13th M2: 18th |
| 16th | | Mini Sr 2 13-15 | M1: 9th M2: 18th |
#630 MASON MURDY
NORWOOD, ON
SX
MX
| 17th | | 85 OPEN | M1: 9th M2: 18th |
| 23rd | | MINI SR 1 (12-14) | M1: 13th M2: 25th |
| 12th | | 85CC 9-12 MOD | M1: 6th M2: 13th |
#518 PARKER HATT
CALGARY, AB
| 85 OPEN | M1: 20th | |
| 40th | | MINI SR 1 (12-14) | M1: 17th M2: DNS |
| 40th | | 85CC 9-12 MOD | M1: 15th M2: DNS |
#213 HAYDEN DUPUIS
FOOTHILLS, AB
SX
MX
| 14th | | MINI SR 1 (12-14) | M1: 11th M2: 11th |
| 9th | | SUPERMINI 1 (12-15) | M1: 6th M2: 8th |
| 19th | | SUPERMINI 2 (13-16) | M1: 15th M2: 21st |
| 8th | | Mini Sr 2 13-15 | M1: 4th M2: 8th |
#315 TREY SCHMUCKI
CANADA
SX
MX
| 20th | | SUPERMINI 1 (12-15) | M1: 12th M2: 20th |
| 22nd | | SUPERMINI 2 (13-16) | M1: 23rd M2: 18th |
| 33rd | | Schoolboy 1 (12-17) B/C | M1: 17th M2: 33rd |
#147 HAYDEN JAMESON
WOODSTOCK, ON
| 15th | | 250 PRO SPORT | M1: 16th M2: 13th |
| 17th | | OPEN PRO SPORT | M1: 18th M2: 18th |
#32 CLAYTON SCHMUCKI
CANADA
SX
MX
| DNS | | 250 PRO SPORT | M1: DNS M2: DNS |
| 29th | | COLLEGEBOY (18-24) SPORTSM | M1: 10th M2: DNS |
| DNF2 | | OPEN PRO SPORT | M1: DNF M2: DNS |
#721 GAVIN WILSON
CROSSFIELD, AB
SX
| 14th | | 250 C |
MX
#75 ASHER BROWN
PORT ALBERNI, BC
#26 ETHAN DARRACH
MONCTON, NB
| 29th |  | 250 B | M1: 5th M2: DNF |
| 38th | | 450 B | M1: 10th M2: DNS |
| 39th | | Schoolboy 2 (12-17) b/c | M1: 13th M2: DNS |
#24 BAILEE BANCARZ
CANADA
SX
| 8th | | WOMEN (16+) |
MX
| 34th | | 450 C | M1: 17th M2: 35th |
| 16th | | WOMENS 12+ (SUPERMINI ELIGIBLE | M1: 17th M2: 16th |
| 28th | | 250 C LTD | M1: 30th M2: 28th |
#11 ANI FERGUSON
ILE DES CHENES, MB
| 11th | | WOMENS 12+ (SUPERMINI ELIGIBLE | M1: 9th M2: 12th |
#94 KIANA KURTZ
ARISS, ON
SX
| 3rd | | WOMEN (16+) |
MX
| 15th | | WOMENS 12+ (SUPERMINI ELIGIBLE | M1: 4th M2: DNF |
| 20th | | 250 C LTD | M1: 19th M2: 19th |
Full results HERE
Mason Murdy Video from RCSX
With so much stuff clogging the hard drive of my laptop from that trip to Florida, I just got to posting a short video of young #630 Mason Murdy in one of his Mains at the 2025 RCSX at Daytona International Speedway:
Leatt and Kimpex have me ready to go out and do some Vet rider battling with all this amazing safety gear for the new season. Now to see if the #739 Jeff McConkey Yamaha YZ 250 2-stroke is feeling ready…
#playfreebird #leatt #safetyfirst #vetrider #usedtowas #wewentfast #theolderigetthebetteriwas #elbowsup #ionlygoifimpullingtags
Any other dog owners out there hate this time of year because of what it means to let your dog outside in the backyard? How many times does it take before washing their feet in a little bowl inside the back door get old and you stop caring about how muddy your house gets? And don’t get me started on the condition of the dog parks right now. It also serves as a reminder to terrible dog owners to clean up after their dogs even on those snowy days. It’s a mine field out there!
Did I ever tell that St Patrick’s Day story when I drove to Michigan for a running race and then my car broke down? We pulled off into a rest area and called a tow truck. To this day, I remember the 3 of us sitting in the car as it went down the highway getting towed, but I couldn’t say under oath.
Anyway, we had to get a hotel so we went out for a couple celebratory drinks at a local pub. Afterwards, we walked over to the closest 711 to grab a snack and call a cab. As soon as we walked into the store the cashier jumped over the counter and ran to the door to lock it. He asked if we were crazy and told us he wasn’t letting us out of the store until the cab was parked right out front to pick us up.
This story is from the early 1990’s so I’m gonna go ahead and guess we weren’t in the nicest area of Flint…
Anyway, have a great week. Supercross heads to Birmingham, Alabama, this weekend for another Triple Crown race. If the weather holds, I hope to see some fellow riders out at the local tracks!
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