Monday Morning Coffee

By Billy Rainford

As I sit here trying to think of something relevant to talk about now that our Rockstar Triple Crown Tour has come to an end, I find myself going down the rabbit hole of Twitter. I don’t even know why I follow some of the people I do – it just makes me angry every time I end up scrolling through the comments. If you’re like me, I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Social media. Talk about a perfect way to divide everyone! Have an opinion or a misguided idea? We have just the place for you.

I really hope we get ourselves together in the next few years to realize just how unhelpful the majority of social media is to our everyday lives.

Recently, I’ve brought back the “drop in visit.” I just show up at friends’ places and knock on the door. And before you get upset, because of the virus, no, I don’t go in and I don’t get close enough to put anyone at risk.

Remember when that was just how you did things? I do. Remember when the household phone would ring and there’d be a race to answer it and those seconds of wondering who it would be for? “Billyyy, phone’s for you!!!” were always words I’d wait to hear.

I also remember getting calls from telemarketers around dinner time. My dad hated the phone. He never called anyone and he never spent more than a few seconds on it when it was absolutely necessary. He especially hated telemarketers.

When the phone would ring and the person asked for “Mr. Rainford,” I knew it was someone trying to sell something. And what did I do? I happily and sadistically yelled out, “Daaad, phone’s for you!!!”

He’d get up from watching some British show on TV like Doctor Who or a BBC documentary or maybe Jeopardy (Damn, he was amazing at that game!). I’d set the phone down on the counter and head for cover behind my bedroom door and just wait…

I’d hear him say, in his trademark way, “HellOOO?” likely hoping it was one of his buddies calling to set up a time to meet somewhere. I would be on pins and needles for the few precious moments as he realized I’d made him get up to learn about filling the freezer with pre-made meals, new credit card offers, duct cleaning, subscribing to pay TV, or one of the many other things they would call for.

He would lose his mind, every time. I’m sure part of him must have known it was coming, because I did it ALL the time. Man, I miss that.

As I’ve mentioned before, we lost my dad this past March. He had a weak heart and went in for a procedure to reduce the cancer they found on his liver. He came out with flying colours and regaled the medical staff in the recovery room with his nonsensical stories that we learned later had kept them in stitches. He was a great storyteller and he had a lot of them.

When his blood pressure went through the floor, the writing was on the wall and that was what got him. We managed to get there while he was still “alive” and said our good-byes. Anyone who has been through this knows just how brutal it is.

We’re still going through his things and I stumbled onto a poem he’d written not long ago. A poem??? Yep, apparently, he was writing poems. I had no idea.

My dad always told me to live my life with “no remorse.” That was his thing. He told me that you do not want to get to the end and wish you’d done something else or taken a chance to do what makes you happy.

As I’m sure you have gathered, Direct Motocross, the sport of Motocross, and the people involved in it make me happy. I took a chance and have never looked back. Well, that may not be entirely true, but I’m still glad I do what I do.

Here’s the poem we found that my dad wrote:

As you can tell by reading this poem, he was always big on life’s “chapters,” as he called them. Basically, you don’t just get old and die, you, hopefully, go through all the chapters life has to offer. And his point was always to enjoy each and every one of them. There’s no reason to fight your age. Just go through the chapters and enjoy your life.

Does that make sense? It does to me. For some reason, people key in on what happened in high school. Obviously, it’s because those are very formative years, but if you’re now getting up in age, just think of how short a period of time that actually was. 4 years! Really? 4 damn years, that’s it?

4 years ago, the top 5 in Supercross were Ryan Dungey, Ken Roczen, Jason Anderson, Eli Tomac, and Chad Reed. That seems like yesterday!

High school is a tiny blip in our lives. I think the point my dad was trying to make was that we need to keep enjoying everything that happens in the different times in our lives.

Whenever I’d move from one sport to the next (I did that a LOT) he would simply say, “Well, that’s just the end of THAT chapter.”

I think we could all benefit from his approach to life. Enjoy the chapter you’re in and look forward to turning the page to the next one. There’s always another chapter coming…until there isn’t, and that’s the point. Enjoy yourselves, folks. Do what makes you happy and be around the people who make you feel good. Negativity breeds negativity and we all know that two wrongs don’t make a right.

But I digress, and I can’t even remember why you called…Let’s get back on track here.

The 2021 National Numbers were released this week:

Here’s how the numbering system works:

From: http://www.rockstartriplecrown.com/pro-numbering-system.html

2018 Triple Crown Career numbers

Past Canadian MX or AX champions (must still be active in Canadian racing) (picks 2-999)

Past Canadian top 5 450 Class MX riders from the last 5 years (picks 2-999)

After the 2018 Season Numbers 2-9 will be reserved for future champions

2018 and beyond Triple Crown Career/National Numbers

a. All riders must use the competition number that has been assigned for the current season. This includes the Championship number 1, career number or an earned national number.

b. Number 1

Current Champion must run the #1 for the respected class/discipline they won in previous year

c. Numbers 2-9

1. Reserved for Past Champions from the previous competition year may choose a permanent single digit career number if available. (after 2018 initial riders picks)

d. Career Numbers 10-999

1. Riders who finish in the Top 10 in Championship points from the combined 450 Triple Crown Series or Top 3 in combined 250 Triple Crown Series from the previous competition year will have priority for the selection of a National number for their career number.

2. Riders who fail to earn at least 25 championship points during the season preceding the new season will lose their career number and be issued a new number based on current points. Special consideration is given to a rider if he/she is confirmed with a season long injury or other special circumstance which prevents him from competing that season.

e. Numbers10-99

1. Riders who finish outside the Top 10 (450) or Top 3 (250) but inside the top 100 will be assigned consecutive two digit numbers until the supply of two digit numbers are exhausted.

2. The total combined points from the 450AX, 250AX, 450MX, 250MX, 450SX and 250SX (Triple Crown series) classes will be used to determine the order. National numbers are then issued according to highest to lowest total points. In case of riders having the same amount of total points the tie is broken by the best Moto finish for those riders. In the event you have a rider that rode just SX/AX and one that rode AX, SX and MX, the tie would go to the rider that rode the three parts of the series.

f. 101 through 110

Held for riders on Factory supported teams that would like to participate in that year’s AX, MX or SX.

g. Triple Crown champions

Previous year Triple Crown winners will have a “Gold trimmed” number plate for the following Triple Crown series.

Triple Crown winner will NOT run a #1 plate, unless he or she won a AX/MX/SX portion of the triple crown series, therefor they will run the #1 plate in the respected class and series they won

h.. Red Plate Holder

The rider with the highest points entering a round of the respected series (AX,MX,SX) will race with a Red Background/White Number.

The previous years Champion from the respected Series and Class will start the series with the Red Backgrounds, and #1 plate.

MRC 2020 Rider Advancement

2020 Riders Advancement under MRC Rules: Beginner, Junior, and Intermediate for all regionsIt’s that time of year where MRC shows the names of the racers that have earned the right to make the next step in their racing career. “In 2020 it was crazy to think we were even going to race but a lot of our partners were able to make it happen. Within those groups, certain riders exceeded above others and now have earned their right to become a better-classified racer when the 2021 gate drops.”

Here are the names of all racers from coast to coast under MRC that will advance a class (or two) for 2021. Congrats to all these names for following the system and reaching a racing goal.

MRC Rulebook Advancement rules:

C. Points for Class Advancement

1. Riders riding in more than one class will have upgrade points combined for both classes.Beginner to Junior 10 points
Junior to Intermediate 20 points Intermediate to Professional 40 points

2. Full points are awarded in classes of six or more riders. In classes of less than six riders, the winner will receive 3 points and the second place will receive 1 point only. Upgrade points:1st overall receives 5 points 2nd overall receives 3 points 3rd overall receives 2 points 4th overall receives 1 point

3. All upgrade points are dropped by riders accumulating fewer than these totals so that the new season is started with zero upgrade points7.

The top THREE overall finishers from all Junior and Intermediate classes at the Grand National Amateur National Championship will be automatically upgraded to a higher class the following year. Intermediates may stay if they fall under rule chapter1(B)(1) or they don’t have enough upgrade points and their appeal is granted. If they win a championship they may not compete in that class again at the Amateur Grand National Championship.

8. Any rider competing in the 250 Pro/Am East/West national series that earns a national number will be automatically upgraded to the Pro ranks regardless of their total upgrade points earned at regional events in the Intermediate class, however, an appeal may be granted. If the rider falls under rule chapter1(B)(1 – Intermediate -The classification preceding “Professional” -Minimum -age 15years of age as of January 1st of the current year have the option to remain as an Intermediate.) he may use this option

Tomac Captures Second Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Win of the Season at Home National in Colorado

Cooper Prevails with Second Career Victory in the 250 Class

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (October 3, 2020) – The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, made its annual journey to the highest elevation of any professional motocross track in the world at Thunder Valley Motocross Park for the penultimate round of the 2020 season. Perfect fall temperatures made for ideal conditions at the WPS/FLY Racing Thunder Valley National, where the hometown favorite, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac, prevailed for the second time in three years at his home National. In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Justin Cooper charged to his first win of the season.

As the gate dropped on the first 450 Class moto of the afternoon it was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo who emerged with his fifth MotoSport.com Holeshot with Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton right behind him as Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne slotted into third. With a clear track Cianciarulo was able to quickly build a multi-second advantage that he then managed through the middle portion of the moto. Meanwhile, Sexton shed himself of Osborne to assert his hold of second.

As the second half of the moto wore on, Sexton was able to gain some ground on Cianciarulo and got to within less than two seconds of the lead. However, Cianciarulo responded and was able to restabilize the lead. With less than five minutes remaining Cianciarulo narrowly avoided a crash when he briefly lost control of his Kawasaki, which allowed Sexton to close within just a second-and-a-half. Once again Cianciarulo dug deep in response and was able to rebuild his lead to its largest margin. Behind the see-saw battle up front Tomac, who started sixth, was able to track down Osborne and make the pass for third.

Cianciarulo went wire-to-wire for his fourth moto win of the season, crossing the finish line 2.6 seconds ahead of Sexton with a hard-charging Tomac in third. Osborne followed in fourth, with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia completing the top five.

The 450 Class field made uphill charge once more to begin the final moto of the day and as the riders exited the first turn it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin who secured the MotoSport.com Holeshot over Cianciarulo, who quickly applied pressure and jumped into the lead, followed by Osborne into second. Musquin continued to lose ground as Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Suzuki’s Max Anstie took over third and left Musquin to deal with Tomac in a battle for fourth. Tomac pounced and stormed past both Musquin and Anstie to go from fifth to third.

After a busy opening lap Cianciarulo was able to sprint away to a second-and-a-half advantage over Osborne, while Tomac gave chase from third. The top three ran within a couple seconds of one another and after several laps of trading momentum Tomac began to apply pressure on Osborne, successfully taking control of second a little more than 10 minutes into the moto. From there Tomac kept looking ahead and started to make the move on his teammate for the lead. With the home crowd cheering him on, Tomac made the pass happen and took control of the moto.

Once out front Tomac dropped the hammer and quickly gapped the rest of the field. Together, the Kawasaki tandem then pulled away from Osborne. The pace of the top three was so impressive that the leaders enjoyed more than a 10-second advantage over fourth halfway through the moto. With a handful of time left on the clock it appeared as though Tomac had the win in hand, but his place slowed as he appeared to deal with something on his motorcycle, which allowed Cianciarulo to close back in. Tomac’s slowing was brief and he regrouped to rebuild his advantage.

With Tomac back up to speed, managing a lead of about five seconds, Cianciarulo was forced to deal with some pressure from a late charge by Osborne from third. The championship rivals were within a few bike lengths of one another when Cianciarulo nearly crashed after his bike took off awkwardly on a jump. He kept his Kawasaki on two wheels, but it allowed Osborne to assume second. Just a few laps later Cianciarulo put in one final charge to catch and pass Osborne. Cianciarulo came to the inside on one of the track’s downhill sections but couldn’t get the bike slowed enough, causing slight contact between the two that sent Cianciarulo off the track momentarily. Out front Tomac finished strong to take his second moto win of the season by 8.9 seconds over Osborne, with Cianciarulo in third.

Tomac (3-1) and Cianciarulo (1-3) finished with identical moto scores, leaving them tied atop the overall classification. However, by virtue of his win in the final moto Tomac earned the tiebreaker to give him his second victory of the season and the 25th win of his career. It also signified the first 1-2 sweep for the Monster Energy Kawasaki duo. Osborne rounded out the overall podium in third (4-2).

“Such a cool day here in Colorado. So glad we were able to get back here this season,” expressed Tomac. “I finally had a race where I felt like myself. In the first moto I was out of touch (from the leaders) early on, but in the second moto I was much closer to the front. I had a bit of a clutch hang up, but it fixed itself. We really needed this. I’ve kind of been searching lately, so it feels good to have a day like this and get back on top.”

Osborne lost five points to Cianciarulo in the championship and will now enter the final round with a 24-point lead in the standings, looking to secure his first premier class title.

“In the first moto I got slammed by another rider in the second turn and my foot got jammed really bad. The more I went the more I could feel it,” explained Osborne. “I got it massaged before the second moto and then adrenaline carried me from there. I had a mid-race lull there in the second moto, but was able to finish strong and get a good result. I wasn’t in my comfort zone today so I did a little bit of point racing. We’ll look forward to next week.”

The opening moto of the 250 Class began with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Mitchell Harrison prevailing with the MotoSport.com Holeshot, but he quickly gave way to the Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing teammates of Shane McElrath and Dylan Ferrandis. As the lead duo quickly built a gap over the field, the race soon turned into a breakaway for the Star Yamaha squad as Cooper moved into third. With Cooper closing in, Ferrandis picked up the pace and put the pressure on McElrath for the lead, successfully making the pass about 10 minutes into the moto. Once out front the Frenchman was able to sprint away to a multi-second advantage. As Ferrandis continued to build on his lead the battle for second intensified between McElrath and Cooper just past the halfway point of the moto. Cooper soon made his way around his teammate and looked to chip away at the deficit to Ferrandis.

Out front Ferrandis was able to maintain a comfortable margin over Cooper the rest of the way to secure his eighth moto win of the season and his fifth consecutive checkered flag by 5.3 seconds over Cooper, with McElrath securing a 1-2-3 sweep for Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing. GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin followed in fourth, while his teammate Hunter Lawrence rounded out the top five.

As the field roared out the gate to start Moto 2 it was Cooper who came away with the MotoSport.com Holeshot, followed by his teammates Jarrett Frye and McElrath, with McElrath getting by Frye for second. Ferrandis started outside the top 10 while his primary championship rival, Martin, got by Frye for third. Martin didn’t stop there. He kept his push to the front going and made the pass on McElrath for second before attacking Cooper for the lead. As the battle for first took shape Ferrandis had worked his way to just outside the top five.

Cooper responded to the pressure and maintained his hold of the lead. Behind them Ferrandis encountered some misfortune when two riders ahead of him came together and forced the Yamaha off track and onto the ground. The point leader got back on his bike and reentered quickly, but had to make up a few lost positions from 10th place. Back up front, Martin closed back in on Cooper just past the halfway point of the moto. The lead duo again engaged in a spirited fight, where Cooper fended off virtually every one of Martin’s moves and successfully rebuilt his advantage after several laps of tight racing.

As time ran out on the moto the focus shifted to the battle for third, which turned into a three-rider fight between McElrath, Lawrence and Ferrandis, who successfully battled back from his early incident. Lawrence was aggressive in trying to keep Ferrandis at bay and it carried him by McElrath for third. Ferrandis followed through into fourth and then made an impressive pass on Lawrence to take control of third. Out front Cooper pulled out to a margin of more than five seconds and carried on to his first moto win of the season, followed by Martin in second and Ferrandis in third after a resilient ride.

The second moto win was enough to put Cooper atop the overall classification (2-1) for his second career victory, where he became the fourth different 250 Class winner this season. Ferrandis’ spirited effort in Moto 2 allowed him to secure the runner-up spot (1-3), while Martin ended up third (4-2).

“A lot of pressure was on my shoulders, but I’m glad it’s off,” exclaimed Cooper. “There were only two rounds left (entering today) so it’s a good time to do it. Now I can go into next weekend feeling a lot more confident and look to finish out the season strong. I really enjoy this place. I get good vibes here. It just feels good to pull off a win.”

The come-from-behind effort by Ferrandis paid dividends in the 250 Class standings where he gained five points on Martin to carry a 18-point lead into the final round.

“I was in a bad position (in the second moto). I wanted to get as many points as possible, so I rode as hard as I could,” said Ferrandis. “I got a bad start and then I got caught up in an incident. There was nothing I could do. I just put my head down and gave it my all. We still were able to get on the podium so that’s good for the championship.”

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will close out the 2020 season with its ninth and final round from Southern California’s Fox Raceway in Pala, just outside of San Diego. The MX vs ATV Fox Raceway National, presented by Fox Racing, will commence on Saturday, October 10, with a full slate of live broadcast coverage. The opening motos will air live on MAVTV Motorsports Network, beginning at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET., followed by live coverage of the second motos on NBC Sports Network, beginning at 3 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. ET. All four motos will also stream simultaneously on NBC Sports Gold, with live, commercial-free coverage beginning at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET.

Results

Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
WPS/FLY Racing Thunder Valley National
Thunder Valley Motocross Park – Lakewood, Colorado
October 3, 2020

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (3-1)
Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (1-3)
Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (4-2)
Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (2-5)
Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda (7-4)
Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (6-8)
Max Anstie, England, Suzuki (9-6)
Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., Husqvarna (14-7)
Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., KTM (12-9)
Jake Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Husqvarna (13-10)
450 Class Championship Standings
Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna – 325
Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 301
Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 283
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 278
Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 245
Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha – 234
Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM – 232
Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda – 195
Max Anstie, England, Suzuki – 166
Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Suzuki – 147

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (2-1)
Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha (1-3)
Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda (4-2
)Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., Yamaha (3-5)
Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda (5-4)
Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda (6-6)
Jo Shimoda, Japan, Honda (7-8)
Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Kawasaki (8-9)
Jarrett Frye, Mechanicsville, Md., Yamaha (9-10)
Carson Mumford, Simi Valley, Calif., Honda (13-11)

250 Class Championship Standings
Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha – 352
Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 334
Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., Yamaha – 254
Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 251
Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Suzuki – 242
Jett Lawrence, Australia, Honda – 230
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 217
Cameron McAdoo, Sioux City, Iowa, Kawasaki – 165
Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Kawasaki – 163
Brandon Hartranft, Brick, N.J., KTM – 148

Now available for download for both Apple and Android devices is the official Pro Motocross App. Fans of American motocross can have access to the world’s most prestigious off-road motorcycle racing series right at their fingertips on their mobile devices. Developed by AMA Pro Racing, the Pro Motocross App provides users with the most important information surrounding the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, from series news to schedule and ticket information, as well as broadcast schedule details and live timing & scoring. Download it now via the App Store or Google Play.

For information about the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, please visit ProMotocross.com and be sure to follow all of the Pro Motocross social media channels for exclusive content and additional information on the latest news:
Facebook: @americanmotocross
Instagram: @promotocross
Twitter: @ProMotocross
YouTube: AmericanMotocross

News Highlights – MXGP of EUROPE 2020

Have a great week, everyone. The weather here in Southwestern Ontario is going to be perfect for some fall moto and cycling and I intend to make good use of it! Before long, I’ll be sitting here talking about “hard butter season” shovelling the driveway!