FXR Racing: Canadian National Opener Photo Report

Story and photos by James Lissimore

It seems like in the last five years, the level of talent at the head of the field in the Rockstar Energy Drink Canadian National MX series has increasingly gotten deeper. In the past, there would usually be a fast American or two who would make the trip north to battle with the top Canadians and the series saw riders like Doug Dubach, Mike Craig, Damon Huffman and John Dowd ply their craft in the Great White North. For 2016 though, a quick scan of the entry list saw names like Metcalfe, Goerke, Alessi and Friese – all riders with solid AMA credentials. Then with the news that Davi Millsaps would be making his way north to contest the series for the KTM Thor Racing team and things were shaping up to be a real barn burner. Throw in the mix multi-time Canadian Champion, Colton Facciott and two-time Canadian MX2 Champ, Kaven Benoit, who was making the jump to MX1 and there was plenty of talk about the series on both sides of the border.

This past weekend the series kicked off, at the Whispering Pines Raceway in Kamloops, British Columbia and it was time to see how this star-studded field would shake down. With temperatures in the mid-90’s and a rough, unrelenting track, it was going to be a real test of who did their off-season homework. Let’s take a look at how the day played out…

Surrounded by mountains outside of Kamloops, British Columbia, the Whispering Pines track itself lacks any elevation but makes up for it by being one of the roughest tracks on the National circuit.

Goggle guy, neck brace guy, PulpMX correspondent – The Newf does it all

Former MotoXXX and N-Fab Yamaha owner, Alan Brown is the brains behind the MX101 Yamaha machines

Jimmy Deeeee was in Kamloops for the opening round but not racing. His girlfriend, Jamie, was racing the Women’s National.

A long time presence on the AMA circuit, Graeme Brough is the man behind the suspension on the Monster Energy AStars Kawasaki team.

KTM Canada head honcho, Florian Burguet(r) and Millsaps’ mechanic, Paul Delaurier

Gratuitous fisheye shot for Matthes

It’s still a bit strange seeing Alessi on green

Canadian legend, Jean-Sebastien Roy, is the Team Manager for the KTM Thor Racing team

Millsaps has a lot of fans in Canada

Donky Backy

It’s just like minicycle days

Not the start to the season that Cole Thompson(4) and Jacob Hayes were hoping for

Long time Canadian competitor, Spokane, Washington’s Brad Nauditt had a solid first moto in MX2 with a 5th. Unfortunately, he suffered a mechanical DNF in moto two.

This year’s random American who showed up at the first round and did well was California’s Tallon La Fountaine. The KTM pilot finished 5th overall.

Jacob Hayes injured his knee in the first turn crash in moto one. He tried to finish the moto but ended up pulling off and didn’t line up for moto two. He was going to be evaluated this week to see if he could continue on.

Local BC boy, Jess Pettis had the best race of his career in his first race on the MX101 Yamaha team. Pettis finished third in the first moto and had just made the pass for second in moto two before suffering an engine failure.

Washington’s Mason Wharton finished 11th overall in MX2

After an entire career on Yamaha’s, Shawn Maffenbeier’s off season switch to KTM seems to be paying off. The Big Steel Box KTM rider led most of the first moto without a front brake before being passed right before the end and then backed it up with another second in moto two to take the overall win and the red plate going into Round Two next weekend in Nanaimo.

Long considered to be one of Canada’s top up and coming talents, Dylan Wright started things off well by taking his first moto win in moto one.

With so many crashes and DNF’s, it seemed like nobody wanted the third spot on the podium. Utah’s Brandon Leith was happy to take it with 6-3 moto finishes.

For the start of moto two, Dylan Wright got a little too jumpy in his quest to repeat his first moto win. The race would be red flagged and Wright would be docked a lap before the race had even started. Welcome to Canada.

After coming all the way back to fourth in moto one after his first turn crash, Cole Thompson wasted no time in moto two in passing Maffenbeier to take the lead and the moto win. Even with having to come from way back in moto one, he ends up leaving Kamloops only one point down in the MX2 title chase.

A little Freestyle action for halftime at The Loops

The race that everyone was waiting for. Matt Goerke gets his title defence off on the right foot with the first moto holeshot.

As anticipated, all the heavy hitters were up front in moto one

Alessi was a little off the pace of the front runners, finishing fourth in moto one. A snapped shifter in moto two left him in second gear and he finished sixth

Idaho’s Morgan Burger is a Canadian regular. He started the season off with 10th overall

A solid top 10 for Cade Clason, with 8th overall

Utah’s Riley Brough finished 12th overall

Goerke draws first blood by taking the moto one win

With temperatures hovering in the mid-90’s, cooling off was key. Colton Facciotti takes a post moto dip with his son, Keegan.

Moto two again saw all the fast guys out front

Not the best start for Vince Friese in his debut on the Monster Energy AStars Kawasaki team. 7-26 for 14th overall

Texan, Kyle Swanson, finished 15th overall

Probably not the race that Brett Metcalfe was hoping for in his debut on the Rockstar Energy OTFF Yamaha team. The former Canadian Champ logged consistent 5-5 finishes but was off the pace of the front runners. He should get better as the series goes on.

On the other hand, two-time Canadian MX2 Champ, Kaven Benoit had a great debut in the MX1 class. Sixth in moto one, he came out firing in moto two, catching and battling with Facciotti for second before tipping over. He remounted to finish 4th and 4th overall on the day.

Colton Facciotti just does what Colton Facciotti does. The multi-time Champ was up front all day and made a big push at the end of moto two to close up to Millsaps at the finish line. 3-2 moto finishes gave him third overall.

After finishing second in moto one, Davi Millsaps made the pass for the lead in moto two and put it on cruise control up front.

Idaho’s Austin Kouba finished 11th in MX1

Millsaps admitted he backed it down a bit after building up a lead in the second moto, which allowed Facciotti to close the gap but he took the win to take the overall win in his first Canadian MX race.

Goerke was pressuring Facciotti in moto two but dropped back near the end of the moto when the pain from his blistered hands proved too much. 1-3 finishes gave him second overall on the day