We’re back again for 2019 with photo reports from the Canadian Motocross Nationals. As always we’ll try to focus more on the many American riders who are coming north to try their hand in the Great White North.
The 2019 Rockstar Energy MX Tour series kicked off in the heart of the city of Calgary at the Wild Rose MX Park. Not too many outdoor tracks lie in the middle of a major city so it’s always a unique stop on the schedule.
Phil is in Canada and is super thrilled about it.
The mouth of Canadian moto, Ryan Gauld.
Shiny red number ones for defending 250 champ, Jess Pettis, who switched over to the KTM Red Bull Thor team during the off season.
Even PulpMX’s CEO/Emperor made his yearly appearance in the land of Poutine and Plaid.
Jess Pettis(1) came into the season hurt, with little time on the bike, but managed to snag both holeshots and fade back to 7th overall.Washington State’s Brad Nauditt is back in Canada, racing the whole series, and grabbed 8th overall in the 250 class.Marshall Weltin is a new addition to the Canadian series and the Sky Racing rider finished just off the podium in 4th place.2-time 250 Champ, Tyler “Marty” Medaglia dropped back down to the 250 class for 2019 and went 7-3 for 6th overall.With all eyes on Pettis, it was his teammate, Tanner Ward, who was the surprise of the 250 class as he led laps, grabbed a podium in the first moto, and finished 5th overall.One of the favourites for the 250 championship, a bad start left Luke Renzland with a 6th in moto one but the MX101 Yamaha rider came back in moto two to grab the win, and 3rd overall.Coming off the championship in the AX Tour portion of the Triple Crown season, GDR Honda rider, Dylan Wright, kept the momentum flowing when he grabbed the early lead and took off to the moto win in moto one. Moto two didn’t go as well, as he went off track, hit a flagger and eventually finished sixth, but still managed to grab the last spot on the podium, with third overall.Josh Osby was solid all day, with the CTR Yamaha rider taking the overall win with a pair of 2nd place finishes.The 250 podium.The Hot Dog Vendor is always in it to win it.To the surprise of no one, Mike Alessi grabbed both holeshots in the 450 class.Texas’ Cheyenne Harmon was one of the surprises of the 2018 season but could only manage 20th overall at the season opener.3-time Canadian Champ, Matt Goerke, switched to the Monster Energy Piller’s Kawasaki team during the off-season but didn’t have his best finish at Calgary, grabbing 6th overall.Former top 10 Canadian rider, Morgan Burger, was back at Calgary after a couple years away from the Canadian series and the Idaho native finished 11th overall.80 year old Mike Brown was back for another Canadian national and not only grabbed a top 10 with 9th overall but raced the 125 race and swept both motos. Legend.Vince Friese was at Calgary to support his fellow Smartop rider, Mike Alessi, who’s racing for the GDR Honda team this summer.Dakota Alix has jumped up to the 450 class and is racing the whole Canadian series this year with support from KTM. He finished 8th overall.Cade Clason is back for another season in Canada and rounded out the Top 10 with 10th overall.
In a country where there’s zero Suzuki support, the answer to “who’s that guy on the yellow bike?” was Ryan Dowd. The Junkyard Dog’s son finished 12th overall on the day.
2017 250 champion, Shawn Maffenbeier, moved up to the 450 class and back to his old Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha team for 2019. He would finish 5th overall.Mike Alessi made the switch to the GDR Honda team in the off-season, with support from his Motoconcepts team that he rode SX for. He led both motos, battled with his teammate, Colton Facciotti and finished the day in 4th overall with 4-4 finishes.Defending and 5-time Canadian champion, Colton Facciotti, proved that he’s still the man to beat in his final season by taking the opening moto win. His second moto wouldn’t go as well but he still stayed in the mix and grabbed a third to take second overall.The defending overall Triple Crown Series champion and current AX Tour champion, Cole Thompson has been eager to prove that he’s not just an indoor specialist and showed it at Calgary, grabbing the final moto and overall victory. 3-1 scores and the red plate going into Prince George.
Only Phil could go 2-2 and get 3rd overall.