PulpMX Photo Report – Canadian Nationals Rounds 1 and 2
Captions and Photos by James Lissimore
It was a long off-season of uncertainty but we were finally back to racing in Canada this past weekend as the opening two rounds of the Jetwerx Triplecrown Canadian MX Tour series kicked off at Walton Raceway, in Ontario.
It was a weekend of firsts as the series hosted it’s first double header round, with racing on Friday and Sunday, and Sunday’s action featured the first 3 moto format for the series.
Let’s take a look at what happened…
The usual series finale, Walton Raceway, is book ending the series this year as it also hosted this weekend’s opening round.
Donkey worky.
With the demise of the OTSFF Yamaha team at the end of last year, Shawn Maffenbeier is back on the MX101 Yamaha team that he won the 250 championship on in 2017.
Words of wisdom
Ryan “Newf” Lockhart is guiding Manitoba’s great hope, Ryder McNabb, again this year.
The newest team in the Canadian pits is the TLD Gas Gas SSR team. Pennyslvania’s Logan Leitzel is the team’s 450 rider.
Finally, after a trying 2021, the 250 class kicks off.
Long touted as one of the next top racers out of Canada, 15 year old Ryder McNabb, charged his way to the front to take the first moto win of the season. Somewhere, Matthes is crying tears of happiness.
The racing in the 250 class was intense, with multi-rider battles for the lead in most motos. Tanner Ward leads Darian Sanayei and Jacob Piccolo at Friday’s race.
Darian Sanayei is a new addition to the Thor Pro Circuit Kawasaki team. He was a little off the pace on Friday, finishing 5th, but bounced back to take one of the moto wins on Sunday’s three moto format, moving up a spot to 4th overall.
Jacob Piccolo showed flashes of his potential last season, in his rookie year, including second overall at the final round, but looks to be a title contender this year. He grabbed a pair of podium finishes both days, in third, and took his first pro moto win in the first moto on Sunday.
Sunday’s second moto didn’t start as well for Piccolo, who had to remount from this tip over and work his way back to 7th by the end of the short, 15 minute moto.
Marco Cannella was strong on Friday, finishing second overall, but a crash in the final moto on Sunday dropped him to 8th.
Tanner Ward, enroute to the final moto win of Sunday. The GDR Honda rider showed he’s the man to beat in this year’s championship as he took both overall wins and the red plate into his home race of Gopher Dunes next weekend.
It was hot and windy, so water supply was critical to keep the track in check.
In the 450 class, the KTM’s were killing the starts in every moto.
Red Bull Thor KTM’s Cole Thompson was consistent all weekend but just a tick off of the pace of Wright and Pettis. He grabbed a pair of 4th’s on Friday and three straight 2nd’s in Sunday’s three moto format.
It looks like we’re going to have a good battle this season between the two reigning champions. 2020 250 champ, Jess Pettis(15) was grabbing the start each moto and defending 450 champ, Wright, was charging up to catch him.
During Friday’s traditional 2-moto format, Wright looked like his same dominant self that we saw last season, as he took both moto wins. A crash in the second moto left him with a cut up finger, but he didn’t let it get in his way to start Sunday off, as he took a third straight moto win. Things didn’t go as well for the next two motos as he could only manage a pair of 4th’s, giving him second overall on the day.
Both classes featured great battles. The 450 class is looking to be a real barn burner between Pettis(15), Marshall Weltin(2), Wright and Thompson.
South Africa’s Liam O’Farrell continued his workman like performances, grabbing 9th overall on both days.
With Matt Goerke retiring, Marshall Weltin moved up to the 450 class(and took his number). He grabbed third overall on Friday and fourth on Sunday.
It wasn’t the debut that Shawn Maffenbeier was looking forward to on the MX101 Yamaha team. Bad starts left him having to work through the pack, finishing 5th on Friday and 7th on Sunday.
AMA Nationals, GNCC’s, Canadian National’s – Tyler Medaglia will race them all. T-Dags finished 7th on Friday but improved to 5th overall on Sunday.
Jess Pettis started his 450 career off with third place at Friday’s national. He proved to be adept at the 3-moto format, as he took the final 2 moto wins and the overall win in his second career 450 race.
Pettis takes the win and will wear the red plate next weekend at Gopher Dunes.
