PulpMX Photo Report – Canadian MX Nationals Round 5
Photos and Captions by James Lissimore
After two weekends of Double Headers at the 2021 Triple Crown Series Canadian MX Tour, we were back to a more normal single day format for Round 5, at the Sand Del Lee MX track, near Canada’s capital city of Ottawa. Coming off of last weekend’s rain at Gopher Dunes, it was back to hot and humid for round 5 and there was plenty of action on the track. Let’s take a look at what happened.
Sand Del Lee MX track, near Canada’s Capital city of Ottawa. Another sand track, but unlike Gopher Dunes, it’s got a hard base lurking underneath.
Multi-time Canadian Champ, Colton Facciotti, is still at the races, working as the suspension guy for his old GDR Honda team.
The 250 class blasts off.
Last week’s winner, Jacob Piccolo, came into the weekend tied for the points lead with Tanner Ward. He got good starts and led laps in both motos but couldn’t quite match the pace of the leaders, still finishing second overall with 3-2 finishes.
Darian Sanayei was in the mix, battling with the lead group, but a tip over left him with 4-3 finishes for 3rd overall.
Sanayei tips over while leading moto two.
Coming off of his first ever moto win last weekend at Gopher Dunes, Marco Cannella looked to be the man to beat at his team’s hometown race. He worked his way to the front in moto one to take his second moto win in as many weeks.
Unfortunately, while trying to make the pass for the lead in moto two, Cannella got crossed up on a jump and went down hard, ending his day. Luckily, he was able to walk away.
It was a rare off weekend for Tanner Ward, as the co-points leader struggled with bad starts and had to come through the pack in both motos. He was only able to muster 6-4 moto finishes, and dropped back to third in the championship.
The 15 year old phenom, Ryder McNabb, is slowly emerging as the championship favourite. The GDR Honda rider finished second to Cannella in moto one and came through to take the moto win and overall in moto two.
With the Canadian 250 series allowing B riders to enter, Orange Brigade KTM rider, Sebastien Racine, was the latest Amateur hotshot to dip his toe into pro racing and immediately impress. In his debut pro race, the KTM rider rode to a pair of 5th place finishes and even re-passed points leader Tanner Ward on the final lap of moto one to grab the number 5 spot.
McNabb takes the moto win and will head into Deschambault with a 3 point lead over Jacob Piccolo.
If there’s a start in the 450 class, chances are Jess Pettis(15) will be at the front of it.
Unfortunately, Dylan Wright has been finding himself here too often this season.
Cole Thompson was admittedly frustrated after the race, finishing just off the podium in both motos with a 4-4 finish. Aside from Round 2 at Walton, the KTM pilot has been struggling to match the pace of the lead trio.
Pettis led much of moto one but Wright recovered from another bad start to make the lead pass with a few laps to go.Wright took the first moto win at his home track but the second moto pileup meant he was having to come through the pack again, this time only getting him back to second, for second overall.
Like Phil Nicoletti said on Monday’s Pulp show, Liam O’Farrell was probably putting in an HVAC on Thursday, but the South African still managed 7th overall.
Marshal Weltin also had to work his way up in the first moto, finishing 3rd and then had a dust up with Wright in moto two, as the pair battled for 2nd place. He would end up 3-3 for third overall on the day.
Shawn Maffenbeier was hoping for better at his team’s hometown race and looked good early in moto one as he ran second but a tip over left him with only a 6th to show for his hard work. A 5th in moto two gave him 5th overall on the day.
Tyler Medaglia might be an East Coast resident now but he grew up only minutes from the Sand Del Lee track. He finished 5th in moto one but looked to be solidly riding in 2nd in moto two when his fuel pump let go.
Moto racer, turned Snocross racer, turned back to moto racer, Tim Tremblay, finished his day with a pair of 7th place finishes, for 6th overall.
Jess Pettis has easily erased any doubts as to whether or not he could be competitive on a 450 and looks to be Wright’s main competition for the 450 crown. He led every lap of the second moto to take his second overall win of the season, and with a second straight tie with points with Wright on the day, goes into Deschambault still trailing by a single point.
