PulpMX Photo Report – River Glade Canadian Nationals
Photos and Captions by James Lissimore
After a two year hiatus, we were back on the East Coast for Round 7 of the 2022 Jetwerx Canadian MX Tour season, as the series made it’s way to the River Glade MX track, near Moncton, New Brunswick. It was great to return to the East Coast hospitality and a big crowd and hot temperatures greeted the riders as they made their way on to the River Glade track. Here’s what went down in New Brunswick…
After two years away, we were back at the East Coast.
The GDR Honda’s polished up and ready for battle.
Never forget Cole Thompson’s trip into the River Glade pond.
Maryland native and former Blackfoot Yamaha and Leading Edge Kawasaki rider, Nick Evennou, now calls the Moncton area home. His wife grew up near the track.
Unfortunately for Jacob Piccolo, his crash last weekend at Sand Del Lee left him with an injured hand. He tried to ride but decided after qualifying to sit the day out.
After an off race last weekend, New Zealand’s Josiah Natzke was looking more like his usually self at River Glade and qualified 1st. He grabbed the early lead in moto one and rode to the victory. In moto two, he got into second quickly but couldn’t make up the time on Ryder McNabb and settled for second, and second overall on the day.
Mitchell Harrison came into River Glade holding the red plate, but a flat tire in moto one knocked him back to 15th. A 3rd in moto two means he leaves the race down 20 points to Ryder McNabb with two rounds remaining.
William Crete has been trying his hand at a few US Nationals this summer but came back to Canada for last weekend’s race at Sand Del Lee and has now holeshot three out of the four motos he’s raced in. He finished 5th overall on the day.
Young, up and coming, KTM support rider, Jeremy McKie, had his career best race, with a third in moto one, and third overall on the day, for his first podium.
The heart break from last week, Red Bull KTM’s Sebastien Racine, who had his first moto win in the bag before colliding with a lapper in the last corner, couldn’t quite recreate the magic from last round, as he finished his day with 7-4 finishes for 4th overall.
GDR Honda’s Ryder McNabb finally got good starts, and used them to ride to his best performance since the opening round, finishing a close second to Natzke in Moto one and then grabbing the holeshot in moto two and riding a flawless race to take the win. He now takes the Red Plate into next week’s race at Deschambault.
250 Podium – Ryder McNabb 1st, Josiah Natzke 2nd and Jeremy McKie 3rd.
Chris Blackmer(573) and Tanner Ward(84) lead the 450 pack in moto one.
Michigan’s Blackmer had his best Canadian result yet with a third in the first 450 moto.After collapsing off the bike after the moto, Blackmer was able to cool down enough to make his way to the podium. An 8th in moto two left him with 5th overall on the day.
Daniel Elmore continues his impressive rookie 450 season, with a 5th in the second moto and 7th overall on the day.
Mexico’s Felix Lopez was another casualty of a flat tire at River Glade. 7-14 for 11th overall.
A pair of 6th’s for Pennsylvania’s Logan Leitzel for, yes, 6th overall.
For a fourth straight weekend, it was another fourth overall for Tanner Ward.
Former 2005 Moncton winner, Mitch Cooke, was back in action for his hometown race. Despite being 17 years removed from his win, he still managed to crack the top 10 with 8th overall.
Despite a dislocated shoulder at round 1, Shawn Maffenbeier has been a consistent podium threat all season. 4-3 for another 3rd overall.
Tyler Medaglia is originally from Ontario but now lives about an hour from the River Glade track, so it was a bit of a home race for the Gas Gas rider. Just like every other round this year, he was second overall again.
Dylan Wright crashed while practicing on Thursday and injured some ribs, but other than the gap being a little tighter, not much changed as he rode to two more moto wins and stretched his unbeaten moto streak out to 16, with two more rounds to go.
Wright continues to rewrite the record books with every moto.
