The kick-off of the season up north happened this past weekend…
This past weekend saw the opening round of the Jetwerx Canadian MX Tour series, as the series opened at the iconic Wild Rose Raceway, right in the heart of the city of Calgary. There were plenty of storylines, with reigning 450 Champ, Dylan Wright, coming into the series undefeated in the past two seasons; the return of 36 year old Tyler Medaglia to the 250 class to join fellow old guy, Kaven Benoit; hot shot American amateur racer, Drew Adams, coming up to race the first 3 rounds; and plenty of new racers from around the world. In the end, the day would end with a sweep for the Red Bull KTM team taking both overall wins.
As always on Pulp, here’s a look at the racing and more of a focus on the US and International riders who came out to race at Calgary…
There really isn’t a motocross track like Wild Rose anywhere else on earth. A full outdoor track right in the heart of the city of Calgary.
The iconic spot on some seriously expensive real estate.
I need to speak with Hot Dog Vendor’s HR department about Alan Brown’s behaviour.
Donky worky
Dylan Wright hadn’t lost in over two years coming into the opening round. Gauldy getting the inside scoop for the TV broadcast from Walton Kawasaki team manager, Steve Simms.
We’ve still got a couple concrete starts in Canada.
Practice is all about whips above that iconic Calgary skyline.
Gage Linville was a last minute fill-in on the Partzilla PRMX Kawasaki team to replace the injured Hunter Yoder.
All eyes were on Team Green amateur star, Drew Adams, who was getting his feet wet in Pro by racing the first three Canadian Nats.
A combined age of 70 for the 1-2 spots on the start of 250 moto one as fast dads, Kaven Benoit(26) and Tyler Medaglia(5), show the kids how to get off the line. Unfortunately, things would go terribly in short order for one of these riders.
Benoit would go on to dominate moto one, taking the win by 14 seconds.American Gage Linville(402) battles with Austrailia’s Tiger Wood(143). Linville was impressive with only a week on his new bike, finishing third overall with 2-3 moto finishes.
Tyler Medaglia’s return to the 250 class and the GDR Honda team didn’t go as planned, as after grabbing a great start in moto one, went down hard, getting run over by Drew Adams in the process and knocking him out for the day. No word yet on whether T-Dags will be on the line for round two.
15 year old Canadian giant, Blake Davies, continues to impress. The 6′ 4″ teenager finished the day with 6-6 for 6th overall.
MX101 Yamaha’s Sebastien Racine looked a lot more comfortable in his second year on the Yamaha, finishing just off the podium in 4th place.
Every year, there seems to be a random American who shows up that no one has heard of and kills it. This year’s rider was Idaho’s Evan Stice, who came up and grabbed a top 5 in the 250 class. 7-5 for 5th
Australia’s Tiger Wood is another fast amateur who’s getting a taste of pro racing in Canada, lining up for the GDR Honda team. Wood ended the day 7th overall.
Quinn Amyotte looked extremely good on his new Walton Kawasaki ride as the Ontario native ran second for most of the first 250 moto, before getting caught by Linville on the second to last lap. Unfortunately for Amyotte, he couldn’t back up his podium in the second moto when collided with a lapper in moto two and shattered his throttle housing, ending his day.
After colliding with Medaglia in moto one, Drew Adams had to work his way up to 4th in the first moto, but in moto two, he made no mistake in getting the early lead and cruising to a commanding win. his 4-1 finishes gave him second overall.
250 Podium: 1st – Kaven Benoit, 2nd Drew Adams, 3rd Gave Linville. 35 year old Benoit takes the Red Plate into the second round.
Jess Pettis(15) had his starts dialled, nailing both 450 holeshots.
New Zealand’s Josiah Natzke has spent the past couple years racing in Canada for the PRMX Kawasaki team but switched in the offseason to the Red Bull KTM team and moved to the 450 class. He was fast all day, running down his teammate Pettis in moto one but not being able to make the pass, grabbing 3rd place. A crash in moto two left him working his way through the pack, finishing 6th, for 4th overall.
Australia’s Aaron Tanti is a new addition to the series. The Partzilla PRMX Kawasaki rider finished 7th overall.
Jess Pettis leads his fellow KTM teammate, Natzke, in the first 450 moto.
Longtime Canadian competitor, Mitchell Harrison, moved up to the 450 class and switched to the Partzilla PRMX Kawasaki team for 2024. He kicked his year off right by landing on the podium, with 4-3 finishes for 3rd overall.
With the retirement of Shawn Maffenbeier, the MX101 Yamaha team was on the hunt for a new 450 rider and they found it with Preston Kilroy. Kilroy finished the day with consistent 5-5 finishes for 6th overall.
Tanner Ward returns on the Walton Kawasaki team for 2024 but is fully back in the 450 class after starting last season on a 250. 7-4 for 5th overall.
It had to end eventually, but after winning the first moto with ease, it didn’t look like Calgary would be the place to stop Dylan Wright’s win streak. Unfortunately, shock problems in moto two left him doing his best to salvage second, and second overall. He still finished the day tied in points for the Championship, but you could tell the loss was a sting for the dominator of Canadian moto.
It took three seasons, but Jess Pettis finally came through to take another 450 overall win.
Gauldy getting the inside scoop for the TV broadcast from Walton Kawasaki team manager, Steve Simms.
