I'll be talking about motocross in general terms—in the United States, in Canada, on the West Coast—and most specifically, motocross on Vancouver Island because that is where I live. I've been in love with motocross for decades, and for that long I've been telling anyone who will listen that it's the greatest sport in the world—and the world is catching on. Motocross is on television now virtually every week, and the Supercross Facebook page has over a million fans. The stars of the sport are millionaires and household names—in many households I frequent. I know now that I was right all along. You need to know about motocross—lucky for you, this article is about motocross.
Super powers and developing nations
Motocross is big all over the world, but the epicentre is just below us in the good old United States. Their sanctioning body is called the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) and they are the motocross superpower of the world. They've won the Moto des Nations, which is the Olympics of motocross, about a million times since the early 1980s. Canada is a developing nation in the world of motocross; we usually come about 15th at the Nations, but we have our moments. Being a close and friendly neighbour to the U.S. has its perks. Our National Series is so good that it's become the proving ground for young upstarts from south of the border.
Sort of Canadians
I call this ever-growing contingent of Americans "sort of" Canadian because they come up to race our National Series in growing numbers each year. I’ve got to give kudos to the Canadian Motorcycle Racing Club (CMRC) for putting on such a great National Series, and getting such good exposure for it. It’s a good series, with good television and media coverage, and more and more young Americans see it as a great place to hone their skills before their full-on assault on the AMA. This is fantastic for us diehard motocross enthusiasts north of the border. The most famous example of this summertime immigration is Ryan Villopoto, currently considered by most to be the fastest motocrosser on the planet; he came up here to race early in his career. You don’t have to look far on the AMA entry list to find the depth of the Canadian influence. The list is long: Kiniry, Marshall, Politelli, Larsen, Goerke, Ingalls, Rife, Sewell, Nauditt, Willard, Carpenter, Hagseth and Maier are among the many past and present AMA series riders who also compete (or have competed) in our Canadian series. Rumour has it that this summer Ryan Villopoto's little brother, Tyler, is coming up to Canada to race just like his older brother did. This speaks volumes to the quality of racing that the CMRC has developed up here in Canada. This is phenomenal not only for fans like me, but also for the Canadian riders who get the experience of racing these top-flight Americans. Seeing guys like Politelli and Kiniry consistently qualify for main events in the U.S. makes me wonder how our young Canadian stars like Tyler Medaglia and Colton Facciotti, who regularly beat these guys, would do in the States given the opportunity. All in all, it’s just a great testament to the state of Canadian motocross that this level of integration is occurring.
Canadian MX still dominated by Canadians
Despite the influx of American talent, the CMRC National Series is still dominated by Canadians—West Coast Canadians, in fact. Dusty Klatt, from Campbell River, B.C., right here on the Island, and Colton Facciotti from Aldergrove, B.C., have swapped the Canadian #1 plate back and forth for five of the past six years. These two West Coast phenomena are just the tip of the iceberg. Just below the surface lurks a wellspring of talent. Darcy Lange, from Courtenay, B.C., won three AMA Arenacross titles and finished third in the prestigious AMA Supercross Lites series before he recently retired. Kyle Beaton hails from Surrey, B.C., and is a constant front-runner in Canadian motocross. Beaton had a miserable couple of seasons, plagued with injuries, but he recently finished 11th at an AMA Supercross Lites race. He will be back with a vengeance this year at the Canadian Nationals.
Other West Coast contenders include Spencer Knowles and Brock Hoyer, both of whom run well inside the top 10 at the highest level of racing in the country. This year also marks the professional debut of Fort St. John, B.C., wonder-kid Trae Franklin. Franklin has won everything there is to win in Canadian Amateur Motocross and the motocross community is anxious to see what he can do against the best in the country. On Vancouver Island, 15-year-old Ryan Lalonde not only qualified for a Pro National last year, but he finished just outside the top 20 (72 riders attempted to qualify for the event). On the horizon is Prince George, B.C., native Jess Pettis who is only 13 years old but already turning heads with his speed and racing results. The West Coast of Canada just keeps cranking out the talent! I know, it's just a string of names to you now, but if you listen to me talk about motocross in these articles each month you'll get to know these guys. They'll become household names in your household too. And they're practically your neighbours.
Something in the water
There's something in the water in Canada that produces motocross talent, and it seems to be producing more and more of it. About a decade ago there was a 11-year-old kid who emigrated to Alberta from Scotland. He began racing all over Canada and from 2003 to 2006 he won four Amateur National Championships here. After honing his skills in Canada, he went south of the border and won pretty near everything he entered, including the prestigious AMA Horizon Award, which was given to the most outstanding rider at the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships. That kid, Dean Wilson, is now the reigning AMA MX2 National Champion, and leading this year's MX2 West Supercross series. He's considered among the best riders in the world. People still talk about seeing him ride at the Wastelands in Nanaimo, B.C. Is he Canadian? Sort of, not really—but he swam in our water for a long time. Cole Thompson is Canadian, but like Wilson he's spent most of his formative racing years in the States. Thompson is a rookie in the AMA Supercross series this year and has been putting in consistent top 10 finishes. I can't stress enough what a huge accomplishment this is. In fact, there seems to have been an exponential growth in Canadian talent succeeding south of the border over the last decade or so.
From forever ago, until about 1995, Canada really only had one rider capable of finishing well inside the top 10 at an AMA National. His name was Ross 'Rollerball' Pederson. In the era that succeeded him perhaps only Jean Sebastian Roy (JSR) could claim that ability. Since about 2000 or so however, Canada has, by my count, produced at least six riders capable of a top 10 finish in an AMA national: Cole Thompson, Darcy Lange, Dusty Klatt, Colton Facciotti, Tyler Medaglia, Kyle Beaton and then Dean Wilson of course, if you care to claim him, which we all do. The water is rising.
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