Grab another cup for this week’s rumour-filled edition of Monday Morning Coffee where we talk about some of what happened in Motocross & more
By Billy Rainford
Enjoy another Monday Morning Coffee while we get set to head out and shovel our driveways once again here in southwestern Ontario. The snow was pretty relentles this past weekend and we’ve now got more snow at mid-December than I can even remember as a kid!
Lately, it’s been a question of if we’d have any snow at all at Christmas, but this year we’d had 3 snowstorms by the end of November! Those all melted but I don’t think we’re going to see that happen this season.
We’re suppoesed to be above zero for the rest of the week starting Tuesday with a high of 5C on Thursday, but I think we’ve already seen too much for this to melt away until real spring comes sometime after February.
When I was a kid, it was summer Motocross and winter Downhill Skiing. It was pretty much all I did or thought about.
I think one of our 2 local ski hills, called “Skee-Hi,” had a vertical of 90 feet. We got to the top of the Racer Hill on a rope tow that was said to move at 33mph which got you to the top very quickly. We all used the leather glove protectors and ski tights of the day that, looking back, looked pretty silly!
In the winter, my bedroom walls were plastered with dirt bike magazine page images from either Motocross Action or Dirt Bike (Dirt Rider was just a little too “Off-Road” for me at the time). When summer came, I would look forward to the latest Warren Miller ski movie. That was how my life cycled as a 2-stroke: skiing then racing, swooshing then braaaping!
I’m reminiscing about all this now because something made me feel pretty nostalgic this weekend – Bill Van Vugt‘s interview with the CBC went live.
I remember Bill from Hully Gully House League days. It’s funny what time and perspective does. I used to think he was so old back then. It’s funny how the definition of “old” changes as you age. He was 40 and I was around 16 at the time he first started to ride and race in Varna, Ontario.
Here’s the main memory it pulls out of me: It was a house league race on a Thursday night, I think. (We raced Thursday nights and Saturdays, house league, and then wherever the competitive CMA race was on Sunday. We raced 3 times a week, every week) I don’t remember if it was Randy Collins of Irv Ford who asked me or why they even did, but someone asked if I’d like to announce a race or 2 from up in the new tower. Before I even considered what this meant, I said yes and was climbing the ladder.
Up I went and they handed me the microphone. No problem, I said, and got ready to do what I’d always done from the sidelines without a mic. How hard could it be?!
The gate dropped and 4 riders took off. 4 riders! My first assignment was the Vet class. Hugo Maaskant was out front on a 4-stroke, so I mentioned that detail once. Now what? He was so far ahead of the next riders there was literally nothing else to talk about.
“Oh, and there goes Bill Van Vugt...” Crickets…Crickets…🦗
It was 12 or 15 minutes of pure torture for me! My first “gig” and I had nothing at all to talk about. Not only did I still have a little kid, teenager voice to begin with, but there was nothing happening on the track! It was like each rider had it all to themselves, they were so far apart. I also had no partner to riff with about Gordy’s Goodies or the 125 squirrelly whirlies, or boot gators. I had nothing.
Wow, it’s funny how I just started thinking about that and it all sort of rushed to me. I’d also never heard my voice amplified before so that was a new and terrifying adventure for me. I could hear just how bad it was going and there was no place to hide.
Anyway, Hugo won, Irv took back the microphone and the next race was probably 125 Junior or something exciting like that. I put my tail between my legs and headed back to the pits hoping nobody knew it was me up there.
2025 FIM World Supercross Round 5 Results and Final Standings
SX2:
- 1 Shane McElrath 45 1-1-1
- 99 Max Anstie 40 2-2-2
- 69 Coty Schock 33 5-4-3
- 43 Cullin Park 29 3-6-6
- 110 Kyle Peters 25 6-5-7
- 460 Michael Hicks 23 9-8-4
- 2 Cole Thompson 22 8-7-6
- 16 Enzo Lopes 22 4-3-14
- 62 Kelana Humphrey 14 10-9-10
- 11 Kyle Chisholm 13 11-11-8
- 64 Robbie Wageman 13 13-10-9
- 141 Maxime Desprey 12 7-14-13
- 100 Anthony Bourdon 10 12-12-11
- 39 Noah Viney 9 14-13-12
SX2 Final Standings:
- 99 Max Anstie 215
- 1 Shane McElrath 176
- 69 Coty Schock 167
- 43 Cullin Park 144
- 16 Enzo Lopes 136
- 2 Cole Thompson 120
- 460 Michael Hicks 113
- 110 Kyle Peters 103
- 141 Maxime Desprey 81
- 64 Robbie Wageman 65
- 11 Kyle Chisholm 64
- 39 Noah Viney 41
- 100 Anthony Bourdon 40
- 62 Kelana Humphrey 33
- 95 Lance Kobuch 20
- 5 Alex Larwood 19
- 20 Wilson Todd 10
SX1:
- 21 Jason Anderson 45 1-1-1
- 17 Joey Savatgy 40 2-2-2
- 45 Colt Nichols 31 3-6-5
- 28 Christian Craig 29 5-8-3
- 4 Luke Clout 27 4-4-8
- 88 Devin Simonson 24 6-7-6
- 29 Henry Miller 23 8-5-7
- 98 Austin Politelli 18 13-9-5
- 99 Jorge Zaragoza 18 10-3-12
- 200 Ryan Breece 15 7-11-10
- 719 Vince Friese 13 11-10-9
- 911 Jordi Tixier 12 9-13-11
- 584 Cameron Durow 8 12-12-13
SX1 Final Standings:
- 21 Jason Anderson 171
- 17 Joey Savatgy 166
- 28 Christian Craig 154
- 94 Ken Roczen 122
- 29 Henry Miller 88
- 98 Austin Politelli 80
- 200 Ryan Breece 74
- 88 Devin Simonson 70
- 911 Jordi Tixier 65
- 99 Jorge Zaragoza 61
- 45 Colt Nichols 53
- 719 Vince Friese 49
- 20 Greg Aranda 46
- 46 Justin Hill 37
- 4 Luke Clout 36
Daniel Elmore at Final Round in Costa Rica
Daniel Elmore from Telkwa, BC was back in Costa Rica to close out their motocross season at the final round of their 2025 Nationals.
Heat 1:
Heat 2:
Heat 3:
Daniel went down early this time with his wife to travel around and make the most of this amazing experience. We’ll grab him for a chat about it all when he gets a chance.
GT ArenaMotocross Results
Lebanon, Missouri.
Round 3 Friday:
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Overall
Round 4 Saturday:
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I’ve got to go shovel again, but there are lots of cool Canadian rumours coming out of SMX Media Week in California. On the WSX side, Tom Burwell has been dropping some not-so-subtle hints that World Supercross could go head-to-head with the AMA Nationals in 2026. Steve Matthes added fuel to that fire on X and on his podcast, floating Calgary, AB as a potential summer stop.
When you look at the calendar, the Canadian National in June and the Calgary Stampede running July 3–12, you’ve got to think a WSX round would land later in July…unless they open the series there the week right after the National. Either way, WSX Calgary in the summer would be a big swing.
The other rumour making the rounds is that Team Green prospect Vincent Wey could be racing in Canada on a Drew Adams-style program with WLTN Kawasaki. If that happens, it’s a really interesting fit. When Adams came north, he brought attention and helped pull more eyes and riders toward the Canadian scene. Pair that with Sebastien Racine, just 19, and Wey at 16, and you’re suddenly looking at a super young, very exciting Canadian Kawasaki effort.
And here’s the full-circle moment: it’s been 30 years since Nick made his debut at Walton, on a Kawasaki, as a 16-year-old.
We’ve also got Julien Benek heading to Toronto for the AMA FIM Arenacross on January 9-10.
From the PR:
After taking a well-deserved break this summer to focus on recovery from injury, Julien is back with a bang! He recently lit up the competition at the West Coast Arenacross series on his trusty Kawasaki KX450, reminding everyone of his incredible natural talent .We couldn’t be more excited to see him in action at Toronto!
Julien shares his enthusiasm: “I’ve been hitting the Walton TransCan for years (Note: The photo insert is Julien – 2014 50cc Walton TransCan Champ!), so it’s super cool to ride in the Toronto Arenacross for the WLTN Kawasaki team! I always felt at home indoors, and I can’t wait to go head-to-head with the best Arenacross riders in North America.”
He’ll be racing aboard a Canadian Kawasaki prepped by none other than SSR Racing inhouse leader Steve Simms, who’s eager to get things rolling for 2026. “We’ve made some cool moves this season to be better in 2026 and we have to give a big shoutout to Canadian Kawasaki for getting us the new bikes well ahead of time to do more cool stuff! We have Seb’s winter program locked and loaded, and we’re all itching to hit the track. Bringing in Julien and kicking off racing in January is going to be awesome!” says Simms.
We’ve also heard that Honda Canada GDR Fox rider Dylan Rempel and Priority GasGas rider Quinn Amyotte. I’m sure a few more will be added before the gate drops at International Centre by Pearson Airport.
It’s great to have a few Canadian things to talk about in mid-December!
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