Frid’Eh Update #28 | Sam Gaynor | Brought to You by Dirt Care
By Billy Rainford
Welcome to Week #28 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update brought to you by Dirt Care Cleaners and Lubricants. I’m currently on the drive from London to Sand Del Lee near Ottawa. It just took me over an hour to get through Toronto. I finally got through and decided to pull over at the En Route near Bowmanville. So did EVERYONE else. This place is a zoo! Oh well, I’ll get there eventually.
After Gopher Dunes last weekend, the sand of Sand Del Lee will feel like a welcome break for the riders. Although, our featured rider this week said it wasn’t as bad as he’s seen it, The Dunes served up a classic round of our Canadian Triple Crown Series Motocross Nationals for us all.
Remember when Christophe Pourcel raced it and…well, let’s just say he didn’t appreciate the condition of what we proudly claim as the ‘Toughest Track in the World.’
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With everything that happened last week, the series points have tightened right up in the 450 class. The defending champ and points leader, Jess Pettis, crashed hard in Q2 on what I’m told wasn’t even a heater lap and was down on the sand for a while. Ron Cameron and his crew took care of him and he even got up and walked to the side-by-side with little assistance.
He went to the hospital in Tillsonburg where they kept him overnight for observation to make sure the hit to his chest didn’t affect anything on the inside.
I just messaged back and forth with MX101 team owner Kevin Tyler and he confirmed the plan is for Jess to try and ride this weekend at their home event.
He went on to joke that they’ll “try something new” and do a full track groom before both 450 motos…
With the points lead wide open, it was Dylan Wright’s turn to suffer a DNF and no points in moto 1. With another gas tank failure issue, Dylan was sidelined in moto 1 and scored zero points. They put on a stock tank for moto 2 and it included a pit stop for fuel. Gas spewed into the air in dramatic fashion as Dylan just sat there unphased.
He made sure to get to a big enough lead over Tanner Ward and managed to re-enter the track still out front.
Due to his first moto DNF, Tanner’s 2nd in moto 2 was enough to give him firs first-ever overall win! He lives not far down the highway, so he had a lot of fans cheering for him.
Wiley veteran Phil Nicoletti may not have had a stellar day in the sand, but he scored enough points to tie him for the lead with Jess. And Dylan is now only 9 points back! This series is about to give us some drama in the 2nd half.
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In the 250 class, Ryder McNabb and points leader Preston Kilroy pushed each other so far in moto 1 that neither of them had a lot left in the tank for moto 2. This opened the door for Dylan Rempel who has been proving he deserves to be in this title conversation lately.
With the 2 pre-season favourites fading in moto 2, young Rempel held strong to take the moto win and his first-ever overall. He’s from a concession over in Aylmer and was another very popular winner for the biased crowd.
Kilroy still has a nice gap in the points and McNabb will have to start running off some wins.
Sam Gaynor is our featured rider this week. We’ve known Sam since he was a little kid on a little bike. He’s put in the work and moved his way up through the ranks in a strategic fashion. unfortunately, he suffered a dreaded scaphoid break in his wrist and it has been every bit as much of a pain for him as you can imagine.
The infamous “Ricky Johnson Injury” has taken Sam on a rollercoaster ride of pain and emotion. But in true Sam style, he’s kept working hard and kept showing up at the races and taking checkered flags.
He rides for the AVL Husqvarna team from the maritimes and has found himself a nice little home there under the awning of their semi. He’s had more than his fair share of struggles so far this season, but he won’t let it get him down.
Here’s a look at his series so far:
Here’s what Sam had to say this week.
Direct Motocross: Hello there, Sam. You’re currently sitting 12th in the 450 class with 10-17-17-10 finishes in the first 4 rounds. How would you sum up the first half of the series?
Sam Gaynor: Hey, Billy! It’s been a struggle. I had a shock blow out at round 2 and rad cap fell off at round 3. 2 DNF’s is difficult but we will keep fighting. Also, my riding hasn’t been the best but trying my best while also still working full time and not getting quite enough seat time.
I know you had that DNF and you were also worried you’d re-damaged your wrist. Did you hurt your wrist?
At Cold Lake in qualifying I had a good crash and my wrist swelled up immediately and was in a ton of pain, but I got in to see my surgeon the following Thursday and everything was still where it was at from the previous appointment which was good!
Was that rad cap in Ste Julie the freakiest DNF you’ve ever had? Did you have antifreeze all over you?
At St.Julie I had the rad cap come off which was super hot, but immediately I knew I had to pull off as it was only lap 3 and there was no way the bike was going to make the full moto. I had coolant all over me! lol
And you told me about the new handlebars you got that flex to give your wrist some relief. I guess Gopher Dunes is a little soft to get a proper test, but how are the bars?
The FasstCompany handlebars were a difference maker for me! They have some flex which helps absorb the hard bumps and big hits to take pressure off my wrist! Huge thank you to The Filipeks for loaning them to use this past weekend!
What did you get up to this week? Where have you been riding and with who?
This week just been going to my 7:30-5 job! Tuesday night I got the honour of being invited to the OCMC Pro Invitational which was super awesome! Got to race with Quinn Amyotte, Lars van Berkel, Noah Viney and lots of other really fast guys! I was happy to come away with a 2nd overall!
I was really impressed with the whole Gopher Dunes National. As a rider, did it feel like the level of presentation was raised? We had fans watching live!
It was super cool! Digs (Derek Schuster) did a really good job in my opinion! You could tell he put in effort, with the fireworks, fly-over, payment immediately, etc.! I give him a 10/10! And the fans were awesome as usual!
You’ve obviously raced there a ton over your career. How would you rate the Gopher Dunes track this time around?
That’s a hard one! Every year sucks. lol. It wasn’t the gnarliest or hottest, but it definitely wasn’t easy to say the least! The heat did get to me in moto 2 after my crash. I had nothing left. But it wasn’t the worst I’ve seen it.
This is your second year riding with the gang at AVL. How is everything coming along for this new team with you and Daniel Elmore in the 450 class?
It’s been good! Louis has gone above and beyond for us. It’s been lots of fun watching the growth of the entire team! 2 guys in the same class can be difficult at moments but we always try to keep everyone in check and have fun riding our dirt bikes!
I hope people realize what you’ve been through with your wrist! How close were you to walking away from the sport?
Yea, my wrist hasn’t been easy. I’ve had lots of days spent in deep dark places mentally. My wrist tests me every day; still to this day. I make the most of the situation but I never really knew a wrist injury would affect my racing career and day-to-day life so much.
What else do you do for fun when you’re not consumed by dirt bikes?
I just this past winter started my own company doing woodworking (80 Grit Woodworking) so I’m super busy with that. I also hangout with my girlfriend lots and go to my everyday job during the week! But mostly woodworking keeps me the busiest!
What will you do for work when Pro Motocross comes to an end?
Just continue to try to grow my company is my main goal! Eventually, I would like to be my own boss but that takes lots of time to build to get to that point! I will always be involved with carpentry/woodworking. It’s what I love to do!
OK Sam, thanks for chatting with us for one of these Updates again. Good luck the rest of the summer and who would you like to thank?
Yea, for sure! Thank you again! A huge thank you to AVL Racing, Husqvarna, OGs, FASSTCompany, SSR, Matrix Concepts Canada, TCD, 80 Grit Woodworking, Seco, motovan, Hall Race Fuel, Renegade, Toys for Big Boys, PWR Graphics, Louis Morin, my mom, dad, family, girlfriend and anyone else I forgot!
Cole Thompson Signs with Bud Racing Kawasaki for World SX
Brigden, ON rider Cole Thompson has signed to ride World Supercross with the Bud Racing Kawasaki team for the upcoming season.
I spoke with his AMA Supercross team, Team Solitaire, and they said he has an open door policy to come back and ride for them after WSX.
Parker Eales OUT with Shoulder Injury
Priority MX rider Parker Eales from Maple Ridge, BC has been trying to race with a torn rotator cuff. Unfortunately, it has proved too difficult and he has decided to step back and try to get back to 100%. He did say there’s a chance he shows up to race the final round at Walton Raceway, so we’ll keep an eye on that.
Zach Ufimzeff Out with Injury
Lake Country, BC rider Zach Ufimzeff is out of action after a crash at the OCMC Pro Invitational on Tuesday night. The crash left the Guaranteed Honda rider with a badly broken collarbone that he is looking to get plated. There is maybe more to consider as he is looking to get sorted out and we’ll keep an eye on it.
OK, I’d better hit the road and time this so I hit Kingston at rush our next…🤦♂️
There’s a chance of some late rain on Sunday but who knows what will happen. The humidity is so high that there’s always a chance of showers. Sand Del Lee a couple years ago was hotter than anything I can remember, even on par with what I felt at Loretta Lynn‘s in 2010!
Speaking of Loretta’s, here’s a link that will take you directly to the entry list for this year’s event:
https://mxsports.com/rider-roster
Have a great weekend, everyone, and I’ll see you in Ottawa!
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