Monday Morning Coffee

By Billy Rainford

Another Monday rears its ugly….nope, I can’t say that. We’re heading into a Monday here in London, Ontario, where we’re predicted to reach a blue-bird sky high of 16 or 17 degrees Celsius. This is the kind of day that helps you make it through the cold months here in Canada.

I managed to get over to Gopher Dunes on Saturday for a couple hours before I had to head home to catch the Supercross qualifying. It meant I was able to catch #28 Sam Gaynor on his first ride aboard his SSR TLD GasGas 250.

Don’t let the numbers fool you, that’s Sam Gaynor on his brand new SSR TLD GasGas 250 at Gopher Dunes. | Bigwave photo

Sam is heading down to the 250 class for 2021 and I think it’s actually a great move for him and his career. He’s a great 450 rider, but the risk of going to the “premiere” class at an early age is that, unless you’re out there winning, you sort of get lost in the shuffle. Not only that, but people start thinking you’re older than you really are and you get left out of possible future rides.

Fortunately, Sam has landed on the Gas Gas program in its first year as a team here in Canadian Motocross. Sam is only 20 years old, so he’s got lots of time and progress to make in his career.

He says he hasn’t ridden a 250 in a few years so this should be an interesting year to see if he can run with the top riders in the class.

I shot a video interview and some riding that I’ll be sure to get up on the site later today.

I wasn’t able to get to a track on Sunday, as family obligations kept me busy, but judging from the number of bikes in pick-ups I saw driving down the 401, tracks that were open saw a lot of business on Sunday here in the area.

#26 Ryan Derry and his dad, Peter Derry, were at the track again on Saturday. Ryan wins the award for “Going the Fastest While also Going the Smoothest” all day long! He’s making it look effortless out there on his new Honda 450. That was, of course, until we zoom in on the action in the pits…

Peter is a trained motorcycle mechanic and Ryan is an actual engineer, so bike tech is a breeze for them, right? Well, let’s look into this a little more.

In Ryan’s defence, it was Peter who removed the air filter from the bike. And then when Ryan went to put it back in it just wasn’t making sense to either of them. I asked them if they wouldn’t mind if I captured this hilarity for posterity and they were good sports about it.

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If you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re doing life wrong.

That was pretty damn funny. And let me point out that Ryan did have it figured out as soon as I stopped recording. Thanks for being good sports, guys. Keep an eye out for Ryan on the track. He’s going fast and making it all look too damn easy! I shot some video of him, too, that I’ll get up on the site ASAP.

Canadian Results from Freestone MX

We had a handful of riders down in Texas at the 2021 James Stewart Freestone Spring Championship (it was over before spring started, technically). Here’s a look at their results:

#13 JEREMY MCKIE
BELOEIL, QC

Sponsors
Oakley, Fox, SMX Motocross, Atlas Brace, Dirt Care

Class	Number	Brand	Moto 1	Moto 2	Moto 3	Class Finish
250 A Pro Sport	#13	KTM	15th	19th	23rd	20th
Open A Pro Sport	#13	KTM	16th	19th	22nd	21st

#43 NOAH VINEY
MURRIETA, CA

Sponsors
Rides Unlimited, Seven MX, Monster Energy, Dunlop, Ryno Power, Ethika, Thrill Seekers, KTM USA, Scott Goggles, Bell Helmets

Class	Number	Brand	Moto 1	Moto 2	Class Finish
Super Mini 1 (12-15)	#43	KTM	7th	2nd	5th
Super Mini 2 (13-16)	#43	KTM	16th	9th	12th
Schoolboy 1 (12-17)	#43	KTM	14th	DNS	40th

#95 EVAN STEWART
HOLLAND LANDING, ON

Sponsors
Roundhouse Powersports, Shift Mx, Fox Racing Canada, Oakley Googles, Husqvarna Motorcyles, D&D Moto, Motul USA, Powerband Racing, DT1 Airfilters, Dunlop Tires, ASV Invention

Class	Number	Brand	Moto 1	Moto 2	Class Finish
250 C Jr (12-16) Limited	#95	HUQ	DNS	DNS	DNS
250 C (12+) Limited	#95	HUQ	DNS	DNS	DNS
250 C (12+)	#95	HUQ		DNS
450 C Jr (12-18) Limited	#95	HUQ	DNS	DNS	DNS
450 C (12+)	#95	HUQ	DNS	DNS	DNS

#107 TY SHEMKO
TRENTON, ON

Sponsors
Fox Canada, Grounded Fears, No Limit Powersports, Belleville Sport and Lawn

Class	Number	Brand			Moto 1	Class Finish
Open A Pro Sport	#107	KAW			18th

#108 MAX DAY
LAKE COUNTRY, BC

Sponsors
Valley Motosport, Troy Lee Designs, Spy Optic, Real Deal Mx Training

Class	Number	Brand	Moto 1	Class Finish
250 B (12+) Limited	#108	KAW	22nd
450 B (12+) Limited	#108	KAW	22nd

#117 EASTON GENEST
DINSMORE, SK

Sponsors
Real Deal, FXR, Scott, Bell, CTI Braces, Acerbis, ProTaper, Ryno Power, Dad, DT1 Filters, Dinsmore Auto Care, Farm 14, Lil E’s Garage

Class	Number	Brand	Moto 1	Moto 2	Class Finish
250 C Jr (12-16) Limited	#117	YAM	8th	5th	7th
250 C (12+) Limited	#117	YAM	14th	7th	9th

#138 DYLAN REMPEL
AYLMER, ON

Sponsors Canadian Kawasaki, Pro Circuit

Class	Number	Brand	Moto 1	Moto 2	Class Finish
85cc (9-13)	#138	KAW	8th	14th	16th
Mini Sr 2 (13-15)	#138	KAW	23rd	14th	17th

#164 WYATT KERR
CAMBRIDGE, CANADA, ON

Sponsors
Inglis Clycle, D4, OGs, FWF, HRF

Class	Number	Brand	Moto 1	Moto 2	Class Finish
250 B (12+) Limited	#164	KAW	3rd	17th	12th
250 B (12+)	#164	KAW	4th	14th	10th
450 B (12+) Limited	#164	KAW	12th	13th	14th
450 B (12+)	#164	KAW	13th	7th	10th

#234 ZACH UFIMZEFF
LAKE COUNTRY, BC

Sponsors
Valley Moto Sport, Fox Canada, 100%, KTM Canada, Lime Nine, Real Deal mx

Class	Number	Brand	Moto 1	Moto 2	Class Finish
250 B (12+)	#234	KTM	19th	25th	29th
450 B (12+) Limited	#234	KTM	15th	22nd	23rd

#518 CLAYTON SCHMUCKI
RED DEER, AB

Sponsors
Turple Bros Ltd. Fox Racing Canada

Class	Number	Brand	Moto 1	Moto 2	Class Finish
250 B (12+) Limited	#518	KTM	22nd	DNF	36th
450 B (12+) Limited	#518	KTM	16th	31st	31st

If I missed anyone, I’m sorry, and let me know.

Casey Keast Supercross Injury Update

Casey Keast with a fracture to his left 5th metacarpal at Arlington SX #3.

#300 Casey Keast from Kelowna, BC joined the 2021 Monster Energy AMA Supercross series 250 West at the first Arlington SX at AT&T Stadium. He made the night show at his first-ever AMA Supercross and then made it to the evening program at Arlington #2 as well.

Unfortunately, the tricky whoops section jumped up and bit him during the first qualifying session at Arlington #3 this past Saturday.

We caught up with him as he and Kevin Urquhart were in the Carlson Racing MX truck and trailer heading west back toward Kevin’s Bulldog Training Compound in Menifee, California.

It happened on the 2nd or 3rd lap of the first qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. He decided he needed to put in a fast lap and commit to the tricky whoops section after avoiding them in the free practice session.

He said that at around the 3rd or 4th whoop the front end dropped and he ejected into the face of the following whoop, taking the impact with his forehead and left hand.

He got up holding his left hand but picked up his bike and continued riding to the checkered flag, however, he said it was difficult to hold on.

After getting back to the pit and icing his sore left hand, he and Kevin decided he should go to the Alpinestars Medical Unit to get it looked at to make sure there was no actual injury. They had about one-hour-ten-minutes between sessions and with 30 left he went to see the medics.

The on-site x-ray showed a crack in the left 5th metacarpal bone (the bone in the hand that leads to the pinky finger).

The official word is that it could take 3-4 weeks for it to heal. Of course, in racer terms, that means there’s a chance he’ll be racing Atlanta in 2 weeks time.

They will head back to California and let it heal during the off time (there is no race this coming weekend) and then make a decision on whether or not to drive back east to race the 3 rounds in Atlanta. The Carlson Team has given him their full support and would love to see him race if he’s able.

Casey said they will go get it checked out in California to make sure there is nothing further damaged in his hand before they make a final decision. He is supposed to be in a 1/2 cast for 1-2 weeks.

Heal up, Casey.