Monday Morning Coffee

By Billy Rainford

Grab another Thanksgiving Day coffee and check out some Monday Morning Coffee where we talk about some of what happened in Motocross and more…

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada! I know if you’re south of the border it seems strange, but we have an earlier harvest up here, so this is when we celebrate it. Emily and I did some famly visiting on her side this weekend. With my father passing away in 2019 and my mother deep in the battle with dementia, I understand jjst how important family visits are as often as you can do them. I hope everyone reading this now got the chance to spend some quality time with family, around the dinner table, in the family room, or at a track somewhere.

Of course, on our way home from Waterloo Sunday afternoon I made Emily stop in at the final AMO Ontario race of the season at Gopher Dunes.

We’ve had some amazing weather in these parts this fall and it continued yesterday with sunny skies and a temperature that reached 21C late in the afternoon. It made for a great ending to another Ontario season of racing.

I couldn’t make it for both motos but we pull in and parked just as the second Pro Am moto blasted off from the gate, so I quickly grabbed a camera and ran for the sidelines to capture as much as I could in the short time I was able to be there.

As I’m sure everyone is aware by now, #64 Wyatt Kerr has changed HVAC teams (the new energy drink of racing) and has moved over to the Honda and the great family at Guaranteed Comfort Hanover Honda.

Wyatt was out there leading the way on his big red 450 with 250 numbers. Every time I see one of our guys ripping the big bike when we’re used to seeing them on the 250, they rip. Wyatt was definitely no different. He looked extremely comfortable on the 450 out there in the sand.

He took a convincing win out front. Behind him, it was #50 Crayden Dillon who stood out on his 250 (?). He didn’t get the start he wanted with all the 450’s in the mix, but he quickly. made his way from about 5th or 6th on lap 1 to 2nd place. I tell ya, if he didn’t make so much money racing sleds, I’d say he should really give this dirt bike stuff a full try! He’s actually moving up to the top pro class racing snowmobiles this winter. He’s the 2-time Pro Lites champion, so this step should see his potential $$$ jump up even more.

Kerr’s teammate #777 Tyler Shewchyk was in 2nd place and looking comfortable early with #27 Tanner Scott right there with him. Behind them it was #145 Billy Rainf…. no, wait, Colton Facciotti applying pressure. Or was he doing suspension research? Every rider out there ahead of him was also running SSS stickers on their forks, so…

As I always do, I stopped in at announcer Dave Bell‘s tent to say hello and catch up after the checkered flag waved. On my way there medic Ron Cameron sidled me in his side-by-side (not sure how you can sneak up on someone in one, but he did) and told me there were a couple bikes missing from the second moto.

Both #14 Quinn Amyotte and #136 Derek Hamm were missing from the starting line. Quinn crashed right where Jess Pettis did this summer and tweaked his shoulder and knee enough to keep him from lining up again. Derek crashed even harder and took a little track nap.

I didn’t find Quinn in the pits but I did stand and chat with Derek and Breanna Rose-Hamm for a little while. Derek’s right side was tender and you could see the marks on his forehead and throat where the helmet saved him. He was coherent but in some obvious pain.

They were actually on their way to a wedding later, so I wonder how that all went for him?

PRO-AM – Overall Finish Positions    View Laptimes Moto 1 Moto 2    Points for this class

Overall   Name Moto 1 Moto 2 Points Earned 1st #64  WYATT KERR  , ON  1st 1st 50 2nd #777  TYLER SHEWCHYK  St Thomas, ON  2nd 3rd 42 3rd #50x  CRAYDEN DILLON  ZEPHYR, ON  4th 2nd 40 4th #27  TANNER SCOTT  ORILLIA, ON  3rd 5th 36 5th #45  COLTON FACCIOTTI  SPRINGFIELD, ON  5th 4th 0 6th #199  TRAVIS BYROM  Pontypool, ON  7th 6th 29 7th #104  KYLE KEAST  CAVAN, ON  6th 7th 29 8th #132  SETH HUGHES  , ON  12th 9th 21 9th #45X  CAMPBELL SEARLE  , QC  11th 10th 21 10th #147  HAYDEN JAMESON  WOODSTOCK, ON  10th 11th 21 11th #550  KAES KNIGHTS  Bewdley, ON  9th 12th 21 12th #21  LIAM OFARRELL  Paris, ON  8th 13th 21 13th #85X  KADIN HALL  Hillsdale, ON  17th 8th 17 14th #187  LEITH NESS  Blackwater, ON  13th DNS 8 15th #136  DEREK HAMM  RIDGETOWN, ON  14th DNS 7 16th #354  THOR GIESBRECHT  Aylmer, ON  15th DNS 6 17th #14  QUINN AMYOTTE  Blackstock, ON  16th DNS 5 18th #14X  BRANDEN SHAW  Belwood, ON  18th DNS 3

Now that I look at the results, I can see there were a few other DNS results for moto 2. I know I saw Leith Ness running around with his camera later in the day, so he was OK I think. I hope the same can be said for #354 Thor Giesbrecht (I saw him out there later in Open Intermediate) and #14X Brenden Shaw (never mind, Brenden was out there in Intermediate too).

I shot video and took photos, so watch for that later.

I also shot video of the 36-rider gate in the second Supermini moto, which is always my favourite to watch. #750 Grady Mansfield and #130 Merrick Maguire traded wins with Mansfield taking moto 2 and the overall.

You can check out all the results HERE.

Emily and I had to hit the road after the final race and couldn’t stay for the awards ceremony they were setting up for down by the pavilion in the corner after the big jump that used to be the finish line. Big Nasty? Is that what the call it? (It’s just a single onto a table for me, so I don’t have to call it anything.)

I hope it all went smoothly.

AMA/FIM Arenacross Round 1

It was great to see Canadian #16 Cole Thompson on the line at Round 1 of the AMA/FIM Arenacross Championship present4ed by Kicker in Huntington, California, on Saturday. He’s back with his Heartbeat Hot Sauce Team Solitaire Yamaha gang.

I think it’s been a while since he’s raced AX but he hasn’t missed a beat and looked great, taking the second Main win with a last turn win over favourite #200 Ryan Breece.

Sat – AX ProOverall PositionsGo to Laptimes
1st#200		RYAN BREECEATHOL, ID	Heat 3: 1stMain 1: 1stMain 2: 2nd
2nd#16		COLE THOMPSONBRIGDEN, ON	Heat 2: 2ndMain 1: 3rdMain 2: 1st
3rd#14		ROBBIE WAGEMANNEWHALL, CA	Heat 1: 1stMain 1: 2ndMain 2: 4th
4th#6		BRANDON RAYVALLEY SPRINGS, CA	Heat 1: 2ndMain 1: 6thMain 2: 3rd
5th#2		JEREMY FAPPANISCOTTSDALE, AZ	Heat 2: 3rdMain 1: 5thMain 2: 5th
6th#636		LUKE KALAITZIANSUN VALLEY, CA	Heat 3: 2ndMain 1: 4thMain 2: 7th
7th#461		HAYDEN ROBINSONMENIFEE, CA	Heat 3: 4thLCQ 1: 2ndMain 1: 9thMain 2: 8th
8th#12		JUSTIN STARLINGVALRICO, FL	Heat 1: 4thLCQ 1: 1stMain 1: 8thMain 2: 9th
9th#98		AUSTIN POLITELLIMURRIETA, CA	Heat 2: 1stMain 1: 2thMain 2: 6th
10th#316		EVAN STICECARMEN, ID	Heat 1: 7thLCQ 2: 1stMain 1: 11thMain 2: 10th
11th#667		ANTON NORDSTRÖM GRAAFGÖTEBORG, NA	Heat 3: 3rdMain 1: 10thMain 2: 13th
12th#734		DAYTON BRIGGSRIVERSIDE, CA	Heat 3: 8thLCQ 1: 3rdMain 1: 14thMain 2: 11th
13th#191		CARSON MAINQUISTHASLET, TX	Heat 2: 4thLCQ 2: 2ndMain 1: 13thMain 2: 12th
14th#41		NATE FREEHILLRESCUE, CA	Heat 1: 3rdMain 1: 7thMain 2: DNF

Next round is December 20th in Boise, Idaho.

Did I mention who is the most fun rider to watch on the international circuit? It’s Valentin Guillod, hands down. He’d look good on a bike up here in Canada!

I want to end this column by sending my deepest condolences to the Wilson family after the loss of Jackie Wilson. Dean Wilson won the Australian Supercross under these incredibly difficult circumstances but it’s exactly what she wanted him to do.

I’ve known the Wilson family for a pretty long time (that’s a 2010 photo) and Jackie and Andy Wilson were two people I always looked forward to running into at the races to share some laughs and grab a coffee or other beverage with. I stayed at their place in California a bunch of years ago and they couldn’t have been more welcoming.

Thinking about you guys in this tough time. ❤️

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