Frid'Eh Update #5 Presented by Hindle Offroad

Sponsored by: 

By Kyle Carruthers, James Lissimore, Allison Kennedy and Billy Rainford.

Hey everyone and welcome to the Direct Motocross Frid’eh Update #5 here on DMX, your source for Canadian Motocross news, first! This week’s update is brought to you by Hindle Exhaust out of Port Perry, Ontario. Hindle is an all Canadian family run business that produces some of the best motocross pipes in the business. No matter what brand or model you have, as long as it is a 4-stroke Hindle will have you covered! Make sure you check out www.hindleexhaust.com and for all the dealers going down to the Indy Dealer Expo make sure you check out their new booth! You can get yourself a Hindle System from any Motovan Dealer!

www.hindleexhaust.com James Lissimore photo

This week’s update is dedicated to #5 Monster Energy Leading Edge Kawasaki rider Matt Goerke. Matt came into the season last summer with a number of injuries (mainly his wrist) which held him back for most of the west coast. Matt quickly proved all the doubters wrong after he went 1-1 at Gopher Dunes. We haven’t talked to Matt lately so look for a full interview with him here next week on DMX. In the mean time you can cheer him on as he takes on the rest of the supercross series.

Matt will be looking for redemption when the Canadian series starts up. James Lissimore Photo.

DMX has been really busy this week as most of you can see; there are some great interviews up with riders like Shawn Maffenbeier, Camille Baker and Kaven Benoit. Some great photo galleries and wallpapers from James Lissimore and Billy did another great Most Memorable Moments feature with the MX2 pros. If you missed any of them check them out on the home page. Also, how cool was Lissimore’s PulpMX video that gave us a behind the scenes look at our friend and contributor, Steve Matthes, own show. Check it out on Monday nights live or make sure you check out www.pulpmx.com to get the weekly archive.

Some news hit the board this week when KTM Canada announced that Kaven Benoit would, in fact, join the KTM family for 2012. It will be a different program than most and we may or may not see Kaven out for a couple western rounds but he will be focusing on the east coast, the Quebec Provincials and some bike development. Check out Billy’s interview right here to get the full details.

Dylan Kaelin also officially announced his deal and we will see him on a Hully Gully/Yamaha Motor Canada backed YZ250F for 2012. You can also check out the full PR right here. As I was writing this update I got the official word that Spencer Knowles will also be Yamaha backed with GA Checkpoint Yamaha and Yamaha Motor Canada! Congrats to all three riders for getting their deals done.

There is going to be a lot more blue on the track this year, between Maffenbeier, Kyle Keast, Denaye Giroux, Shawn Robinson, Bobby Kiniry, Richard Grey, Parker Allison, Bryton Allison, Jared Allison, Kaelin, Nicky Beatty and  Knowles. Not to mention the rest of the Yamaha support riders and privateers. Even with Blackfoot gone Yamaha is still looking to support racing at the highest level possible.

Kaelin and Hully Gully are a team for 2012. Sean Bowker photo

There is lots going on for racing this weekend in Canada, between the Lethbridge AX and Chilliwack AX. Both events offer a great pro class as well as full amateur racing so if you’re looking to shake off the winter blues and are local to one of these events make sure you go and check it out!

DMX is offering a photo contest for our readers over on our Facebook page. You can read all the rules here and make sure you and your friends enter it. We have had a great response so far and some great photos turn up. Also make sure you like our Facebook page and you’re following us on twitter @directmx.

After a crash in Oakland last weekend it looks like Kyle Beaton will be lining up again this weekend at A2 to put one in the main for his Canadian fans.

I also talked to Kevin Lepp yesterday and Kevin has decided to sit out Supercross this year. “ I made the tough decisions not to … I still feel my wrist isn’t ready to do it, so I think that was a smart decision. I know there were a lot of people excited to see me try it and that’s why it was tough to say no. Thanks to everyone for understanding”.  No problem Kevin and good on you for making a decision that works best for you. Kevin also went on to tell me how good Cali is for him and that Kris Keefer has been teaching him a lot. Lepp just might hit the podium in 2012!

Ok now over to the crew!

Thanks, Kyle. Here we are running head-first into February and this upcoming season is looking to be a great one. We are fast closing in on the Toronto Supercross and this weekend we have the potential for our first two-time winner at A2. We started a DMX Photo Contest on our Facebook page and, before I knew what I was doing, I was clicking ‘like’ on all of them. Now that I’ve started doing that, I’ll have to ‘like’ every one of them to keep it fair! Anyway, here’s what I have for this week.

I read something over at Vital MX that made me think. Someone said, “This sport has been filling huge stadiums with fans for 40 years. There is no excuse for not having it live on TV.” That’s a damn fine point! I think the problem is the length of the program they try to show live. 7pm-11pm is four hours. That’s probably, at least, one hour too long for a channel to get behind. If we want weekly live programming, I think the only way to do that would be to prepare highlights of the qualifiers etc. and only show the two main events live. They could package that into a 2-hour program quite easily, I think. Of course, then people would complain that they want to see ALL the racing live. Perhaps the only way to do that would be with a live feed over the internet until the tv program started. Just a thought…

I was reading on the well-known ‘smart person’ website called “Edge.org” this week (not sure how I ended up there!) and saw a pretty funny quote in an article by Alison Gopnik that sums up what’s going on in the world today: “Children today reach puberty earlier and adulthood later. The result: A lot of teenage weirdness.” Nothing to do with moto (or does it???), but interesting, nonetheless.

At the end of 2009, Husqvarna announced that Barrett Marketing Group (BMG) would be the new Canadian Distributor. It looks like BMG has declared bankruptcy. I contacted Guy ‘Top Pimp’ Giroux to verify the rumour I’d heard and find out what this meant for continuing to grow Husky in Canada. He had this to say, “BMG went bankrupt...Yes, there will be Husky in Canada and life will be better. We should get an official announcement Monday or today.”I sure hope so because any time we get to watch a 125 2-stroke rip up a track it puts huge smiles on everyone’s faces. It looks like Guy has also just announced his new team that will be called ‘Eight-O-One Motorsports.’ How very Chad Reed of him. Good luck and keep us posted, ‘Pimp.’

Guy Giroux is starting his own team called, "Eight-O-One Motorsports" for the 2012 season. Photo taken from Husqvarna Facebook page

The auction is still going on over at MX Forum for Brent ‘Airmail’ Worrall that we mentioned last week. The Hellams did a cool thing this week and opened up the Chilliwack Heritage Park AX track to riders with all proceeds going towards Brent's recovery fund. Sean Bowker has taken the lead on this and is listing the items on eBay to make things run smoothly and more officially. I wanted to speak, briefly, with the man himself (Brent) for a quick interview to post in the Update today, but we probably spoke for at least 45 minutes, so it will appear as its own feature early next week. Bottom line: I think Brent should write a book! He has an amazing story to tell and he’s becoming quite the wordsmith. Here’s a link to the thread that contains the links to EBay: http://mxforum.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32918&sid=315e7ebd449b2ddf09e9238762f04131

I will also post an interview with Cole Thompson early next week as he has decided to skip the next couple rounds of the Arenacross Tour to prepare for his attack on the east coast lites supercross series starting Feb 18 in Dallas, Texas. Our own James Lissimore will be there in person to report on all the action. Did you happen to see the short video of CT jumping the 130-foot quad? Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2394656239859

I also read that Brady Sheren’s company, Atlas Brace Technologies, is in a bit of a heated legal battle with Leatt over some alleged patent infringement. Here is a link to the some details: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/leatt-corporation-sues-atlas-brace-for-patent-infringement-2012-01-30

I received a statement back from Brady on the subject. Here is what he had to say:

“After receiving a Cease and Desist, we filed a Declaratory Action of Non-Infringement suit against Leatt, and now Leatt has simply countered our suit, as the defendant.

We obviously believe very strongly in our product. For the team involved in Atlas, this is far from our first rodeo… we have been around the block several times and dealt with Patents, law suits, bringing products to marke,t and everything in between for many, many years and would never enter a market with bad intentions. We have our own very unique ideas and concepts, and we research these ideas very carefully to see what is possible and what isn't. If we truly felt we were stepping on someone’s toes, we would not enter that market. The Atlas Brace is a product of very careful consideration and was designed only after in-depth analysis of multiple Patents in order to truly be unique...So unique that we also have multiple Patents Pending of our own. For companies to believe they can monopolize an entire market that they weren't the first to enter, is appalling. Also, for protection companies to be so focussed on Law Suits rather than keeping riders safe is also very disturbing. As a rider, my heart is with other riders, and that is why I designed and will continue to evolve the Atlas Brace.”

Thank you for giving us some insight into your side, Brady. Hopefully, everything works out for the Canadian entrepreneur. I guess we all just have to stay tuned…

For some reason, there are two arenacross races happening in Canada this weekend. It’s kind of like having two of eight CFL teams named ‘Roughriders,’ no? I didn’t dig into how something like this happens in such a small market, but I think I will. Anyway, if you are in Chilliwack, BC, this weekend, watch for Brock Hoyer to try to clinch the title. If you are in Lethbridge, AB, watch as Kevin Urquhart, Shawn Maffenbeier, and the Allisons duke it out in the tight confines for the wins. Good luck to everyone racing this weekend.

I want to post my MX1 2011 Most Memorable Moments this coming Monday, but I still need to hear from Matt Goerke and Michael Willard. If anyone is talking to either of these two, please ask them to contact me here at billy@directmotocross.com Thank you.

It was Kyle’s birthday here at DMX yesterday, so I wanted to publically wish him a Happy Birthday. It also gives me a reason to show off my birthday cake from ‘back in the day.’ The next year, my cake had a big picture of ‘Elvira: Mistress of the Dark’ on it. I’ll see if I can dig up a picture of that one. (Google it, Bowker!)

Yes, that's a trick, aftermarket seat and a Preston Petty front plate on that 1982 KX 80! Photo from the Rainford archives

Dylan Kaelin signed his deal for the 2012 season. To me, it’s a great thing to see the iconic Hully Gully logo so prominent on a bike’s rad shroud. If you are an old fart from SWO like me, just seeing that checkered flag and wavy logo brings back years of memories from that little dusty or muddy, rutted or bermless, apple tree-growing, dirty fish pond-having, Gordy’s Goodies-selling, “Pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er’-yelling, ‘125 Squirrely Whirly’-calling, ‘Close the gate, clear the track’-shouting, my first ribbon-winning, twice per week-driving, original Bigfoot-watching, life-long friend-making place in a faraway land that Nathan Bles calls home. Let’s just say it puts an ear-to-ear smile on my face, that’s all. With the loss of the Blackfoot race team, it looks like Yamaha Canada is making a strong push to have a big presence at the pro level for 2012. *Thumbs Up emoticon*

I took a quick look at the latest video from ‘Ami and Jamie’s Moto Adventures’ and all I will do is quote David Letterman, “This is why the rest of the world hates us.” I think it received over 30,000 views last week, so…

For this week’s rant, I just wanted to mention that I find it interesting and noteworthy (if not curious) that nobody ever comments in Canada. Every online moto media source has a place for comments after each article etc. and yet there never seems to be any communication. If you take Racer X for example, part of the enjoyment of reading their articles is getting to some of the witty banter that happens at the bottom of each page. Sure, the majority of it is idiotic comments about getting the ‘holeshot,’ but there are always hidden gems of wisdom that foster open discussion on the subject. I guess it has something to do with the whole ‘Canadians are the most polite, unassuming people on the planet’ thing.

Whenever I travel to the US, I always force myself not to apologize for things that really don’t require an apology. As a through-and-through Canadian, it can be difficult! Replay some of your public interactions and, more times than not, I bet you apologized for something that was completely out of your control. Take, for example, walking through a crowded airport: A Canadian will apologize to someone even if they arrived at a door first and the oncoming stranger forced themselves through first while perhaps bumping their way past. The typical Canadian reaction in this situation would be, “Oops, I'm sorry.” Anyway, I think it’s an interesting psycho-sociological study on Canadian behaviour and I’d like to see more communication on our Canadian websites. No biggie.

And finally, there is some movement in the ‘Tyler Medaglia’ situation. I know that Tyler has already headed south to train and I’m pretty sure we already know he is on a bike that is a primary colour. I managed to speak with Derek Schuster from Gopher Dunes to get the true story and here is what Tyler’s plans are: “Yep, he’s down south on the Aprillia. Just waiting to get something sorted out with Ohlins for suspension and UFO gear.” Great to hear someone finally stepped up to get our two-time national MX2 champ to the races this year. I hope they got all the bugs out of that big twin-cylinder bike. Julien Bill had nothing but good things to say about his stint on the bike. I placed a call to Vendremini Boots and I think they managed to find a few pairs of the red plastic beauties in his size along the long straightaway at the bottom of the old track called Big Bend near Aylmer, Ontario. They got into a bit of a bidding war with Dijer but the Italian company won, in the end. Tyler said something about preferring to break his knee than his ankle. Derek was able to procure a rusty, three-rail trailer from an old garage near Copetown and, with a little support from Surf laundry detergent, they should have enough gas money to make it to the 4^th round in Calgary. He said he doesn’t mind spotting Facciotti and Klatt three full rounds of points because he’s just that much better than they are.

This is what happens when you leave for GPF without saying good-bye!

Ok, that’s all I have for this week. Enjoy watching Chilliwack, Lethbridge, and A2, everyone!

James here to wrap this up...

I’m back on the road again this week as I’m currently driving along the Coquihalla highway, through the snowy mountains of British Columbia as I make my way to Kelowna. It’s not a moto trip for me though this week as I’m off to photograph one of my best friend’s, Scott Saura’s wedding. The former pro rider (and my one-time boss) is tying the knot with his fiancé Beth so it should be a good catch up time with the old Kelowna moto crew.

For the first time in 2012 I had a week at home and I’ve been pretty much glued to my computer all week, catching up on stuff from my three-week trip down south. I did some more video editing and posted a little behind the scenes look at Matthes’ Pulpmx.com show. It’s pretty cool to see how well the show has taken off and Steve has gained quite the following due to its success. I’ll still never get used to fans coming up to him at the races and wanting their pictures taken with him--what a strange sight.

I’m heading back down to California this week as I fly back to Los Angeles on Thursday. Originally, I was planning on covering Kevin Lepp’s Supercross debut but like Kyle mentioned above, Kevin has decided his tender wrist isn’t quite ready for the rigors of SX and he’s decided to put his plans on hold for a while. Still, there’s plenty of Canadian content to cover down at San Diego so I’ll do my best to hopefully catch Kyle Beaton making his first main event of the year.

Kevin Lepp has decided to put his Supercross aspirations on hold for now. James Lissimore photo

There’s no rest after that as I’m off to Dallas for the start of the East series and the Supercross debut of Canadian phenom, Cole Thompson. I’m excited to see how Cole stacks up in the ultra-competitive series.

Ok, I’m going to wrap things up early and continue this drive. Good luck this weekend to everyone racing indoors at Lethbridge and Chilliwack.

And…Go Beets!