Frid'Eh Update #41 Presented by Scott

Sponsored by: 

By Kyle Carruthers, Dawn McClintock and Billy Rainford

Hey everyone and welcome to the DMX Frid’eh Update #41 presented by Scott-Sports the creators of all sorts of amazing products. I almost shed a tear this morning when I woke up and found frost on the windshield of my truck. I can never decide if this is a depressing time of year or if it’s the best time of the year for motocross. Depressing because it is almost over and the best because every track you ride is in almost perfect shape, new bikes are being put on show room floors, and all the new gear is being released before the AMA Supercross series kicks off in January--of course, after the Monster Energy Cup next weekend where we will have two Canadians competing in the names of Cole Thompson and Westen Wrozyna. More on that later as this update develops.

You can win these Dean Wilson signed goggles courtesy of Scott! Details are below. Mica Sport photo

This weekend’s update is also brought to you, once again, by Scott-Sports. The boys at Scott have always been huge supporters of Canadian motocross with sponsoring many athletes and events. One of the riders that they take great pride in sponsoring is none other than Scotland’s, Dean Wilson. This month on the update we will be giving away a set of Scott Tyrant goggles signed by 'Deano' himself. The rules are simple: First, you must go and "like" the DMX Facebook page here to register if you're not already a fan of it. Then, you need to email kyle@directmotocross.com with your best caption to the photo of Dean Wilson and Kyle Beaton talking. Think of something funny and creative! Each person can enter up to 3 captions and the best ones will be posted in the update here throughout the month. It could be something along the lines of why they think Billy is pointing a camera on them. The one that the DMX judges like the most will take home the autographed set of Dean Wilson goggles!

Billy thinks Dean looks like " Morrissey from The Smiths." Google it Bowker. Bigwave photo

This week’s update is dedicated to national #41 Kenny Henry. Kenny raced up in Canada in 2011 with national #37. I never got a chance to get to know Kenny, but he was always putting in some decent results. Kenny, if you’re reading this, shoot me an email kyle@directmotocross.com and let us know where you’re at these days!

Kenny Henry at the Calgary round in 2011. Bigwave photo

I know there are a lot of great events all over the country this weekend but this weekend is the 3^rd annual “Sandstorm” at Gopher Dunes in Courtland, ON. Lots of great stuff happening over the weekend there and we listed a bunch of it in last week’s update which you can check out right here. One cool thing is that GDR Racing has built Tyler Medaglia up a pretty cool Honda CR 250 which he will be racing this weekend. We spotted these photos on Twitter yesterday and then Derek was kind enough to send them over.

Medaglia's CR250 before. GDR photo

After a lot of hard work and elbow grease, it looks like this! GDR photo

Tyler is looking forward to riding this thing this weekend at Sandstorm. GDR photo

Thanks to Derek of Gopher Dunes for the clip. That thing sure sounds nice!

Ok, the KTM Arenacross Championships also start next weekend out in BC. Lots of amateurs and pros will be lining up to compete for the prize money. Billy caught up with Brock Hoyer yesterday for an interview where he spills the beans on his new Yamaha ride here. It also looks like between RTR Performance and KTM Canada Dusty Klatt will also be lining up. Unfortunately, it looks like Klatt will have to miss the opening rounds. I spotted on Facebook this morning that Klatt has stretched a ligament between his collar bone and sternum and will be out for 5-6 weeks and off the bike. Klatt sent us over this update this morning:

"I went for a XC ride with two other Red Bull athletes, Darren Berrecloth and Steve Smith, here on the island. We were out just to have a good day. I don't even feel like telling the story cause its so lame. Lame as in like slipping down your stairs and breaking your wrist. Either way, I came out of the corner and down a 20ft drop-in and it was packed like pavement and right on the side it just had a loose and sharp edge like the edge of some roads. I knew I was right on the edge and as soon as I went to put my foot down I just hit like a semi truck into a brick wall. It happened so fast, landing on my left shoulder and side of my head. And that's why we wear helmets, kids! I think I would have been snoring in the woods if it wasn't for that. So when I hit my side my right side just compressed right over to my left, so I laid there yelling with the no air in my lungs for 30 seconds. I could just feel harsh pains all through my neck, upper back, and shoulders. Either way, I sat the night out till morning to see how I was feeling and felt the same symptoms as broken bones. Thankfully, nothing was broken but the feeling isn't far off. It was partially separated and I stretched the tendon connecting your sternum and collarbone. Doc says 4-6 weeks but hopefully sooner. Ha. Either way, I'll be back shortly and ready for some fun again! Thanks to all my sponsors and supporters!"

Dusty

A bummer deal for sure. Heal up quick, Dusty!

In case you missed it this week, check out this awesome video of Klatt that DMX and Mason Wrozyna shot for KTM. Some great clips of Dusty on the new 2013 KTM SX-F 450.

2013 KTM 450 SX-F Testing with Dusty Klatt from Fresh Pressed Productions on Vimeo.

We also got our 2013 KTM 450 SX-F 450 review up which you can view right here.

Speaking of Hungarian riders, here’s Dawn McClintock with an update on Kornel Nemeth and more.

Hey guys, it's Dawn checking in here. It's been a while and thought I better pop my head in and say hi. I have to admit this is always the hardest time of the year for me, and probably a lot of you, when the great outdoors grinds to a stop. For me it was extra tough not making my annual pilgrimage to MXdN. It's something I wait anxiously for each and every year. Sadly, we all know how things turned out for Team Canada this year and I really hope next year we can have healthy riders and get our shit together with politics aside, schedules and represent like we know we can. I made up my mind that since we had no home team to root for, I was cheering for the Germans. I watched a very young Ken Roczen in 2009 at the MXdN in Italy and he blew my mind then. They had a solid team and got the job done and if you look at their finishes you know our top guys could put us easily back on the top 10 radar. Make it happen people!

The Germans will be hosting next year's MXdN and guaranteed there will be ear plugs required.

Aside from cheering for the Germans, there were a couple of notable guys who once rode the Canadian series that were representing but neither guys' team made the A main. Kyle Chisholm rode for Puerto Rico and Kornel Nemeth rode for Hungary. Speaking of the big guy, I noticed Kornel had posted a cool video on his Facebook page this week and it's been a while since we've heard from him, so I thought I would catch up with him briefly and see how he was doing. Judging from the video, he's still got it going on!

Hey Kornel. Awesome video you just posted. We haven't heard from you in a while and your friends and fans back over here in Canada want to know what's been going on. What have you been up to?

Thanks a lot Dawn. In the beginning of 2012 I had a team here Europe, but I lost it because my back was pretty sore and I couldn't ride. (They fired my ass off) haha

So I decided to have a surgery and my spinal hernia was pretty bad. Nobody really knew if it was going be okay or not. After 3 weeks I was on the track coaching the kids (haha) because I had no job. I made my own MX school and it called "Big K MX School". The guys in Canada always told me I'm so tall and big, so that's why I named my school: Big K MX School haha

At the same time, I was talking to Stefan Everts and he gave me a good contact to the KTM factory, (the contact was my old buddy Robert Jonas I raced the EU championship with him in 1850 haha) but I didn't know that he is one of the big bosses at the factory. So I emailed him and now, I'm one of the test riders for KTM factory! I'm pretty pumped about that! 

In May was my surgery and after 7 weeks I was on the bike again. After 9 weeks I won my first German cross country race in 2012. I have raced some German nationals too. I went top 10. I'm pretty happy about that because I just raced for fun this year; train the kids; testing for KTM and ride some laps. That's it, this is how I train for the races.

It was nice to hear from Kornel and it was always a treat to watch that guy ride. He also mentioned that he misses Canada so much after racing our national series a couple years back. He said he would consider coming back to Canada in a heartbeat if the right opportunity came his way. He's also got a FB fan page for anyone wanting to keep up to speed with him. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kornel-Nemeth/326496680315

That's a wrap for me. Hope everyone has a good weekend and squeeze in those last few weeks of moto while you can. Here's the NTH 108 video for you to check out:

NTH 108h 2012 10 filmer from Filmer on Vimeo.

Thanks Dawn, and it was awesome to hear from Kornel and hear he is doing so well. Let’s hope someone can find a spot for him in Canada this coming summer.

Alright, here’s wild Bill Rainford with your weekly scoop.

Thanks, Kyle. The temperatures are definitely dropping across the country and that means our days of outdoor riding are coming to an end in Canada. Well, unless you live on the westcoast and can enjoy the odd dry day and get to a track. I happen to live in Southwestern Ontario and there is one more big event taking place in these parts this weekend. The Red Bull Sandstorm event takes place at Gopher Dunes. I won’t be able to make it, but Sean Bowker should be there to click a few photos for us. We’ll be sure to post some this week, so watch for that.

Now that I hear Tyler Medaglia will be out there on a Honda CR250 2-stroke with his new numbers, I may have to rethink my absence!

2013 #9 Red Bull Royal Distributing Fox KTM rider, Colton Facciotti, will also be at the event but he will not be racing. He said he’s only been on the bike twice and that “it’s awesome!” but he’s not ready to race quite yet.

We'll have to wait a little longer to see #9 [weird] lining up at a race. Yes, sir, you have a question? Bigwave photo

It’s also the time of year when riders from the pro ranks and down are making preparations for next season. This prep includes the hunt for some sponsorship. If you are planning to ask a company for some support, you must show them what you can do for them. Don’t just tell them what they can give you. Windsor, Ontario rider, Dylan Langlois, put together a very professional video that he will be able to include in his presentation to prospective companies and this is exactly what they want to see. There has to be a return on their investment and usually all you can provide them is some exposure. Check out this cool video (some people will hate the music, but it’s a great edit):

Quebec rider, Eve Brodeur, also understands the need to show sponsors a good reason to continue their support of her. She takes the time to sum up her latest races with nicely done articles. Check out her end of season write-up: http://www.evebrodeur.com/news.html

My point is that you need to show why someone should take some of their limited resources and direct them your way. I always joke that I was the crappiest rider Pirelli ever sponsored, but what we didn’t give them in results we gave them in exposure (I was a blabber-mouth and had a pretty gf). Winning races helps, but there are only a few people that are doing that, so you must show them why you are someone they should also consider. Times are tough so show them how you will stand out from the crowd to promote their company. Good luck to everyone in their search for support for the 2013 season.

With the Montreal SX in our rear-view mirrors, we are heading into the ‘silly season’ where we try to find out who will be riding where. With limited options up here, we don’t have as much to guess at as they do in the U.S., but it’s still fun. The biggest question surrounds Kaven Benoit. He proved in the second half of the MX2 series that he deserves to be on one of the top teams with full support. I did some sniffing around to get an answer, but, with the final decision yet to be made, I got the answers I expected.

Will Red Bull Royal Distributing Fox KTM snatch him up? Hmm, they have Dusty Klatt and Colton Facciotti on the 450s, so the question is just who will ride the 250. Obviously, it comes down to a choice between 2^nd overall, Jeremy Medaglia, and Benoit. Kaven was able to get the most points in the 5 eastern rounds. Maybe they’ll have two full-time riders in MX2? I talked to Kaven on Thursday and here’s what he had to say:

“Only thing I can say is a couple teams are interested but nothing is done yet. I will have a meeting with KTM soon. Wish I could say anything interesting, but there is nothing yet.”

See what I mean? We don’t like to guess at these things, so we will have to just wait patiently to see who pulls the trigger on a possible MX2 title.

Kaven Benoit (left) talking with KTM Canada's Danny Brault at the Sand Del Lee national.  Where will the fast and friendly Quebec rider end up in 2013? We'll have to wait a little while longer. Bigwave photo

Another major team you have to consider is the Monster Energy Leading Edge Kawasaki team. Who will they have in 2013? Tyler Villopoto is coming back on a 250, we’re losing Matt Goerke to the AMA, Kyle Beaton still says he’s heading into retirement, Teddy Maier should be a shoe-in on the 450, so who will be the second rider on the 250? Kaven Benoit would look good in green, but is it true they’re having trouble agreeing on money? What about the Weston Pieck rumours? Maier/Pieck on 450s, Villopoto/Benoit on 250s? Ok, I seem to remember, just a few lines up, saying I didn’t like to guess at these things. Take all of this with a grain of salt.

Speaking of Goerke, check out the interview over on Racer X with BTOSports.com/KTM team owner, Forrest Butler. There are even some 'spy pics' of Matt on his new orange ride. It always looks strange to see someone on a new colour but having ridden the new KTM 450, it won't take Goerke long to get up to speed on that thing!

Brock Hoyer has made the switch from green to blue. It will be weird seeing him on anything else, but he says he really likes the new Yamahas. He’s still on the same team—Spectra Powersports—but they are now also a Yamaha dealer and Brock mentioned that Yamaha has put together a great support package.

We always debate why more Canadians don’t head south to take a stab at either the AMA Supercross or Motocross series, but what about the lucrative AMA Arenacross series? Something that doesn’t seem to get talked about as much as I think it should is that Tyler Medaglia actually won the Westcoast Lites Arenacross Championship in 2009! Do people even remember that? The AMA Arenacross schedule just got released and, as a fan, it would be cool to see some Canadians hit a few of these things. We have some skilled AX riders up here and if the schedule doesn’t conflict with the FW KTM Canada Canadian AX Series then I say get down there and give it a shot!

2013 AMSOIL Arenacrossschedule:

Speaking of racing in the USA, registration is now open for the Florida Mini Olympics (Mini O’s). If you’re looking for some amazing competition to finish off the 2012 season, head down to Gainesville Nov 9-24^th. If you don’t have much supercross/arenacross experience, you can skip the first couple days of that and focus on the outdoor track at Gatorback that starts on Wednesday. Either way, it’s a great way to spend a week and you also get the benefit of catching the American Thanksgiving dinner that Thor always puts on! The Thompson family used to help serve the food so it could be anyone serving you your turkey dinner.

You just never know which future superstar you'll be lining up next to at the Mini O's! Bigwave photo

But be ready if you participate in any of the nightly competitions. Sh!t gets real! Bigwave photo

I was looking for a photo of someone and stumbled onto a sequence from the Walton TransCan this year. You know that guy that was hanging around the Monster pits all summer and rarely had a shirt on? Well, this guy is actually extremely legit in another action sport. You may not know it but his name is Chris Dufficy and he is a Canadian snowboarding legend…so this is even funnier! I got to know him a little this season and he seems to be a really good dude. He was always quick to say hello with a huge smile on his face. I told him I got this sequence, but he didn’t know if/when it would ever rear its ugly head. Well, here it is. He came around the tricky off-camber turn before the old amateur finish line and grabbed a little too much throttle before the bike was straightened out and here’s the result:

Step 1: Grab handful of throttle whether you're ready or not.

Step 2: Be sure to use each and every safety feature your equipment provides.

Step 3: Scream at your right hand for putting you in such a situation.

Step 4: Brush yourself off, share a laugh with the crowd, smile and ride off towards the checkered flag. Bigwave photos

He may not be the most accomplished mx rider, but nobody who will read this has anything on him when it comes to getting down a mountain on a snowboard! I used to run a skate and snowboard shop in Vancouver called ‘Thriller’ (Owned by my buddy named Michael Jackson. True story.) and he was always in the top magazines. Take a look at him in his element:

I checked in with Washington State rider, Image Tech Scott's Brad Nauditt, because I figured he would be making the trip north for the KTM Canada Arenacross Championships, but he told me that he is due to get eye surgery on November 8th. He says he can barely see and has been that way his entire life. It's a fixable condition so look out for him when he can see where he's going! Brad figures he'll be able to make some of the final rounds of the series. He also mentioned that he didn't have anything lined up for next summer and if nothing comes up he will have to stay home, earn a living, and race down there wherever he can and maybe hit some of the westcoast rounds. Best of luck, Brad.

I'd like to leave you with this. I don't make it a habit to copy/paste crap from Facebook, but I thought this was pretty smart and poignant. Have a great weekend, everyone. When I type this next week, I'll be in Las Vegas getting ready to cheer on Westen Wrozyna, Cole Thompson, and all the rest of the riders who have graced our tracks north of the border. Until then, see you at the races...

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

Vegas, baby! Cole Thompson winning a championship at the 2009 World Minis in Las Vegas. It seemed appropriate. Bigwave photo