Frid'Eh Update #43 Presented by Scott

Sponsored by: 

By Kyle Carruthers and Billy Rainford

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s Frid’Eh Update on DMX presented by Scott-Sports. As promised with this being the last update of the month we are giving away an autographed set of Scott Tyrant goggles courtesy of Scott-Sports. We asked for captions for this photo below of Deano and Beats and here are some of the best ones we narrowed it down to.

Deano and Beats photo caption contest winner is listed below. Bigwave photo

Miami Vice -Crockett and Tubbs. I say Moto Vice - Deano and Beats – Rob Bullock

1. Hey Deano can u put in a good word to Mitch Payton for me & maybe I won’t retire quite yet.

2. You & me racing for Jeff Ward Racing, the Canadian dynamic duo here we come.

3. At least I'm wearing my sponsors hat, all you got is that goofy haircut.

Brent Martin

Don’t smile Kyle, make sure you look as serious as possible! The chicks dig it! – Bryce Woodcock

Ok, what is with this baled photographer always following you around Beats? – Jerry Lewis

Hey Deano, do you think Bigwave polishes his head with car wax before leaving the house every morning? – Johnny Flute

So, your place or mine after?  - Justin Muir

The official ruling is in and we are going to send the goggles to Brent Martin with his caption “ At least I’m wearing a sponsors hat, all you got is a goofy haircut.” Congrats Brent and will get your new prizes shipped!

If you're looking for your own set of Scott Goggles make sure to get down to your local dealer and see everything Scott has to offer, from their helmets right to their boots. www.scott-sports.com.

This week’s update also goes out to 2012 National #43 Travis Sewell. It’s not uncommon to see the Sewell brothers up and racing in Canada. We didn't get a chance to see Travis race this past summer but either way, when they show up they are always contenders.

Travis Sewell at the 2011 Sand del lee national. Bigwave photo

The KTM Canadian Arenacross series kicked off last weekend in Cloverdale, BC and from what we heard on all accounts it was a success. The track looked great and the racing was even better. Spencer Knowles is the one with the target on his back now after taking all 4 main event wins and some serious money home with him. Keep your eyes on Knowles as this series develops, after all he did learn from one of the best indoor riders Canada has ever seen and that is none other than Kyle Beaton.

It was a packed house last weekend in Cloverdale. Darin Marr photo

The series resumes next weekend November 2^nd in Chiliwack and is there for the next couple weeks as the action heats up. With there still being 22 main events in the series, I expect we will see some great racing between guys like Knowles, Hoyer, Lockhart and Medaglia for the top of the box. Rumour has it that Royal Distributing Red Bull Fox Racing KTM rider Dusty Klatt will also be making a return to the series after his shoulder is healed up and fit.

Sticking with the Arenacross theme we asked you guys to predict the winners from Saturday nights Pro Open event for your chance to win an Atlas Brace. Nobody was correct, but Dave Hewitson was able to get the Lites main event results right and was the only person to predict anything correct in either class making him the winner. Dave, make sure you email Brad@atlasbrace.com to claim your prize. Big thanks to Atlas Brace for putting up such a great contest!

I’m not going to get into the Monster Cup to much here as I will leave that to Billy who was down there taking in the action. I do however want to extend a congratulations to Westen Wrozyna for getting 8^th in the second moto of the night. Westen you did us proud, and here is to hoping we see you down there on a big bike again next year mixing it up.

I got a chance to talk to Andre Laurin last weekend and he said the rumours are true and that himself and Yamaha are making an attempt to go after Kaven Benoit. Andre will give Kaven the chance to win his first MX2 title, but it is no secret Andre is looking for a solid big bike rider for the future to accompany Bobby Kiniry at a championship run for the team. We know KTM always has an offer for Kaven and we also know that Leading Edge is in there as well. Leading Edge actually signed a rider this week to an MX2 contract. Was it Kaven? Only time will tell. I do know that if I was a team manager with a good budget, Kaven is the racer I would be going after.

Looking for some great motocross training this winter? How about going down to California and training with the PerformX crew? Todd Schumlick is one of the most reputable trainers in the business and his athletes have the championships to prove it. Check out the full PR here to see how easily you can get down there.

Next Saturday November 3^rd in Orono, Ontario, there will be a fundraiser party at the Orono Arena to help keep a private track alive. DMX is one of the sponsors of the event and we couldn’t be happier to help our neighbour out who is getting taking to court by the township to shut his family's track down where they enjoy spending some of their free time. We need to stick together and fight situations like this or else this could be a trend we start seeing more often which will only hurt the sport more. Tickets to get in are only $10.00 and it starts at 8PM at the Orono community center above the arena. There will also be a ton of Moto prizes up for grabs! Hope to see you all there.

Ok now over to Billy.

Thanks, Kyle. I’ve spent the better part of the last two days trying to get back to normal after the long 38 ½ hour drive home from the ME Cup in Las Vegas. I want to say thank you to the Wrozynas for letting me tag along with them on this really cool journey. I think I did my share of the driving, but Wes definitely did more than his share! I think Cale managed to over-sleep on the way home…just kidding, Cale.

I know that young Westen is a little disappointed with his finishes at the race, but he rode really well and had the pace the top kids had. He just couldn’t get a start and that hurt him in the overalls. That field of riders made it almost impossible to recover well from an 18^th-place start. Now it’s time for this Supermini sensation to move up to the big bikes (I think I just heard a collective sigh of relief from those who are racing Supermini in 2013) and hopefully we will see him debut his 250F skills at the Mini O’s in Florida in November. He weighed in at 140lbs and is definitely too tall for his Honda 150, so we know he will be more comfortable when he makes the move. With 15-year olds like Westen Wrozyna and Dylan Wright, we have at least two riders with legitimate superstar potential to watch!

Speaking of Las Vegas, we wandered over to the old strip one night—Fremont—and I couldn`t believe that place! With the crazy expansion of the other end of Las Vegas Blvd, they know they have to do something to attract crowds and I think you really have to spend some time in the old area when you go. The place was a complete sideshow!

This woman just stands around and gets money for having her picture taken with people. It must be her lovely dye job. Bigwave iPhone photo

On our drive to Las Vegas, we decided to go through Denver and into the Rocky Mountains for a bit of scenery on the otherwise boring drive. Just as Cale got behind the wheel, it started raining. Then, as we started gaining elevation, the rain turned to snow. Poor Cale had to drive for hours in complete whiteout conditions. There were big rigs jack-knifed and stuck along the entire route. I`m pretty sure they were forced to close the highway immediately after we made it through. We decided to take the low road through Arizona and New Mexico for the return trip and, after seeing the snow they received in Alberta, I think we made a wise choice.

I have a strange habit of keeping track of interesting and funny quotes that happen along these many road trips and this one was no different. A lot of them aren`t exactly DMX friendly so I`ll just tell you the one that stands out the most for me that is G-rated. We were waiting for our table at Bahama Breeze (side note: you have to go there and order the Butter Chicken Meal. It is awesome!) and we all stood in front of their big wishing well. After all of us made quick wishes and tossed in our coins, young Cameron Wrozyna, after some very deep thought, exclaims, “I wish I had a coconut!” and threw in his coin. We all thought that was just about the funniest wish we’d ever heard and laughed about it for the rest of the evening…until “Gingy” our server came over, spilled our drinks all over the place, and gave us something new to laugh at.

As for the other races at the Monster Energy Cup, I think everyone was impressed with Adam Cianciarulo’s speed on the 250F. He was doing the triple triple rhythm section that only some of the pros were doing. Once he gets more time on the bike and perhaps grows a little, he will be one to watch for a very long time.

Cooper Webb has been in AC’s shadow for a large part of his amateur career and has to be happy to put consistent rides together to take the overall in the All-Stars class. Also, Australian rider, Shane McElrath, will be someone to watch in the A class this year.

Cooper Webb (left) and Shane McElrath were impressive. bigwave photo

Before the pro classes really got going, we lost Blake Baggett to a broken arm. He was all set to line up against the big guys on his 250F with the big #4 on his plates. Could the moto Gods have been sending everyone an unofficial notice that the #4 is not to be touched? I like to think so because it makes the story better.

Kevin Windham crashed and, as he put it, “just rang my bell.” He was unable to line up for the motos. The last thing I’ll mention about the races (they’ve been covered very well all week already) was the ovation that Chad Reed got during the opening ceremonies. I remember a few short years ago when I had a difficult time cheering for him for one reason or another, but with what he has done lately I find myself cheering for him now. I would say he got the biggest cheer of the night when he was introduced.

Justin Barcia took the overall and the $100 000 prize tha went with it. He is great on the big 450 and so was Eli Tomac! The big bike class is in good hands.

I also spoke to Dylan Schmoke—he raced our series in 2011—and he said he would be very interested in racing our nationals up here again this coming year. If anyone is looking for a good rider and an all-around nice kid to race on their team, Dylan should be on your list of potentials.

A crash left Dylan Schmoke holding onto his front brake assembly at the ME Cup. He would love to race in Canada again in 2013. Bigwave photo

I was unable to make it out to the first two rounds of the KTM Canadian Arenacross Championships that got started out in Cloverdale, BC last weekend. From what I’ve heard and read it seems to have been a great success. I spoke to Future West Promotions' Jamie Hellam today to get his take on the series start and here is what he had to say:

“From our point of view, Cloverdale went great. Good crowds and really good racing and pro line-up. Ridership was down a bit on last year in the amateur classes but I think that had a lot to do with Cloverdale being a new venue and the Monster Energy Cup. We are really excited looking to Chilliwack next weekend. There are lots of track rental times available for next week and the week after as well as a Dylan Kaelin school on Friday and a Ryan Lockhart school on Saturday for riders looking to try Arenacross. All the info is on arenacross.ca”

Thanks, Jamie, and good luck with the next few rounds in Chilliwack Nov 2,3 and 9,10.

GA Checkpoint Yamaha rider, Spencer Knowles, won all four main events as well as both of the Dash for Cash races. Watch for an interview with him in the next few days here on DMX.

Rumours of where potential MX2 title hopeful, Kaven Benoit, will end up for 2013 are definitely heating up. Word on the street is that we will likely see him on a green bike racing on a team based out of the BC interior town that smells a lot like a lumber yard, but, when I spoke to Kaven, he said, “Nothing to say. Sorry. Maybe next week. Well, I hope to say more next week.” If I were a betting man, I would put my money on it but I guess pen hasn’t hit paper just yet, so we’ll just have to wait a little longer. Wherever he winds up, I would also bet he is fighting for wins and the championship for the entire nine rounds next summer.

I also spoke to Kyle Beaton briefly today to find out what the latest is on his leg. He basically said that he was “surviving” and that he had to undergo an additional two surgeries. The pins in his leg weren’t doing the trick so they went in and plated it. I think he’s still not sure about his riding future but I did speak to Dirt Wurx guys, Rich Winkler and Dave Hellyer, while I was in Las Vegas and they were quick to ask how he’s doing and also said that their door was always open for Kyle’s skills on a dozer to help them build tracks. They also mentioned they were in talks with the new guys running the British SX series so maybe a trip across the pond is in the future for Kyle. Good luck with that leg, Kyle.

Also, the Florida Winter Olympics (Mini O’s) are coming up November 19^th-24th. I got a message from the organisers, Unlimited Sports MX, and they have several electrical hook-ups available for reservation. Here is the update:

Electric for the week of Winter Olympics

Reserve Electric Now.

Electric & water hookups for the Thor Winter National Olympics presented by Pro Circuit can be reserved now. $500 for the week. Call 813-978-1888 and ask for Judy to reserve.

Pre entry registration is available at www.mxentry.com

There is also a Winter Am event there this weekend and they wanted everyone to know that Hurricane Sandy WILL NOT be a factor for Gatorback and that the races are ON.

Speaking of November, it’s time to grow some moustaches to raise money for prostate cancer. I have done it every year since ‘Movember’ came to Canada, but think I’ll just donate money this year and not grow my pathetic ‘stache. Here’s the PR for this year’s fundraiser:

It's that time of year again! Movember photo

I’ll end this one with a request for some input from you. I think it will be fun to post some reader emails in our Monday Morning Coffee articles. If you have something you’d like to say, please email it to me at billy@directmotocross.com . It won’t be a question/answer format, but more of a place for readers to give their opinions on things that are being talked about in our sport. The more mail we get, the more entertaining the articles will be. Thanks for reading and have a great Halloween Party weekend. Hey, that reminds me, send in your Halloween costume pictures and we’ll pick a winner in the Monday article.