Frid'Eh Update #46 Presented by Hindle Offroad

Sponsored by: 

By Kyle Carruthers and Billy Rainford

Hey everyone and welcome to the 46^th edition of the DMX Frid’eh Update here on DMX brought to you by Hindle Exhaust. Finally some exciting things are happening in Canadian moto. Some teams have signed some new riders which have not yet been announced, the KTM Canadian AX series is in full steam with some great racing and the motorcycle shows where the industry will gather are just around the corner. To top it off the Mini Olympics in Gatorback Florida start this weekend and we have a flock of Canadians heading down wave our flag proudly. We have Billy down there who will be bringing you the news all week thanks to our event sponsor MX 101 and the Sand del lee crew for sponsoring our coverage. More on all that good stuff later.

Jared Allison trusts in his Hindle Exhaust to give his bike the extra power he needs. Bigwave photo

This week’s update is once again brought to you by Hindle Exhaust. Hindle is a Canadian company who supports a number of Canadian riders including the Allison brothers who made the switch to Hindle this year and loved the extra power it provided their Yamaha’s. When your thinking of getting a new exhaust system, make sure you go down to your local dealer and check out a Hindle Exhaust system. With the great affordable price you can’t go wrong! www.hindleexhaust.com to see everything Hindle offers. Make sure you also stay up to date with thier facebook page which you can find right here. They are always updating it with new products and great deals! Make sure you check out and like the DMX facebook page while your at it as well!

Shawn Robinson had a breakout 2012. Bigwave photo

This week’s update is also dedicated to national #46 Shawn Robinson. Shawn who hails from the Sand del lee area has always had great support from the crew at MX 101 and Yamaha Canada. For 2012 Shawn really stepped up his program. His family and MX 101 joined forces with the Maffenbeiers and the Yamalube/Schraders/Troy Lee Designs/SMX racing team to take on the series. He also took a note out of his team mate Shawn Maffenbeier’s book and linked up with world famous trainer Todd Schmunlick and headed down to California to train with Todd and his PerformX school. When Shawn returned, most people didn’t even recognize the now skinny and physically fit kid. Shawn made leaps and bounds of improvement on the track but some injuries held his true potential back. Either way keep your sights on this kid going into next year. Shawn also sent over this update.

"My 2012 season had some ups and downs. Came in the year more prepared than ever. Started off good until I broke my hand in Kamloops on a water sprinkler but decided to race calgary anyway, which was really good because it was my first top 10 finish in the 450 class. After that went back home to get surgery and just in time I got ready for Gopher Dunes and then ended my season in Ste. Julie when my bike hit neutral on a face of a jump and broke my arm ...

For 2013, I'm looking foward to this year and I'm going to go with Todd at PerformX for the winter and get ready for the first national. As of now, not too much going on, just hiting the gym and getting prepared for next year."

If you get a chance make sure you listen to Steve Matthes’ podcast with Andy White. Andy paid a visit to Matthes’ house last night as Andy is down in Vegas for the Endurocross this weekend. It’s a great one to listen to and Andy gives us the whole scoop on the teams 2012 and what we can expect in 2013.

Speaking of the Endurocross this weekend in Las Vegas we have lots of Canadians down there competing. You can get full details at www.endurocross.com.

We are starting a new column here on DMX called “Sponsor Me”. It is a column to educate riders on how to approach sponsors and how to represent yourselves on and off the track. I know there a lot of pros out there that could take some lessons in the PR department to market themselves better. You can check out the introduction here and look for the first industry interview this week with one of Canada’s race directors.

The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend again in Ontario. Motopark is offering another weekend of riding. You can check out www.motoparkracing.com for more details.

KTM has an awesome deal going on for Christmas right now. Follow the link below and download your coupon to receive $50 towards your next purchase of KTM PowerWear or PowerParts (min. purchase of $200). Hurry, coupons are limited. www.ktmcanada.com/powerdays

Not a whole lot of breaking news this week, but there are some big things coming down the pipe so stay tuned as we start annoucing the new deals in the works.

Ok now over to Billy and Happy Thanksgiving to all our American readers.

Thank, Kyle. I was able to attend rounds 3-4 and 5-6 of the KTM Canadian Arenacross Championships at the Chilliwack Heritage Park in Chilliwack, BC the last couple weekends. I want to start off by throwing Kourtney Lloyd and Cycle North Powersports in Prince George, BC a huge shout-out and thank you for giving DMX the opportunity to get out there and cover this great series. The racing action was top notch and the battles throughout the field were well worth the price of admission!

Here's a brief summary, in case you missed any of the coverage:

Washington State's Brad Nauditt had his way with the field and won all of the main events. The Image Tech Airway MX Park Scott rider then headed home to have some Lasic eye surgery. From all accounts, he says the surgeries were a success and, hopefully, we'll see him back up here when the series resumes January 18-19, 2013.

With starts like this, it was very difficult for anyone to take a run at Brad Nauditt. Bigwave photo

It was fellow Washington rider Ryan Abrigo's turn to dominate the action for the next weekend at rounds 5-6. He took all of the mains after having to move forward. GA Checkpoint Yamaha rider, Spencer Knowles, was set to put an end to his run but a small mishap while pulling away cost him the win. 

Ryan Abrigo ran the table in rounds 5 and 6. He won everything but the Dash for Cash. Bigwave photo

Kaven Benoit took home the $440.00 Dash for Cash money on Saturday night. He wasn't overly happy with the rest of the weekend, but this win put a smile on his face and some coin in his pocket. Bigwave photo

We saw a new and more aggressive side of Redemption Racing's Eric Jeffery last week. He showed he has the skill to be right up front battling for podiums. He may not have made many new friends, but he definitely made a few new fans! Bigwave photo

The addition of the whoop section was good for some and stressful for others. You could go triple, triple, triple or try to stay on top of them. Here, Jake Anstett shows the first option. Bigwave photo

Defending champ, Brock Hoyer, was close to the front all weekend on his Spectra Powersports RMR Yamaha. Did I mention I thought his set up was the best-looking in the past 5 minutes? Bigwave photo

My favourite class is always the Superminis. Casey Keast showed he is definitely one to watch. This kid has good speed and great indoor style. He looked right at home on the track. Bigwave photo

I'll finish my Arenacross talk with a special mention to Brent Carlson of Mainland Sand and Gravel. If you can find a more generous moto supporter than this guy...marry him! Huh? Thanks for everything while I was out west, Brent. Bigwave photo

Be sure to get out to the big red buiding in January as I'm sure we will see a couple new names show up to take a run at some of the available cash. Hopefully, Red Bull Royal Distributing Fox KTM rider, Dusty Klatt, will be fully healed by then and will come out and give these guys a run for their money.

If you live out in BC, chances are you are very familiar with Rod Matechuk, Fox Suspensions and RMR Suspensions. It became very clear to me that Rod knows what he’s doing by the amount of success you see on the track. From little bikes all the way up to the pro ranks, Rod’s works can be seen at or near the front. I wanted to grab him for a quick chat as the racing came to an end at Round 6 of the KTM Canadian Arenacross Championships last Saturday night in Chilliwack, BC to find out a little bit more about his involvement. Everyone was packing up and trying to get out of the cold, so here is our brief chat:

RMR Supespension's Rod Matechuk. Bigwave photo

DMX: Rod, talk about how the weekend went here in Chilliwack and what your involvement is.

Rod Matechuck: Well, we’re just down here with Fox Suspension and RMR Suspensions also helping out Brock Hoyer, Ryan Lockhart, and a few other riders here in the pro class. I’m enjoying the weekend. I think all the riding went well and everybody is riding safe.

Which rider(s) have stood out for you here?

Well, Brock had a good qualifying session today. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite put it together in the mains. Ryan Lockhart did a really good job today—he was consistent all day and all weekend.

In watching all the racing here, I noticed that just about every bike out there has a Fox Suspension or RMR sticker on it.

Ya, we’ve been very fortunate. We’ve got quite a few riders under our belts and hopefully it’s been good for everybody.

What’s next for you and RMR?

I guess a couple months off until February. We deal with snowmobiles with Fox Suspension—that’s quite busy right now. Alberta and Saskatchewan are starting to get snow so we’d like to see Ontario get some snow too so we can get some sales out that way. That keeps us pretty busy through the winter.

Well, thanks for chatting with us and good luck in the future.

Thank you very much.

Another person in the industry I had a chance to chat with is Scott Donkersgoed or ‘Donk,’ as he’s most commonly known. Donk has spun wrenches for a lot of the top teams in Canada and some in the U.S. as well. He’s got some tough decisions to make in the coming days, so I wanted to find out what his plans are for this coming season.

It's big decision time for temporary Cycle North Kawasaki rider Ryan Lockhart's mechanic, Donk. Bigwave photo

DMX: Hey, Donk, what’s up with you? I know you had some decisions to make.

Donk: I’m just trying to decide whether it’s time to take a step in life or keep chasing this so called ‘dream’ of being a mechanic. I just got the door shut three times because I’m Canadian to go down to the States for the Supercross on some teams. I’m just trying to decide if I keep chasing that and find a team that’s willing to help me be allowed to be down there or go up to Alberta and make some real money and start my life. It’s more of a life decision than a ‘what team to go to’ decision.

Now, when you say, “Alberta,” I’m guessing you’re talking about working in the oil industry?

I think it’s pipeline stuff. It would be with my good buddy, Tyler Spikman. He’s actually out in Hawaii right now shooting some surfing stuff (that you’re into) for a couple weeks. December 1^st in the start date for the job, so I’ve got to make a quick decision here.

It’s big bucks though right?

Big bucks—I could pay off the truck, a bunch of bikes that I used to race in 2007 and 2008, and that one that I just bought, and maybe get some eye surgery. I’ve had a lazy eye since I was born.

Ya, you look a little like Jack Elam (joking).

‘Cricket…cricket…’

 Man, your references are always from the 1940s! I never know them.

That one actually might be from the ‘40s!

See, told you. You love history class or something!

Now, we’re out here for the KTM Canadian Arenacross Championships so who would you like to thank for getting you out here?

Ya, for sure I’d like to thank Cycle North for bringing me out here to help Ryan Lockhart. I think we made some big improvements from last weekend to this weekend. I did what I could for the time I was here and with the tools I had access to, so I think he made some big improvements.

Well, thanks for taking the time to chat with us and good luck with your big decision.

Thank you.

Update: Since this interview was done, Donk has pulled the trigger and made a decision. You will be very happy to hear that he isn't ready to let his moto dream die yet. He has, once again, packed all of his Ogio bags and is headed out to California to wrench for the same Ti Lube team that he did last winter. In Donk's words, "I gotta keep chasin' it!" The team will be riding Yamahas but the riders aren't 100% confirmed yet. Good luck, Donk. Great to hear you're going to give it another shot.

With Round 6 in the rear view mirror, I wanted to talk to one of the Hellams to get their thoughts on how they feel the series is going so far. I was able to grab John Hellam and here’s what he had to say on the state of the series:

John Hellam getting interviewed in England back in 2009. Bigwave photo

Hello, John. How did the weekend go here for rounds 5 and 6?

It went very well. The racing has been good all weekend. It was a little cold Friday so the crowd was a little low but we had a really nice crowd again tonight, the racing was good and we had lots of riders. We’ve seen the number of riders increase dramatically.

So, you say ridership was up? Is that for amateurs, pros, or both?

Ya, both were up. We’ve had good pro numbers all through the series but the amateurs had been a little quiet as has racing in BC altogether this past year, but it seems to be on the up-and-up now.

There’s a big break in the series until January 18-19. What do you do now?

Ya, with the availability of the venues there’s a break now until January, when we have the bike show in Abbotsford, so that’s usually a good couple days of racing. A lot of people come down after the show. We get a chance to catch our breath a little bit and get ready for the next ones.

How does the schedule work to finish this series up?

Well, there are two days of racing on January 18-19 and then the track stays in until the beginning of February when the final races will take place, so it will be available for practice. It’s usually cold and wet that time in BC so there’s really no place else to ride. If anyone wants to ride here it’s available.

Thanks for chatting with us tonight, John. Enjoy the break.

Thank you.

How's this for a little bit of reality thrown in to a thick mix of moto-dream soup?!

Wow, that’s a real eye-opener! Living the dream is one thing, but at the expense of the rest of your life gives one reason to rethink their approach to the sport. It’s a ‘catch 22’ situation: continue to get your education and risk not reaching your racing goals or skip school to meet your racing goals but risk coming up short in your life goals! Glad I don't have to make that choice. Actually, I'm so stupid I went to university and am still in this!

I saw this posted up on Facebook by several people. Whatever your sport, this Red Bull video will up your stoke on it and Canada in general!

 http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_CA/Video/Red-Bull-Playgrounds-021243279424356

I went on the Arenacross Tour website to see how round one in West Monroe, LA went last weekend. I was happy to see that Cole Thompson went undefeated in the Pro AX class as well as winning the Clash for Cash money. Maybe I can get down there for the back-to-back races down there in early December. We'll see how that goes...

Angela Monster moment. You're welcome. Bigwave photo

Ok, I have a terrible cold and am about to pack for my trip south to GPF, MTF, and the Mini O's with the Goheens. At least I know that I'm leaving today and won't have the same situation I had when I headed out west last week! That was not a good way to start an adventure. I haven't told them about my cold yet. I hope they have strong immune systems!

The weather here in Southwestern Ontario is supposed to be nice again this weekend, so I hope everyone gets the chance to grab some mid-November riding time wherever you are. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.

I'll leave you with this stop motion video that Guy B over on Vital MX had linked. Pretty impressive. I like how he even uses full-on dub step music and super slow motion jump sequences like so many other videos. Well done!