Thursday at Compound 138

By Billy Rainford

Brought to you by Leatt

When Partzilla PRMX team owner Julien Perrier mentioned he and the team would be doing some suspension testing over at Compound 138 just outside London on Thursday, I loaded up the van and headed their way as soon as possible.

He mentioned they be there with their latest rider acquisition in #533 Josiah Natzke from New Zealand. I definitely wasn’t going to miss this! Not to mention, I basically drive down one road to get to Steve Shore‘s track just south of the city.

On a good day, I can be out my front door and pulling onto the property in about 15 minutes, however, it’s construction season and that meant I had to double that time. I also have to factor in the requisite stop at Tim Horton’s for a large dark roast regular. In hindsight, I should have asked Julien and the gang if they’d have liked me to grab them something, but I didn’t.

I meant to be there at 11 but didn’t pull in until just after 11:30. No big deal, they had quite a bit of testing to do so I knew it would be a pretty full day of riding.

As always, there were a few other riders there getting ready for Round 4 of the Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals at Walton Raceway this weekend. A few riders who said they were coming ended up being no-show’s, but here’s a quick look through photos of the day.

#533 Josiah Natzke is 23 years old and is from New Zealand. He got in touch with Julien after I posted something on IG that Julien was none too pleased about, but look where we are now!
TCD’s Tim Bennett was on hand to get Josiah and his 450 teammate #577 Felix Lopez sorted out for this weekend.
Josiah was happy to grab the T-handles and get to work.
Tim at work in the box van.
If you get to Compound 138 early, you get the shady spot. It hit 32C and was fairly humid but definitely not unbearable.
After going on a road bike ride the day before, Zach Ufimzef and his dad were at the track getting ready for the eastern swing.
#3 Malia Garant finished 4th in the WMX West series and now hopes to defend her #3 or do better when the east series starts this weekend.
Hey Tim, while you’re here and I’m here…
#991 Brendan McKee just got here from Saskatchewan. No, I mean they drove straight to SRS and started riding! Gotta love that attitude.
Steve Shore having some fun on the 125. Should I mention that Hayden Jamieson forgot to take the bag off the air filter after he washed the bike? No? OK, I won’t.
Josiah impressed everyone on the track today. I think the 250 class just got even more interesting at the front.
He was putting in some very fast laps. We sat down for an interview so go check that out when you get a minute.
I’m looking forward to the Intermediate classes this weekend at the Parts Canada amateur races. #147 Hayden Jamieson and Tanner Scott have been having some great races, I’m told.
Felix took a couple days to recover from the heat in Manitoba so watch for him to be strong and fighting for a podium this weekend.
How often do you see a team owner washing bikes at the end of the day? The answer is not often. See you at the races…