Frid’Eh Update #19 | Aaron Tanti | Brought to You by Dirt Care
Week #19 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update belongs to former Australian Motocross Champion Aaron Tanti and is brought to you by Dirt Care.
By Billy Rainford
Welcome to Week #19 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update brought to you by Dirt Care. We’ve made it to the final round of the 2025 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series which is the indoor portion of the SMX World Championship.
The 250 West series is all wrapped up after the win by #38 Haiden Deegan in Denver last Saturday night. 250 East is an incredible battle that will go right down to this Dave Coombs East/West Showdown Main. With only 3 points separating #1 Tom Vialle, #56 Seth Hammaker (-1), and #24 RJ Hampshire (-3). That’s 2 of last year’s Regional Champs vs. the rider who seems to have the most momentum right now. The battle will be between Davies and #23 Julien Beaumer for 2nd.
We’ll throw in the rest of the 250 west riders, so there will more than likely be a pretty big points swing when the dust settles and we’ve crowned a champion.
In the 450 class, #2 Cooper Webb just has to ride smart and this will be his 3rd SX Title to put him in some rarified air. But like he said, it’s not easy to go out and ride around for 2nd place in a 450 SX Main!
#32 Justin Cooper needs to gain 10 points to pass #94 Ken Roczen for 3rd place. Ken is currently sidelined with an ankle injury.
Let’s have a look at the 3 series points as we head into Salt Lake City:
Australian Aaron Tanti is rider #19 in Canada in 2025. I have to admit, I didn’t know what had happened to Aaron until I started looking into what he’s been up to leading up to this interview. Wow, he got horribly unlucky and then incredibly lucky! He actually broke his C1 vertebrae in a practice crash! Yikes. Fortunately, the story isn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.
We met Aaron last year when he picked up a ride for the Canadian Partzilla PRMX team for some Supercross and then came up to Canada to race our Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals.
I met him last spring at Steve Shore‘s track just south of London, Ontario, where he was trying the bike and getting ready for the series. We sat down in their shop and did an interview. You can watch that here:
He came into our series a little underprepared and was really starting to come into his own as we made our way toward Walton Raceway. He and #808 Preston Kilroy had some great battles.
Here’s a look at his season:
We got in touch with him this week and he went through his scary injury and what it means for his racing.
Direct Motocross: Hello, Aaron. I first met you at Steve Shore’s track just outside of London, Ontario, last spring, but you’ve been to North America well before that. In fact, you raced 5 rounds of 250 West Supercross back in 2020. Being from Australian, was racing Supercross always the dream?
Aaron Tanti: Racing AMA I would say is a lot of young motocross kids dream to race. I remember as a young kid watching, you know, Chad Reed, Ricky (Carmichael) and James Stewart racing on TV. Did I think I’d ever race it? Probably not, so yeah it was a dream come true.
Your best was a 9th in Oakland. That’s pretty good! However, you left for a few years. What did you get up to during those COVID years for racing etc.?
Yeah, it wasn’t too bad. Going back and looking at the guys who finished in front of me that year and where they are at is cool. I was actually meant to race in USA in 2021 but with COVID and not much being offered it was too risky financially for me so yeah I signed a deal in Australia, but we didn’t end up racing much that year. So I did a bit of labour work whilst racing was off. Then 2022 we went back to normal and I won the 450 championship which boosted opportunities for me.
Nice. You made your return in 2024 to race 450 SX. Can you tell us how you got connected with Julien Perrier and the PRMX team?
The connection was from Bayden, a manager of mine, but yeah, everything was looking good. I was riding SX well in 2023 until I got landed on in WSX which caused significant injuries and from there I was playing catch up. Once I got to the USA I only was there for a few weeks before I had a big off in the whoops which caused a shoulder injury requiring surgery as well.
Did you ever think you’d end up racing the Canadian Triple Crown Series? Was that something you even knew about?
Initially signing with PRMX there was talk of it so I was expecting to and I had followed the Triple Crown Series for a few years, so was cool to check it out.
You finished 4th in 450 points here last summer and landed on the podium twice in 3rd. Were you happy with your racing?
I think I was nowhere near my best, as I only had a short pre-season coming back from injury, but it was fun and some rides I was happy with, some I was not.
What did you think of our series? In my mind, it would compare with the Australian series, no?
It’s definitely similar to Australia in ways, but also so different in ways, so it’s hard to compare.
How did you like Canada? What was your favourite part and what didn’t you like?
Canada was cool, I got to travel around, you know. I had a camper and travelled to the races in that, going up north, the scenery and just different places was awesome to see. Also, the golf courses are top notch. Can’t say I didn’t like anything really.
What did you do when you left Canada at the end of the season?
When I left I had signed a deal with Honda to race the Australian SX series, so pretty much went home and started training for that.
You had a very scary crash that resulted in a halo due to a fractured C1. Can you take us through that ordeal? Are you 100% now?
Yeah look it wasn’t ideal, I was a few weeks into my pre-season training and I hit a rock essentially and just landed awkwardly. I didn’t think I broke my neck at the time. I got up ,got undressed and my partner took me to hospital as I had a concussion. From there it was all a shock really finding out what I had done. Wearing a halo for 12 weeks absolutely sucked! I am out of it now and back to doing some exercise and physio, but the bone still isn’t healed 100%.
You were planning on racing a Yamaha in the Australian MX championships, right? I don’t see your name in the results. What have you been doing?
I signed with the CDR Team again which was cool, I won my championship there. But with my injury I am on the sidelines now and am not sure when I will return. I’m hoping to maybe get the last few MX races in before prepping for SX. As for what I have been doing, it was pretty much nothing in the halo and now just physio and fitness.
What’s your plan for the future?
Future plan is to keep racing as long as I am competitive at the top level. My missus is due for our first child this month, so that plays in with my future too, but I’d love for her to see me race at a high level.
Wow, congratulations! Do you still work when you’re not riding or racing?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have not needed to work. I get payed pretty well in Australia for what I do and Yamaha has been good around my injury too, so it’s just full focus on getting back to the track.
Well, good luck in the future. We’d be happy to have you back in Canada.
We shall see. If the right opportunity is there, I’m sure my missus would love to spend a summer in Canada. Haha. But thank you for having me.
Bobby Gravel Injury Update
Bobby Gravel crashed hard in Pro Am moto 2 at Round 2 of the AMO Ontario Provincial Championships (OPC) at Auburn Hills MX He got off to a bad start and was trying to come through the pack after finishing 4th in moto 1.
The crash took him out of the race and to the hospital. Here’s what Bobby had to say about it a couple days later:
“I’m doing good now. I was knocked unconscious for a couple minutes after that crash.
“The track was getting dry and slick so when I came around the corner, the line drifted way out off the track and when I tried to get back on, my back end slid out one way and then shot back the other which threw me off the bike and into the face of the jump.
“After that, all I could remember was the medic asking me if I remembered where I was and to follow his finger. It took me a good 30 minutes to start remembering and clicking back into place.
“I went to the hospital the same night and had a CT scan that showed nothing wrong. I also bruised 2 of my fingers pretty good but nothing broken.
“I’m going to take the week off to let myself fully heal and to rest my head a little. Next week, we’re back in full grind mode to get ready for the Triple Crown Series “
Zach Ufimzeff Making Progress
#40 Zach Ufimzeff from Lake Country, BC was forced off the motorcycle last summer due to an unknown illness that was sapping so much of his strength that he literally had to switch hands while brushing his teeth he was so weak!
I saw him last week at Auburn Hills MX and talked to him about it all briefly.
He said he was starting to feel better but was in no way back to 100%. The toughest part about the whole thing is that they aren’t entirely sure what it is, exactly, and therefore don’t have an effective treatment for him.
He will ride for the Guaranteed Comfort Honda team in the 250 class alongside Dutch sand specialist Lars Van Berkel.
Speaking of Lars, I’d say he’s coming into this Canadian 450 season wayyy under the radar! However, I think he’s going to surprise some people once he gets some time on his new ride. He’s got to be one of the favourites on the sandy tracks in the east.
He hinted at coming to Canada in his latest Instagram post:
“Mid week races in France!🇫🇷 Old school track, lot of spectators, got a bike from @paez_racing, Harrie on the spanners, not enough training in yet, but had fun anyway🤟🏻Almost ready for my next adventure ✈️”
See you here, Lars. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do here.
Canadian Shelby Turner 4th in GNCC Points
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| WXC – Bike – Class Points | RND 1 | RND 2 | RND 3 | RND 4 | RND 5 | RND 6 | ||||
| Place | Make | Nbr | Name | Finish | Finish | Finish | Finish | Finish | Finish | Total Points |
| 1 | KAW | 001 | RACHAEL ARCHER | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 144 |
| 2 | HQV | 444 | KORIE STEEDE | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 135 |
| 3 | HON | 713 | TAYLA JONES | 5 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 116 |
| 4 | GAS | 550 | SHELBY A TURNER | 2 | DNF | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 101 |
| 5 | KTM | 482 | CARLY LEE | 10 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 79 |
| 6 | KAW | 924 | ADDISON J ELLIOTT | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 78 |
| 7 | KTM | 198 | BRANDY RICHARDS | 4 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 75 | ||
| 8 | KTM | 525 | ADDISON HARRIS | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 66 | |
| 9 | YAM | 412 | DANIELLE MCDONALD | 10 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 63 | ||
| 10 | YAM | 215 | ELLIE WINLAND | 7 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 62 | |
Next Round: Rd 7 – Hoosier Ironman Raceway Crawfordsville, IN – May 16 – May 18
41st Riviere du Loup Arenacross – May 24 | Practice May 23
From Google Translate:
FRIDAY PRACTICES & ONLINE REGISTRATION
Rivière-du-Loup on May 24. And you’re thirsty for the dirt bumps and adrenaline that come with the “Gate drop.” A few more online registrations and the “ONLINE” record will be beaten! Already full grids in the PW – 65cc – Supermini open, Junior, Factory and mountain bike classes small and large. Online registration closes on FRIDAY, MAY 23 AT 18:00 EDT.
The Rivière-du-Loup motocross organization invites you on Friday, May 23rd to the practice session from 14:00 – 16:00 for $20. Info for registrations and race program: https://my.races.ninja/ The schedule for the day is available on your MyRace account when you are registered. Simply choose the event and go to the tab: Race Program. The evening block is still in draft. It will be validated the week before the race.
Here’s the full SXQC schedule:
Have a great weekend, everyone. I’m going to close off this Supercross season with a group cycle followed by a group viewing from Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah – Home of the Utes!
Did I ever tell you the story of how it came to be that I was able to live in SLC from September to March back in the mid-90’s? This one also sounds like a story I should save for Monday Morning Coffee...
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