Frid’Eh Update #19 | Noah Porter | Brought to You by Dirt Care
Week #19 belongs to Noah Porter from Williams Lake, BC and is brought to you by Dirt Care cleaners and lubricants
By Billy Rainford
Welcome to week #19 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update brought to you by Dirt Care. The weather is actually pretty nice right now, so I need to take full advantage of it. Spring has been an absolute write-off in Southwestern Ontario. After a really long winter, spring has not made us feel any better. I’ll keep this intro shorter than usual so I can get out on my Scott Spark MTB and do a loop of Fanshawe Lake from my house. It’s a pretty long ride and I’m not really ready for it, but when has that ever stopped any of us?! This one will be asking a lot from my Ryno Power Canada supplements!
Let’s get right to our rider of honour this week.
Noah Porter is the rider who earned #19 in his rookie 450 season. I like talking to these hard-working racers. Noah is realistic about his future after racing and has taken care of that by going to school and getting himself set up for the rest of his life. Great job, Noah.
He’s from up in Williams Lake, BC and was picked for the Rick Joseph Award at the 2023 TransCan at Walton Raceway “to recognize the character, achievements and potential of riders in the Intermediate class.” That’s a big honour.
He finished just 1 point behind Tanner Scott to finish 9th in the Canadian Makita Triple Crown Series in the 450 class. Here’s a look at his results:
For some reason, I always think he’s from Port Alberni, BC and I want to talk to him about surfing in Tofino. Who am I thinking of?
He’s had a very busy time since the series ended last August. We grabbed him to talk about everything and here’s what he had to say:
Direct Motocross: Hey, Noah. I haven’t seen you since the end of the 2025 Canadian Triple Crown Series last August. First, let’s have you sum up the series that took you from #44 to #19 for 2026. You finished 9th in the 450 class with a best overall of 6th down just 1 point behind Tanner Scott in the end. How did the summer go for you?
Noah Porter: Hey, Billy, nice to talk to you again.
2025 was a solid year. I came into it looking for a top 10 and I achieved my goal with a 9th overall. I was super stoked about that. It was a big learning curve in my rookie 450 year, so I didn’t know what to expect coming into it. The 6th place finish was in that moto in Ottawa, I was so happy that day!
You’re another one of our bigger riders. Can you give us your numbers? (Age, height, weight)
I’m 18 this year, 6’2” and 190 pounds.
Who was your racing hero growing up. I know you’re from Williams Lake, so is Brock Hoyer on the list?
Growing up, Brock Hoyer was definitely at the top of the list. It’s cool now that we are good friends, and his wife, Jenni, says we act like brothers when we are together. I also looked up to Jess Pettis because he grew up not far from me in PG and Shawn Maffenbeier. It was pretty sick that I lined up with him in Kelowna a few years ago. Now I get to work with him in my training this spring.
And you won the Rick Joseph Award at the 2023 TransCan at Walton Raceway. How cool was that for you?
It was really cool winning the Rick Joseph Award and being noticed as being one of the fast Intermediate guys to watch. I had no idea that I would be called up on that stage that night. It was really an honour to accept that award.
What did you get up to after the Nationals ended? What do you do for work?
After nationals I found out I made it into Camosun College for my second year Heavy Duty Mechanics Program. I was home for two weeks from Nationals before I left for Victoria, BC for school. I completed my second and third year back-to-back and was done in December. While I was away at school Dusty Rocks MX contacted me about being their 450 rider for the 2026 season. They wanted me to start training right away. They were really cool about me being in school until December, so I flew out New Years Eve to Mesquite to start training. I went back and forth a bit from Nevada to home and went to compete in the Rimby Arenacross Series too. I work for Peterson Contracting as Heavy Duty Mechanic. I am really lucky to have a boss that is cool with me leaving for moto when needed and getting to come back whenever I am home.
And you’re on the new Dusty Rocks MX team for the 2026 season. I know there were quite a few Canadians calling Mesquite home for the winter to train. How was that down there in Nevada?
Nevada was awesome and I felt like I gained some really good speed and control. It was cool that there were a lot of Canadians down there. I loved working with Preston Kilroy and hanging out with the boys from the GDR team when they were there. I have never had the opportunity to train in the states in the off season before. This was such an awesome opportunity, and I thank the Dusty Rocks team for making it happen for me.
And I see you even raced the off-road event there. How did that go and is that something you see yourself doing more of?
The off-road event was fun. I really enjoy doing those kinds of races and challenging myself in those three-hour events. I definitely see myself doing more races like that. I like to ride my dirt bike in any kind of racing. At home I like riding those off-road races with PNWMA races whenever I get the chance. I really like the Monkey Wrench 100 KM race in Lytton, BC.
Now you’re 2 rounds into the Future West Moto motocross season. I only see 1 small moto blemish on your results sheet where Lane Nuyens got the win over you. How has that racing been going?
It’s been fun being back at the local BC rounds. I liked coming back to Kelowna to show the speed that I gained in Mesquite, and to race against guys that I have battled for years. My clutch was slipping pretty bad on the first day in Kelowna, it was hard to get a decent start that day. Lane came out super strong in Kelowna, he’s a fast guy that worked hard the whole moto.
What does the rest of the pre-season look like for you?
Right now I’m in Calgary working on my bike with the Dusty Rocks crew. We are planning on doing rounds 3 and 4 of the Wild Rose Spring Summer Series. Then we will go back to Revelstoke to race round 3 of the Future West series. Then continue training in and around Calgary until round 1 of the Triple Crown Series.
What are your travel plans for this summer’s Makita Triple Crown Series?
Liam (Dodds), Chase (Nemeth) and I will be traveling with the Dusty Rocks truck and trailer for the whole Makita Triple Crown Series. You can come and find us at our cool new Dusty Rocks trailer!
Who’s going to take the 450 Supercross title, Kenny or Hunter?
I’d like Kenny to take it. He’s one of my favourite Supercross riders.
Is Supercross something you’ll look at doing in the future?
Of course! I think that would be the best experience.
OK, good luck with the rest of your pre-season and I’ll see you in Calgary at Round 1. Who would you like to thank?
Thanks Billy for the chat. I’d like to thank the Travis Deglow and the whole Dusty Rocks MX team, Yamaha Motor Canada, S5 Powersports, Devco Ride Dynamics, Seco Seat Cover, Firstline Graphics, Gibson Tyre Canada, Matrix Concepts Canada, Fox Moto and my mom and dad for all the support.
Final Round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross in Salt Lake City
It all comes down to this coming Saturday night in Salt Lake City. Have I ever bored you stories of my 9 months living in SLC? Sure I have, but I bet I could come up with a new tale you haven’t heard! Ok, I hear you, that can wait for another day.
#94 Ken Roczen goes into the day with a 1-point lead over #96 Hunter Lawrence. Oh, I haven’t looked yet, but has anyone come up with a witty meme about the “Hunta”virus yet?
Having been at a bunch of SX races this season, I can tell you who the crowd favourite is, and it’s no contest. The fans go absolutely crazy for Kenny. He’s been through a lot and I think everyone just wants to see him get a title before he inevitably walks away from the sport.
On the other hand, Hunter is still young and has many years ahead of him. Of course, this was the 450 Supercross season without Jett Lawrence or Haiden Deegan, so it is definitely not going to get any easier.
If it were to rain, I’d give the advantage to Kenny, but in dry conditions I like Hunter’s chances for this title. That’s thinking with my head and not my heart. Yes, of course I’d like to see the older rider with the kickstart win the title, but I think he’ll need some help to get it done.
Check this out, let’s say they finished one after another in positions that are only separated by 1 point with Hunter on top, a tie would force them to count the total number of 2nd place finishes each have to determine the champion.
Hunter has 5 and Kenny has 3…
This race also marks the final time we’ll see Haiden Deegan race a 250 in the series. He’s already clinched the 250 West Regional title and is looking to add to his race wins for the record books.
He scored his 7th win of the season, which is tied for the 3rd most wins in a single 250SX Class season. A victory in the final would tie Ricky Carmichael’s record of 8 wins he compiled in 1998. Additionally, it was the 14th win of his 250SX Class career which officially moves him alone in 2nd on the all-time list. A victory in the final would put him at 15, missing James Stewart by a single victory.
Standing in his way will be his 250 East teammate #37 Cole Davies from New Zealand. I’d say Deegan has the entire field covered in speed but who knows who will want to get their name in the books as being the one who stopped Haiden’s streak? You know #47 Levi Kitchen would love to!
Pre-Race Press Conference:
And I want to wish Brown Dog Wilson all the best with his hip replacement recovery. He went in at noon pacific time today and will still be under the hammer and chisel when this column gets posted. If you have sore hips and are thinking you may be heading this way yourself, do not…I repeat, do not search it on YouTube!
Our Old Friend Cade Clason is Calling it a Career
I have a lot of stories I could tell about getting to know Cade Clason over the years. I first met him when he was training at Waldo MX in Florida back in 2011. I won’t go into too much detail here in this column, but he raced in Canada for many years and was actually staying at our house in London the morning we got the news that Jeff McConkey had taken his own life. Jeff and Cade were pretty close too, so you can imagine how deep this one cut.
He’s heading into Salt Lake City to put a bow on his career. I’m sorry I won’t be there to share this with him and his longtime team Partzilla PRMX 🇨🇦. Good luck this weekend, Cade, and it sounds like you have a good handle on your future, so that makes me smile, and I’m happy to have been able to contribute a few clips and pics for this project. Check out this video bio done by Cameron Bushey from Six Five Films:
We’re now just one month away from the 2026 Canadian Makita Triple Crown Series Motocross Nationals. Teams are all pretty much set up and we’re hoping to have close racing in every class.
The question is the same in both of the Pro classes: Can Jess Pettis run the pace of Dylan Wright in the 450 class and can anyone go with Preston Kilroy in the 250 class.
Jess won moto 2 at Round 2 in Cold Lake by 1:16 over eventual series champion Phil Nicoletti. Jess has everyone else covered.
How about newcomer Harri Kullas on his Red Bull KTM 450? I have to think he’s going to be in this conversation, but we won’t know for sure until the gate drops at Round 1 in Calgary on June 7th.
We’ll have Vincent Wey, Ryder Malinoski, and Kade Johnson up from the USA to battle in the 250 class. I’d say, if you are the top American amateur rider about to turn Pro, you’ve got the speed to win our championship. I don’t know if we’ve seen Kilroy on the limit yet, but I think we’ll find out this season if he wants to beat these guys.
In the WMX class, I think we can all agree that Jordan Jarvis should be the rider to beat, but she is going to be running herself a little bit ragged, doing both the AMA WMX series and then taking a red-eye flight to race our series the following day on some weekends, including Round 1.
Can Jamie Astudillo take advantage of that and give her a run for her money? I sure hope so, otherwise this is going to be a pretty boring series at the front.
Behind them, it will be interesting to see if some of our homegrown riders have improved enough to run with the hired guns in the class.
We have to be looking at Kaylie Kayer, Katrine Ferguson, Brandy McLarty, Amelie Croteau, Kiana Kurtz, and Hannah Cole as the riders with the best chance at closing the gap.
I’d say, if Jordan and Jamie go 1-2 every week, there should be a very good battle for the final spot on the podium.
The build-up to a new season is always full of questions and debates like this, and 2026 is definitely no different.
If this is the last time we’re at Wild Rose MX in downtown Calgary, Alberta, I really hope it looks better than it did last year. Let’s go out with a bang if we can!
I also heard Steve Shore‘s Compound 138 track just south of London will be open from 10-4 on Saturday. Hmm, do I have time for everything? And, more importantly, do I want anyone to see just how rusty my riding is?
Have a great weekend, everyone. Enjoy what should be one of the most exciting finishes to a season of 450 Supercross we’ve seen in years! Cheer on your favourite and then let’s get ready for some AMA Pro Motocross!
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