Frid’Eh Update #25 | Casey Keast | Presented by Fox Racing Canada
By Billy Rainford
I’m finally sitting at the desk in my office at home (I actually moved to the backyard halfway through). I’ve been away for a full 2 months and it feels great to be back to some sense of normalcy. Of course, I always say this and then can’t wait to get back on the road in no time. Fortunately, the next couple Nationals are only one hour away from our place here in London, so that will be nice.
Casey Keast is the rider who holds #25. Casey is sort of an enigma in Canadian MX. He’s a rider who came up through the amateur ranks with all eyes on him and his results. He went south to race some AMA Supercross in 2021 but ended up getting hurt and headed home to BC earlier than he’d planned. Then he had that scary crash as they limped along the side of the highway.
He came back late last summer to race the SX portion of our series and went 3-4-7-4 to tie Davey Fraser for 3rd in the 450 class. He showed he obviously still has the ability to go fast.
I wasn’t able to get in touch with him this week to find out what he’s been up to lately. Before we did our 2022 I spoke with him briefly and all he could really tell me was that he was “currently out for the foreseeable future.”
That really sucks because I think that if we don’t see him on the line again he will go down as one of those riders with all the potential in the world but one for whom the stars didn’t align properly and we never really got to see what he could accomplish. Maybe he’ll sit back this summer and try to get ready for another run at some SX down south, but I’m not really clinging to that hope.
What Have We Learned after 3 Rounds of MX Nationals?
We’re now on a one-weekend break between the west and eastern swings of the 2022 Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals. Here’s what we’ve learned so far:
It’s great to be back out west. We need one more round out there to even things out. Kamloops, Drumheller, and Pilot Mound this summer were nice but it would be good to find one more track that is close to one of the cities out there.
People in Manitoba kept kicking Grunthal around but it sounds like recent urban development will take it off the list of possible sites for a National.
Do we try to go back to Nanaimo? I don’t think anyone liked the added cost of getting across to Vancouver Island on the BC Ferries, but it definitely felt like a cross-Canada series heading over there.
I do think we need to keep proximity to big cities and the TransCanada Highway in mind. As nice as the facility was at Prairie Hill MX last weekend, there were very few people at the race. I haven’t done the study to see how far fans are willing to drive to see one of our events, but it seems like maybe we’ve found the limit. The strong winds Saturday and then the 38C temperature on Sunday did not help.
Also, I was staying in Kamloops for the month leading up to Round 1 at Whispering Pines. My sister lives there and nobody they know had any idea there was a big event like this coming up. In fact, my sister’s husband got in touch with his friend at one of the local radio stations to try and get me on there for a promotional interview. It didn’t materialize but I think it points to another of our issues getting our sport to the masses.
I’ve been at the races so I don’t know what the new RYDE TV streaming platform is like. I hope it’s been a positive experience for anyone who hasn’t been able to be at the races in person. Please let us know in the comments how it’s been for you.
FXR PreMix
Historically, this class has been full of former Pro racers who are putting the fun back in the sport for them and racing 125’s and 150’s. That wasn’t the case in the west. Only #981 Marty Madsen fit that description. The class was just a Schoolboy 1 class run on Sunday at the first 3 rounds.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I just thought we’d have seen more old Pro riders out to have some fun. Let’s see what we get when the series fires up at Walton Raceway in a couple weeks.
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WMX West
The fact that WMX riders are able to race both classes now meant that 6-time champion Eve Brodeur was in attendance to pad her already impressive numbers. She is one of the lucky few who gets support from one of the big teams and therefore had the advantage of having GasGas Cobequid Callus with her out there. #3 Malia Garant was also there and she rides for the Partzilla PRMX team.
Eve left Manitoba as the 7-time champ.
I was most impressed with the riding style of #912 Kaylie Kayer. I think it’s worth repeating that she did every huge jump in that crazy wind on the first lap of practice on Saturday. If you were there, you saw how impressive and scary that was.
Kaylie is the 18-year-old from Savona, BC and I really hope we see lots of her in the future because she has the potential to push the established WMX riders aside on her way to the front.
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250 Class
There are specific reasons to watch both Pro classes this year. When talking about the 250 class, the battle between #1 Jake Piccolo and #229 Mitchell Harrison has been the best thing on the track. It’s been amazing and this series is anyone’s guess right now.
We’re yet to see #64 Ryder McNabb at the top of his game, but it’s most certainly coming. #46 Marco Cannella is trying to keep up with the youngsters in the class and seems to be going in the right direction. #14 Quinn Amyotte has been very impressive so far this season. If everything goes well for him, he should land on the podium soon.
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450 Class
The thing we have to get excited about in the 450 class this summer is the very real possibility that #1 Dylan Wright runs the table. There isn’t anyone who can run his pace in the class right now. I know that isn’t going to sit well with some of the top guys, but I think it’s the truth. If anyone got close, Dylan most assuredly has more in the tank that he could use if needed.
#5 Tyler Medaglia is defying time and is obviously our 2nd faster 450 rider this season. It’s great to see the fire still burning so bright in him and he won’t be happy until he’s the rider to break Dylan’s shutout.
Behind these 2 it seems to be anyone’s guess who will be 3rd. I think it should be #3 Shawn Maffenbeier on a normal day, but we’ve seen newcomer to the class #84 Tanner Ward show that he can run this pace. I also think we’re going to see the Mexican rider #577 Felix Lopez shine at a few tracks in the east.
The field tends to break up quite a bit behind these riders. #573 Chris Blackmer is now nursing a sore leg but should get himself in this conversation once he’s had this break to heal.
#10 Keylan Meston likely won’t make another appearance at the races. He did hint that there’s a slim chance he’ll show up at the final round at Walton 2, so we’ll see.
#26 Westen Wrozyna has impressed me. He’s just off the pace of a couple of the riders ahead of him but I think this break will do him and his team some good and he’ll keep being more and more of a threat to the couple riders that are just ahead of him.
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CCAN Started Today
The first annual Central Canadian Amateur Nationals (CCAN) started today out at TransCanada Moto Park near Brandon, Manitoba.
Here’s the race schedule:
If you want to follow along with the racing action, go to MyLaps Speedhive app HERE.
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Standings
Next Round: RedBud – Saturday, July 2nd.
Video | Trystan Hart 3rd at Red Bull Erzbergrodeo
Canadian Trystan Hart finished 3rd at the 2022 Red Bull Erzbergrodeo Hard Enduro.
Eisenerz (AUSTRIA) – Manuel Lettenbichler of Germany has beaten 1200 competitors and a mountain called the Iron Giant to triumph at the 26th edition of Austria’s iconic Red Bull Erzbergrodeo.
Of the 500 riders who qualified for Sunday’s main event just eight mastered the 35.2km course within the four-hour time limit with Lettenbichler leading the whole way. In second place was Spanish rider Mario Roman with Canada’s Trystan Hart third.
Here’s a look:
Shelby Turner 3rd in US Sprint Enduro Series
| PRO WOMEN (100cc-Open) – by Place | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Rider# | Rider Name | Brand | 1/22 R1D1 |
1/23 R1D2 |
2/12 R2D1 |
2/13 R2D2 |
2/26 R3D1 |
2/27 R3D2 |
3/19 R4D1 |
3/20 R4D2 |
4/2 R5D1 |
4/3 R5D2 |
4/23 R6D1 |
4/24 R6D2 |
5/28 R7D1 |
5/29 R7D2 |
6/18 R8D1 |
6/19 R8D2 |
Total |
| 1 | 1W | TAYLA JONES | HUS | 30 1 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 360 | ||||
| 2 | 444W | KORIE STEEDE | KTM | 25 2 | 25 2 | 25 2 | 25 2 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 25 2 | 25 2 | 25 2 | 30 1 | 30 1 | 25 2 | 320 -40 | ||||
| 3 | 50W | Shelby Turner | KTM | 21 3 | 21 3 | 21 3 | 21 3 | 18 4 | 18 4 | 21 3 | 21 3 | 21 3 | 21 3 | 21 3 | 21 3 | 246 -114 | ||||
| 4 | 90 | PRESTIN RAINES | YAM | 16 5 | 18 4 | 16 5 | 18 4 | 16 5 | 18 4 | 18 4 | 18 4 | 138 -222 | ||||||||
| 5 | 17W | RACHEL GUTISH | GG | 21 3 | 21 3 | 18 4 | 16 5 | 18 4 | 16 5 | 110 -250 | ||||||||||
| 6 | 2W | Brandy Richards | KTM | 21 3 | 21 3 | 42 -318 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | 8W | Kaitlyn Jacobs | KTM | 21 3 | 21 3 | 42 -318 | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | 469 | Jamie Astudillo | KTM | 15 6 | 15 6 | 30 -330 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | 5W | SHERYL HUNTER | HUS | 14 7 | 14 7 | 28 -332 | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | 777 | JOCELYN BARNES | KAW | 18 4 | 0 | 18 -342 | ||||||||||||||
That’ll do it for this week. Enjoy your “off” weekend before we get back to action for the final few weeks of summer.
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