By Billy Rainford

Happy Monday Morning from soggy Southwestern Ontario. The rain has settled in here nicely over the past couple days with no end in sight! Of course, that’s not true. We will get to the end of this weather pattern at some point, but, man, there’s been a lot of rain in these parts.

In fact, they had to cancel second motos at Gopher Dunes for the AMO Provincial race on Sunday. And I’m sure you all know how much rain that sandy track can take, so that’s really saying something! Brett Lee was forced to cancel his round at Walton Raceway due to rain last week, too.

On the plus side, this rain means the Thames River that runs right through the middle of London, Ontario, is swollen up and overflowing its banks and that motivates us to bust out the kayaks.

My buddy, Neil Burnett, launching his boat at the ramp across from DMX World HQ in London. | Bigwave photo

I didn’t grow up as a canoeist or kayaker. This stuff is all pretty new to me, but it is so much fun that I’m talking all my friends into heading over to Costco or Canadian Tire to purchase cheap boats that are fine for what we’re doing.

It’s a pretty interesting way to see your city from an angle you wouldn’t witness otherwise. Check this out from a paddle a couple weeks ago:

With the temperature still up over 20 degrees Celsius, it’s still warm enough to not worry about what might happen is you swamped your little kayak. I don’t think anyone is going to freeze to death if a little swim happened.

Anyway, most cities and towns in Canada are built close to a waterway, so if you’re looking for something a little different you can do at a very low price, check it out and thank me later.

Welcome to Monday Morning Kayak Talk…

The big news this week is that it looks like Dylan Wright is going to get the chance to race the last few rounds of MXGP over in Europe. I mean, someone tell me when the last time a Canadian did this was?! I’m sure we had some guys back in the 1980’s race a few but who has done it more recently?

Liam O’Farrell raced them in 2006, but he was a full South African back then, so I’m not sure he counts any more than Kornel Nemeth who came over after racing the MXGP series. That’s not true, Liam counts more than Kornel, as far as “Canadians” racing over there, but still…

I’m hoping this conversation brings out someone like Carl Bastedo who can regale us with stories of Ross Pederson or Mike Harnden or someone who went over. Carl, you got yer ears on?

Anyway, here’s what we know about Dylan’s situation at this point:

Dylan Wright To Race Final Rounds of MXGP

Dylan Wright is headed to Europe! | Bigwave photo

Canadian two-time and defending 450 MX champion Dylan Wright is set to head back to Europe to race the final few rounds of the 2021 MXGP season

We’re told there had been hints of this happening even before the 2021 MXON at Mantova MX in Mantova, Italy last week, but, after watching Dylan ride in person, interest in acquiring his services to end out the season became even more likely.

In fact, Dylan sat with a team owner in the Team Canada pits to discuss the possibilities of him filling in for that particular team.

After speaking with GDR team owner Derek Schuster throughout this process, we’ve learned that Dylan would in fact be riding his Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing 450.

The team has kept a bike in Europe for him and are they are actively working on the plans that will have Dylan racing the final rounds taking place at tracks in Italy starting at the MXGP of Trentino on October 24th.

There’s a possibility we could see him over there as early as the MXGP of Spain on October 17th, but the final 5 rounds in Italy are most realistic at this point.

“Dylan is back in Ontario to ride/train while we sort out plans, get him registered, sort out racing number, etc..” said Derek Schuster.

We’ll know more this week as they sort out the finer details as to where he’ll be pitting while he’s in Europe.

Dylan at the 2021 MXON in Mantova, Italy. | Bigwave photo

October 10 – MXGP of France Lacapelle Marival

October 17 – MXGP of Spain intu Xanadú – Arroyomolinos

October 24 – MXGP of Trentino (ITA) Pietramurata

October 27 – MXGP of Pietramurata (ITA) Pietramurata

October 31 – MXGP of Garda (ITA) Pietramurata

November 7 – MXGP of Lombardia (ITA) Mantova

November 10 – MXGP of Città di Mantova (ITA) Mantova

Cool stuff. I guess I should have just stayed over there in Mantova!

Speaking of Mantova, I’m in the middle of editing a 30-minute video that will take you through Team Canada MXON‘s experience at the 2021 MXON at Mantova MX in Italy. Trying to decide which clips hit the editing room floor has become very difficult. Like I said before, maybe the clip where Tyler Medaglia and I discuss the merits of The Jerky Boys is where I draw the line? I don’t know!

Anyway, I’ll have to get this thing finished this week, so keep an eye out for it. It will be something you’ll want to sit down with a drink to watch on your smart TV, not something you’ll want to click on your phone while driving. Just saying.

Shelby Turner Wins again in Texas

Alberta racer Shelby Turner was back in action in the Endurocross series for Round 2 in Amarillo, Texas, this past weekend. The 4-time champion took yet another win.

Women Results

Pos  CompetitorTotal TimeDiffLapsBest LapBest Lap No.Best Speed

  1. 1 Shelby Turner 5:19.033 0.000 4 1:01.830 1 17.467 mi/h
  2. 31 Morgan Tanke 5:37.276 18.243 4 1:07.671 1 15.96 mi/h
  3. 77 Louise Forsley 6:08.637 49.604 4 1:07.367 3 16.032 mi/h
  4. 31L Allie Stambaugh 7:02.412 2 laps 2 1:50.623 2 9.763 mi/h

What is this, the CFL?! Out of 4 riders 2 were #31? Lol

FMSQ Cross Country Round 7

Victoriaville, PQ

Women’s Expert

1. Felicia Robichaud 

2. Véronique Pellerin-Chainé 

3. Catherine Desrochers

4. Rébecca Pellerin-Chainé

5. Véronique Vanier

6. Marika Hamel

7. Marie-Eve Langlois

8. Mélissa Meilleur

9. Gabrielle David

10. Juliette Libersan

Expert Men

1. 516 Francis Ouimette

2. 886 Alexandre Gougeon

3. 906 Loic Leonard

4. 611 David Bergeron

5. 2 Jake Michaud

6. 517 Jared Stock

7. 709 Marc-André Beaudoin

8. 249 Philippe Dagenais

9. 801 Guy Giroux

10. 586 Benjamin Blouin

Next on my list of races is the Future West Moto Arenacross Championships in Chilliwack, BC.

MXGP of Germany

MX2 – GP Classification
Pos Nr Rider Nat. Fed. Bike Race 1 Race 2 Total
1 959 Renaux, Maxime FRA FFM YAM 20 25 45
2 28 Vialle, Tom FRA FFM KTM 25 20 45
3 711 Hofer, Rene AUT AMF KTM 22 18 40
4 93 Geerts, Jago BEL FMB YAM 16 22 38
5 14 Beaton, Jed AUS MA HUS 18 16 34
6 74 de Wolf, Kay NED KNMV HUS 13 15 28
7 516 Laengenfelder, Simon GER DMSB GAS 15 10 25
8 426 Mewse, Conrad GBR ACU KTM 14 9 23
9 11 Haarup, Mikkel DEN DMU KAW 9 13 22
10 118 Rubini, Stephen FRA FFM HON 12 8 20
11 101 Guadagnini, Mattia ITA FMI KTM 8 11 19
12 198 Benistant, Thibault FRA FFM YAM 5 12 17
13 517 Gifting, Isak SWE SVEMO GAS 10 6 16
14 20 Todd, Wilson AUS ACU KAW 0 14 14
15 80 Adamo, Andrea ITA FMI GAS 7 7 14
16 39 Van De Moosdijk, Roan NED KNMV KAW 11 0 11
17 403 Boegh Damm, Bastian DEN DMU KTM 4 4 8
18 94 Facchetti, Gianluca ITA FMI KTM 1 5 6
19 192 Meier, Glen DEN DMU KTM 6 0 6
20 313 Polak, Petr CZE ACCR YAM 2 2 4
21 253 Pancar, Jan SLO AMZS KTM 0 3 3
22 766 Sandner, Michael AUT AMF KTM 3 0 3
23 87 Brumann, Kevin SUI FMS YAM 0 1 1
24 200 Zonta, Filippo ITA FMI HON 0 0 0
25 436 Greutmann, Nico GER DMSB HUS 0 0 0
26 730 Petrashin, Timur MFR MFR KTM 0 0 0
27 440 Appelt, Marnique GER DMSB KTM 0 0 0
28 199 Lambillon, Florent BEL FMB KTM 0 0 0
29 491 Haberland, Paul GER DMSB HON 0 0 0
30 300 Ludwig, Noah GER DMSB KTM 0 0 0
31 912 Rizzi, Joel GBR FFM HON 0 0 0
32 181 Vander Auwera, Julian BEL FMB HUS 0 0 0
 
MX2 – World Championship Classification
Pos Nr Rider Nat. Bike Total MFR GBR ITA NED CZE BEL LAT TUR TUR SAR GER FRA ESP TRE TRE TRE ITA ITA
1 959 Renaux, Maxime FRA YAM 448 15-12 25-22 15-22 12-18 16-22 22-20 25-25 18-25 25-22 22-20 20-25 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
2 93 Geerts, Jago BEL YAM 363 4-15 14-0 18-16 25-25 9-20 25-22 20-22 12-15 18-10 13-22 16-22 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
3 101 Guadagnini, M. ITA KTM 351 12-11 18-25 22-25 7-16 25-16 7-11 22-20 22-18 20-15 20-0 8-11 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
4 14 Beaton, Jed AUS HUS 324 14-10 0-13 16-14 22-20 20-13 13-16 18-8 20-20 9-20 8-16 18-16 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
5 28 Vialle, Tom FRA KTM 322 25-25 – – 0-0 – – 22-0 18-10 15-18 25-22 22-25 25-25 25-20 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
6 198 Benistant, T. FRA YAM 307 6-14 16-12 25-7 8-15 12-25 16-18 16-14 13-11 15-18 16-13 5-12 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
7 711 Hofer, Rene AUT KTM 303 16-18 0-20 10-15 18-11 11-18 10-9 13-15 16-16 12-16 12-7 22-18 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
8 74 de Wolf, Kay NED HUS 301 11-0 6-6 14-12 16-22 15-12 20-25 12-13 14-12 14-13 18-18 13-15 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
9 70 Fernandez, R. ESP HON 251 22-20 22-15 20-9 11-14 18-14 15-14 4-16 15-0 13-9 0-0 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
10 172 Boisrame, M. FRA KAW 223 18-22 20-14 13-18 9-10 10-15 14-13 10-6 11-1 8-4 7-0 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
MXGP – GP Classification
Pos Nr Rider Nat. Fed. Bike Race 1 Race 2 Total
1 243 Gajser, Tim SLO AMZS HON 20 25 45
2 84 Herlings, Jeffrey NED KNMV KTM 22 20 42
3 3 Febvre, Romain FRA FFM KAW 18 22 40
4 41 Jonass, Pauls LAT LAMSF GAS 15 18 33
5 91 Seewer, Jeremy SUI FMS YAM 13 16 29
6 259 Coldenhoff, Glenn NED KNMV YAM 14 15 29
7 222 Cairoli, Antonio ITA FMI KTM 16 11 27
8 189 Bogers, Brian NED KNMV GAS 12 14 26
9 61 Prado, Jorge ESP RFME KTM 25 0 25
10 89 Van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL FMB BET 11 12 23
11 919 Watson, Ben GBR ACU YAM 8 13 21
12 19 Olsen, Thomas Kjer DEN DMU HUS 9 8 17
13 22 Strijbos, Kevin BEL FMB YAM 6 9 15
14 303 Forato, Alberto ITA FMI GAS 7 7 14
15 77 Lupino, Alessandro ITA FMI KTM 0 10 10
16 16 Paturel, Benoit FRA FFM HON 5 5 10
17 10 Vlaanderen, Calvin NED KNMV YAM 10 0 10
18 32 Van doninck, Brent BEL FMB YAM 0 6 6
19 24 Simpson, Shaun GBR ACU KTM 3 2 5
20 326 Gilbert, Josh GBR ACU HUS 0 4 4
21 18 Brylyakov, Vsevolod MFR MFR HON 4 0 4
22 7 Jasikonis, Arminas LTU LMSF HUS 0 3 3
23 4 Tonus, Arnaud SUI FMS YAM 2 0 2
24 44 Lesiardo, Morgan ITA FMI HON 0 1 1
25 29 Jacobi, Henry GER DMSB HON 1 0 1
26 108 Ekerold, Stefan GER DMSB HUS 0 0 0
27 37 Krestinov, Gert EST EMF HON 0 0 0
28 66 Koch, Tim GER DMSB HUS 0 0 0
29 147 Sihvonen, Miro FIN SML HON 0 0 0
30 520 Clochet, Jimmy FRA FFM BET 0 0 0
31 226 Koch, Tom GER DMSB KTM 0 0 0
32 75 Roosiorg, Hardi EST EMF KTM 0 0 0
33 667 Nordström Graaf, Anton SWE SVEMO YAM 0 0 0
34 811 Sterry, Adam GBR ACU KTM 0 0 0
35 262 Stender, Mike GER DMSB YAM 0 0 0
36 152 Petrov, Petar BUL BMF HON 0 0 0
 
MXGP – World Championship Classification
Pos Nr Rider Nat. Bike Total MFR GBR ITA NED CZE BEL LAT TUR TUR SAR GER FRA ESP TRE TRE TRE ITA ITA
1 243 Gajser, Tim SLO HON 415 25-25 18-25 16-15 20-22 22-6 14-18 22-22 15-25 20-25 2-13 20-25 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
2 84 Herlings, J. NED KTM 413 18-22 20-18 15-25 25-0 – – 25-16 25-18 25-22 25-22 25-25 22-20 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
3 3 Febvre, Romain FRA KAW 407 22-15 14-22 25-9 18-18 20-11 22-25 16-20 18-18 18-16 20-20 18-22 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
4 61 Prado, Jorge ESP KTM 384 12-13 22-14 22-14 15-20 25-20 15-20 18-25 22-20 0-18 22-22 25-0 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
5 222 Cairoli, A. ITA KTM 353 20-0 25-20 20-20 13-25 15-25 20-14 20-15 16-16 22-20 – – 16-11 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
6 91 Seewer, Jeremy SUI YAM 309 15-16 13-16 13-13 16-11 16-22 16-13 12-14 14-14 7-8 15-16 13-16 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
7 41 Jonass, Pauls LAT GAS 287 0-20 15-15 14-18 14-8 0-15 18-22 15-6 20-0 16-15 8-15 15-18 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
8 259 Coldenhoff, G. NED YAM 263 11-3 16-12 18-22 22-0 18-18 12-8 14-0 13-10 13-2 11-11 14-15 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
9 77 Lupino, A. ITA KTM 195 16-18 12-8 3-12 7-7 13-13 0-0 13-12 8-15 12-13 0-3 0-10 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
10 919 Watson, Ben GBR YAM 192 1-0 10-11 12-10 12-15 10-9 9-12 8-11 1-2 10-0 14-14 8-13 – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Next Round: October 10 – MXGP of France Lacapelle Marival

OK, back to the editing room for me. Have a great week, everyone.