Photo Report | Canadian Triple Crown | Round 2 – Kamloops

By Billy Rainford

It was Round 2 of the 2023 Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals at Whispering Pines near Kamloops, BC on Sunday. After what can only be described as a disappointing first round, we were treated to a great track and conditions for Round 2. This track was rough and tough and exposed riders’ weaknesses and strengths.

Let’s have a more detailed look at the racing.

250 Class

It was cool to see that Austin Black had made the trip to Kamloops to race Round 2. He qualified up near the top from the B Group but then his day went sideways. He’s scored a 40-DNF but I didn’t see what happened to him.

#171 Ryan Lalonde was 30th in moto 1 on his 2-stroke but then took a DNF in moto2 for 37th.

Tough round for #44 Dylan Rempel. He took a DNF in both motos and will be looking to rebound this week in Calgary. I saw some smoke and apparently there was also fire…

It’s great to see #574 Charles Charlton back at the races after his scary crash last summer at Sand Del Lee. 36-31 motos put him in 34th.

#409 Brennan Schofield from Nova Scotia crashed hard during the WCAN. He tried to race on Sunday anyway but said he was hurting. 22-21 left him back in 24th.

#315 is Danny Perry from Alaska. He had a solid 2nd moto 18th in the tough conditions and rounded out the top 20 with a 26th in moto 1.

#43 Clayton Schmucki won our Ryno Power Privateer Performance of the Week in Edmonton and was consistent with 18-16 motos for 17th.

#19 WYatt Kerr got off to a great start in the first moto and crossed the line in 7th. He had another good start in moto 2 but a crash and a small bike issue kept him back in 19th for 14th overall.

We’ve yet to see the real #12 Sebastien Racine. He was outside the top 10 with 13-12 motos and 13th overall. For the rider who placed 3rd in the series last summer, this is a slow start. Let’s watch for a rebound week in Calgary.

What can you say about the Intermediate youngster #56 Blake Davies?! He’s already a factor out there and placed 17-8 for 12th.

Blake’s MVP teammate is #33 Tanner Scott, another youngster in the class. He too raced the WCAN all week and then finished 10-13 to just miss the top 10 this week.

Tough day at the office for #84 Tanner Ward. He ended up way back in 16th in moto 1, told his team it was all on him, and then went out to finish a much better 6th in moto 2 for 10th.

Keep an eye on #30 Tyler Yates from Duncan, BC. He was solid this weekend with 9-11 motos for 9th. He keeps getting closer to the pace of the leaders.

#173 Hunter Schlosser from Texas is enjoying his time in Canada so far. He was in some good battles and finished 8-9 for 8th. He also had breakfast at the same restaurant as we did on Monday.

It’s also cool to have #61 Noah Viney here in Canada this summer. He’ll fill in on the GDR team for the injured Jake Piccolo. Here he is fighting for position with #14 Quinn Amyotte. 6-10 put him 7th.

#441 Jyire Mitchell crashed in moto 1 while he was up in the mix and struggled to get the bike unstuck, finishing 11th. He came back strong and placed 5th in moto 2 for 6th. When he puts 2 motos together he’ll be on the podium.

#14 Quinn Amyotte came into the weekend feeling under the weather. He managed to crash both motos and said he just couldn’t breathe. He’s also appealing a points deduction for an infraction so we’ll wait and see what the result is from that. 5-7 for 5th still isn’t bad.

I wasn’t 100% sure where #126 Kaven Benoit would fit into this class after so many years away from the races but he’s picked up right where he left off! He finished 2-4 and looked great again for 4th.

Although #8 Mitchell Harrison was 3-3 for 3rd, he wasn’t happy with his first moto and fell pretty hard in the 2nd but was still in the fight. However, he’s also appealing a points deduction.

#23 Josiah Natzke is quietly in this title fight after 2 rounds. With all the attention on the 2 KTM riders, he’s right there for the wins. 4-2 tied him in points with Harrison and Benoit.

I know we’re only 2 rounds in, but the rest of the field should be worried about the pace of #1 Ryder McNabb. He handled everyone with ease on a gnarly track, putting to rest any concerns about his leg or his fitness. Someone better do something fast!

250 podium: Ryder McNabb, Josiah Natzke, Mitchell Harrison.

The 250 points are in appeal at the time of this posting.

ROUND 2 KAMLOOPS – 6/11/2023
KAMLOOPS, BC

250 PRO / AM

Overall	Nbr	Name	Moto 1	Moto 2
1st	#1	RYDER MCNABB MINNEDOSA, MB	1st	1st
2nd	#23	JOSIAH NATZKE NEW ZEALAND	4th	2nd
3rd	#8	MITCHELL HARRISON LEESBURG, FL	3rd	3rd
4th	#126	KAVEN BENOIT QUEBEC, QC	2nd	4th
5th	#14	QUINN AMYOTTE WETASKIWIN, AB	5th	7th
6th	#441	JYIRE MITCHELL HAMER, SC	11th	5th
7th	#61	NOAH VINEY MURRIETA, CA	6th	10th
8th	#173	HUNTER SCHLOSSER EL PASO, TX	8th	9th
9th	#30	TYLER YATES DUNCAN, BC	9th	11th
10th	#84	TANNER WARD WOODSTOCK, ON	16th	6th
11th	#33	TANNER SCOTT ORO MEDONTE. ON	10th	13th
12th	#56	BLAKE DAVIES MISSION, BC	17th	8th
13th	#12	SEBASTIEN RACINE CASSELMAN, ON	13th	12th
14th	#19	WYATT KERR CAMBRIDGE, ON	7th	19th
15th	#28	SAM GAYNOR FLESHERTON, ON	12th	15th
16th	#50	AUSTIN JONES ONTARIO	14th	14th
17th	#43	CLAYTON SCHMUCKI RED DEER, AB	18th	16th
18th	#31	ZACH UFIMZEFF WETASKIWIN, AB	15th	34th
19th	#48	DEVYN SMITH MAPLE RIDGE, BC	21st	17th
20th	#315	DANNY PERRY ALASKA	26th	18th
21st	#59	BRYCE WADGE STONEWALL, MB	19th	33rd
22nd	#600	NOAH PORTER WILLIAMS LAKE, BC	31st	20th
23rd	#648	AUSTIN ROBERTS TEXAS	20th	32nd
24th	#409	BRENNAN SCHOFIELD FALMOUTH, NS	22nd	21st
25th	#53	MARCUS DEAUSY 150 MILE HOUSE, BC	38th	22nd
26th	#121	KALE CUTHBERTSON 23140 TWP 272, AB	25th	23rd
27th	#225	TRISTAN DARES ROCKWOOD, ON	32nd	24th
28th	#81	JOSH BRYAN OCALA, FL	23rd	25th
29th	#930	LIAM DODDS REVELSTOKE, BC	28th	26th
30th	#52	TANNER MERRICK DAWSON CREEK, BC	34th	27th
31st	#86x	CARTER ROBERTS BC	29th	28th
32nd	#228	RYDER ZACKRISSON WEYBURN, SK	33rd	29th
33rd	#246	CHANCE BLACKBURN WASHINGTON	24th	30th
34th	#574	CHARLES CHARLTON KAMLOOPS, BC	36th	31st
35th	#44	DYLAN REMPEL BRESLAU, ON	37th	35th
36th	#181	ALEX GATT PENTICTON, BC	27th	36th
37th	#171	RYAN LALONDE VICTORIA, BC	30th	DNF
38th	#155	SPENCER DELEYE SIMCOE, ON	35th	DNF
39th	#238	JACOB WESTON LANGLEY, BC	39th	DNF
40th	#55x	AUSTIN BLACK OR	40th	DNF

450 Class

#105 is Nathan Williamson from Manitoba. He looked like he was enjoying himself right to the last lap of moto 2. 32-31 put him 32nd overall.

#448 is Cole Conn from Saskatchewan. He cracked the top 30 with 29-27 motos for 28th.

I know #34 Ryan Derry was chasing some setting this week during the WCAN. He’s faster than his 22-29 motos for 23rd show. Let’s see what he’s got in Calgary.

#41 Brendan McKee saved a crash that had Zane Mellafont clapping for him on his way by. He was up in the mix in 13th in moto 1 but had issues in moto 2 for 25th and 16th overall.

While concentrating on the battles at the front, I kept one eye on the moto 2 battle between #716 Todd Minnie and #65 Anthony Spadaccini. Todd ended up 13th (17-12) and Anthony was 15th (20-13).

#777 Brendan Sipple is up from Texas. He’s showing some good speed and ended up 14-16 for 14th.

It was good to see #476 Colin Jurin and his dad up racing in Canada again. I think he’s only doing the one round. He cracked the top 10 in moto 1 and then finished 14th in moto 2 for 12th.

It was all 1’s for Davey Fraser in Kamloops. 11-11 for 11th for the #11.

#20 Jeremy McKie had to dig deep this weekend. He wasn’t feeling well and even considered sitting out moto 2 but went out a snagged a solid result. He’s a great starter and will work his way closer to a top 5 finish soon. 12-8 put him 10th.

It looked to me like #26 Julien Benek rode well within himself and he still finished 9-9 for 9th. He came down with the flu that was going around and scored some valuable points.

#936 Andy Truyts has been a nice addition to our 450 class. He’ll be a top 8 threat on every track this season. 7-10 put him 8th.

#22 Tyler Gibbs just proved to himself that he can be in the fight for 5th place in this 450 class. He came close in the 2nd moto and finished a 8-6 for 7th. Not bad for the rider who bought a 450 the week before the series started!

Speaking of good performances, #18 Parker Eales won our Ryno Power Privateer Performance of the Week. The full-time worker finished a very impressive 6-7 for 6th for his best 2-moto result.

#25 Daniel Elmore finds himself in no man’s land. He’ll usually have 6-40 covered but needs a bit more to challenge the top 4. 5-5 put him 5th.

I could tell #15 Jess Pettis wasn’t happy with Kamloops when I considered trying to talk to him during my Walk and Talk and he just walked right on by. He was a little off the top 3 pace this week, but I think he should be happy to be moving on healthy. 4-4 put Jess 4th this week.

2-2 for 3rd is a weird result, but when the winners trade places that’s what happens. #3 Shawn Maffenbeier is proving us all right and is going to be in this fight for 2nd place all summer long. (I said it like that to light a fire).

#5 Tyler Medaglia put himself in position to take advantages of the mistakes by Dylan Wright to take the win in moto 1. He came back in moto 2 and finished 3rd to take 2nd overall.

A couple things about #1 Dylan Wright from the weekend: he can still get a little feisty when he’s heading to the front, and he doesn’t take finishing anywhere but first lightly. He moved over on Maff when he was going by but Shawn hit the brakes and avoided possible contact and Dylan was the one who went down. Afterward Shawn had a few words for him and then Dylan and Justin Petker talked about the race with very straight faces. Winners win, folks. He traded wins with T-Dags to take the overall (3-1).

450 podium: Dylan Wright, Tyler Medaglia, Shawn Maffenbeier.

450 PRO

Overall	Nbr	Name	Moto 1	Moto 2
1st	#1	DYLAN WRIGHT DRUMMONDVILLE, QC	3rd	1st
2nd	#5	TYLER MEDAGLIA BROOKFIELD, NS	1st	3rd
3rd	#3	SHAWN MAFFENBEIER KAMLOOPS, BC	2nd	2nd
4th	#15	JESS PETTIS PRINCE GEORGE, BC	4th	4th
5th	#25	DANIEL ELMORE TELKWA, BC	5th	5th
6th	#18	PARKER EALES MAPLE RIDGE, BC	6th	7th
7th	#22	TYLER GIBBS MISSION, BC	8th	6th
8th	#936	ANDY TRUYTS WETASKIWIN, AB	7th	10th
9th	#26	JULIEN BENEK MISSION, BC	9th	9th
10th	#20	JEREMY MCKIE BELOEIL, QC	12th	8th
11th	#11	DAVEY FRASER LANGLEY, BC	11th	11th
12th	#476	COLLIN JURIN WA	10th	14th
13th	#716	TODD MINNIE PRINCE GEORGE, BC	17th	12th
14th	#777	BRENDAN SIPPLE AUSTIN, TX	14th	16th
15th	#65	ANTHONY SPADACCINI CUMBERLAND, ON	20th	13th
16th	#41	BRENDAN MCKEE LLOYDMINSTER, SK	13th	25th
17th	#62	TYLER SHEWCHYK HAMILTON, ON	25th	15th
18th	#787	LAYNE NUYENS LAKE COUNTRY, BC	15th	DNF
19th	#83	MAX DAY LAKE COUNTRY, BC	16th	22nd
20th	#538	ADDISON EMORY IV QUEEN CREEK, AZ	21st	17th
21st	#89	KEVIN SULLIVAN ON	18th	20th
22nd	#125	CHARLIE JOHNSTON CALGARY, AB	24th	18th
23rd	#34	RYAN DERRY THORNHILL, ON	22nd	19th
24th	#711	NICK COLLINS CALGARY, AB	19th	24th
25th	#55	CALE KUCHNICKI EATON RAPIDS, MI	23rd	21st
26th	#91	ETHAN OUELLETTE CAMPBELL RIVER, BC	35th	23rd
27th	#112	CORY STEEVES PEACHLAND, BC	26th	26th
28th	#448	COLE CONN SWIFT CURRENT, SK	29th	27th
29th	#585	BRADLEY LUDWIGSEN BLAINE, WA	30th	28th
30th	#641	TOMMY FLORA JR WA	31st	29th
31st	#941	KELSON AMMONS	34th	30th
32nd	#105	NATHAN WILLAMSON MB	32nd	31st
33rd	#174	ZANE MELLAFONT DUNCAN, BC	28th	32nd
34th	#996	CAMERON BIRNIE ON	33rd	33rd
35th	#113	BRADEN SPANGLE WA	27th	DNF
36th	#923	ADAM HAYCOCK FORT ST. JOHN,	36th	DNF
37th	#289	CONNOR PAUL	37th	DNF
38th	#73	ERIK HARVEY FORT ST. JOHN, BC	38th	DNF

We’re off to Wild Rose in Calgary this weekend.

Photo Report | Canadian Triple Crown | Round 2 – Kamloops