Report provided by CMRC Media
After some early morning cloud, the sun was shining as the Pleasant Valley Motorsport Park in Truro, Nova Scotia hosted Round 7 of the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals, presented by Motovan, for the first time in 14 years. The racetrack in Pleasant Valley is the first of back to back races in the Maritimes. The start is a tight, short, left hand turn and is very important on a track that is not easy to make passes. On a hot and sunny day, race fans had the opportunity to see their favourite riders negotiate around a finesse track, as the main line got slicker as the day progressed.
MX1
After finishing off the podium last weekend for only the second time this season, KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Davi Millsaps made a statement at Pleasant Valley in Round 7, going 1-1 for the overall win and extending his points lead in the series. Millsaps was the fastest qualifier; he led all but lap 1 of the first moto after getting a good start and going into the lead early on the second lap. He ran away in Moto 1 and after grabbing the Royal Distributing Holeshot in the second moto, led every lap and again posted the fastest lap time, just as he did in the first moto. After the race, Davi said that he was finally able to practice this week after hurting his ribs in a practice crash after Round 4.
Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha’s Brett Metcalfe took the Royal Distributing Holeshot in the first moto. After being quickly passed by Millsaps, he spent the rest of the race in second where he would finish. In Moto 2, Metcalfe again got a good start and after getting by Tyler Medaglia on the inside of an off camber left turn and in to second place, would finish the moto there again for second overall on the day. Brett moved past his teammate Matt Goerke and into second place in the series standings, but lost ground to point’s leader Millsaps and sits 35 points back. After the race he said, “It was hard to get traction out there today. Davi rode great and didn’t make any mistakes.”
It was a very successful homecoming for Parts Canada Husqvarna’s Tyler Medaglia, who earned his first podium of the year after posting 4-3 moto finishes. At his home track, Medaglia posted the second fastest lap time in qualifying and after getting a good start, held off a hard charging Matt Goerke for 9 laps in the first moto, before being passed; he finished fourth. Medaglia again got a good start in Moto 2 and ran second until being passed by Brett Metcalfe and finishing in third. The local boy was greeted with a huge ovation from the fans and was all smiles on the podium at the end of the day.
After winning the last two rounds, Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha’s Matt Goerke went 3-4 and finished off the podium for only the third time this season. Goerke didn’t get a good start in the first moto and after a good battle and eating a lot of roost from Tyler Medaglia, was able to get by and finish the moto in third. After going down in the first turn of Moto 2, Matt put on an impressive charge through the field, gaining seventeen positions on one lap alone to finish fourth. He fell to third in the standings and after the race said, “The dirt is so slick out there, it’s like ice”.
KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Kaven Benoit rounded out the top 5 with a pair of fifth place moto finishes. Benoit was close to the back of the pack coming around the first corner in Moto 1 and came all the way back to finish fifth after passing Cade Clason on the last lap. Kaven’s start was better in Moto 2 and he spent most of the race in fourth, before being passed by Matt Goerke late in the race.
After fishtailing out of the gate in the first moto and going down hard 30 feet from the starting line, after getting his handlebars tangled with another rider on the start straight, Honda Canada Racing Fox GDR’s Colton Facciotti came from the back of the pack to finish seventh. Colton got a great jump out of the gate in the second moto and was in the top three before crashing hard again and getting hit by Mike Alessi, forcing the four-time Champion to retire from the race.
Monster Energy Alpinestar Kawasaki’s Mike Alessi crashed in the first turn of both motos and went 8-7 on the day for seventh overall.
MX2
After winning for the fifth time this season, KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Cole Thompson now has a very commanding 74 point lead in the series standings, as the talented Canadian racer chases his first National Title. Thompson put in another textbook performance, qualifying first and then went 1-1 while posting the fastest lap in each moto. Cole always looks super smooth and in control carving his way through the pack, while making surgically precise passes as he moved into first place. On the podium “Tommy Gun” said, “I had a little setback last weekend but I didn’t let it bother me. I am more motivated than ever and the track was really slick today.”
KTM/Factory Connection/Fox’s Dakota Alix grabbed the early lead in Moto 1 after passing Shawn Maffenbeier, but the lead didn’t last long as he went down on a slippery track during the first lap. Alix was able to get up fast and finish the moto in third, after putting an aggressive pass on Jess Pettis during lap 6. In the second moto after getting a good start, Dakota made another aggressive pass, this one for the lead, sawing off the front wheel of Shawn Maffenbeier. He was eventually passed by Thompson and Wright, before finishing in third place. His 3-3 moto finishes put him second overall for the day. After the race, he commented that his speed was there and he found the track really slippery as well.
The first moto Royal Distributing Holeshot went to Redemption Racing Big Steel Box KTM’s Shawn Maffenbeier and after losing the lead on the opening lap, he rode a strong race and finished second, only 5 seconds back of Cole Thompson. In Moto 2, Maffenbeier got into the early lead but went down on lap 5 while being passed by Dakota Alix. Shawn remounted in fourth and stayed there for the rest of the moto. Maff’s 2-4 finishes earned him the last spot on the podium, which kept him second in the standings.
MX101 FXR Yamaha’s Dylan Wright inherited the lead on the first lap of Moto 1, when Dakota Alix went down and then proceeded to slide out himself on lap 2. After getting up, Wright could only move up to fifth by the end of the moto. In the second moto, Dylan seemed to have a better rhythm and was able to reel in Alix and pass him for second. His 5-2 moto finishes put him fourth overall, but kept him off the podium for the first time since the series moved east.
In the first moto, MX101 FXR Yamaha’s Jess Pettis got a good start and put in a solid ride finishing fourth, ahead of his teammate Dylan Wright. Pettis started outside the top 10 in the second moto and fought his way back to sixth. His 4-6 moto finishes put him in fifth for the day, his best overall result of the season and moved him into the top 5 in the series standings.
Nova Scotia native, Husqvarna’s Davey Fraser had a solid day in front of the hometown crowd finishing 6-7 for seventh overall, equaling his best result this season.
Round 8 of the 2016 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan will take place next weekend, July 31st at the Riverglade MX Park in Moncton, New Brunswick. If you haven’t already purchased your tickets you can buy them online easily at the mxnationals.ca website. If you are in another part of the country and are unable to attend the race you can see all the action live by downloading the free Conx2share app and live stream every moto on your mobile phone or computer.
Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals (Canada)
Round 7 - Pleasant Valley MX Park - Truro
| MX1 Overall | |||
| 1. | Davi Millsaps | 1-1 | KTM |
| 2. | Brett Metcalfe | 2-2 | Yam |
| 3. | Tyler Medaglia | 4-3 | Hus |
| 4. | Matt Goerke | 3-4 | Yam |
| 5. | Kaven Benoit | 5-5 | KTM |
| 6. | Cade Clason | 6-6 | KTM |
| 7. | Mike Alessi | 8-7 | Kaw |
| 8. | Keylan Meston | 10-8 | Yam |
| 9. | Morgan Burger | 11-11 | Yam |
| 10. | Shawn Robinson | 15-9 | KTM |
| 11. | Brock Leitner | 16-10 | Hon |
| 12. | Alex Harvill | 12-14 | Suz |
| 13. | Dusty Humphries | 17-12 | Hon |
| 14. | Derek Quimet | 18-13 | Hon |
| 15. | Colton Facciotti | 7-32 | Hon |
| 16. | Taylor Ciammpichini | 13-21 | Hon |
| 17. | Kyle Swanson | 9-27 | Yam |
| 18. | Jason Burke | 20-15 | Yam |
| 19. | Broc Loftus | 19-16 | Yam |
| 20. | Gabriel Tremblay | 21-18 | Hon |
| MX2 Overall | |||
| 1. | Cole Thompson | 1-1 | KTM |
| 2. | Dakota Alix | 3-3 | KTM |
| 3. | Shawn Maffenbeier | 2-4 | KTM |
| 4. | Dylan Wright | 5-2 | Yam |
| 5. | Jesse Pettis | 4-6 | Yam |
| 6. | Mark Worth | 8-5 | Kaw |
| 7. | Davey Fraser | 6-7 | Hus |
| 8. | Ryan Lalonde | 9-9 | Yam |
| 9. | Westen Wrozyna | 10-10 | Kaw |
| 10. | Brad Nauditt | 7-13 | Hon |
| 11. | Ryeley Gallup | 13-8 | KTM |
| 12. | Hayden Halstead | 14-11 | Yam |
| 13. | Jean Christophe Bujold | 17-12 | Hon |
| 14. | Cedric Moore | 15-14 | KTM |
| 15. | Dainel Mills | 19-16 | Hon |
| 16. | McCoy Brough | 18-17 | Hon |
| 17. | Taylor Arsenault | 12-27 | KTM |
| 18. | Josh Clark | 11-33 | Yam |
| 19. | Logan Karnow | 16-21 | Kaw |
| 20. | Samuel Lavoie | 20-18 | Kaw |
| MX1 Standings | ||
| 1. | Davi Millsaps | 379pts |
| 2. | Brett Metcalfe | 344pts |
| 3. | Matt Goerke | 342pts |
| 4. | Mike Alessi | 318pts |
| 5. | Colton Facciotti | 297pts |
| 6. | Kaven Benoit | 267pts |
| 7. | Cade Clason | 262pts |
| 8. | Tyler Medaglia | 259pts |
| 9. | Keylan Meston | 214pts |
| 10. | Morgan Burger | 213pts |
| 11. | Kyle Swanson | 174pts |
| 12. | Riley Brough | 167pts |
| 13. | Shawn Robinson | 127pts |
| 14. | Dusty Humphries | 116pts |
| 15. | Austin Bouba | 114pts |
| MX2 Standings | ||
| 1. | Cole Thompson | 403pts |
| 2. | Shawn Maffenbeier | 329pts |
| 3. | Dylan Wright | 290pts |
| 4. | Brad Nauditt | 262pts |
| 5. | Jesse Pettis | 240pts |
| 6. | Mark Worth | 239pts |
| 7. | Ryeley Gallup | 189pts |
| 8. | Hayden Halstead | 178pts |
| 9. | Dylan Fraser | 165pts |
| 10. | Brandan Leith | 162pts |
| 11. | Ryan Lalonde | 159pts |
| 12. | McCoy Brough | 157pts |
| 13. | Dakota Alix | 148pts |
| 14. | Casey Keast | 131pts |
| 15. | Taylor Arsenault | 125pts |
