Our guy Phil Nicoletti is currently tied for the lead in the Canadian Motocross Championship, but despite being embroiled in a title fight, he still took time to respond to your questions. This week Filthy answers queries regarding Steve Matthes' two-wheeled abilities, his current status in Canada, and the upcoming Pro Motocross round at Spring Creek.
As usual, shoot over a question, phil@racerxonline.com if you've got something for him.
Northern Exposed Phil,
Have been following the Canadian motocross series since you went north for the summer. First, congrats on how well you’re doing, currently second in points! Are you performing/achieving about how you thought, or are things going better or worse than you expected? Secondly, it seems like the Canadian series has made strides in recent years. I know this isn’t your first foray in racing in the Great White North, so does it seem like it’s progressed noticeably in the last five or so years? Is the talent level higher than ever? Do you think it could ever progress to the point where it’s a massive, global series, or is the competition with American motocross too much to overcome?
-Lieutenant Dan
Lieutenant,
I was second in points…..tied now, mate. Better recognize!! Totally joking. But currently tied after Jess Pettis had a horrible weekend at Gopher Dunes. I had a terrible day myself but not as bad as him and Dylan Wright. Canadian Motocross for me at this point in my life is about perfect. Eight races and I get to ride a few months out of the year and “try to stay fit”.
Is the series as good as it was in 2019? No it’s not. Back when it was a true Triple Crown Series with a $100k purse (Canadian) it had a lot more value. Since Rockstar pulled out, it has dropped a significant amount. Obviously money makes the monkey dance. More money, you are able to attract more riders and sponsors. Rockstar was putting a lot of money into the series. Believe it or not, COVID really killed the whole series IMO. But this weekend there seemed to be a lot of life at Gopher Dunes. There is no doubt that Canadian motocross thrives on the East Coast. After what I saw at Gopher, compared to the first three rounds, as far as spectators and amateur rider entries, was really good.
Ryan Gauldy’s AMO series seems to have really helped the Canadian motocross scene a lot, which is great. I’m not blind, our sport is run on families that show up to those events, and stay through the weekend to watch the pros. Same with every other amateur/pro day in the states. I am a bit bummed though. Every single pro who was at RedBud and didn’t qualify should have packed ALL THERE SHIT AND DROVE TO GOPHER DUNES! A four-and-a-half hour drive to come race instead of sitting around wasting time. Again, my own personal opinion. But, if you actually wanted to race you would have made that happen. Believe me, the Triple Crown folks would have made it happen if you wanted to make a last minute decision to come. Racers race, fellas.
-Phil
Phil,
We are coming up on Millville this weekend. I was looking in the vault and it looks like you had some pretty consistent results over the years but never did better than ninth. It’s a pretty famous track for Minnesota, and since the 1980’s, has brought nearly every famous American racer to our doorstep. I am curious what you think of the track and venue.
What did you like about the track?
What did you not like about the track?
Where does it rank on your list of favorites (or least favorites)?
Did John Martin ever sucker you into running a weed trimmer on the hills in exchange to ride there?
-Jimmy G From District 23
Jimmy G From District 23,
I’m from NY, and Unadilla is my home race. But to be quite honest, Millville feels more homey for me. Just being able to stay on the property with Alex [Martin], or staying at Jeremy’s [Martin] house. All the local workers who have been there for 20-plus years to help make that place thrive. I’m bummed to be missing it. Also, missing Jeremy’s last race ever as a pro. I was there for his first race when he seemed so young and dumb. Now he’s just dumb.
Millville is probably my third-best track. I felt like I always did somewhat okay there. One thing I HATE about Millville is the first corner, haha. It’s one of the scariest ones. Just the speed you having coming into it, the angle, and the way it flows. It’s just a scary and difficult one. Obviously Mt. Martin is such a staple. The moments you have seeing god throughout a day GOING UP and COMING DOWN are insane.
I’ve spent a lot of time around the Millville property mountain biking and getting my teeth kicked in by the Martin Bros, but from now on after this weekend, all three of us will always be watching the pro day from the other side of the chain link fence. Kind of bittersweet and sad.
-Phil
Phil,
Your social media lately has featured a lot of Steve Matthes. What in the hell is he doing up there? Did he decide to go back to his home country after failing to qualify for Loretta Lynn’s? Also, can he actually ride? Because if we’re going off your social content it looks like he’s a radiator smashing bozo who walks around the pits in his socks and can’t hold a straight line on starts. Is this an accurate perception or does the dude actually know how to ride a dirt bike?
-Andrew
Andrew,
One thing I will give Steven, he truly just enjoys to ride. You don’t think he knew he was going to get roasted? He doesn’t care. He went to Gopher to hang out and enjoy some Canadian moto. He also hopped on a gnarly sand track with a bike that wasn’t his. Could he have ridden better on his own bike? Of course. Would it have been night and day different in speed? F@&$ NO! But he went and rode anyway.
It almost comes with the territory. If you're a media guy and you ride, you better have thick skin because you can’t expect to talk about pro riders and their results or complaints, and then not expect to get roasted when you suck as well. That is just part of it. But he knows that. He just loves to ride. We all do.
In his defense, my results were equally as bad, regardless of the level of separation. But I did tell him that his start video on my Instagram story got an ungodly amount of interactions. He was not happy when I was screenshotting and sending them in a group chat with him and Jason Thomas. Any dude that rode Gopher who was 50+ or older deserves a medal.
-Phil
