Round 3 of the 2011 CMRC Monster Energy Motocross Nationals is in the books. Calgary, Alberta has been home to two staples of the Canadian motocross scene for some time: Blackfoot Motorsports and Wild Rose MX Park. This weekend, the two were a match made in heaven as all three of the Blackfoot team riders got the best results possible.
The big story this weekend, however, was the Calgary weather. But there’s a saying in Calgary: “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes!” This saying certainly rang true during the 2011 edition of the Calgary National. In the days leading up to the race, the area was pummeled with rain, causing the track and pits to be a muddy mess even as the team semis rolled in. The weather was clear early Sunday, even though the track was still very wet. Most riders opted to skip the early practices, saving themselves for the qualifying practices later on.
By the time the first MX2 moto came around, the rain had started again. The wet conditions didn’t seem to bother Gopher Dunes Suzuki rider Topher Ingalls as he grabbed the holeshot. Spencer Knowles briefly took over the lead, but he fell victim to the slick surface and lost the position almost as quickly as he had gained it. Some of the championship contenders also had some big problems early on including Leading Edge Kawasaki teammates Austin Politelli and Tyler Sjoberg went down in the first turn along with KTM rider Kaven Benoit. The race was on to see who could recover and bounce back to score maximum points. Up front, points leader Tyler Medaglia was beginning to assert himself and apply pressure to Ingalls. After a couple of pressure-filled laps, Tyler was able to get by and tried to establish a lead.
By this point, Austin Politelli had already found his way into the top ten having worked his way through the pack at a blistering pace. Jeremy Medaglia had started the race just behind his brother, Tyler, and was eventually able to get around Ingalls and into 2nd. By the time the checkered flag had flown, Austin Politelli had incredibly climbed all the way up to 3rd after a late pass on Ingalls. Another great charge through the field was put in by Kaven Benoit who ended up in 5th.
In Moto 2, it was first moto winner Tyler Medaglia who found himself once again in the lead early-on and in a fierce battle with the hard-charging Austin Politelli. Not to be outdone by the top two, Jeremy Medaglia was keen on joining in the battle as well. Once again, however, the rain started to fall, and Jeremy hit the ground shortly after. He didn’t lose too much ground, though, and was able to find himself back in 3rd place a few laps later. By this time, any hope of catching Tyler Medaglia or Politelli was out the window, as they had opened up a considerable gap. In the end, it was Tyler Medaglia completing the clean sweep and improving himself to 3-for-3 in overall results in 2011. Politelli claimed 2nd overall with Jeremy Medaglia 3rd.
In the MX1 class, many were wondering if the unpredictable weather would aid someone in upsetting the predictably fast and fluid Colton Facciotti. Colton had won all four motos prior to this round, many of them in dominant fashion. Early on, it was looking like an upset might be a possibility when Dusty Klatt grabbed a huge holeshot and looked ready to check out. Unfortunately for the national #1, he made a mistake on the back section of the track and found himself relegated to 3rd, one spot ahead of Facciotti who had gotten an average start. Facciotti got to work, and found himself past Klatt and, then, into the lead without too much trouble. The challenge was a large one for Dusty Klatt, but he dug deep and tried to keep pace with Facciotti–and had even started to close the gap midway through the moto. Colton, however, used his amazing line selection to make quick work of the thick lappers, while Dusty had some run-ins that seemed to hamper his progress. Chalk up moto win #5 for Facciotti. Klatt settled for 2nd, and finishing 3rd in a great ride from the back of the top ten was Teddy Maier. Pre-race favourite Bobby Kiniry suffered a terrible start–and lack of goggles–to finish way back in the field on the wet, rutted track in Moto 1.
Shortly before the second MX1 moto, the rain began once again–just as the track had begun to dry out. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it began to hail. Luckily for the racers, the hail ceased at almost the same time as the gate dropped for more fast-paced action in Calgary. When the gate dropped, it was Facciotti once again picking up where he left off in Moto 1 with Klatt hot on his heels. The two Blackfoot Yamaha riders quickly began to separate themselves from the rest of the field as they so often have. This time, Klatt stuck to his teammate like glue, even closing right in near the mid-point of the race.
As the Blackfoot Yamahas battled up front, a fierce battle was raging behind them for 3rd. Kyle Keast–who had grabbed his first good start of the year in third after having finished fifth in the first moto–Teddy Maier and Bobby Kiniry were at it tooth-and-nail and spent a large amount of time seperated by little more than a few bike-lengths. In the end, it was a goggleless Kiniry taking the position, but not without a last-ditch, last-lap effort by Keast who came up less than a second short.
Back up front, Facciotti was eventually able to break away for his 6th moto win of the season, again using his superb line choice to tame the rutted, rough track and the large pack of lapped riders. Klatt would cross the line with another 2nd place. Facciotti was 1st with a clean sweep, Klatt 2nd with a pair of runner-up finishes and Teddy Maier grabbed another overall podium with 3-5 moto finishes.
On a day where the wildly unpredictable weather had a chance to create some equally unpredictable racing, the cream again rose to the top, and the Blackfoot trio inflicted a dominant beating on the rest of the pack.
Full MX1 and MX2 results
MX2
1. Tyler Medaglia 1-1
2. Austin Politelli 3-2
3. Jeremy Medaglia 2-3
4. Kaven Benoit 5-4
5. Topher Ingalls 4-5
6. Dylan Schmoke 6-8
7. Morgan Burger 11-7
8. Cale Barr 12-10
9. Kieran Leigh 8-14
10. Spencer Knowles 19-6
11. Tyler Sjoberg 7-24
12. Nicky Beatty 13-16
13. Brad Nauditt DNF-9
14. Kevin Lepp 10-20
15. Parker Hoppe 9-21
MX1
1. Colton Facciotti 1-1
2. Dusty Klatt 2-2
3. Teddy Maier 3-5
4. Kyle Keast 5-4
5. Shawn Maffenbeier 6-6
6. Bobby Kiniry 12-3
7. Matt Goerke 4-10
8. Brock Hoyer 8-7
9. Kevin Urquhart 7-11
10. Mason Phillips 11-8
11. Michael Willard 9-12
12. Jay Burke 13-9
13. Parker Allison 14-13
14. PJ Stratton 15-14
15. Jared Allison 10-DNF
Calgary Rider round Up
DMX Canadian Motocross Weekly Presented by Renegade Fuels talks to riders after a muddy Round 3 of the CMRC Canadian MX Championships.
Video by Bigwave145
