Words by: Kevin Levick
The long winter and spring break is behind us, and the 2012 CMRC Monster Energy Nationals roared into action on Sunday, June 3rd in beautiful Nanaimo, British Columbia at The Wastelands MX Park. After a long off-season with lots of riders moving to new teams and new bikes, it was time to see where everyone was at.
One of the biggest shockers after the 2011 season, was the announcement that the ever-dominant Blackfoot race team would not be returning for the 2012 season. After accumulating 10+ national titles with riders like Jean-Sebastien Roy, Dusty Klatt and Colton Facciotti, it was the end of an era.
With Blackfoot gone, the riders who finished 1st and 2nd overall last season, Colton Facciotti and Dusty Klatt, were left to find a new team. They eventually both landed on the Red Bull/Royal Distributing KTM Canada team, hoping to find a new home. Another rider who was left to find a new team with Blackfoot’s demise was 2011 MX2 Champ, Tyler Medaglia. Tyler joined forces with the Gopher Dunes race team and Honda Canada, and decided to step up to the premiere MX1 class to challenge his former teammates Facciotti and Klatt.
The Wastelands track is usually a hard-pack, slick surface that gets choppy as the day goes on. However, mother nature decided that she wanted to have her say in the 2012 edition of the Nanaimo National, and the day, for the most part, was cool and full of rain. This transformed the usually hard track into a wet surface with a lot of large puddles and deep ruts in every turn. By the time the second motos rolled around, the surface of the track resembled thick chocolate pudding much more than the hard, slick dirt it is known for.
Rain aside, it was time to race, and when the gate dropped on the first MX2 moto, it was Monster Energy Leading Edge Kawasaki rider Kyle Beaton grabbing the holeshot. Red Bull KTM rider and one of the title contenders, Jeremy Medaglia, was quick to move into 2nd place and began to put the pressure on Beaton. Beaton’s teammate on the Leading Edge team, another title favourite, Teddy Maier suffered a first turn crash and would be left to work his way through the pack. Medaglia was quick in making the move for the lead on Beaton, likely motivated by the large amount of roost coming off the wet track.
Behind the leaders sat Washington-state privateer, Ryan Abrigo on his #406 Honda. Teddy Maier was making quick work of most of the pack, getting himself into the top 15 around the halfway point. Another of the top MX2 combatants, Topher Ingalls, had gone down early and was working his way up just ahead of Maier. At the front, Medaglia had pulled out quite a sizable lead over Beaton who remained strong in 2nd, holding an equally sizable gap over Abrigo for 3rd. As the checkers flew, Ingalls found his way up to 5th, with Maier 7th. Medaglia would hold on for the win, while Beaton and Abrigo rounded-out the podium.
In the rain-shortened moto 2, it was Jared Allison on his Yamalube Blackfootdirect bike grabbing the holeshot before being passed by Beaton. The conditions for this moto were particularly ugly, as the rain had picked-up since moto 1 before eventually stopping, leaving a pudding-like substance for the riders to navigate. Even from a spectator point-of-view, it was nearly impossible to see who was who. Regardless, Teddy Maier had a much better start this time around and put the pass on his teammate Beaton before the end of lap 2, while Jared Allison maintained 3rd place after his holeshot.
Moto 1 winner, Jeremy Medaglia suffered a poor start and was forced to pull in for goggles. Other riders to pull-in for goggles included Beaton. Spencer Knowles, who DNFed moto 1, was one of the locals who looked to know how to navigate the mud, he was able to slide past Allison for 2nd place behind Maier with Beaton moving backwards as he made his goggle change. When it was all said and done, Maier was able to take a convincing moto win and even clinch the MX2 overall with a 7-1 score. Kyle Beaton would make it a Leading Edge Kawasaki sweep of the top two spots, claiming 2nd overall with 2-6 motos. 3rd overall would be Jared Allison with 6-3, and Jeremy Medaglia would be relegated to 4th with 1-12 motos.
In the MX1 class first moto, it was the big #5 Monster Leading Edge Kawasaki of Matt Goerke taking the holeshot with Bobby Kiniry on his Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha in 2nd, Tyler Villopoto of the Leading Edge team in 3rd and defending champ on his Red Bull KTM, Colton Facciotti, in 4th. The rider on the move early was Facciotti, who made his way past Villopoto and Kiniry before the 2nd lap to take over 2nd position, a few seconds behind Goerke. Tyler Medaglia and Dusty Klatt were two of the title contenders to suffer poor starts, with Medaglia stalling his bike on Nanaimo’s concrete starting pad. Klatt was one of the first riders to pull in for goggles, putting him way back in the pack. He would spend much of the moto battling with Gavin Gracyk and Shawn Maffenbeier just inside the top 10 before eventually falling to 12th. Medaglia worked his way through the pack well, gaining 9th place around the halfway mark.
The battle up front remained much the same, a solid gap of a few seconds between leader Goerke and Facciotti, with another close battle for 3rd building behind them. Kyle Keast, on his Machine Racing Yamaha, had dispatched Villopoto and was working on Kiniry for 3rd when he crashed, allowing Kiniry the breathing room he needed to break free.
As the laps wound down, Facciotti made a sizable error, allowing Goerke to pull out to a comfortable lead. With 2 laps to go, Goerke decided to pull in for a quick goggle change not realizing Facciotti was much closer than he thought. When Goerke re-joined the race, Colton was all over him, wanting the number 1 spot.
With a lap and a half to go, Facciotti made the pass, taking the lead for the first time in 2012. Goerke, upset at his error, began pushing hard and the two riders picked up the pace, both wanting to be the first winner of the season. On the final lap, Goerke used the lapped riders to his advantage, and re-took the lead, this time hanging on and winning the moto. Facciotti would be 2nd, Kiniry 3rd and Keast 4th. Tyler Medaglia fought his way to 7th behind Tyler Villopoto in 6th. Privateer Jaromir Romancik claimed a surprising 5th.
In the shortened second moto, it was again Goerke with the holeshot with Kiniry 2nd. Facciotti was quick to move to 2nd, and once again, the two began to distance themselves from the rest of the pack. Tyler Villopoto suffered an early crash, making things hard on himself in the sloppy conditions. Keast had found himself in the top 4 early, once again looking to battle with Kiniry for the podium. Medaglia was 6th behind Klatt in 5th, both riders with a much better second moto going.
With two laps to go in the second moto, a battle was once again raging between Goerke and Facciotti for the win and between Kiniry and Keast for 3rd, but just like in moto 1, Goerke and Kiniry prevailed. Medaglia was able to make a late-race pass on Klatt and take 5th. Gracyk would be 7th with Villopoto charging back to an impressive 9th. Matt Goerke claimed the overall with 1-1 scores, Facciotti 2nd with 2-2, Kiniry 3rd with 3-3.
With the wet and muddy Nanaimo behind them, the battle is most certainly on in both classes, and next week’s race in Kamloops at Whispering Pines looks to be a good one.
1. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Kawasaki (1-1) 2. Colton Facciotti, St. Thomas, Ontario, KTM (2-2) 3. Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, New York, Yamaha (5-3) 4. Kyle Keast, Lindsay, Ontario, Yamaha (4-4) 5. Tyler Medaglia, Kemptville, Ontario, Honda (7-5) 6. Tyler Villopoto, Poulsbo, Washington, Kawasaki (6-8) 7. Dusty Klatt, Campbell River, British Columbia, KTM (12-6) 8. Gavin Gracyk, Blissfield, Ohio, Kawasaki (11-7) 9. Kyle McGlynn, Wembley, Alberta, Yamaha (10-11) 10. Shawn Maffenbeier, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Yamaha (8-13) 11. Jaromir Romancik, Czech Republic, Kawasaki (5 -16) 12. Brock Hoyer, Williams Lake, British Columbia, Kawasaki (9-18) 13. Morgan Burger, Nampa, Idaho, Kawasaki (18-10) 14. Shawn Robinson, Gatineau, Quebec, Yamaha (14-14) 15. Josh Allen, Kamloops, British Columbia, Kawasaki (20-9) 16. Jason Burke, Hamilton, Ontario, Honda (16-15) 17. PJ Stratton, Whitecourt, Alberta, Honda (15-17) 18. Greg Small, Kamloops, British Columbia, Kawasaki (31-12) 19. Greg Crater, Renton, Washington, Honda (13-DNF) 20. Joey Ruminer, Orting, Washington, Kawasaki (17-DNF)
MX1 Pro Class Championship Standings
1. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Kawasaki - 50 2. Colton Facciotti, St. Thomas, Ontario, KTM - 44 3. Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, New York, Yamaha - 40 4. Kyle Keast, Lindsay, Ontario, Yamaha - 36 5. Tyler Medaglia, Kemptville, Ontario, Honda - 30 6. Tyler Villopoto, Poulsbo, Washington, Kawasaki - 28 7. Dusty Klatt, Campbell River, British Columbia, KTM - 24 8. Gavin Gracyk, Blissfield, Ohio, Kawasaki - 24 9. Kyle McGlynn, Wembley, Alberta, Yamaha - 21 10. Shawn Maffenbeier, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Yamaha - 21 11. Jaromir Romancik, Czech Republic, Kawasaki - 21 12. Brock Hoyer, Williams Lake, British Columbia, Kawasaki - 15 13. Morgan Burger, Nampa, Idaho, Kawasaki - 14 14. Shawn Robinson, Gatineau, Quebec, Yamaha - 14 15. Josh Allen, Kamloops, British Columbia, Kawasaki - 13 16. Jason Burke, Hamilton, Ontario, Honda - 11 17. PJ Stratton, Whitecourt, Alberta, Honda - 10 18. Greg Small, Kamloops, British Columbia, Kawasaki - 9 19. Greg Crater, Renton, Washington, Honda - 8 20. Joey Ruminer, Orting, Washington, Kawasaki – 4
MX2 Pro Class (Moto Finish)
1. Teddy Maier, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (7-1) 2. Kyle Beaton, Surrey, British Columbia, Kawasaki (2-6) 3. Jared Allison, Delburne, Alberta, Yamaha (6-3) 4. Jeremy Medaglia, Kemptville, Ontario, KTM (1-12) 5. Parker Allison, Delburne, Alberta, Yamaha (4-7) 6. Ross Johnson,Tenino, Washington, Suzuki (10-5) 7. Zach Deiana, Coleville, Saskatchewan, Suzuki (13-4) 8. Spencer Knowles, New Westminster, British Columbia, Yamaha (DNF-2) 9. Brad Nauditt, Spokane, Washington, Honda (11-9) 10. Ryan Abrigo, Sultan, Washington, Honda (3-20) 11. Topher Ingalls, Templeton, California, Honda (5-17) 12. Keytan Meston, Calgary, Alberta, Honda (9-19) 13. Cody Woodworth, Palmer, Alaska, Yamaha (DNF-8) 14. Dylan Kaelin, Grand Bend, Ontario, Yamaha (8-DNF) 15. Cale Barr, Edmonton, Alberta, KTM (16-14) 16. Richard Grey, Keswick, Ontario, Yamaha (DNF-10) 17. Tyler Craig, Kamloops, British Columbia, Kawasaki (27-11) 18. Eric Jeffery, Oshawa, Ontario, Kawasaki (18-15) 19. Parker Hoppe, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Suzuki (12-22) 20. Darrin Mees, Setauket, New York, Kawasaki (21-13)
MX2 Pro Class Championship Standings
1. Teddy Maier, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki - 39 2. Kyle Beaton, Surrey, British Columbia, Kawasaki - 37 3. Jared Allison, Delburne, Alberta, Yamaha - 35 4. Jeremy Medaglia, Kemptville, Ontario, KTM - 34 5. Parker Allison, Delburne, Alberta, Yamaha - 32 6. Ross Johnson,Tenino, Washington, Suzuki - 27 7. Zach Deiana, Coleville, Saskatchewan, Suzuki - 26 8. Spencer Knowles, New Westminster, British Columbia, Yamaha - 22 9. Brad Nauditt, Spokane, Washington, Honda - 22 10. Ryan Abrigo, Sultan, Washington, Honda - 21 11. Topher Ingalls, Templeton, California, Honda - 20 12. Keytan Meston, Calgary, Alberta, Honda - 14 13. Cody Woodworth, Palmer, Alaska, Yamaha - 13 14. Dylan Kaelin, Grand Bend, Ontario, Yamaha - 13 15. Cale Barr, Edmonton, Alberta, KTM - 11 16. Richard Grey, Keswick, Ontario, Yamaha - 11 17. Tyler Craig, Kamloops, British Columbia, Kawasaki - 10 18. Eric Jeffery, Oshawa, Ontario, Kawasaki - 9 19. Parker Hoppe, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Suzuki - 9 20. Darrin Mees, Setauket, New York, Kawasaki - 8
