Race fans were treated to some fantastic racing as The 2016 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals Presented by Motovan visited Motocross Ulverton, in Ulverton, Quebec for Round 6. The race track in Ulverton is considered by some as the best track in the country with its deep, dark, sand based soil and huge hills that provide spectators with great opportunities to see the fastest riders in the country soar through the air. In the MX1 class, we saw a tightening in the points race which will ensure that with only four rounds remaining in the series it is far from clear who will be the Champion in 2016.
Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha’s Matt Goerke’s 1-2 Moto finishes earned him his second win in a row, and moved him into second place in the series standings allowing him to close the points gap on the leader, Davi Millsaps. In Moto 1 Goerke finished the first lap in sixth position and worked his way up to second, before inheriting the lead when Millsaps went down with two laps remaining. Matt spent the entire Moto 2 in second place where he finished, seven seconds behind his teammate, Brett Metcalfe. The defending champion is now only 25 points back and is carrying a lot of momentum into the next round.
The Royal Distributing Holeshot in the second moto went to Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha’s Brett Metcalfe, After leading every lap he took his second moto win in the last two weeks. Metcalfe finished third in the first moto, and his combined moto scores put him second overall for the day. Brett moved himself into third position in the series standings and sits only 29 points back of the leader. After his second moto victory, where he posted the fastest lap, he said, “The track was really rough today but I was able to find a good rhythm, and my bike was set up really good for this track.”
KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Kaven Benoit continued to impress during his Rookie season, and in front of his hometown crowd finished 4-3 and landed on the podium for the first time in the premier class. Benoit started strong in both races; while running in second position in the first moto posted the fastest lap of the race before being bumped back to fourth by a pair of Yamahas. He spent the entire second moto in third and used the huge cheers from a partisan crowd to motivate him. After the race Kaven spoke about the confidence he is gaining each weekend and the importance of keeping it going.
This season, race fans have been enjoying seeing KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Davi Millsaps, probably the fastest rider to ever race the series, win races in their country. Millsaps set the fastest lap time in practice and grabbed the lead in the second corner of Moto 1. He led most of the race before going down with 2 laps remaining, after getting into the same rut as a lapped rider in a tight turn and clipping his rear wheel. Davi has been struggling with a rib injury for the last two weeks and has not been able to practice since winning Round 4 in Regina. His eighth place finish in the second moto came after he fell on the opening lap and remounted in tenth. Unfortunately, Davi was unable to put on a charge after suffering with massive blisters on each of his hands. His 2-8 Moto finishes put him fourth overall and kept him off the podium for the first time this season, but the Red Plate is still his as the series moves to Atlantic Canada for Round 7.
Honda Canada Racing Fox GDR’s Colton Facciotti got off to a good start in the first moto but fell on lap 3 while trying to get by KTM Canada’s Cade Clason, who grabbed the Royal Distributing Holeshot. After remounting in seventh, Facciotti was only able to move up to sixth by the end of the moto. In the second moto, Colton was outside the top 10 off the start and rode a solid race to finish fourth. His 6-4 finishes put him in fifth for the day but cost him in the series standings as he fell back to fifth place.
MX2
It was only a matter of time before MX101 FXR Yamaha’s Dylan Wright stood on top of the box and got his first career overall win; he pulled it off this weekend with 3-1 moto finishes. After being the second fastest qualifier, Wright pulled the Royal Distributing Holeshot in the first moto before falling back to third place. Dylan got a great start in the final moto and ran in second for the first 8 laps before pressuring race leader Dakota Alix into a mistake, when Alix tipped over in a corner and fell back to fourth. After inheriting the lead, Dylan kept the hard charging series leader, Cole Thompson, behind him until the last lap when Cole went off the track, and instead of re-entering where he had gone off, skipped a corner and got back on the track right behind the leader. Cole eventually got by Dylan and into the lead but was penalized 3 positions after the race allowing Wright to get the overall win. Wright has now moved into third place in the series standings.
Redemption Racing Big Steel Box KTM’s Shawn Maffenbeier grabbed the lead on the second lap of Moto 1 after passing Dylan Wright, and stayed there for six laps until he was passed by Cole Thompson. Maffenbeier finished second in the first moto and was second again in Moto 2 after being bumped up one position with the penalty on Thompson. Shawn finished 2-2 for the fourth time this season and put a small dent into the series leader, but sits 64 points back in second place.
After posting the fastest qualifying time, KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Cole Thompson won the first moto after sitting patiently in third position for half the race, and waiting for the right time to make his move. Thompson was chasing Dylan Wright for the lead in Moto 2 until making an error and running off the track, and re-entered ahead of where he had gone off. Cole ended up passing Dylan and taking the checkered flag but was penalized three positions for the maneuver and ended up 1-4 for third overall for the day.
American rider KTM/Factory Connection/Fox’s Dakota Alix came close to grabbing another overall podium this weekend in only his second race in the series. Alix finished fourth in the first moto and grabbed the Royal Distributing Holeshot in Moto 2; he led for more than half the race. Dakota eventually made a small mistake and dropped back to fourth where he finished the moto. The penalty to Cole Thompson moved him up to third and his 4-3 finishes put him in fourth overall for the day.
After being brought up mid-week to the Honda Canada Racing Fox GDR Team to replace the injured Jeremy Medaglia, Brad Nauditt rounded out the top 5 giving the team their second best result this season in the MX2 class. Nauditt had good starts in both motos, finished 7-5, and sits comfortably in fourth position in the series standings. At the end of the day, Brad said that he has a few things to work on this week and looks forward to improving on this result next weekend.
Round 7 of the 2016 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan will take place next weekend, July 24th at the Pleasant Valley Raceway, near Truro, Nova Scotia. 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.
MX1 Ulverton, Quebec – July 17th, 2016
- Matt Goerke (Yam) 1-3
- Brett Metcalfe (Yam) 3-1
- Kaven Benoit (KTM) 4-3
- Davi Millsaps (KTM) 2-8
- Colton Facciotti (Hon) 6-4
- Mike Alessi (Kaw) 5-5
- Cade Clason (KTM) 7-6
- Tyler Medaglia (Hus) 8-7
- Morgan Burger (Yam) 10-10
- Keylan Meston (Yam) 9-11
MX2 Ulverton Quebec – July 17th, 2016
- Dylan Wright (Yam) 3-1
- Shawn Maffenbeier (KTM) 2-2
- Cole Thompson (KTM) 1-4
- Dakota Alix (KTM) 4-3
- Brad Nauditt (Hon) 7-5
- Jess Pettis (Yam) 5-10
- Davey Fraser (Hus) 10-6
- Ryeley Gallup (KTM) 9-8
- Westen Wrozyna (Kaw) 8-9
- Hayden Halstead (Yam) 11-7
MX1 Point Standings 2016
- Davi Millsaps (KTM) – 319
- Matt Goerke (Yam) – 294
- Brett Metcalfe (Yam) – 290
- Mike Alessi (Kaw) – 281
- Colton Facciotti (Hon) – 278
- Kaven Benoit (KTM) – 225
- Cade Clason (KTM) – 222
- Tyler Medaglia (Hus) – 211
- Morgan Burger (Yam) – 183
- Keylan Meston (Yam) – 180
MX2 Point Standings 2016
- Cole Thompson (KTM) – 343
- Shawn Maffenbeier (KTM) – 279
- Dylan Wright (Yam) – 242
- Brad Nauditt (Hon) – 230
- Mark Worth (Kaw) – 200
- Jess Pettis (Yam) – 197
- Brandon Leith (Kaw) – 162
- Ryeley Gallup (KTM) – 158
- Hayden Halstead (Yam) – 151
- Mc Coy Brough (KTM) – 140
