Greetings, and welcome to this week’s Monday Gate Drop Column, which is once again presented by Yamaha Motor Canada. Thankfully, this past weekend in Ontario, our trusty groundhog, Wiarton Willie, did not see his shadow when he poked his head up and took a look around yesterday. So, as the legend goes, we are in for an early spring this year, and that is great news for everyone. According to locals, both the original Wiarton Willie (who passed away in 1999) as well as his predecessor has been right almost 90% of the time over the years. Although scientists claim it’s more like 25%. Either way, as I sit here preparing for yet another snow storm, I’ll take 25% and put my faith in the little rodent.
Well, the Glendale SX was another exciting night of racing, as this time we were to witness the first Triple Crown races of the 2025 season. These Triple Crown races are always exciting as the three shorter main events seem to provide endless action. Saturday evening was no different as right from the opening gate drop the riders were going for it on the hard packed and technical Glendale track. Unfortunately, only one of our talented Canadian riders was able to qualify for the night show, and that was Cole Thompson. Cole came out swinging in 250SX West class qualifying running as high as 8th at one point. He would slip back a little in the second qualifying session, but his time was still good enough to get him into the three main events. In the three main events he went 18-17-18 for 19th overall. This wasn’t his best finish of the year, but considering that last week Cole was sick and also had some issues with his back, I’m sure he was somewhat satisfied with 19th overall. Now, he and the rest of the 250SX West class get a three week break before the first East/West Shootout race in Arlington on February 22nd. As for the remaining Canadian riders, they all qualified for the LCQ, but failed to advance to the night show. In talking to Preston Masciangelo yesterday, he mentioned that although he felt good on the track, he just didn’t get the start he needed in the LCQ. Preston also said that he was going to return home for a week to relax, and then head back down south to start preparing for Arlington and the remaining 250SX West races.
For Triumph riders Blake Davies and Julien Benek, they will head from the dry heat of Arizona up to cold Alberta for the 2025 Rimbey AX, which takes place this coming weekend, as well as the following weekend. This year, the Rimbey AX will feature multiple top riders, including the aforementioned Davies and Benek, as well as names like Tiger Wood, Quinn Amyotte, and Tyler Gibbs. With this talented line up, it will no doubt an exciting four nights of racing inside the Rimbey Arena. As far as the favourite to win goes? I think you have to give the nod to Blake Davies, as he’s obviously coming off some successful weekends in the USA. This should give him an edge over the others riders, however, I wouldn’t count out Tyler Gibbs, or Quinn Amyotte, both are aggressive and very good indoor riders. This will be also be Quinn’s first race aboard a KTM, which is exciting. If he hasn’t already, I know Quinn is close to signing a deal to be Dylan Rempel’s teammate on the KTM Canada Race Team. Hopefully, the official press release on what exactly the KTM Canada Team is going to do in 2025 will come out soon. You could also say the same on the 2025 Triple Crown Series Schedule, as it’s scheduled to be released any day now. As I mentioned last week, once the calendar hits February, the ball begins to really get rolling here in Canada.
In the 450SX class this past weekend, we watched some incredible racing at the front of the pack, as well as a scary incident involving Jett Lawrence on the opening lap of the third main event. I’ll stick with what happened in the third main event as that was by far the most exciting race of the evening. Eli Tomac, who has arguably been the fastest 450SX rider through the opening three rounds, finally got off of the gate the way he wanted, and led the pack early. Chase Sexton, who won the opening round, and has been fairly consistent since Anaheim 1, was right behind Tomac early on, but a few mistakes cost him some ground. Still, the top two riders were pushing hard and the pace was very high up front. Unfortunately, Jett dabbed his foot hard while entering the second turn, and was forced to pull off and ride straight to the Alpinestar Medical Unit for further evaluation. There was no post-race comments from Jett. However, his HRC Team Manager spoke to Supercross Live and stated that there wasn’t anything obvious found during his assessment at the track, but that Jett would need an MRI to determine if there was anything wrong structurally in his knee. Although this appeared to be a freak accident that could happen to anyone, you have to wonder just how high the mental load has been on Jett so far in 2025 with his bike issues, as well as the firing and lawsuit launched against his agent. At the end of the day, Jett is still a 21 year old, and he’s had a lot to process in a short time this season. Hopefully, his knee isn’t as bad as we all first thought, and after some rest and treatment, he can return to the track. The sport and the Monster Energy Supercross Series needs not only Jett, but all of the riders healthy moving forward. If it turns out though that Jett needs reconstructive surgery, this will put him out until at least August. I guess, all we can do is wait for the news from the Lawrence camp. In the end, it was Chase Sexton who used his solid 3-3-2 moto score to take the overall win in Glendale. This win also rewarded Sexton with the red plates as the series now heads East to sunny Tampa for Round 5. Cooper Webb was second overall, and Roczen was a solid third overall. It was an amazing night of racing in Glendale, and I cannot wait to see what happens this weekend in Tampa.
In the 250SX West class, it was great to see Triumph get their first ever SX win as Jordon Smith took home the overall win in Glendale. I rode the new Triumph TF 250-X a year ago at Gatorback Cycle Park in Florida, and I instantly liked the bike. I was also very impressed with the high level of commitment the Triumph Factory Racing Team had towards wanting to win races in America. Well, after one year on the circuit they have succeeded, and I have a feeling that this won’t be their last win in 2025. It’s going to be interesting to watch Austin Forkner debut his new Triumph this weekend in Tampa as the 250SX East Series kicks off. Also, with a 450 coming to the track later this year, Triumph is setting themselves up very well for future success in North America.
As I mentioned above, with the Rimbey AX kicking off the 2025 race season here in Canada, things are beginning to get rolling. Dylan Wright is now down south riding, and Jess Pettis will join him very soon. Both Dylan and Jess will be at the Toronto Motorcycle Show next weekend, so if you’re around and want to meet them, head on down to the Enercare Centre. In closing, my pick for Rider of the Week goes to Julien Benek and his solid comeback to SX racing. Julien has some serious speed on the track, and his whoop speed has even garnered some attention from the Star Racing Yamaha Team, he just needs to find a way to remain healthy for months at a time. Thank you for reading this week, and if you have any questions or comments please email me at editor@mxpmag.com.