MX1 heats up as national series heads to Morden
As the Monster Energy Motocross Nationals head to Shadow Valley Raceway in Morden, Manitoba for the final round of the western leg of the tour this weekend, race fans can anticipate another slugfest between series leaders Colton Facciotti, Dusty Klatt, and Paul Carpenter.
A hotly contested Round 3 in Edmonton, which saw ’06 MX1 Champion Klatt and ’07 Champion Carpenter pick up their first moto wins of the season, is evidence enough that defending champion Colton Facciotti is not going to cakewalk his way to the title. Monster Cernic’s Kawasaki’s Carpenter finished the day with the overall win on the strength of 3-1 results while Toyota Blackfoot Red Bull Fox Racing’s Klatt snared second, thanks to 1-3 results. Although Toyota Blackfoot’s Facciotti recorded 2-2 motos to claim third overall, his rivals managed to put a dent in his points lead. Facciotti currently has 144 points on the scoreboard followed by Klatt with 127 and Carpenter with 123.
Multi-time champion and motocross/snowcross legend Blair Morgan, who has been confined to a wheelchair since his tragic crash at last year’s Montreal Supercross, attended Round 3 in Edmonton and said the MX1 series is pretty well unfolding as he had expected.
“I don’t think there have been any real surprises so far, with Colt taking charge of the points lead and Dusty and Paul chasing him down. They’re all great champions and worthy opponents to say the least. I think we’re in for a great battle that’s going to go down to the last round,” said Morgan. “Both motos were awesome to watch, something I’m going to have to get used to as a spectator. But it was really good to be at the event. It was the first time I was at a national without any kind of pressure on me, not having to think about racing, or worrying about how much ground I lose because of an injury. So that was a nice feeling and everybody made me feel really welcome.”
With fourth place in the current rankings Bobby Kiniry trailing his teammate Paul Carpenter by 35 points, it looks like the competition will be explosive for the remaining top five positions as the series rolls on. With 88 points to his credit, only 29 points separate Kiniry from tenth place Jack Carpenter, who rounds out Team Monster Cernic’s Kawasaki.
“I think you can bet that you’re going to see a lot of positions swapping over the remaining six rounds. You can’t rule anything out,” said CMRC President Mark Stallybrass. “All it takes is one DNF in the top ten to dramatically alter the rankings. And with the chase group trailing the top three having nothing to lose and everything to gain, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a fresh face up on the podium somewhere down the road.”
Will he or won’t he? – MX2 rumours abound about Wilson
Although Dean Wilson originally said he was only planning to campaign the first three MX2 Nationals, there were rumours aplenty in Edmonton that he may race in Morden. Although he has commitments south of the border, the Alberta native, buoyed by his three consecutive clean sweeps, seems to be rethinking his position in the series.
The 17-year-old whiz kid would neither deny nor confirm the rumours, but the possibility exists that he may race any of the remaining rounds that don’t conflict with his U.S. schedule. According to a source close to Wilson a lot depends on whether he can drum up the necessary sponsorship, as he only had a three-race deal with Canidae Motorsport Monster Energy Kawasaki. One would think it’s a no-brainer to extend Wilson’s ride so he can stay in the mix.
With 150 points to his credit, Wilson currently leads the title hunt by a 30 point margin over Leading Edge Kawasaki/Vanquish MX’s Teddy Maier. Maier in turn, holds a 15 point advantage over Royal Distributing KTM’s Eric Nye. After recording second overall with 3-2 motos at the opening round, the defending champ appeared a bit tentative at Round 2 with 11-6 motos. Nye bounced back in Edmonton carding third overall on the strength of 4-3 motos. He counts an 11 point margin over his teammate Kyle McGlynn, who currently ranks fourth in the standings.
As in MX1, expect to see a shuffling in the top ten MX2 positions as the series progresses. Depending on what happens with Wilson, it looks like the battle for the title will go down between the Americans Maier and Nye and Alberta’s McGlynn.
Although Toyota Blackfoot Red Bull Fox Racing’s Aron Harvey – currently sixth with 78 points – still has plenty of time to make a bid for the title, he needs to start winning motos and consistently finish top three. Meanwhile, his teammate Kyle Beaton, runner-up in 2008, can pretty well forget finishing in the top. In Edmonton the BC native suffered yet another crash and is not expected to be in shape to attend Morden.
