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He could race SX in the Pro class with an international license, but he has little to no experience racing Supercross.
Why not get his feet wet in SX Futures and learn the ropes?
It is not like they are green Amateur riders.
Canadian Pro’s spend the winter in the USA training at places like ClubMX and Millsaps Train Facility so they obviously have experience riding and training on full blown SX tracks and have trained with SX pro’s.
When I think of futures I think of young kids that are about to hit the age that they can go pro and are testing the waters.
He turned 18 last September. It's not like he's 25 years old.
Edit: Pounding laps at a practice facility does not compare to racing SX.
Edit 2: Gavin Towers turns 20 in May and he's been riding SX Futures since 2022. He's already raced five rounds and was on the podium four times (2-3-3-2-18). He's racing SX Futures in St-Louis. I think that's a bigger issue than a guy who practically has no SX riding experience.
1st let me say I am not putting down McNabb he is a great racer I just do not think he needed to go the amateur route.
Go to ClubMX and check out their SX training it is like racing a SX.
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I had the pleasure of meeting him and his family while they spent time in Bakersfield so he could ride with both Ryder D and Jett Reynolds.when the 3 of them were on 50s and 65s...They are one of the nicest families you could ever meet and the kid will give 110 percent to everything he does..I think he will be a top 15 rider in his first outdoor season .. .but like all the kids he needs to race the futures a few times before jumping into pro supercross ...
Nothing compares to actual racing.
Why not?
Our series is nothing like the USA series. So much so that the AMA recognizes it as an A class equivalent. You can be a Champion here and race A class at LL.
He’s young with lots of potential
I saw him at pala last week absolutely flying. There were multiple pros there & he was the maib one who really had the wow he’s flying effect! granted that’s easier to do on a 250 than 450 but still looked great
His path IMO is what a lot more young amateurs or rookie professionals should do. Rather than waste 2-3 years from 15-18 racing 5 times a year, come race our 250 class and experience racing a national series. If you are good, the money is better than what you'll make down there racing amateur races, too (at the top).
He's making his USA debut at 18, which is a perfectly acceptable age. He has 3 years of pro experience and has already learned to manage a real championship, not a 3 moto championship on a Tuesday-Saturday.
Probably cheaper to race up here all year than to go to 5 amatuer nationals too
There are one or two US amateurs making their way up North this Summer.
I've been saying that for years. The B and Pro Sport riders from the US should come up here to race our national series. They'll be racing a real championship and not those 2-3 motos at Mini O's, Spring a Ding, Mammoth ...
Heck, even the schoolboy 1/125 riders could come up here to race the premix class.
They could still race Loretta's if they choose to do so.
They'll learn a lot more racing our series than doing the same drills and pounding laps at training facilities. The guys at the front are fast, and nothing substitutes gate drops.
They used to come up here a lot more. I don't know why that changed. Maybe it's related to their teams and/or sponsors, or they have too much pride to come up here and race.
Ryan Villopoto, Kyle Chisholm, Dean Wilson, Teddy Maier, Sean Hamblin, Austin Politelli, Josh Woods, Nick Evennou, Randy Valade, Tiger Lacey, Ryan Sipes, ... all came up here to race.
If it's a pride thing, suck it up and think of it as a stepping stone to a bigger goal.
With the exchange rate and how easy the travel schedule is, it makes sense.
IMO, it would benefit both series. The US amateurs come up here and gain knowledge, skills/racecraft, etc., and our Canadian riders get to elevate their game by racing faster riders. Also, it would perhaps help some of the US amateurs not get thrown to the curb after a season or two of lining up for the US nationals once they make their pro debut.
The Canadian series benefits from having a deeper field, more eyes on the series, possibly gain more sponsorships, etc.
Our series could sort of be used as an EMX 250 series to develop riders. The close proximity to the border makes this very feasible.
Then if for whatever reason things don't work out down South after several years, some riders could still come up here to earn a ride and get to race a dirt bike for a living. That or come up and race a few more years when they're older like Alessi, Metcalfe, Goerke, Huffman, Kiniry, Carpenter, ...
IMO, there's no shame in that.
Very well said.
Always thought the experience a good B rider could get up there would be a good idea.
Big negative is the traveling mileage but then again chasing the multiple amateur “nationals” is a ton of miles.
It is shocking to hear that the top Pro Canada racers can go to LL as A riders without having to meet the Pro rules.
Gonna break my screen clicking the thumbs up on this. So many amateur parents should read this and give it a real thought. Our series has EVERYTHING. From 125 to 450 racing.
Some of our biggest prospects are racing the premix class, you get to race on a track that has 2 pro classes and a WMX class hammering on it, on a small bore 2 stroke with former pros, top prospects, etc. I don’t believe a better developmental class exists outside of EMX obviously. If you can learn to rip a 125 in those conditions you will be very well prepped to transition to the MX2 class.
The 250 class in Canada is a Pro-Am class.
We allow intermediate/B riders to race with the pros, hence the reason why pro riders are able to line up as A/Pro Sport riders in the US. Personally, I think it's a great thing.
Concerning the mileage, I don't have a list of all the amateur nationals, but I wouldn't be surprised if they put less miles on the motorhome doing the Canadian Nationals than all the US amateurs nationals. There are quite a few US amateur nationals, then the serious racers attend multiple area and regional qualifiers in order to up their chances at qualifying for Loretta's and then they attend Loretta Lynn's.
Not only that, but now they attend the sporting combine and some US Nationals because they're now allowed to keep their amateur status if they don't score more than a certain amount of points.
Not only do I think they'd put less miles doing the Canadian Nationals, but I think it would be cheaper. Our series crosses the country once and the US dollar goes further up here.
These US amateur nationals they're often times there for a week long event plus another day or two of travel to get back home or training facility. I know some of these kids parents are rich, but some of them put in a lot of overtime in order to take the time off.
Doing our national series they could send their kid along with a mechanic, and they could fly in for the weekend and be back at work the Tuesday since we race on Sundays. Flying is not cheap, but it's cheaper than missing an entire week of work.
The cove moto guy said there’s a top 30 250 rider going to Canada to race a love this summer
Pit Row
I was going to edit my previous post, but I'll say that I would rather earn one or two 250 Canadian National titles like McNabb than one or two B or Pro Sport titles at Loretta's and numerous "national" titles at events like Mini O's.
The reason being, it's contested over 8 or 9 rounds so they race for a national title across 16/18 motos on different types of tracks and against all the fastest riders.
I don't understand how Mini O's, Spring a Ding, Mammoth, etc., can be classified as amateur national titles. IMO, the only true amateur national in the US is Loretta Lynn's and that's because they have to earn their way there through area/regional qualifiers.
Once there, they get to race against all the fast guys across the country.
Even then, it's decided over 3 motos on an amateur track. I get that it's an iconic event and the history behind it, but one flat tire, one mechanical, one bad start/pileup, and your chances are over.
At least up here if any of those things happen, they have a chance to dig themselves out of that hole.
Racing those amateur nationals and Loretta's does nothing to prepare them to take the next step in their careers. The races are short and the titles are decided over 2 or 3 motos.
Why else would DC and co., now have the sporting combine and allow them to race some US Nationals and allow them to keep their amateur status if they score less than a certain amount of points.
IMO, coming up here has more benefits.
-Full length motos
-National caliber tracks
-They'd learn to race and not just sprint
-They'd learn to manage an actual championship
-They'd learn to deal with pressure/expectations
Sure, it does not have the prestige the US Nationals or MXGP has, but I don't see why it can't be used as a great stepping stone to propel riders to those series.
People can poke fun and talk shit about the series all they want, but it's still a legit championship.
As I've already mentioned, the guys at the front in both classes are fast. Wright and Pettis were running in the top 10 in the US last year. Harrison was running in the top 10 for a while at RedBud last year. There some big name guys filling those spots.
Honestly, I hope McNabb does well enough so that some of these US amateur parents open their eyes and say "okay, this kid is legit and the Canadian series might not be as big of a joke as I thought it was" and then decide to come up here and give it a shot.
IMO, if they can't podium or win up here, they'll have to put in A LOT more work to take the next step in their riding or chances are the US dream won't happen.
A big American name would bring attention to the series like in the past. Emig or MC on true 125,s would b cool. Both can ride a 125 yet pretty good. District 16 Wi. & the Up has similar sand tracks but there not national type like in Canada. The speeds r lower at most. Mi. Has a lot of kinda of the same. A series including all 3 would b great. Technically it would b a world championship. Pine ridge 65 mi n of Green Bay, Mi. Is just east. Vid has a Rush song. Used to hv a pro am every yr. Xmas track is near Canada, they hv double headers sun has a moto money race open to a,b riders with a full gate.
Mav dropping logic bombs all over this thread 👍 . 250 class rules in Canada are basically built for riders on the am/pro stage of their career . It was an EMX class before the EMX class !
So McNabb should be doing futures this weekend?
Since 04 it’s been a gate of 250f,s. Do you need a passport ? Yrs ago they said you didn’t but still did in a trk. It’s always harder to enter America going home. Going into Canada is easy usually, except for doing & showing inventory of what you’re bringing in. Gas is also expensive 3.78 liters to a gal. 150-180 a liter rt now.
I cross all the time with a bike between Detroit/Windsor but am not a racer. Just need a valid passport, bike ownership and don't smuggle shit in, answer questions honestly and don't have any priors as that might raise a flag...
The little credit card sized title is enough for the bike ?
I cross at least 5 times a month. You are not proving ownership of the bike, you are just proving you owned the bike prior to entering the country to avoid Import/Export Fees. Any form of ownership is valid.
The American system was definitely broken and is just now in the infancy of upgrading. If I had unlimited resources I’d make my kid do a year in Europe racing the 125 class. I know the deegans claim they were gonna do that before Covid hit.
I cross 1-2 times a month have never been asked for an ownership or anything. I think only once ever did a buddy get asked for it
Indeed, "If You're rich" living in Holland racing EMX, Dutch Masters, German ADAC Series and if you're a American some French SX Races will bring you so much experience. But doing all that costs money because you're on the road a lot, you need a least 3 bikes (one practice, two race bikes) and if you do sx you need another bike or at least an engine and suspension kit that you can put on your bike...
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