Ive heard a few different team managers in interviews talk about how its a much better idea to send their to amateurs up to canada to race pro now and get more race experience compared to the amateur circuit in the us and looking at whos up there now it seems to be true. Looking at the results youve got drew adams, tiger wood, krystian janik and a few others who are planning on going up there. Is this the new path for amateurs to go to gain more experience compared to the disjointed many different series we have in the us? We got futures for sx but still dont have an emx class for outdoors, is this the best substitute at the moment short of going to europe and actually racing emx? In basketball some really good kids are skipping out on playing college vs mediocre talent and instead are playing in european professional leagues vs grown ass adults to step their game up. Are we starting to see the same thing in mx now?
Even futures for SX is less than optimal with such a small number of races. Canada allows them to race on real tracks with pro level competition and long motos. These guys are still doing the major amateur races here too so it gives them far more gate drops with a high level of competition. The Canadian series gets a large benefit too with an injection of talent so it's super cool IMO.
How do they still qualify as amateurs if they're racing a professional series in Canada? I'm pretty sure Drew Adams couldn't go to Europe for a few MX2 races, then still come back and race Loretta's.
My understanding is you don't have to carry a specific license to compete in Canada.
They can race some US Nationals and still race Loretta's.
Edit: The 250 class in Canada is a Pro-Am class. We allow intermediate/B riders to line up.
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The US guys used to come up here all the time before making the step to the US full-time. It went away for a while, but I'm glad it's starting to return. Villopoto, Wilson, and Chisholm, etc., all came up here. IMO, racing 25 +2 laps x 2 is better than doing short motos at the few US Amateur Nationals and doing laps at facilities the rest of the time.
I can't speak for all of them, but I do know that Tiger Wood, his family, and his agent all thought coming up here to learn would benefit him more than doing a handful of US Amateur Nationals a year. Tiger has done all four rounds and currently sits 7th in the standings with his best overall being a 6th and his best moto being a 5th.
They're racing multiple weekends in a row with some breaks in between as opposed to racing every few months. They learn to race and manage a real championship. One bad moto is not the end of the world. One bad moto at Mini O's, Spring Nationals, etc., and your title hopes are done. IMO, the only real US Amateur National is Loretta Lynn's. Even then some will debate that it's only 3 motos.
The Canadian Nationals crosses the country once and with the exchange rate, it makes sense.
Just my opinion, but I think Gavin Towers could have benefitted from coming up here for a couple of years.
Since 2008 the 250 class has run the full series, but before that, it used to be split into regions. Here's a list of who won the championships.
2000
125 West Champion: Sean Hamblin
125 East Champion: Josh Woods
2001
125 West Champion: Brad Hagseth
125 East Champion: Simon Homas (CAN)
2002
125 West Champion: Brad Hagseth
125 East Champion: Derrick Fisher
2003
125 West Champion: Evan Laughridge
125 East Champion: Randy Valade
2004
125 West Champion: Dusty Klatt (CAN)
125 East Champion: Donnie McGourty
2005
250 West Champion: Dusty Klatt (CAN)
250 East Champion: Michael Willard
2006
250 West Champion: Jimmy Nelson
250 East Champion: Kyle Chisholm
2007
250 West Champion: Jimmy Nelson
250 East Champion: Michael Willard
Yeah, as long as they don't score over X points, but I was under the impression that Adams was doing the entire Canadian series?
Adams is doing the entire series, but he's also an A/Pro Sport rider.
Canada pro allows a,b riders. Our guys r A riders. Like the nationals here used to be but no b riders. If you where a Local expert A class rider pay 120 for a pro am lic and try to qualify. Hv you checked out the Canadian tracks ? There’s only 2 tracks here that r on there level of awesome. Deschambault in Quebec is like a LL practice mon- wed , race Thursday to sat 3 motos. Pro race Sunday. 250,450 , wmx and the race everyone wants to watch . The pre mix class 125-150 cc. Plus Walton is a LL type of event. Plus Deschambault added a fall championship race. Looks like Canada is the place to race again. Plus you can race a 250 2-st in the 250 class but you hv to be Canadian.
The Canadian 250 class is open to A/B riders so it’s considered a proam class. MX2 is a professional class.
If they went to Europe, which I would have my kid do, they race EMX, 125-250.
Gate drops equals learning racecraft.
I think it's great. I'm about ready to subscribe to that ride tv app...or whatever the crap it's called so I can watch Wright do 450s and US kids race 250s
I think it’s a good idea, it’s a good stepping stones.
It would be nice if the 2 championships didn’t collide with dates that much so we could see more US privateer racing some Canadian rounds and same having good Canadian trying down the US outdoor.
The 90,s every pro here but MC, Emig and Ryno raced the Canadian series. Riders that would surprise you Michael Craig he lead the series I think he raced 2 full yrs in both 125,250. Factory Phil, Dubsch I think won the 250 class on a 426, a ton of riders. Huffman was still fast but Wah maybe spelled wrong won the championship . The Canadians r fast on there turf. I think it’s Great our guys r racing in Canada. Last winter I planed on staying up there the month of July . And race the 4 east rounds Riverdale in New Brunswick is quite a haul. Actually they all are quite far. Deschambault mon riding I planned on skipping because Tuesday to Sunday is a lot of riding and racing. 2 pistons, 2 clutches, brske pads, etc. I was going to do a couple hrs of training for that week.
You would hv to be on a full sponsorship to afford the 4 rounds of the east 5 including Walton. Gas alone big bill the race fees are responsible tho. The cash payout needs to be increased. We need a series in the middle USA is too expensive The Canadian series is not . But both don’t pay nothing. 125 and 250 2-st , 250F stock engine series exhaust, ignition allowed. To cut the cost . There’s rich bro,s on here get together and start a series. Matty B post a vid of thd cost of doing a Natl no 1,900 payout is coming close to breaking even.
They can't race in the US because it would effect their protect LL's status. Great system, huh?
Does CA still allow 250 vs 250?
May be opposite for younger classes? I spoke with another dad from Thunder Bay, CA that said he brought his 50 rider to the states because in Canada, he was winning all the races with little competition and in the states (D23 in MN) was running mid pack and getting better experience.
It’s bc our amateur system sucks and everyone knows it but LL is a money printer for DC so nothing will change.
I didnt watch the series in the 90s but I remember watching it in the early 2000’s where there was a huge list of big name guys racing. You had snowmobile guys like blair morgan, arenacross guys like darcy lange and josh demuth, then you had guys like gavin gracyk, jean sebastian roy, damon huffman, john dowd, ryan morais, mike treadwell…etc. It was a great watch and me and my dad watched every race for a solid 5 years. It looks like a lot more recognizable names are heading up there to race again which I’m sure will attract more fast guys.
Pit Row
the amateur system in USA is so broken. Its absolutely insane that we really only have one 'important' amateur race. We are going in the right direction with the combine and futures, hopefully those will de-emphasize the importance of LL.
Your posts are a nightmare to read, but you've summed it up.
Lots of Americans used to come up and make some money here, they were almost always surprised at the speed of Canadians on their home turf.
Dubach won in 2000, along with hamblin after a battle with darcy lange, the series wrap up at grunthal was awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcewSdRJ_9Y&pp=ygUXMjAwMCBncnVudGhhbCBt…
Yep, but the 2T is limited to a pipe and silencer. Chris Blackmer was on a 2T this past weekend.
To recap. Top amateurs go to Canada to race because the top amateur scene in the US sucks because the top amateurs think they're better off turning laps at facilities instead of going to races and racing each other.
If I owned a facility, I’d call my colleagues up and suggest a new facility race series followed by a MXoF event.
This should be the case everywhere. A stock yz250 is 46hp and a stock yz250f 42hp. Its much easier and cheaper for privateers and amateurs to compete in the 250 class because they can squeeze 50hp out of a 250 for not that much money where the 250f costs many tens of thousands of dollars. It would make both classes much more competitive because in the 450 class you can get by with the stock power.
Gotta watch what you race there as well
A friend got into Lorettas last year due to 2 kids in C class at his regional racing B in Canada. They got disqualified and he bumped up to qualifying
It is in most of the world.
It’s more or less just US and the MXGP/EMX classes that don’t allow it. But all the national championships and regular races in European countrys allow it.
In some countrys they allow full tuned 250 two strokes in the mx2 class to.
"PRO" in Canada is just A Class. Anyone can sign up to race.
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