In the midst of the deep summer heat, the MX Tour arrived in Ottawa, the Capital City of Canada, for Round 5 of the Rockstar Energy MX Tour. With temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius, the race weekend was very demanding on the riders.
The Sand-Del-Lee raceway is primarily a sand track, but amongst the soil is a hard clay base that forms aggressive, choppy breaking bumps that becomes a game of line choice when navigating the track. The corners are typically loamy sand that require the utmost forward momentum to power the bike through without losing speed.
Dylan Wright – 250cc Class; 1st place
Looking to continue his dominance in the East, Dylan Wright was rolling into his home town track with the expectation of repeating his 2018 victory at Sand Del Lee. Qualifying in the pole position, Dylan was on pace as the fastest rider.
In Moto 1, Dylan didn’t start up front, was pinched off in the first corner and got stuck behind a fallen rider so he had to start the race well outside of the top 15. By lap one, Wright advanced up to seventh place and continued his charge until taking the lead with five laps remaining for the win. In Moto 2, Wright was battling in the top 5 during the start before passing his way into second place on the opening lap. Wright then set his sights on the race leader and made the pass for the lead on lap ten, giving him the eventual win.
Dylan’s dominating performance at Sand Del Lee earned him the prestigious Dale Argue Memorial Cup award for the second year in a row and now extends his 250cc points lead to 33 points.
Colton Facciotti – 450cc Class; 2nd place
With only four rounds of the MX Tour remaining, Colton Facciotti is closing in on what could be his sixth Championship. Knowing each weekend is unpredictable, the only strategy Facciotti has is to remain consistent and on the podium every weekend until the finale in Walton.
In Moto 1, it was all Facciotti as he started up front and then checked out from everyone and lead every lap of the moto in dominating style while extendeding his time differential to :24 seconds by the end of the race. In Moto 2, Facciotti was less fortunate during the start and was stuck battling in the top-five positions for the early laps of the race. Only able to advance up to the fourth place position by the finish, it was enough to tie Colton for the overall win, but in a tie breaker decision, he was forced to settle for a 2nd place Overall finish which still increased his Championship lead to 18 points.
Mike Alessi – 450cc Class; 3rd place
Coming off the momentum of his first overall victory of the season at Round 4, Mike Alessi’s fitness and stamina are back up to speed and now making him a threat for podiums and wins in the East. With only four rounds of racing left, Alessi can close in on the points chase and put himself into contention for the title.
In Moto 1, Alessi got a top ten start but in just three laps passed his way into the third place position. By the half-way point of the race, Alessi had done all the work he could do and had to settle for 2nd place behind his teammate and championship points leader. In Moto 2, Alessi got a top three start and was in an aggressive battle for a podium position until the closing laps of the race where he made contact with another rider, moving him out of the way with authority and securing himself a 2nd place finish. Alessi’s moto scores were good enough to put him on the overall podium finish for the second weekend in a row and now advances himself into 2nd place overall in the 450cc Championship points.
Next Race:
The MX Tour Series moves onward East to the Atlantic Canada region of Moncton, New Brunswick. The Riverglade Motocross track is a staple in the Atlantic region and draws some of the most enthusiastic fans of the entire season. The Honda Canada/GDR/Fox Racing team will again carry both series leading red plates into the next race of the Championships.
250cc Round 5 Results:
1st – Dylan Wright (1-1)
2nd – Jess Pettis (3-2)
3rd – Luke Renzland (2-3)
4th – Josh Osby (6-4)
5th – Tanner Ward (4-7)
450cc Round 5 Results:
1st – Matt Goerke (4-1)
2nd – Colton Facciotti (1-4)
3rd – Mike Alessi (2-3)
4th – Shawn Maffenbeier (3-6)
5th – Cole Thompson (7-5)
250cc Series Points:
1st – Dylan Wright; 3-2-6-1-1 (243 pts)
2nd – Jess Pettis; 7-3-11-2-2 (210 pts)
3rd – Luke Renzland; 2-10-1-3-3 (205 pts)
4th – Tyler Medaglia; 6-5-2-4-6 (197 pts)
5th– Marshal Weltin; 4-1-3-5-11 (190 pts)
450cc Series Points:
1st – Colton Facciotti; 2-1-2-4-2 (238 pts)
2nd – Mike Alessi; 4-4-9-1-3 (220 pts)
3rd – Phil Nicoletti; 3-2-6-2-9 (212 pts)
4tb – Cole Thompson; 1-6-11-3-5 (200 pts)
5th – Shawn Maffenbeier; 5-3-8-5-4 (191 pts)
Fox team riders took the top two spots after some wild racing on the ultra-dry Vallnord World Cup track. The competition was incredibly close with the top three riders separated by only 1.2 seconds. In the end, Loic Bruni threw down an incredible run to beat his French compatriot, Loris Vergier, by just four-tenths of a second! Fox rider Laurie Greenland made some small mistakes but still had the speed to finish eighth – his second top 10 of the season! No rest for the crew as they head to the Legendary slopes Les Gets, France next weekend. Congratulations to Loic, Loris and the rest of the Fox MTB team. No rest for the crew as they head to the Legendary slopes of Les Gets, France next weekend
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