It was cold and rainy out side the Rogers Centre, but there was plenty of good racing inside.
The Toronto race is in the books and by now the teams and team haulers are heading south for the series debut in Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. But before we look ahead, let’s take a look back at the series’ only trip north of the border.
It was cold, rainy and windy when riders and mechanics started arriving at the Rogers Centre on Friday and it stayed cold, rainy and windy all throughout Saturday. The “indoor” pit area at the Rogers Centre consists of some very tight confines in the corridor that runs beneath the bleacher area and this is where most of the teams chose to set up. Parking for the big-rigs is in a lot across the street so the mechanics have to push, pull or carry tools and spares to the stadium. A few of the teams – like San Manuel Yamaha, Monster Energy Kawasaki and Red Bull Honda – elected to pit in the parking lot, so the riders and mechanics had to make the trip through the rain and elements from pits to track for each practice session and for each of the races, which for this round must have been quite uncomfortable.
Normally, the dirt at the Rogers Centre is wet and frozen from sitting in sub-freezing weather all winter. Once it’s brought into the stadium it starts to thaw, so there are typically very deep ruts in the course. This year was different. The track was dry and in good shape, though it contained a lot of huge rocks and garbage like bricks and pieces of broken concrete. In fact, a few of the riders, including Justin Barcia and Ryan Villopoto, ran hand guards to protect their hands and fingers.
The sand section offer a major challenge for the riders.
The track had a deep sand pit with a tight corner in it that created a few problems for the riders. The turn was marked on the inside with a series of tuf blocks and the riders kept cutting the corner tighter and tighter and eventually a few riders, like Christophe Pourcel and Barcia, caught the tuf block covers on their footpegs. Barcia collected one of the covers and carried it for almost a lap before it came off. Pourcel almost came to a full stop trying to get the cover unhooked from his bike.
Trey Canard continued his surprising podium run in the 450 class. The GEICO Powersports Honda rider is contesting the West Region Lites division, so he is filling in for the injured Andrew Short during the East Region rounds, and so far he has three-straight podium finishes. Canard has been getting terrific starts on the factory bike, which he says is the secret to his current success. He also says the time on the big bike will be a giant benefit when next year rolls around.
“I think it is a huge advantage heading into next year, having this time on the 450,” said Canard. “You can’t beat experience, especially race experience. This will help with the last two Lites races, too.”
Villopoto grabbed his second win in a row, and seems to be on a roll right now, however, Ryan Dungey rode a smart race in Toronto and leaves town with a 17-point lead in the series standings. But don’t expect the Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider to start playing it safe just yet.
Christophe Pourcel had a rough weekend but still finished third.
“The strategy has really never changed from the beginning of the season to now,” says Dungey. “There is a lot of racing left so we just have to keep plugging away, race by race. We just need to keep pushing and trying to put our bike on top and go out there and ride like I know how to ride.”
In the Lites Division, series points leader Pourcel had an off night, crashing heavily in his heat race and then getting off to a bad start in the main. Getting caught up in the tuf block didn’t help matters any at all, either. Pourcel finished well down from Barcia, on the GEICO Powersports Honda, and Suzuki’s Austin Stroupe. With four races left on the schedule, Pourcel holds a seven-point lead over Stroupe. It’s interesting to note that Stroupe now has four-straight runner-up finishes – quite a consistent showing.
Barcia had been showing signs of brilliance and in Toronto he finally put it all together to take his first Supercross win in the Lites division. The youngster’s style is fun to watch, and in Toronto he had a few scary moments.
After suggesting that he might make his return to racing in Toronto, Chad Reed decided at the last minute to hold off until Dallas, apparently needing more time for his thumb to heal. The Toronto race could have used the extra body since only 23 riders made the trek to the frozen country. Eventually only 22 made the starting line after Ryan Morais crashed out in practice, meaning there was no need to run an LCQ.
From here, the series will run for the first time in the new three-million-square-foot Cowboys Stadium in Dallas next weekend. Should be awesome!
