KTM Red Bull Royal Distributing Fox Racing Team Starts Strong at Nanaimo Opener.

An update from the The Shorai sponsored KTM Factory Motocross team in Canada

The KTM Red Bull Royal Distributing Fox Racing Team made their title intentions clear in both classes as the
CMRC Motocross Nationals kicked off in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

Any questions about Colton Facciotti’s speed were quickly answered after he dominated both MX1 motos for a
clean sweep and the early series lead. With a solid lead in both motos, Facciotti admitted the win was a long
time coming. “It’s nice to start off with a win,” said Facciotti. “It’s been a long time since I’ve won a race, I
didn’t win any races last year and it’s just good to get a little bit of motivation as we head to Round 2.”
There had been a lot of pre-race talk about where Facciotti would stand against former AMA National winner
Brett Metcalfe. “I knew Metcalfe was fairly close behind me for the most part,” said Facciotti about the second
moto. “I think he must have bobbled in a corner which gave me a little bit of breathing room. First moto, he got
caught up battling with Bobby Kiniry so that gave me some room too.”

Good starts were key to Facciotti’s 1-1 day. “I got a good jump on both starts,” recalled Facciotti. “I didn’t get
the holeshot, I missed both by about a foot but I came out of the second corner in the lead. I was pretty happy
about that. If there’s any track that you need a start on, it’s definitely Nanaimo. I just rode my own race and had
fun. We definitely did our homework in the off-season so we didn’t have any problems. It was good.”

While Tyler Medaglia showed great speed in Nanaimo, things didn’t go as smoothly for KTM’s newest rider, who
finished 5-4 for 5th overall. “In the first moto, I didn’t have a very good start and I had to work my way up,”
explained Medaglia. “In the second moto, I had a better start and I was comfortably in third when I got messed
up by a lapper and went off the track. Then Bobby Kiniry caught and passed me and I passed him back all within
three corners. We hit again and I went off the track. When Bobby and I were battling, Jeremy and Teddy caught
right up and passed us both. I had to pass Teddy and worked my way back up to Jeremy, and then they crashed
together. I was back in third by myself on the last lap when another lapper cut straight into my line and took me
off the track. Then Jeremy made the pass for third. It was a bummer because I would have had third overall.”
Despite some tough luck, Medaglia was happy to leave healthy and sitting fifth in the points. “With this being
one of my worst tracks of the year, it was a good start for now,” says Medaglia. “Next weekend is one of my
stronger tracks so I’m looking forward to that. I felt good on the bike and I’m ready to move on.”

In the MX2 class, Kaven Benoit recovered from a first lap crash to finish 4th in the first moto. “I may have saved
the championship with that ride,” reflected Benoit. “I had a crash on the first lap and I was pretty much last so
I had to work hard to get up to fourth. The lappers were bad and the track was wet with only one main line so
passing was tough. I am really happy with a fourth-place finish for that moto.”

In the second moto, Benoit grabbed the holeshot and was quickly in a battle with Austin Politelli. “I was leading
and Politelli was right there,” said Benoit. “I was riding tight at the beginning and my lines weren’t great. He
made the pass and was five seconds ahead. He went off the track and I heard he cut his calf on the footpeg. He
was hurting, he slowed down and he wasn’t pushing anymore so I made my way around him. After that it was a
pretty relaxed moto. I think Austin and I had over 45 seconds on third place. It should be a good battle between
the two of us. It’s a long series so I’ll just try to get on top of the box as often as I can.”

“I’m super, happy with this weekend’s results,” said KTM Canada’s National Race Marketing Manager, Andy
White. “Obviously, I was anxious going into Round 1 because of Colton’s injuries from last year. We were heading
into a brand new year with a brand new bike and another team bringing up a high caliber rider. I knew it was
going to be exciting. We came out on top for Round 1 and we’re looking forward to Round 2. Colton rode awesome
and Tyler showed some great speed too. Kaven and Politelli were battling hard so I think the rest of the season
will be interesting between those two,” said White.

Race Highlights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zJ_79N-Jqto

Facciotti leads the MX1 series with 50 points to Metcalfe’s 44 points. Medaglia sits fifth with 34. In MX2, Politelli
leads with 47 points while Benoit is second with 43 points thanks to his second overall. A special thanks goes
out to Nanaimo’s Alternative Groove Board Shop for sponsoring the team’s hospitality area this weekend.

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