Shorai sponsored KTM factory Team podium at the close of the season. Klatt, Medaglia and Benoit finish year strong.
St-Bruno, QC – Hard to believe that it’s over already, but the 9th and final round of the CMRC Motocross Nationals took place last Sunday at Walton Raceway in Southwestern Ontario. Unlike last year’s race, which was destroyed by a heavy rainstorm, Walton 2012 was near perfection; the track was in great shape, fence lines were littered with fans and best of all, the sun was shining!
Video from Walton:
Going into Walton, KTM’s factory racers each had their own goal, but all shared the same desire to end their season on top. It was an interesting weekend in both classes, and wrapped up with Orange on the podium in every moto. Flip through James Lissimore’s images to see what went down at the final round in Walton….
CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA: Dusty Klatt may not have had a great first half in 2012, but the KTM rider put together a string of podiums (and a win!) in his final five races to finish third overall in MX1. With the nationals over, Klatt now begins preparing for the annual Montreal Supercross on September 29.
BLACK MAGIC: The Walton track has a love/hate relationship with racers. This year most were digging the new track changes and well watered and dark black terra firma. It looked perfect on Sunday morning! (Although, if you don’t like deep, endless ruts, you may not enjoy the course in the afternoon. It gets pretty nasty!) KTM’s Jeremy Medaglia took advantage of prime early morning conditions to lay down the fastest qualifying time in MX2, earning him the first gate pick.
FELICITATIONS, KAVEN BENOIT ! The fast French Canadian ended his season on the highest note, winning the final MX2 moto. In moto one, he couldn’t quite match the pace of his KTM colleagues, Medaglia and Dakota Alix (a fast amateur rider from the US) and finished fifth. Benoit rebounded well in moto two, though, taking off early and building a comfortable lead by the finish. A 4-1 gave Benoit second overall on the day.
HURRY, THEY’RE COMING FAST! Every year a new crop of fast, young talent emerges into the pro ranks, especially in the US. Red Bull rider Dakota Alix (back) and his father Todd (right) made the drive to Walton for Dakota’s first pro race.
KTM Rider Coach, Jean-Sebastien Roy, was also at Walton, offering advice and support to all of KTM’s racers.
Alix showed good speed in the first MX2 moto, running the leaders’ pace early on before settling into third. Unfortunately, a mechanical issue in moto two kept Alix from finishing. Hopefully we see this friendly American back in Canada next year, he’s got skills!
REAL MEN WEAR PINK: Klatt models one of Fox’s new 2013 colourways.
Dusty Klatt’s goal going into Walton was to leave it all on the line. Having already sewn up third-place in the MX1 championship, the KTM Red Bull Royal Distributing Fox Racing rider had nothing to lose. Early in moto one, Klatt was stuck in a three-way battle for second and was searching everywhere for a line to pass. Not wanting the leader to get away, Klatt tried sneaking in a wheel on third-place but slid out. After slowly getting up, Klatt would come from seventh to third by moto’s end.
In moto two, Klatt came around the first corner in second and quickly moved into the lead. Despite losing the lead on lap five, the KTM rider kept pushing hard all moto and kept the leader within sight until the checkers. Klatt’s 3-2 gave him second overall on the day.
LITTLE LION HEART: Jeremy Medaglia did exactly what he needed to do in moto one at Walton: he holeshot and won! That effort helped to shorten the points’ gap to 16, but the KTM rider still needed a little luck in the next race to get the title … but luck wasn’t on Medaglia’s side, as he fell twice before finishing fourth in the final moto.
Even though he finished second instead of first in MX2, Medaglia still rode like a champion throughout the whole series; he worked harder than anyone off the track, finished on the podium in 8 out of 9 races (winning two of them!) and kept the title chase going until the very last moto. Great ride, Jeremy!
Dakota Alix enjoying his first pro podium interview.
Despite missing the first four rounds due to injury, Benoit still finished the season 6th overall in MX2.
Klatt’s mechanic, Adam Turner, installed his rider’s new 2013 national number. (#1 would be better, but the #3 looks pretty sharp too. Let’s hope Mike Brown is cool with it, ha!)
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FANS: A big hanks to everyone who came out and cheered on KTM’s racers at this year’s Canadian Motocross Nationals! See you at the Montreal Supercross!
KTM CANADA WISHES TO THANK ALL OF OUR TEAM SPONSORS FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT! Red Bull, Royal Distributing, Fox, Dunlop, FMF, Factory Connection, DID, Talon, DUBYA, DT1 Filters, VP Racing Fuels, Acerbis, Cometic Gaskets, T.M. Designworks, Matrix, Motorex, Renthal, GoPro, Shorai Batteries, Mechanix Wear, Magnum, Hinson, All Balls, Four Werx Carbon, Podium Grafix, CL Brakes, SteadyMate, Ride Engineering, Nihilo, Custom Decals,Galfer, CP Pistons, R&R Automation and IMS.
MX2 results – Walton, Ontario
1. Teddy Maier 2-2
2. Kaven Benoit 4-1
3. Jeremy Medaglia 1-4
4. Jared Allison 7-5
5. Luke Vonlinger 6-6
Final MX2 Point Standings
1. Teddy Maier – 406
2. Jeremy Medaglia – 386
3. Topher Ingallas – 263
4. Jared Allison – 261
5. Brad Nauditt – 230
6. Kaven Benoit – 227
MX1 results – Walton, Ontario
1. Matt Georke 1-1
2. Dusty Klatt 3-2
3. Bobby Kiniry 4-3
4. Gavin Gracyk 2-6
5. Josh Clark 5-5
Final MX1 Point Standings
1. Matt Georke – 442
2. Bobby Kiniry – 375
3. Dusty Klatt – 316
4. Gavin Gracyk – 252
5. Tyler Villopoto – 230