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KTM RACERS TOUGH IT OUT IN KAMLOOPS

KTM RACERS TOUGH IT OUT IN KAMLOOPS:


Jeremy Medaglia rides hard in the rough to finish runner up in MX2; Colton Facciotti soldiers through injured shoulder to earn second place moto finish in MX1






St-Bruno, QC – Gopher Dunes is often touted as the “toughest track in Canada,” and that’s probably still true, but Whispering Pines Raceway in Kamloops, BC is closing the gap. Home of the second round of the CMRC Canadian Motocross Nationals, Whispering Pines continues to punish riders and bikes alike, with huge squared edge bumps, deep ruts and body pounding sand whoops. A few riders, including the Orange Brigade, received bumps and bruises from the so-called “Whispering” Pines.

 

This year’s Kamloops race will go down in Canadian moto history, as it’s the first to take place on a Saturday. The experimental format is a welcomed change for many reasons, but for the riders, it means a more polished and prepped race track (which leads to better racing). The response, so far, from riders, fans and industry is that Saturdays are here to stay! Good on the CMRC for getting creative and holding two Saturday races this year (Kamloops and Gopher Dunes). Here’s to many more in 2013!

MX2



There’s no doubt about it: Jeremy Medaglia is one of the fittest racers on the track. It showed in Kamloops, with Medaglia passing for an early lead in both motos and then taking off from the pack. On this day, however, Teddy Maier found a quicker line and slid by Medaglia for both moto wins. “Teddy was on it today,” says Medaglia. “But I’m definitely happy with my riding and even happier to be sitting second in points with 14 motos to go. This is where I wanted to be at this stage.”







MX1


In MX1 moto one, Facciotti grabbed a top five start before tagging onto the rear fender of race leader, Matt Georke. “Colt was riding more aggressively than normal and he wasn’t wasting anytime moving past guys in the first few corners. He was ready to battle with Georke.” observes five-time Canadian champion and KTM rider coach, Jean Sebastien Roy.

 

Sadly, as Colton was going for a pass on the leader, they hit and went down. Georke remounted while Colton withdrew from the race with a shoulder injury.

“Colton got the worse of it as he hit the hard rocky ground with his shoulder,” says KTM Canada’s Race Manager, Andy White. “Colton tried to get going but he felt his shoulder was too sore to continue. Dusty Klatt was running a solid second in the first moto before a rock smashed his clutch system, causing him to stall while trying to pass for the lead. He got going and finished sixth, which keeps him in the hunt.”

Knowing he couldn’t let Georke build a bigger series lead, Facciotti fought through obvious shoulder pain and surprised himself (and probably many others) with a second place finish behind Georke. “I figured I would at least try and get the holeshot money [laughs],” adds Facciotti. “When the adrenalin kicked in, I forgot about the pain and managed to finish the moto.”

After two rounds, Medaglia is right where he wants to be in the MX2 series: second and only 11 points back of the leader, Maier, with six rounds to go. Facciotti and Klatt are not where they want to be in the MX1 championship (fourth and sixth); it’s not for lack of trying but luck doesn’t seem to be going their way. Here’s to big holeshots and better luck in Calgary next Sunday!







As always, the KTM Red Bull Royal Distributing Fox Racing Team couldn’t make any of this possible without help from all of their gracious and passionate sponsors.

 

KTM CANADA would like to thank the following sponsors for their support in 2012:
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, and IMS.