Frid'Eh Update:Presented by Royal Distributing
OCTOBER 19, 2007

By Danny Brault

What a weekend we had in Las Vegas. For a race that doesn’t normally offer too many surprises or excitement (sorry Live Nation), the Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open of Supercross sure left fans satisfied this year.

It wasn’t until Saturday night that things really started getting interesting, however. Friday night, I nearly fell asleep as everyone finished exactly where they should have, with Chad Reed taking the win over Grant Langston, Andrew Short, Tim Ferry, and Mike Alessi. Even though the Super Pole results were nearly identical each night, it was cool to see riders scrubbing supercross triples and hitting the whoops at mach one speeds. Reed’s scrub off the finish line double Saturday night was simply ridiculous; he barely had it straightened out when he landed.

It was disappointing that Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart didn’t race, seeing as how it is probably the last time we could have seen them square off. I’m sure it didn’t hurt the show, as it opened the door for a race. And that’s exactly what we got Saturday evening. From the heats to semis to the LCQ to the main event, everyone was going for it (the money). The best takeout of the night has goes to Monster Energy/ Cernic’s Kawasaki’s Jeff Gibson in his LCQ. I know I wrote in Dan and Steve’s U.S. Open Observations that I disagreed with Gibson’s aggressive pass on Jeff Alessi, but I was just playing devil’s advocate. I was a little upset to see the crowd boo Gibby as he crossed the finish, because he wasn’t the only rider bumping and grinding, and I’m sure Jeff would have done the exact same thing. I know Jeff did have a sore shoulder from a tip over earlier in the night, but he was playing up Gibson’s move a little when he lay there on the track, as though he was unconscious, but I have a hard time believing that a soft tuff block can cause a concussion.

BTW, check out this 5 mins with Gibson on his season in Canada.

Chad Reed (22) wasn't getting the respect he thinks deserves in his heat race with Daniel Reardon (122) and Jake Weimer (73).

photo: Dan Stenning

Apparently, Steve and I rubbed a few people the wrong way with our Obs from Vegas. Please remember, folks, the Obs column--especially this one--is always for fun and not to be taken seriously. I realize why Ferry was upset with Chad and the comment that he "needs to grow up" was just me taking the opposite side of the argument. I assure you that Red Dog is well grown up, what is he, 40 now? And he is a mature racer on the track, and great person in the pits.

Speedy Reedy was seeing green in the main event when he cleaned out half the field in the first turn of the final. Ferry was leading the pack coming into the corner, but Reed held it on from the inside, his front wheel washed out, and he slid across the track taking out himself, Ferry, Alessi, Short, and Langston. When they remounted, you could see Ferry trying to make up his mind: do I jersey Reed or get back on the bike? He did a little bit of both, flipping off Reed and then jumping back onto to his Kawi. With the major players left behind, SoBe/ Samsung Honda’s Jake Weimer took control and rode the wheels off his CRF250 to take his first ever supercross—and big—pro win. It's funny how Weimer rode in Canada just two years and was never really contender, other than his moto win in Calgary, and now he's winning supercross races against Chad Reed. Josh Demuth hung tight to Weimer for the whole race, but just couldn’t get close enough to try something. Up until the final laps, Demuth was going to be the overall winner and $100,000 richer, but then Michael Byrne fell down in fifth, allowing Langston to go by and take the overall with his 2-5.

Hart and Huntington’s Demuth still has to be happy with a third overall. Carey Hart has to be happy too, since it was his team’s first outing in front of their hometown crowd.

Following the main event, Ferry rode up to Reed and expressed his unhappiness with Reed’s actions. Nothing too serious happened, other than Red Dog tossing his gloves into Chad’s face. I feel sorry for Butler Brothers' Jason Thomas who is good friends with both riders. Who’s side will he take? Stay tuned!!

Did I mention that Jason Thomas won the Montreal Supercross in 2005 over JSR? I still can’t believe anyone was foolish enough not to bet on him at this year’s Montreal SX, where he finished second after charging through the pack.

For photo reports from the US Open, click here and here.

Vegas is definitely an entertaining city, and the racing was almost a sidebar to the whole weekend. I did my best to resist wasting my money gambling, instead wasting it on keeping myself hydrated, but I was finally sucked into a game of Blackjack on Saturday night with Matthes, Dave Stenning, and JT$ (did I mention that JT$ is an amazing card player as well?). The minimum bet was $25, so I bought two chips and went for it like Gibson in the final corner. Somehow, some way, I walked off $625 richer. (I heard that Langston did a little bit better, walking away with $95,000 from Blackjack.) I made sure to rub my winnings into Stenning who lost $150. Funny how his wife, Jen, says he only lost $50?

Reed even stopped by our Blackjack table to chat with JT, and then played a $500 chip, won, and walked away.

Anyhoo, that was fun. You know what else was fun? Hanging out at Steve Matthes’ Football Bonanza Sunday afternoon. RXI’s Weege and Bad Billy, Moto XXX’s Allan Brown, Tim Ferry, and Matthes’ buddy, Justin, all showed up for pizza and soda. I even caught Timmy eating donuts and Oreo cookies! It’s hard to catch, but Timmy is actually pretty funny. When you get him going, he has some witty comments, and I especially love his questions or comments on Canada. “So, you guys have your own sports up there?” Yes, Timmy, we have our OWN sports in Canada; we didn’t steal yours.

Other cool people I met were Team Kawasaki’s Mike Fisher, I had some good discussions with the Sorenson brothers, Rob Buydos is funny, Honda racer Miguel Duhamel was in the house, Johnny from Scott goggles is going to lose $300 come May, and keeping Canada involved was the Van Vugt family, Brett Cormier, and Blackfoot’s Dean Thompson.

Thompson actually shared some “top secret” info with me, and supposedly the team has two riders coming up to a try out for their MX2 position. Deano wouldn’t give me any names, no matter how many Coronas I shoved down his throat, but he hinted that one raced the MX2 West series this year, one is from Vegas, and there was actually one Canadian rider to test out the BF 250F, but that fell apart.

I spoke with Thompson and Cernic’s team manager, Derek Sorenson, regarding the new nine-round MX2 series. They actually both don't sound too pumped on the new format, since it is much more expensive to field a 250F rider and it will be a bigger struggle for privateers. “All told, it costs us $25,000 to support a 250F rider and bike for five rounds,” Sorenson told me. Cernic’s is actually not supporting a 250F guy; instead they will focus on Dusty Klatt and Gibson in MX1. Blackfoot is only hiring one MX2 rider as well, same with OTSFF, and I think KTM will support two MX2 riders.

The Monster Energy/ Cernic's Kawasaki Team displays their #1 plate proudly.

photo: Dan Stenning

Check out this cool website, http://jasonthomasmx.com/

If you’ve checked out the www.racerxill.com website, you’ve probably saw the 5 mins with Matthes, who is out of job and looking for work. Anyone need a man friend? Mechanic? A good sense of a humour? Then read the interview and contact Steve at matthes@racerxcanada.com.

I know Matthes is talking with Hart and Huntington, but he lacks the ink, and Ferry has shown interest in bringing back his Summercross winning wrench. Unfortunately, I may have destroyed that opportunity Saturday night.

On that note: My name is Danny Brault and I have a problem. For some reason, I think it’s funny to rip sleeves or entire shirts off people in public places. I understand this is not the Trailer Park Boys and that type of behaviour isn’t appropriate, but rest assured I’ve learned my lesson and I will never do it again.

Matthes sent a long a few notes as well for this week's Update, thanks good buddy!

Well Danny, you pretty much covered what happened in Vegas. It was a wild two nights for sure and thank you for admitting that you have a problem with sleeve ripping. The first step to healing is to acknowledge that you have a problem. Other Observations from LV:

I took "Dave" and Danny to In N Out Burger for the first time and they loved it. I even got them some stickers for free. Nothing like three buddies eating cheeseburgers on a Friday afternoon in Vegas, huh Randy? Watching Danny win that cash in blackjack was like watching someone win the Showcase Showdown on Price Is Right. Just absolute joy and disbelief. There was more silicone in the Rockstar VIP area than the automotive section at Canadian Tire. I met Machine Racing's finest rider to date, Chris Pomeroy at the Open. Seemed like a nice guy, I was going to bring up how I think he got penalized at the 1988 Duncan Amatuer National for cutting the track but figured I didnt want to ruin the good times.

So after Timmy Ferry went nutso on Chad Reed after the main on Saturday (and with good cause) and everything had calmed down, I was up in the webcast booth with Jason Weigandt and Jim Holley when I had an idea that maybe Red should get on the webcast after the race and give his side of the story. So I ran down to the truck and got the remote mic and asked Evie (his wife) if he had finished turning back into Bruce Banner and if he wanted to talk. Fortunately, he did and all you listeners have me to thank for that thrilling interview. You're welcome.

Well, I'm on week three of being unemployed and so far it's been great! Lots of time to bond with Hank, Fred and Buddy, I've been catching up on my PS3 Madden Football season and it's pretty much been Margaritaville every day here in Vegas. I've even gone and done what an unemployed guy should NEVER do: I went and gambled at the local casino. You know, trying to win so much that I never have to work again. (It didn't work) I sat in the sports book and watched some games. Man, I've been having a great time!

Too bad that my mortgage company wants me to pay for my house and other dudes want money for lights, and internet bills etc., etc., so it looks like I'm going to have to get a job. I might go back to wrenching, I might be a sales rep--I've got a few options. You might even see me reunited with the 2003 Budds Creek 1st moto winner, we'll see. The only bummer is a few of my options might force me to give up the writing, which would suck as I do enjoy letting you all in on my world. So I did the interview that Danny posted earlier and I got some offers to work on an oil rig, be an agent and some others. Isn't that great that dudes would offer a complete stranger a job without ever having met them? I love this sport!

The World Vet Championships are coming up in a couple of weeks and there are so many Manitobans coming down, we might even have to import some mosquitos to Glen Helen Raceway just to make all of them feel at home. I myself have been like Rocky in Rocky IV where he goes to Russia to train in solitude. Except that I havent gone to Russia and I'm not in solitude, I have been on the treadmill and will start the on-bike portion of my training this week. Look for me to improve on my 28-24 finishes in the +30B class, the stragety being to drop down into the C class.

Stop the presses, heres a letter I just got about the Las Vegas Open Observations-

Steve,

The weakest Observations to date, did you change up the format because it was brutal.  I wanted to hear more about what was said during “Matthes’ Football Extravaganza”. Who is this Brault guy and why is he kissing Mike Fisher’s ass?

Best regards,
Rob McCullough

Dear Rob,
Thanks for the letter and I am always striving to make the Observations column better and better each and everytime out. This week I thought the he said/she said format was terrific especially with Danny being the "she." The Football Extravaganza was just that: an extravaganza! We had some good laughs, and a lot of what we said and did there has to remain confidential so "Dave" Stenning's wife doesn't find out.

I also got a angry phone call from my friend Evie Ferry, she wasn't so happy with Danny's assertion that Timmy should "grow up." She said that she was in the bar and that after watching Danny, he needs to grow up. She then asked how he got a fake I.D. when he looks 16. I assured her that Danny meant no harm, it was just the format, which I take it you didn't like either. Sorry for the FREE INTERNET COLUMN that you didn't like Rob. I'll try to do better next time you ungrateful bastard.

Thanks everybody and remember, keep scanning those classifieds for Ol' Uncle Steve!!!

KTM Canada’s press photographer, Heidi MacDonald, sent along these pics of KTM race director, Andy White, from back in the day.

Is that Jeremy McGrath? No, that's KTM team manager Andy White on a Honda CR500!

White's holeshot prowess must have rubbed off on his factory KTM team!

“[Laughs], Oh, I'm giggling at the gear! I just tried scanning a couple and sent them your way. Let me know if you can use them. Some of them are just priceless—I can see his mustache and mullet under the pink and purple helmet!

After his downward spiral in his first full season in the U.S. and the Star Racing Yamaha Team, it’s been tough to get Dusty Klatt into the press. You know how us media only want to publish the negative stuff, right?

Dust Klatt looks good in green.

photo: Jason T. Griffiths

Anyhoo, Dusty is on his way down to SoCal right now. He’s planning to ride his KX450F for the first time on Monday and he will practice on an outdoor track for a week before hitting the supercross track. So far, his second U.S. experience is going better already—he got through the border without any problems!

“I didn’t even get caught up at the border,” said Klatt. “That’s like the first time ever for me—even with the pugs!”

I admitted to Dusty that I wasn’t happy with his signing with the Cernic’s Kawasaki Team to race AMA Supercross and the Canadian Nationals at first—not because the team isn’t good—because I (and I’m sure a lot of people) want to see him race a 450 outdoors against the world’s best. But the more I thought about it, the more I think it was a smart decision. Why? Because he is on a 450; he’s on a great team; and he gets to race 450 Supercross which means everything in the sport today. As long as he makes an impact there, he should secure a full-time deal in `09. As for the Canadian Nationals, it will give him a chance to rebuild his confidence, make a living, and have fun. Plus, his team manager Sorenson says that they might even do a few AMA nationals if things work out.

What did Dusty have to say about signing on with Cernic’s? “If what I do makes me happy, that’s all I care about.”

Hard to argue with that statement. Now when I mentioned he would make a good living racing in Canada, that wasn’t to say he didn’t lose money too. Dusty actually had to give a major personal sponsor when he signed on with Monster Energy/ Cernic’s Kawasaki.

“It was a hard decision to part with Red Bull, coming to Cernic’s,” he explains. “It just sucks how the sport works that way. For myself and career, it was a decision I had to make. Red Bull was the raddest personal sponsor I’ve ever had.”

Check out the 2008 AMA national numbers to the left and you’ll see that Klatt earned national #63, but he says that he isn’t going to run it. And he’s not going to run his traditional #344 either.

“I’ve never had good luck with that number,” he says. “I did terrible with Blackfoot in supercross and terrible with Star, so I’m dropping it and going back to my amateur number, 144.”
 
The Canadian Arenacross Championships have picked up new sponsors in Yamaha Canada and Toyota Canada. The press release was sent through yesterday, and Nex-Trax Jamie Hellam couldn’t be happier.

"To have two of the biggest supporters of motorcycle sport in Canada title sponsor our series is huge,” says Hellam. “Toyota and Yamaha's support shows just how important Arenacross is to the Canadian motocross scene and gives us the support needed to put on the best Arenacross series for riders, spectators and industry. We are very happy to partner with Toyota and Yamaha and are keen to get them the exposure they deserve! "

It should be a good series this winter, with locals Kyle Beaton, Brock Hoyer, Kris Foster, and Colton Facciotti in the mix, along with Ryan Lockhart who made the very long drive from Nova Scotia to BC this week, and Johnny Montes who is planning to race the events as well. For info on the series, visit www.arenacross.ca.

Oh, another letter popped into my Inbox from Chris at Destroyer Films …

Hey, man, just letting you know that we started posting the vids that we never got to finish from the end of the summer.  So here's the link to River Glade and we'll have a new vid again every week now—getting back on track now that we got the movie done!

The Factory Rider video of Kaven Benoit has also been posted.

Thanks, Chris! We’ll definitely enjoy your work and hopefully there is enough support with your This Is It DVD that you guys return to cover the nationals in `08!

That’s all I’ve got up my sleeve this week. See you at the races!