Fans gather around the podium at Shadow Valley Raceway in Morden, Manitoba 

Photos by James Lissimore

I'll say it again: wow, what a weekend we had at the Monster Energy Motocross Nationals! This marks the third year that the series has stopped at the Shadow Valley Raceway track in the small farm town of Morden, MB. Despite the mess we witnessed on and off the track here last year, fans remained loyal to their Canadian MX heroes and lined the fences. With dark skies and rain falling on Sunday morning, many started to worry.  Fortunately, by the time the first MX2 moto kicked off, the sky was blue, the sun was out and the soil was perfect! Let's take a flip through James Lissimore's photos to see what went down....

The day started off well for Clearbrook Yamaha's Kyle Beaton (22), who grabbed the Royal Distributing Holeshot in the first MX2 moto. For PJ Stratton (71) and Teddy Maier (311) the day could have started a little better. Both riders were okay, and Maier managed to work his way back up to 14th. It was discovered after the moto that Maier had a big gash on his left arm, but he soldiered on to finish fourth in moto two.

"KD Beets" led the first four laps in moto one, before being displaced by Tucker Hibbert (29), Aron Harvey (776), and Jeremy Medaglia.

Suzuki/OTSFF/Rockstar's Jeremy Medaglia earned the hard charger award in moto one, going by Nick Evennou, Beaton, and Harvey for second place.  

The big uphill step-up is, well ... big! 

Fans in Morden were going crazy when local kid, Ryan Millar, holeshot the second MX2 moto. Unfortunately, Millar's time up front was short lived as he washed out on the first lap.  

Don't go spending that all in one place, "Millar Lite!" 

Team Toyota Yamaha/BlackfootDirect.com/Fox Racing's Aron Harvey enjoyed the Morden track, finishing 3-3 for second overall.  

Your Morden MX2 podium: Hibbert, Harvey and Nye. KTM's Nye now has a commanding 29-point lead in the championship. Note the trophy girl checking out the "Nye-a-late-or!" 

It was nice to see Simon Homans (6) out west and grabbing the holeshot in the first MX1 moto. 

Tyler Medaglia (13) and Colton Facciotti (2) had a good battle going for a few laps in the second moto.  

It's about time that Lady Luck found Blair Morgan. "Superman" went 6-3 for fifth overall and sits fourth in points behind Facciotti. 

It was a long and frustrating weekend for Mitch Cooke. In moto one, Cooke hit his head hard and had to catch his breath in the mechanic's area before returning for the final laps. He had a decent ride in the second moto, working his way up from 30th to 9th.  

"Every other day Jay" Burke must be training everyday now, because the Label It rider rode strong in Morden. He finished 9-6 for sixth overall and is eighth in points.  

Quite the change from the old, "Dangerous to 5!"