Another national championship season – one of the most dramatic and volatile in years – is drawing to a close with the traditional final showdown at Walton Raceway in Walton, ON, a venue that has been on the CMRC Nationals schedule since 1992.
While every event on the calendar makes the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals the great series it is, Walton has more than earned its reputation as the crown jewel of Canadian motocross. Huron East Council declared Walton, which draws the largest motocross spectator crowds in the country, “Motocross Town” in 2008, a moniker that is unique and well placed. Walton is to Canadian motocross what Wimbledon is to tennis, the Super Bowl to football and Indianapolis to auto racing. Winning Walton is about bragging rights. It is a national every serious competitor wants to add to his career highlights.
Of the current A-list riders only Colton Facciotti, Bobby Kiniry, Tyler Medaglia, Teddy Maier and Shawn Maffenbeier have won at Walton. Facciotti – holding the record with three victories – and Kiniry recorded MX1 wins while Medaglia, Maier, and Maffenbeier wrote the MX2 beside their names. Rockstar Energy Drink OTSFF Yamaha’s Maffenbeier is the only rider of the group to compete in MX2 this season, a series he is currently ranked third in the points in, just two down from second place, Smartop MotoConcepts Racing’s Vince Friese. A repeat win for Maffenbeier, who claimed the overall last weekend in Ulverton, would more than do the trick for the Saskatchewan native to displace Friese from runner-up. In actuality, Maffenbeier only needs to stay ahead of Friese, regardless where they end in the motos, as long as they end in the points. All he has to do is make up the two-point difference and score an additional one to put him ahead of the Missouri native. MX2 points leader, Royal Distributing KTM’s Kaven Benoit, has a 42-point margin over Friese, and the only way Benoit can lose the championship is if he finishes with zero points this Sunday and Friese scores at least 43 or Maffenbeier picks up 46. It is highly unlikely this scenario will transpire; Benoit just needs to stay on two wheels and pick up a handful of points to call himself the 2014 MX2 National Champion.
Without a doubt the biggest battles will be for runner-up and third place in the championship. MX101 Yamaha’s Jesse Wentland is the only rider in the top-five who has a mathematical chance to still claim third, depending on how Maffenbeier and Friese perform. Wentland trails Maffenbeier by 22 points, Friese by 24. The rest of the MX2 top-10 are pretty well in place, although seventh thru 12th is subject to change, as there is only a 29-point gap between them. One thing is almost certain, Monster Energy Thor Kawasaki’s Jeremy Medaglia, currently eighth in the points, will be ousted from the top-10, as his season ended with a broken collarbone at In the premiere class, GDR Honda’s Colton Facciotti, like Benoit in MX2, needs only to stay on two wheels and collect a handful of points to claim his fourth MX1 National Championship. With a 44-point margin over Smartop MotoConcepts Racing’s Mike Alessi, Facciotti is in solid command of the title hunt. While it’s not over till it’s over, Alessi looks more than good to finish the series as runner-up. The American holds a 34-point advantage over third in the rankings, Royal Distributing Fox KTM’s Tyler Medaglia. For his part, Medaglia will need strong finishes if he wants to keep Monster Energy Thor Kawasaki’s Josh Hill behind him in fourth place; only eight points separate the two.
The biggest MX1 points battle will centre around third through sixth, with Medaglia, Hill, Rockstar Energy Drink OTSFF Yamaha’s Kyle Chisholm, and Hill’s teammate Teddy Maier as the combatants. Only 26 points separate Medaglia from sixth place.
According to the weather forecast, riders and spectators can expect a slight breeze, sunshine mixed with variable cloudiness, and a comfortable temperature of 25C.
Points Standings after 9 of 10 Rounds
1. Colton Facciotti (Honda) 381
2. Mike Alessi (Suz) 337
3. Tyler Medaglia (KTM) 303
4. Josh Hill (Kaw) 295
5. Kyle Chisholm (Yam) 281
6. Teddy Maier (Kaw) 277
7. Bobby Kiniry (Yam) 234
8. Dylan Kaelin (Yam) 182
9. Morgan Burger (Yam) 151
10. Nathan Bles (KTM) 117
1. Kaven Benoit (KTM) 355
2. Vince Friese (Hon) 313
3. Shawn Maffenbeier (Yam) 311
4. Jesse Wentland (Yam) 289
5. Topher Ingalls (KTM) 219
6. Seth Rarick (KTM) 195
7. Austin Politelli (Kaw) 164
8. Jeremy Medaglia (Kaw) 153
9. Sylvain Le Gad (Yam) 152
10. Dylan Wright (Yam 145
Past Champions at Walton
2001 Darcy Lange
2002 Blair Morgan
2003 Jean Sebastien Roy
2004 Jean Sebastien Roy
2005 Gavin Gracyk
2006 Dusty Klatt
2007 Paul Carpenter
2008 Colton Facciotti
2009 Colton Facciotti
2010 Bobby Kiniry
2011 Colton Facciotti
2012 Matt Goerke
2013 Cole Thompson
2001 Simon Homans
2002 Gavin Gracyk
2003 Derrick Fisher
2004 Justin Keeney
2005 Michael Willard
2006 Michael Willard
2007 Tucker Hibbert
2008 Jeremy Medaglia
2009 Kerim Fitz-Gerald
2010 Shawn Rife
2011 Tyler Medaglia
2012 Teddy Maier
2013 Shawn Maffenbeier
