Area motocross racers share track with top pros

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This article was published 16/06/2018 (2882 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Travis Mosset admits that competing in the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series at McNabb Valley Motocross Park on Saturday was something special.

Mosset was one of more than 80 riders competing in the 250 or 450 divisions in the first national event in the province since 2011. About a dozen riders were Manitobans, who had the chance to share the track with the top professionals in the country who are sponsored by factory teams.

“It’s definitely an interesting experience,” Mosset said. “You have to keep your nerves under control and just relax and have fun with it. It’s like a bucket-list thing.”

Mosset, 25, started riding at age 11 on his neighbour’s dirtbikes. The Brandonite did his first race a year later and has been at it ever since.

“It basically started there and just escalated into racing,” Mosset said. “I went to a first race and watched it, and then within a month or so I was racing.”

Mosset, who finished 30th and 27th in his two heats in the 250 class, tries to do all the races in the Manitoba circuit, although Saturday was his first pro national event.

He also does some out of province races and in the U.S. if he has time.

“It’s just all-around a good scene,” Mosset said. “Everybody seems to have a positive, uplifting attitude. We’re all friends off the track and we tend to be a little less friendly on the track. But overall, it’s just good healthy competition.”

Round three of Manitoba Motocross 13-race schedule takes place at Farm Boys Raceways on Sunday.

Manitoba has a points system in which riders start at beginner, which is C Class, and move up to B Class and eventually the pro A Class.

Mosset said Saturday’s race was different for the local participants.

“It’s just cool to see a pro national back in Manitoba,” Mosset said. “We had one in Morden about five years ago but the McNabb family definitely put on a good event overall. They did a lot of work to the track in the last month and put on a great show. It’s just nice to see so big an event close to home.”

Jim Frederickson jokes that he’s the old man at the races. The 42-year-old Brandonite began riding at age 14, and did a race at the end of that first year in borrowed gear.

“I grew up in a troubled home so that’s how I got my aggression out,” Frederickson said. “When I was racing, it helped me stay out of trouble. That’s why I’m so passionate about the sport. I grew up racing.”

His uncle began to promote races and Frederickson worked his way through the ranks, eventually winning provincial titles. He finished second at nationals in 1993 in an event at Melita, and was third in Canada another year.

He turned pro but a litany of injuries — a broken back in three spots, a leg in four spots, a wrist in two spots and eight broken ribs — eventually told him it was time to move on.

But before that happened, he had a religious awakening, turning his life around and now holds chapel at races in Manitoba.

“That’s what keeps me in it and that’s why I’m here,” Frederickson said. “It just ended up with training — I’m training some pro guys in Texas right now, some of the best up-and-comers in the world — and just being around them I’ve learned to ride a little better so that’s why I decided to try the pro national and see how I would do. I qualified and finished in the top 20, so that’s kind of cool.”

Frederickson’s kids race, so he enjoys the family time, but he’s also built long-standing, inspiring relationships with guys like Scott Harland, who owns Transcanada Motorsports, and Craig Hargreaves, who owns the Farm Boys Raceways track southeast of Brandon.

Frederickson finished 31st and 17th in his two heats in the 250 class. He actually won the pro race in the Manitoba circuit last weekend, his first victory since 2000.

“It’s the personal challenge,” he said of motocross. “It’s so mental, if you make a slight mistake then you can be in trouble, like with the broken leg and arm and everything else. It’s physical, controlling your heart rate and controlling your mind and not let other racers get into your head. It’s something about the challenge that exhausts me to the point that you just feel so good after.

“It’s like a really good workout, it produces endorphins. It’s a positive feeling when you come off the bike that you just can’t replace any other way. That’s what I personally love about it.”

He said it’s also a way to stay in shape, although he tries to ride within his limits now. He still got run over three times in the first race, something he chuckles about.

Brandonites Derek Donald and Chase Fardoe also rode in the 250 class.

Brady Breemersch of Melita started riding at age 15 after he saw local pros riding, quickly bought a bike and began racing almost immediately.

Breemersch turned pro in 2007, doing the western Canadian nationals and did nationals in 2010. But the 29-year-old farms in southwestern Manitoba, and as he’s gotten older and taken on more responsibility, it’s not always as easy to get away in such a weather-dependent occupation.

He’s never taken a full year off, although he has struggled with injuries in th past.

“You have to grow your skills with your speed, because if your speed gets faster than your skill level, bad things happen,” Breemersch said. “I experienced that for a year or two.”

He certainly did.

In 2008, he broke both his tibia and his fibula mid-summer, and came back from too soon, and had to get it re-broken.

He trained all winter to get ready again, and suffered an AC separation in his left shoulder in his first race the next summer, healed up from that and promptly broke his collarbone on his right side.

To make matters even worse, unloading his bike he slammed his foot pegs into his knee and required internal stitches. To end a summer of misery, he broke his pelvis in the fall.

In 2011 he broke his collarbone in the spring, but has been injury-free since.

“You take the winter off and it kind of gets out of your mind and come spring you just can’t wait to get on the bike,” Breemersch said. “You know the danger is there. It’s something that you have to deal with, it’s part of the sport. You just do your best to prepare yourself as good as you can so that you don’t make those mistakes.”

Breemersch only had a week and a half on his bike prior to Saturday’s race as he spent time in the field seeding, so he wasn’t sure he was going to race. But on Monday, the itch returned.

He had good starts in both but simply couldn’t maintain the pace of the guys in the top 20 in the 450 class. Breemersch, who is sponsored by FXR and TransCanada Motorsports, finished 24th and 23rd in his two heats.

Marcus Boros of Pilot Mound and Troy Revet of Reston also raced in the 450 class.

Breemersch appreciated the chance to ride with the top racers in the country.

“Every racer, no matter how fast you are, you’re always looking up to the factory stars who are making their living doing this,” Breemersch said. “It’s quite awesome watching them do their thing. Even me out there, I’m a professional in Manitoba but when you compare me to the guys who are making a living doing it, they spend 365 days a year in the sport and they’re pretty awesome to watch, Their skills are awesome.”

On Sunday, amateurs rode the course northwest of Minnedosa as part of the regional Parts Canada Amateur Open championship.

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TRIPLE CROWN ROCK STAR SERIES

At McNabb Valley Motocross Park, Minnedosa

250 CLASS

Place Rider Home Race 1 2

1. Jesse Pettis Prince George, B.C. 1st 2nd

2. Shawn Maffenbeier Kamloops, B.C. 3rd 1st

3. Joey Crown Metamora, Mich 5th 3rd

4. Marco Cannella Waterdown, Ont. 4th 4th

5. Tanner Ward Woodstock, Ont. 6th 6th

6. Jared Petruska Calgary, Alta. 7th 8th

7. Teren Gerber Coronation, Alta. 9th 11th

8. Anthany Spadaccini Cumberland, Ont. 11th 10th

9. Quinton Robin Eckville, Alta. 10th 12th

10. Jason Benny Joliette, Que. 8th 14th

11. Chad Saultz Batavia, Ill. 15th 9th

12. Dylan Wright Ottawa, Ont. 2nd DNF

13. Jonah Brittons Prince George, B.C. 14th 13th

14. Tee Perrott High River, Alta. 13th 15th

15. Wyatt Waddell Delta, B.C. 12th 18th

16. Josh Osby Valparaiso, Ind. DNF 5th

17. Hayden Halstead Waterford, Ont. DNF 7th

18. Connor Paul Rimbey, Alta. 17th 16th

19. Codie Rouse Weyburn, Sask. 18th 19th

20. Duncan Macleod Port Franks, Ont. 16th 21st

21. Jim Frederickson Brandon 31st 17th

22. Brandon Brill Pekin, Il 19th 24th

23. Brian Klassen Winkler 25th 20th

24. Jimmy Kornelsen Rosenort 22nd 23rd

25. Tommy Lloyd D’arcy, Sask. 21st 25th

26. Nathan Simpson Crossfield, Alta. 20th 28th

27. Devon Wiebe Morden 27th 22nd

28. Reece Havelock Calgary, Alta. 23rd 26th

29. Marcus Giesbrecht Saskatoon Sk, 24th 29th

30. Derek Donald Brandon 26th 31st

31. Travis Mosset Brandon 30th 27th

32. Tallon Unger Langdon, Alta. DNF 34th

33. Cole Hastings Weyburn, Sask. 33rd 35th

34. Hayden Lothian Syvan Lake, Alta. 34th 32nd

35. Jeremie Lacroix Ponteix, Sask. 28th 33rd

36. Chase Fardoe Brandon 29th 30th

37. Ransom Wick Hanley, Sask. 32nd DNF

DNF Nicholas Hohne Swan River DNF DNF

DNF Adam Orvis St Andrews DNF DNF

DNF Conrad Schipper South English, La. DNF DNF

DNF Casey Keast Kelowna, B.C. DNF DNF

450 CLASS

1. Kaven Benoit Bon Conseil, Que. 1st 1st

2. Cole Thompson Brigden, Ont. 3rd 2nd

3. Matt Goerke Panama City Beach, Fla 4th 3rd

4. Colton Facciotti Aylmer, Ont. 5th 4th

5. Mike Alessi Hilliard, Fla. 6th 5th

6. Dillan Epstein Thousand Islands, Calif 7th 6th

7. Tyler Medaglia Brooksfields, N.S. 2nd 15th

8. Cade Clason Chesterfiels, S.C. 8th 7th

9. Mike Brown Bristol, Va. 10th 8th

10. Keylan Meston Calgary, Alta. 9th 9th

11. Cheyenne Harmon Newark, Texas 11th 10th

12. Kyle Keast Lindsay, Ont. 12th 11th

13. Brock Hoyer Williams Lake, B.C. 16th 12th

14. Ryan Lalonde Victoria, B.C. 15th 13th

15. Addison Emory Owasso, Okla. 14th 18th

16. Ryan Peters Mandan, N.D. 13th 20th

17. Graham Scott North Saanich, B.C. 17th 17th

18. Bryant Humiston Rock Springs, Wyo. 21st 14th

19 Jonathan Mayzak Murrels Inlet, S.C. 20th 16th

20. Davey Fraser Halifax, N.S. 18th 19th

21. Josh Pfrimmer Roland 19th 21st

22. Yanick Boucher Hearst, Ont. 23rd 22nd

23. Tommy Dallaire Laterriere, Que. 22nd 24th

24. Brady Breemersch Melita 24th 23rd

25. Charlie Johnston Calgary, Alta. 25th 26th

26. Adam Pfeiffer Calgary, Alta. 28th 25th

27. Eric Harvey Fort St John, B.C. 27th 27th

28. Seth Wilde Caroline, Alta. 26th 28th

29. Lucas Giardino Thunder Bay, Ont. 30th 29th

30. Blake Osatchuk Dundrum, Sask. 29th 30th

31. Troy Revet Reston 31st 31st

32. Brandon Kofstad Roseau, Minn 32nd 32nd

33. Talan Hansen Trevor, Wisc. 33rd 33rd

34. Jesse Roya Marshall, Alta. 34th 34th

35. Marcus Boros Pilot Mound 35th 35th

36. Bryten Brill Perkin, Ill. 36th 36th