Zach Burke
The Triple Crown Series is officially over the halfway mark after last weekend’s race at Sand Del Lee.
The series landed in Canada’s national capital region for Round 5. After a West Coast swing that saw previous series champion Kaven Benoit and newcomer to Canada, Drew Adams trade overalls.
Benoit, who turned pro BEFORE Drew Adams was born, took the first two overalls of the year.
To no one’s surprise north of the border, Adams was fast right away. The series opener in Calgary saw just enough rain before the first 250 Moto to get the top nice and greasy.
This bit of havoc might have been the only thing to stop Adams from winning the first round, he would get caught up in some muddy mayhem and fell twice in Moto 1. With conditions improving rapidly, it was far from shocking when he took the win in Moto 2.
This would set a bit of a trend for the first two rounds, with Adams proving to be his own worst enemy in Calgary and Lethbridge – his last to first Moto in round two was something else, taking the lead with about a lap and a half to go.
Adams would bounce back with the overall in Pilot Mound (Manitoba), and some commanding wins in the sands of Gopher Dunes and Sand Del Lee (both Ontario rounds). Those overalls will give the #300 machine a shiny red plate heading into the last three rounds.
The so-called “Adams effect” has caused a number of other young US riders to make the trip up to check out the Triple Crown Series and tangle with Canada’s best – this doesn’t count the Australian and New Zealanders that have also made it all the way to Canada to race dirt bikes. The proximity of some of the tracks and our Sunday races in Canada made it possible for riders to race in the US Saturday and make the trip to Canada on Sunday. Evan Stice has been racing since round one, Krystian Janik joined for Gopher Dunes (got the holeshot in Moto 1) and Luke Fauser joined for Sand Del Lee.
The 450 class has only gotten deeper over the years, with this being continuing the trend in rising competition in Canada. A number of Canadian heavy hitters like Dylan Wright and Jess Pettis, along with some international flavor – Josiah Natzke (NZ), Aaron Tanti (Australia), Mitchell Harrison, Gage Linville (250 class) and Preston Kilroy are all series regulars, with Tristan Lane recently joining in for the last two rounds.
Wright, who had quite a win streak going in Canada, lost his first Moto and overall win in two seasons. With injuries hampering some of his rivals, it was truly Dylan’s world up here. An unfortunate crash in the second round would beat up Wright pretty bad – bruised lung and heart just to name a few.
Wright lined up a week later for a gritty round three ride to stay in the title fight. While there was some extra time off between rounds three and four, it wouldn’t be enough time for everything to heal and after round four, Wright has taken the rest of the series off to recover. For Canada’s sake we hope to see him ready for MXON!
This has left the door wide open for Jess Pettis and Josiah Natzke, who have been stacking up the overalls for the KTM team. Heading into Sand Del Lee, KTM held red plates in 250, 450 and the Women’s pro class – not too shabby!
The series will now head to Canada’s Atlantic coast for Round 6 at Riverglade in New Brunswick, Round 7 in Deschambault, Quebec and the series finale in Walton, Ontario.
While there are three rounds to go and the points lead is narrow, the rides that Adams has put in are really something else. Winning margins have been in the 40-50 second range the last four Motos that he’s won… to say Adams isn’t on track for a title here would be a lie, and deservedly so, this kid is fast.
The 450 fight over the last three rounds could be squarely between Pettis and Natzkie – things must be getting toasty under the tent at KTM. Preston Kilroy and his MX101 Yamaha sit third in the points standings
There is still lots of racing left and anything can happen in three rounds!
450 Standings After Round 5
Jess Pettis – 219
Josiah Natzke – 215
Preston Kilroy – 189
250 Standings After Round 5
Drew Adams – 218
Kaven Benoit – 216
Sebastien Racine – 163
To catch up on the action and for more on the Triple Crown Series, check out their website – Come check out some racing and some exotic foods like poutine and ketchup chips while you’re at it!
Images Courtesy of Zachary Burke
