Racer X Illustrated — October 2017

11 5

he ten-race
Rockstar
CMRC Cana-
dian National
Champion-
ship is a nice
working holi-
day for some of these riders.
It heads west to east with
four races in a row, a week
off, and then six more races
over eight weeks. The MX2
class (250) does a pair of
25-minute-plus-two-lap mo-

tos, and MX1 is 30-plus-two,

just like on the AMA tour.

In 2017, riders like Rock-

star OTSFF Yamaha’s Matt

Goerke, Monster Kawasaki’s

Mike Alessi, PR MX’s Scott

Champion, Nut-Up Kawasaki’s

Dillan Epstein, Redemption

Racing’s Cade Clason, and

Huber Motorsports’ Kyle Ch-

isholm are all lining up against

homegrown Canadians like

GDR Honda’s Colton Fac-

ciotti, Huber Motorsports Tyler

Medaglia, and Thor KTM’s

Kaven Benoit. Also added to

the mix is Christophe Pourcel,

the former FIM MX2 World

Champion and two-time AMA

250SX East Champion, riding

for Rockstar Husqvarna, just

as he did in the States. And

he fi ts right in, especially when

the series is in the French-

speaking part of Canada.

“I think it was good for me

fi nancially to race here and

getting myself in a good place

with a good team and stick-

ing with them,” says Goerke,

a two-time MX1 Canadian

Champion and one-time

AMA National winner. “I think

it was a good idea for sure,

especially when you see the

people having a hard time

getting rides in the USA.”

The surprise of the series

through seven rounds is

California’s Epstein, who

was once on the verge of a

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit

T

(Main) California’s Scotty

Champion shows his drain

plug to the residents of Cal-

gary during the Wild Rose

National. (Inset) Christophe

Pourcel (377) is enjoying

the laid-back Canadian

scene; Cole Thompson (1) is

Canada’s top 250 rider.