Team Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha’s Matt Goerke and Brett Metcalfe continued their quest to build on their top-five MX1 points standings at Round 4 of the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals in Regina, SK this past Sunday.
When all was said and done, the teammates found themselves sharing fourth place in the current standings. Both riders landed on the podium in Regina: Goerke scoring third in moto one – Metcalfe doing the same in moto two. At the end of the day Goerke took to the overall podium in third place on the strength of 3-4 motos while Metcalfe settled for fourth overall, thanks to 6-3 moto results.
The final round of the western leg of the championship, held at Moto Valley Raceway, some 15 minutes from the province’s capital, was run in tepid temperatures that hovered around the mid-teens, wind gusts of up to 35km/h, and intermittent rain. All in all it was an ideal race day, with the track being dust free but never muddy, and relatively cool weather.
The start of moto one saw Goerke holding down second place behind Davi Millsaps as the freight train shot into the first turn. Metcalfe, a victim of a first turn pileup, was faced with a catch-up race on the technically demanding Moto Valley track. After remounting in 19th place, Metcalfe poured on the gas, picking off rider after rider to make his way into the top-10 within three laps. The Australian kept his head down and methodically clawed his way forward to eventually greet the checkered flag in sixth place.
Goerke, meanwhile, made an error on lap 3 that caused him to lose second place to Kaven Benoit, who had been stalking Goerke since the start of the race. Although he pulled out all the stops to retake second, Goerke spent most of the moto keeping a tenacious Mike Alessi at bay. By the end of the moto the Florida native had put enough real estate between himself and Alessi, however, to comfortably record third place at the finish line.
When the gate dropped for moto two, Goerke and Metcalfe put their YZ450Fs through the paces to both snag a top-five start. Metcalfe rounded turn one in fourth place, Goerke in fifth. For the next six laps the frontrunners held their positions until Kaven Benoit – riding in third – was relegated to the sidelines with a bike issue. This allowed Metcalfe to take over third while Goerke moved into fourth.
A blistering pace by the top-five, which included Millsaps, Alessi, Metcalfe, Goerke and Colton Facciotti – in that order – left the rest of the pack to fend for themselves, many of them succumbing to being lapped. By the midpoint of the moto the frontrunners more or less settled into their own groove, with enough space between them to rule out any serious challenges for position.
“It was another positive weekend for us, ending up on the podium in both motos and with an overall podium. With four rounds behind us, we’re where we need to be in the points, and that’s top-five. We’re not too far off first, second and third, and we got six rounds left to challenge for those positions. We’ve got two weeks to regroup and we’re eagerly anticipating the start of the eastern rounds at Gopher Dunes,” team manager Stu Robinson said.
The Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals continue after a two week break in the schedule on Sunday, July 10th, 2016, to kick off the eastern leg of the title hunt at Gopher Dunes in Courtland, Ontario.
MX1 Overall Results: Round 4 – Regina, SK
1. Davi Millsaps (KTM) 1-1
2.Mike Alessi (Kawasaki) 4-2
3. Matt Goerke (Yamaha) 3-4
4. Brett Metcalfe (Yamaha) 6-3
5. Colton Facciotti (Honda) 5-5
6. Vince Friese (Kawasaki) 7-6
7. Tyler Medaglia (Husqvarna) 9-7
8. Cade Clason (KTM) 8-8
9. Kaven Benoit (KTM) 2-DNF
10. Morgan Burger (Yamaha) 13-9
MX1 Points Standing After 4 of 10 Rounds
1. Davi Millsaps 222 pts
2.Mike Alessi 198
3.Colton Facciotti 188
4. Matt Goerke 182 (-40)
4. Brett Metcalfe 182 (-40)
6. Cade Clason 146
7. Tyler Medaglia 137
8. Kaven Benoit 133
9. Morgan Burger 119
10. Keylan Meston 119