Team Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha’s Matt Goerke wrapped up the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals with the overall win in the MX1 class at RJ Motosport Park in Barrie, ON this past Sunday. Goerke did it with style, conjuring up a definitive clean sweep that saw him finish well ahead of second place in both motos.
It was Goerke’s third overall win of the season, which coupled with consistent podium finishes throughout the 10-round series, saw the Florida native claim runner-up in the MX1 Championship. His teammate Brett Metcalfe, unable to race on Sunday due to injuries, still ended the season on a positive note with fourth in the title hunt. He was sitting third in the points at the time of his second moto crash at Round 9.
“I’m stoked with the way the year ended. Both our riders finishing top-five in the championship, with a runner-up as our showcase, has to be considered a job well done. And I’m very pleased with our crew. All of their efforts pooled together demonstrated our abilities to field a competitive team,” team owner Andre Laurin said. “Although we had some bad luck to deal with, especially that Brett couldn’t race the final round, we prevailed. Matt’s clean sweep today was a great way to wrap things up and you can count on us coming back next year and come out swinging hard.”
Team manager Stu Robinson more or less echoed Laurin’s words: “I’d say we have a few reasons to celebrate today. A convincing win by Matt here in Barrie, and looking back at a summer of podiums pretty well every weekend, with either one or both Matt and Brett. And top-five finishes when a podium wasn’t in the cards. Any time you got two guys top-five you know the team has done a good job.”
Tim Tremblay, who substituted for Brett Metcalfe, stepped up to the plate in Barrie by snaring a noteworthy fifth overall on the strength of 8-5 motos. Tremblay a last-minute fill-in, is a top Quebec motocrosser who usually campaigns only his home province national rounds. A top pro snowcross specialist, Tremblay is a two-time ISOC National Snowcross Champion (USA) and Winter X Games Bronze Medalist.
Despite threatening skies, Round 10 of the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals – like previous rounds that had rain predicted – escaped the wet stuff, making the 2016 title hunt an entirely mud-free season. And after most of the eastern leg of the series was staged in hot, sticky, humid weather, the thermometer in Barrie did not climb above 24°C.
In premier class MX1 racing action, Goerke nailed a second place start in the first moto behind Tyler Medaglia, with the rest of the express train following in short order. Goerke stuck close enough to Medaglia to set him up for a pass on lap three. Once the task was cleared, Goerke poured on the gas to lay down a blistering pace up front, accumulating a gap of 20 seconds on Medaglia by the time the checkered flag was waved.
An on fire Goerke pegged the holeshot of moto two and basically put on a clinic for the next 18 laps, leading wire-to-wire and racing his own race. As in the first moto, he put his YZ450F through the paces, crossing the finish line 14.5 seconds in front of Medaglia, who again greeted the checkered flag in second place.
“I had some ups and downs this season, for sure, getting involved in first turn pile-ups that put me at the back of the pack on more than a few occasions. And that meant catch-up races, which definitely hurt me in the points. But I just hung in there and my team hung in there and we worked hard all season. The team worked really hard,” Goerke said. “I can’t thank everybody enough, my mechanic Steve Simms, team manager Stu Robinson, and Andre Laurin of OTSFF. Thanks especially to everyone at Rockstar, Yamaha, OTSFF and all our great sponsors for making this, when all was said and done, a successful season.”
Meanwhile, Tim Tremblay snared a top-10 start in the opening moto, riding in seventh place for more than half the race. He would lose that position on lap 15, but was able to hang on to eighth place till the finish line despite heavy pressure from Nathan Bless, who was riding for an injured Colton Facciotti.
Tremblay claimed another top-10 start in the second moto, diving into turn one in sixth place. He quickly parlayed that into fifth place on the hard-to-pass on RJ Motosport Park track. Tremblay would remain there until the end of the moto, keeping any challengers for position well behind him.
“Riding for the Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha team was a great experience, like a dream, really. The crew made me feel at home and made the bike, which was awesome to ride, totally comfortable for me. The first moto was a bit awkward for me and I wasn’t one hundred percent happy with my result. But the second moto, with a few changes to the forks, put me where I wanted to be and that was top-five. I’d like to thank Andre and the team for giving me this opportunity to race top-notch equipment,” Tremblay said.
Everyone at Team Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha would like to congratulate Matt Goerke for his MX1 runner-up finish in the 2016 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals, and Brett Metcalfe for his fourth place finish. We would like to thank all our invaluable sponsors for being aboard with us for what turned out to be another great motocross season. Without you, our achievement of two top-five finishes in the championship would have been harder to attain. Last but not least a huge shout to our staff members, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes every weekend, and all the motocross fans who came out to the races.
MX1 Overall Results: Round 10 – Barrie, ON
1. Matt Goerke (Yamaha) 1-1
2. Tyler Medaglia (Husqvarna) 2-2
3. Kaven Benoit (KTM) 3-3
4. Mike Alessi (Kawasaki) 5-4
5. Tim Tremblay (Yamaha) 8-5
6. Cade Clason (KTM) 4-11
7. Max Tannenbaum (Suzuki) 7-9
8. Morgan Burger (Yamaha) 10-8
9. Teddy Maier (Kawasaki) 12-7
10. Keylan Meston (Yamaha) 15-6
MX1 Points Standing After 10 of 10 Rounds (Final)
1. Davi Millsaps 514 pts
2. Matt Goerke 498
3. Kaven Benoit 426
4. Brett Metcalfe 412
5. Mike Alessi 408
6. Tyler Medaglia 397
7. Cade Clason 382
8. Keylan Meston 314
9. Morgan Burger 308
10. Colton Facciotti 297