On Saturday, The Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha team arrived at Round one of the SX portion of the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series. With Nicoletti aiming at extending his Triple Crown Championship points lead he had the challenge of battling against three of the worlds best riders who came to Canada for the Montreal SX round. Shawn Maffenbeier would come into Montreal looking to put in some impressive results inside the Olympic Stadium. The 2019 Montreal Supercross would be Rockstar Energy Support Rider Sam Gaynor’s first pro supercross race on the YZ450F.
As the gate dropped for Moto #1 Nicoletti would get off to a great start where he would grab the Moto 1 Holeshot and would lead the pack for the opening 5 laps. He would fall into 2nd and with the leader within his grasp, just as Nicoletti was looking to take over first position a small bobble caused him to lose the lead and fall back to 4th. He would hold the 4th position to finish out the Moto. The #3 of Shawn Maffenbeier sat in 9th position as the green flag came out. By lap 2 he had made his way into 7th position where he would hold on until the checkers. Rockstar Energy Support Rider Sam Gaynor would start Moto 1 in 10th, making his way up to 7th and then back to 9th. Sam would finish the Moto in 10th.
Moto 2 saw Nicoletti once again grab the Holeshot and lead the pack around the first corner until he would unfortunately fall in 2nd position by the time he rounded his first lap. He would hold on to 2nd position for the entire race. Shawn Maffenbeier would get off to a 10th position start. By lap 2 Shawn had battled his way into 8th position which is where he would ride out the rest of the race and finish. Moto 3 saw Sam Gaynor in 11th as he rounded his first lap. Sam would battle between 10th and 11th for a few laps until he was able to secure the 10th position spot at the checkers.
The third and final Moto of the night would see Nicoletti get off to a 3rd position start, just behind Dean Wilson and Justin Brayton. Phil would was looking to advance on the two world class riders but would run out of time trying to hunt them down. Phil would start and finish the race in 3rd, Nicoletti would ultimately finish 4th overall extending his Triple crown Points lead by 29. Maffenbeier didn’t get the start he was looking for in Moto 3 as he got bumped by Malcolm Stewart in the first corner which resulted in both riders going down. Shawn put his head down and charged his way into 9th by lap 6. Maffenbeier would end up crossing the checkers in 9th. Sam Gaynor would finish in 10th position after falling to 11th early in the race.
The Rockstar Energy OTSFF crew worked hard all weekend to ensure success and plan on bringing the same winning attitude which drives the team into Quebec City for round 2 of the SX Portion of the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series.
“ Heading into Montreal I’m always a little nervous because of the fact that its run in the middle of a championship series with extra world class riders invited. In the end I’m very proud of all the riders and crew. Once again everyone worked hard and we had all 3 riders within the top 10. Looking forward to putting down some impressive results in Quebec City on October 3rd ”
– Steve Simms (Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha Team Manager)
Phil Nicoletti: 4-2-3 for 4th Overall.
Sam Gaynor: 10-10-9 for 10th Overall
Shawn Maffenbeier: 7-8-8 for 8th Overall.
Round 1 Montreal SX Results 450 Pro Rockstar Energy SXTour
1.Dean Wilson 1. Dean Wilson – 30
2. Justin Brayton 2. Justin Brayton – 27
3. Malcolm Stewart 3. Malcolm Stewart – 25
4. Phil Nicoletti 4. Phil Nicoletti – 23
5. Matt Goerke 5. Matt Goerke – 21
6. Cade Clason 6. Cade Classon – 20
7. Cole Thompson 7. Cole Thompson – 19
8. Shawn Maffenbeier 8. Shawn Maffenbeier – 18
9. Josh Cartwright 9. Josh Cartwright – 17
10. Sam Gaynor 10. Sam Gaynor – 16