april 12, 2019

Round 1 Abbotsford AX | Photo Report

Round 1 Abbotsford AX | Photo Report

April 9, 2019

by Dawn McClintock
Photos by James Lissimore

It's been a long winter waiting for any sort of dirt bike related race to start up here in Canada that didn't involve screwing studs to your tires or swapping out your front wheel for a ski and putting on your snow gear. The wait is finally over and start of the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown series kicked off in Abbotsford, BC with Round 1 of their AX Tour. While the track did break down pretty quickly (there was a lot of moisture in it) and involved a fair bit of maintenance between motos, it was nothing like the soupy mess that was last year's season opener. We saw some fierce battles that will shape into some exciting racing over the course of the AX Tour and it should be fun to see where things end up at the final round in Barrie, ON next month. Here's a look from Round 1 through the lens of James Lissimore.

The younger Gibbs brother Travis getting warmed up for his moto.
Unfortunately the scoring for Abbotsford won't provide us with amateur results but we know from young Braxton Zeitner's dad that he took the win in the 50 class.
#39 Ryan Kernested
#574 Charles Charlton
It must have been a bit chilly in Abbotsford for this AZ boy.
Goggles...check.
Davey Fraser does his best GQ pose.
It sure looked like Luke Renzland was having fun out there.
Shawn Maffenbeier ready to get things dialled in on the 450 this season.
Keeping the Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha guys looking sharp.
Filthy Phil puts on a show during opening ceremonies.
Release the hounds.
Marco Cannella checks out the ever-shifting lines.
The 250 crew ready to get the show rolling.
A DNF in Heat 1 forced Cannella to the Semi where he redeemed himself taking the win.
Cannella gets some podium time after taking the Semi win.
Luke Renzland pulls the pass on Tyler Medaglia in Heat 1 to take 2nd place.
Tyler Gibbs lines up for the 250 Heat 2 as his Triple Crown Series Pro debut. He would take 2nd place in his heat.
Davey Fraser would take 4th in Heat 2.
Next up was the 450 Heats.
Off the hop Nicoletti was second off the start in Moto 1. Phil quickly worked his way up to the lead in the second lap and took the win.
Nicoletti gets some TV time on the podium after taking the win in Moto 1.
Maffenbeier heads to the line for the 450 Moto 2.
Off to a descent start, Maffenbeier would get caught up in a bottle-neck where he ran into the back of Thompson and Goerke causing him to fall back to 5th place.
Cade Clason looking strong here in Abbotsford would take 3rd in Moto 2.
Next up was the Clash for Cash.
Nicoletti grabs the holeshot in the Clash for Cash and looked to pull away from the pack. Thompson and Goerke caught Phil for the pass and he would finish in 3rd place.
Cade Clason rounded out the night in 5th place.
Shawn Maffenbeier finished with a 9th.

Phil Nicoletti wrapped up the night with 4th overall.
In the 250 Pro class, Davey Fraser would finish with 9th overall.
Joey Parkes would finish 6th in the LCQ.
Marco Cannella would finish 4th overall.
An impressive first run for rookie Tyler Gibbs who went 11th overall.
Lap traffic in the main event caused issue for Renzland.
Luke Renzland would finish out the night with an impressive 3rd place.
A great start for the Royal Distributing/FXR/Yamaha team.
In contrast to most factory teams who are fuelled by energy drinks, the Royal Distibuting/FXR/Yamaha team is fuelled by Foster's Maple Syrup.
Congratulations Luke on a fantastic finish and looking forward to seeing more of this throughout the year.
Your 250 Pro podium. See you guys in Calgary!
Written by Dawn M

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