On a rider friendly, cool, dry day in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, Round 2 of the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals presented by Motovan saw both the MX1 and MX2 red plates pass into the hands of different riders, as the series leaves the west coast and begins its summer long trip east.

 Canadian hero Honda Canada Racing Fox GDR’s Colton Facciotti finished 2-2 and stood on top of the MX1 podium in Nanaimo, grabbing the series lead and the red plate that goes with it, heading into Round 3. Fellow Canadian KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Cole Thompson put on a clinic at the Wastelands while finishing 1-1 in the MX2 class, and in the process begins to put some distance between himself and the rest of the riders.

The Wastelands in Nanaimo is a huge, outdoor, spectator friendly supercross track, cut into the side of a mountain with elevation changes and a hard packed, shale based soil. It also has a unique concrete starting pad like the one we will see next weekend at the Wild Rose MX Park in Calgary at Round 3.

2016 Nanaimo MX1 | Race Results

KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Davi Millsaps had a nearly perfect day; he led all but one lap of the entire 2 motos after getting good starts and making aggressive passes early in both races. Unfortunately for Davi, he was penalized 10 positions in the first moto after video evidence showed him jumping on a Red Cross flag. Fellow competitor Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha’s Matt Goerke suffered the same fate after finishing third in the first moto. Goerke ended up 13-4 on the day, which put him in sixth overall. Millsaps was on fire today and was clearly the fastest man on the track. With the penalty Davi finished 11-1, for fourth overall, and was very gracious on the podium after the second moto where he apologized for missing the flag.

Honda Canada Racing Fox GDR’s Colton Facciotti on the podium after the second moto described his performance today as “slow and steady.”  Colton ended up on top of the podium after finishing 2-2 on the day and briefly leading the second moto. He managed to keep Millsaps in his sights for most of Moto 2, but was never a threat to the front runner. “Colt 45” leaves Nanaimo with the series lead and the red plate on his bike, and is in a good position as we head east to win his fifth national title.

Monster Energy Alpinestar Kawasaki’s Mike Allesi rode well this weekend, and after Goerke made a mistake on the last lap of Moto 1, passed him to finish second. Mike ended up being declared the winner of Moto 1 after the penalties, and went on to finish fifth in Moto 2, for second overall. Allesi is sitting third in the standings and is only 12 points back of the series leader. Mike has not had the good starts we are used to seeing out of him thus far, but expect the talented US rider to get that worked out as we move to the next round.

Grabbing both Royal Distributing Holeshots this weekend was Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha’s Brett Metcalfe, who’s 3-3 moto finishes were good enough for third overall. Metcalfe admitted after the race that the Wastelands track is not one of his favourites and was happy with his third place finish. “I was surprised to grab two Holeshots,” Metty said on the podium after the race.

Rounding out the top 5 were Davi Millsaps 11-1, and Redemption Racing Big Steel Box KTM’s Cade Clason with 4-8 moto finishes. Clason is in sixth place in the series standings as we head to Round 3 next weekend.

Parts Canada Husqvarna’s Tyler Medaglia finished sixth in the second moto after suffering a mechanical issue in the first moto that forced him back to nineteenth. KTM Canada Thor Racing’s Rookie Kaven Benoit was running strongly in the first moto in fourth place until a broken chain forced him to retire. After a second moto start outside the top 15, Kaven could only manage to fight back to a seventh place finish. His 30-7 finishes cost him in the series standings, as he was pushed down to ninth position after doing well in the opening round in Kamloops.