Canada: Gopher Dunes brought the heat for Round 4

What a day of sand surfing at the Dunes! A beautiful day greeted us Sunday morning at the pristine Gopher Dunes facility in Courtland, Ontario, for Round 4 of the Triple Crown Series.

Words | Press release

KTM Canada Red Bull’s Josiah Natzke clinched the overall victory with 1-3 results in the 450 class. At the same time, his teammate Jess Pettis secured 3rd position at the end of the day after finishing 10th in the first moto due to a mechanical issue and winning the second one.

In the 250 class, Kawasaki USA’s Drew Adams dominated the day. KTM Canada Red Bull’s Kaven Benoit worked hard to secure 2nd overall and keep his red plates for the next round.

450 CLASS: TOW IN A ROW FOR NATZKE | WRIGHT OUT

In the 450 class, KTM’s Jess Pettis jumped out early and set a blistering pace over his teammate Josiah Natzke. However, late in the moto, Pettis suffered a mechanical issue while leading, ending his lead and earning a 10th-place finish. WLTN Kawasaki’s Tanner Ward also encountered mechanical problems, and Sky Racing’s Julien Benek crashed out while running a career-best 5th place. American rider Tristan Lane capitalized on these incidents, finishing 2nd in moto one behind Josiah Natzke. Reigning national champion Dylan Wright from Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing secured 3rd place despite a painful shoulder injury that had kept him off the bike for almost three weeks.

*Josiah Natzke close the gap with his second win in a row – Image: KTM Canada*

In Moto 2, Tanner Ward jumped into 3rd at the first corner and took advantage of two tip-overs by Pettis and Natzke to lead early. Eventually, Pettis passed for the lead while Natzke rode a quiet race to finish in 3rd. Natzke’s performance earned him a 3-1 moto score, securing his second 450 overall win in Canada. Ward maintained his speed for the duration of the moto, finishing in a commanding second.

Tristan Lane battled from the back of the pack in Moto 2 to finish 5th, earning 3rd overall on the day—his best career finish in the 450 class.

Dylan Wight OUT for remainder of the season:

The GDR team has made the decision to have 450 defending champ, Dylan Wright to sit out the next few weekends to fully recover from his shoulder injury sustained at round 2. While Dylan showed unbelievable resilience in trying to compete, the pain has been just too much to withstand week after week. This will officially eliminate Dylan from championship contention in 2024. A return date for Dylan to start riding and racing again has not yet been set. Time to get healthy!

450 RESULTS

Top 10 Overall:

#23 Josiah Natzke (KTM) 1-3
#97 Tristan Lane (KTM) 2-5
#15 Jess Pettis (KTM) 10-1
#1 Dylan Wright (Honda) 3-6
#808 Preston Killroy (Yamaha) 5-4
#109 Aaron Tanti (Kawasaki) 4-7
#8 Mitchell Harrison (Kawasaki) 7-8
#377 Daniel Elmore (Yamaha) 6-9
#18 Parker Eales (KTM) 8-10
#84 Tanner Ward (Kawasaki) 22-2

Top 10 Standings post Round 4 of 8:

#15 Jess Pettis (KTM) 172
#23 Josiah Natzke (KTM) 169
#808 Preston Killroy (Yamaha) 140
#109 Aaron Tanti (Kawasaki) 135
#1 Dylan Wright (Honda) 133
#8 Mitchell Harrison (Kawaski) 117
#84 Tanner Ward (Kawasaki) 111
#377 Daniel Elmore (Yamaha) 92
#17 Julien Benek (Husqvarna) 91
#18 Parker Eales (KTM) 90

250 CLASS: DREW ADAMS IS COMING!

The first moto of the 250 class saw newcomer Kawasaki USA/Team Green/WLTN Kawasaki’s Krystian Janik quickly jump to the lead, which he held for the first half of the race until a mid-moto crash allowed Kawasaki USA’s Drew Adams to take over. The bobble by Janik also allowed Kaven Benoit to pass through to 2nd. At the checkered flag, Adams, Beniot, and Janik finished in that order.

In the second 250 moto, a large crash collected many riders at the front pack, allowing Adams and Beniot to jump to the lead. Returning to action was Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing’s Tyler Medaglia, who held the pace with the leaders early on and then fended off a late charge by Kawasaki’s Dylan Rempel. Adams dominated the moto from start to finish, earning him and his KX250 a 54-second lead over second place.

250 RESULTS

Top 10 Overall: