Page 72 - October_MPG

CANYON RICHARDS
KILPATRICK
The name Canyon Richards has become well known around the amateur motocross industry -- partly due to his twenty-six AMA National Championships and partly due to his willingness to send it to the moon and back. The nine year old ripper out of New Jer- sey claims that his two favorite things to do are “eat ice cream and hit big doubles,” and it was evident to everyone in attendance at Baja Acres for the 2017 Brawl that at least one of those things is true. The Cobra rider put together a solid year of results throughout spring nationals all the way to Loretta Lynn’s, most notably capturing a couple of titles at Oak Hill as well as a fourth place overall in the 51 (7-8) Limited class at the Ranch. He carried that momentum into the Baja Brawl where his main focus would remain in both 51cc classes although he was set to compete in both 65cc (7-9) classes as well. His best result on the TC65 came on the very first day of racing where he snagged a tenth place finish against some of the older competition, providing the fans in attendance with an insight into the bright future of this young New Jersey talent. Nonetheless, the real story took place in the 51cc classes where Rich- ards dominated the opening day of proceedings, winning both of his motos in assertive fashion. He pulled the holeshot in the (4-8) Open class and never looked back, eventually taking the checkered flag with a gap of almost five seconds ahead of his closest rival. The real challenge came in the (7-8) class where he found himself in a battle with Seth Dennis from the gate drop to the checkered
72 MPG • OCTOBER • 2017