Ryan Derry is ready for the Walton TransCan Amateur Motocross Grand National Championships in southwestern Ontario. This is his fourth trip to the event and he hopes this this he will make it to the medal podium.
Sports
August 09, 2008 10:23 PM
By: Mike Hayakawa
Ryan Derry is no stranger to competing in the Walton TransCan Amateur Motocross Grand National Championships.
The Thornhill resident negotiated the jumps, corners and other obstacles on the track in Walton, east of Goderich, Ont., on three previous occasions.
But when this year’s event runs Aug. 13 to 17, the 15-year-old would like to take the next step in his competitive career and win the big event.
In this year’s championships, Derry intends to compete in three different classes, including the MX2 Junior, School Boy and GP Junior.
The races showcase some of the top Canadian dirt bike racers and has been a launching point for several Canadian professional motocrossers, including the likes of Colton Facciotti, Dusty Klatt, Tyler Medaglia and Jeremy Medaglia.
The best effort Derry recorded in his three prior trips to the championships was a sixth-place effort during his debut in 2006, while competing in the 80cc for racers 7 to 11-year-old.
“I’ve actually had some bad luck at Walton, but that’s all over now,” the Grade 10 Thornhill Secondary School student said.
Derry knows winning a title won’t be easy.
“These classes are filled with kids 17- to 20-years-old so it can be challenging and intimidating at times. But I think I can place inside the top 10, depending on what class we are talking about,” he said.
Where Derry feels his best chance lies is in the School Boy division.
Here, he will race against competitors his own age.
As well, he noted racers in this division are all first-year competitors who moved up into riding bigger bikes.
In Derry’s case, he rides a KTM 144 cc, two-stroke bike sponsored by Parker Brothers Power Sports, NGK Sparkplugs and Supershow Events.
“It’s been a huge adjustment,” Derry said, in making the jump to riding a bigger bike. “At the start of the year it was really huge. But around halfway through the year I was increasing my speed.”
In the MX2 Junior class, Derry said he is racing against competitors who are older in age.
As for the GP Junior, Derry said it’s a combination race of riders on 450CC bikes and others on 250CC machines.
“They’re both tough classes,” he said.
As one of more than 10,000 riders who spent the last three months qualifying for the championships, Derry gained entry after accumulating enough points while racing in four regional events.
In those, Derry’s best result was a fifth in a regional qualifier in Paisley, Ont. in MX2 Junior.
“It’s always been my goal to compete against Canada’s best,” Derry said.
He was introduced to bike racing when he was four, receiving his first powered machine at Christmas time through his father Peter, a former road racer.
Derry said he has several professional riders that offer inspiration to him.
Among them are Ricky Carmichael, Kevin Windham and Facciotti. Of that group, Carmichael has set a high standard to Derry.
“Ricky has brought the whole sport to a different level with his strong work ethic,” he said.
Part of that work ethic Derry referred to is in the amount of physical training Carmichael does to prepare himself for races.
“A lot of people think motorcross racing is just about riding a bike,” Derry said. “But that’s not the case. Ricky Carmichael does a lot of physical training to prepare himself and that’s a big reason why he’s successful.”
In Derry’s case, he also takes part in track and field at Thornhill Secondary School and was the York Region Athletic Association midget boys’ high jump champion this past year.
When he’s not doing that, Derry also runs cross country during the fall.
At the same time, Derry said part of his success also stems from learning more about racing strategy.
While satisfied with how his racing season has progressed thus far, Derry hopes he can continue with it for years down the road.
“My plan is to pursue (dirt bike racing) as far as I can,” he said. “But I’m also focusing on my education just in case.”