Team Toyota Yamaha Red Bull Blackfoot Fox Racing ended their stellar 2009 season in style at the Montreal Supercross, with team riders Kyle Beaton, Colton Facciotti, and Dusty Klatt all taking turns spraying the champagne by the end of the night. Beaton took the new 2010 Yamaha YZ250F to the top of the box in the MX2 class, while Facciotti and Klatt took second and third place in the hotly contested MX1 main event.
Beaton’s win was certainly the highlight in what was otherwise a difficult year for the British Columbia native, as he struggled with injury throughout the outdoor national season. His night at Montreal looked to be more of the same as he suffered an ankle injury during the morning qualifying session and was unsure if he would be able to race the main. However, he would not be denied his last chance for redemption in 2009, and he decided he was going to gut it out and go for the win.
“It was definitely an up and down day for me,” said Kyle of his Montreal ride. “When I had that fall in practice I thought it was over for sure, but I after a while things started to feel better and I decided I was just going to go for it. In the main my new 2010 YZ250F got me a great start. I came out of the gate and down the start straight so fast I almost didn’t make the turn! I still came out of that first corner in third and I made my way into the lead after a few laps and just cruised from there. I’m really happy that I could put that new bike on top for Yamaha and for the team. It’s such an awesome machine and Yamaha definitely made some great changes as it worked so well.”
The team’s MX1 riders had a fantastic night as well, putting their Yamaha YZ450Fs on the podium ahead of a talented field of American supercross specialists. After a convincing win in his heat race, Facciotti started the main in third position and quickly dispatched second place rider Daniel Blair. Klatt came around the first corner in fifth and made his way into third place behind Colton within a couple of laps. Together, the two Blackfoot riders set their sights on the leader Jason Thomas, and the three of them opened up a sizable lead over the rest of the field. However, a win was not in the cards as the track was difficult to make up time on, and the two finished on the podium in second and third.
“It was a good race,” Facciotti explained. “Realistically I don’t think it could have gone much better than that other than winning. Everyone knows the start is really important at this race since it’s a short main event and it’s hard to pass out there. I didn’t get the start that I wanted and by the time I got into second and moved around Blair as he was holding me up, Thomas was too far out front to catch. I just want to thank the team for an awesome year as well as all our sponsors. Winning the MX1 National Championship and finishing second at the Montreal Supercross, it’s hard to do much better than that.”
Team Manager Joe Skidd was more than happy with the team’s performance: “We can call that a successful night. We were all happy to see Kyle find his stride after a difficult year. For him to go out and win on a brand new motorcycle that he had no seat time on is impressive, and to do it with an ankle injury is just amazing. Dusty and Colton did almost as well as they could have and finishing second and third as these results are nothing to sneeze at. This event has always been a roll of the dice with the race being short, the track being hard to pass on, and all the American riders coming up to compete. To come out of it with all three of our riders on the box is absolutely a victory for us. It was definitely a job well done by all our riders, mechanics, and support staff. One last thank you needs to be given to Yamaha Canada, Toyota, Red Bull, Blackfoot Motosports, Fox Racing, and all our other fantastic sponsors. We couldn’t do it without them and we look forward to representing them again next year.”
The team also participated in the Press Launch of the new YZ450F with Yamaha Canada and the Canadian Motorcycle Press on Friday night at the track. Both Colton and Dusty had a chance to ride the new bike and were very pleased with the performance, handling as well as all aspects of the innovative new Yamaha. Also a special thanks to Fox Canada for supplying our riders with the newly designed 2010 gear.
Remember to visit yamaha.blackfootracing.com. The new website has the latest information on our riders, sponsor links, team stats, current and archived press releases, photos of the team and riders and swag including the NEW Team Posters, great team photos as well as other marketing products. Check it out, and be sure to sign up for the Blackfoot Pulse to get the latest updates and press releases on the team delivered right to your inbox.
