No Team Canada for 2019 MXoN – boycott & power struggles derail Assen plans

We won’t see Team Canada at this year’s Motocross of Nations in Assen on September 28/29, the Canadian Motorcycle Association have announced.

Our Canadian motocross friends appear to be suffering from some significant infighting and power struggles, leaving both riders and fans as the big losers.

Team Canada’s MXoN manager Carl Bastedo offered his personal take to website Direct Motocross, explaining that Honda Canada GDR Fox Racing team along with their riders would be boycotting the 2019 MXoN.

Bastedo was told by the MCC (Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada) that other teams that they had spoken with had indicated they would not be available to attend the ‘Nations and would not offer support.

Undeterred Bastedo continued to try and put things together for the Assen event and approached Yamaha, Kawasaki and KTM who all indicated that none of their riders would attend.

The majority of riders Bastedo contacted said that they wanted to take part but without the support of their teams it would be a nonstarter.

What do you make of this situation? Hit us up on social media. But before you do, here’s the full press release from the CMA…

It is with great regret that the CMA announces that there will be no Canadian Team participating in the “Olympics of Motocross” next month in Assen, Netherlands.

This eliminates our chance to build on the solid performance of last year in the United States, and deprives our riders of the rare opportunity to participate with the world’s best, at the most important motocross event of the year.

Sadly this is not the first time that a small number of people, who profess to love the sport and want to see it “grow” in Canada, has worked against the sincere efforts by the Canadian Motorcycle Association and its appointed Team Manager Carl Bastedo, to field a team.

Canada’s first appearance on the world stage, was at Hawkstone Park in England in 1964. The team consisted of Reg Bellerose, Norman Braden, Denis Mitchell and Rudi Zacsko. Participation in the years following was sporadic, mostly due to lack of funding for the project (a situation not unique to Canada), and on occasion because a rider(s) was not given permission by their sponsor to attend. It usually was explained as a business decision made because riders were contracted to race in Canada to sell motorcycles in Canada, which makes sense from a purely business perspective.

Now however, the world is a much smaller place and with live streaming, media websites and social media coverage of events such as the Motocross of Nations, a team attracts more at home interest than in the past.

Personal agendas and perceived injustices at the hands of the national federation should not prevent the riders from having this very important experience. It is a shame for Canada and its motocross community.

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