Jess Pettis is tearing up the track!
The Prince George motocross racer is competing in 2020’s shortened version of the Canadian Triple Crown Tour, which was reduced from nine circuits to five in light of COVID-19.
Despite silent grandstands, in an effort to minimize any potential spread of the virus, the 22-year-old is off to a roaring start by winning the first two competitions in the MX-Tour portion of the three-discipline event.
This past weekend (Aug. 8 and 9), he claimed gold at Walton Raceway in Ontario after finishing first, second and first again in the three races of his 250PRO category.
Pettis clocked in 15 laps at over 31 minutes for the top spot in the opening contest, 11 laps in 28 minutes for a second in round two and then rallied to 13 laps in 22 minutes during the final race to land at the top of the podium.
The KTM Canada pilot earned 72 points to his Triple Crown Series total of 147, which currently has him 16 points ahead of American Marshal Weltin in second place.
In July, round one of the new season started at Gopher Dunes in Courtland, Ont., where Pettis performed a clean sweep in going first overall in all three races against a field of 40.
Last year, he wowed the Prince George crowd at Blackwater Park and though he would ultimately finish with a bronze medal on home soil, he did claim first in the first of two races.
By circuit’s end, Pettis had finished second overall in the MX Tour and was set to compete in the supercross category, but a torn ACL sustained from the main event took him out of the competition.
“I was consistently on the podium each weekend and ended the outdoor championship in second place, just short of the title,” said Pettis to Motocross Performance following the conclusion of the 2019 campaign.
“Unfortunately, I had a small tip over at Montreal Supercross, where I tore my ACL which ended my 2019 season. This injury will motivate me, and make me hungrier than ever for 2020.”
The winner of the Triple Crown Series each year is awarded $100,000.
Prince George was scheduled to repeat as host of Round Two of the 2020 circuit for a fourth straight year, but Blackwater MX Park organizers withdrew in February before COVID-19 shortened the season altogether.
Pettis will get to test the Walton, Ont. track once again with Round Three of the MX Tour in the Canadian Triple Crown Series taking place this Sunday (Aug. 16).
This time, it’ll be just a two-race event before heading off to Ottawa at the end of the month for Round Four.
