With 50,000 people watching from the stands at Oakland Alameda Coliseum and hundreds of thousands of viewers around the world tuned in on TVs and cell phones, Jess Pettis was as relaxed as a motocross racer could be.
It was his first crack of the throttle in an American Motorcyclist Association Supercross event and the 21-year-old Prince George rider nailed it. As the only Canadian in the entire field of riders he got the hole shot and grabbed the early lead in his heat race. Pettis eventually got bucked off his bike and didn't quite make the cut in the last chance qualifier (LCQ) to race the main event, but he was well on his way.
At his next race at Petco Park in San Diego that rude landing on his shoulder the previous week came back to bite him. Pettis landed a jump in the LCQ and felt his shoulder pop. A trip to the hospital confirmed he had a broken shoulder blade, no doubt related to his crash in Oakland.
Two months later on April 7 he was back racing supercross again at CenturyLink Field on Seattle, home of the Seahawks, and Pettis was on his game. On a muddy day at the track he was second overall in qualifying, second in the LCQ and made it into his first main event, finishing 17th overall. Then it was off to Salt Lake City April 28 and Pettis won the LCQ, finishing 18th in the main. Four races, two main events, and Pettis has Prince George on the map in the big leagues of motocross.
"It's been my dream ever since I was a little kid - it's every racer's dream, it's the NHL of motocross," said Pettis, who will be trying to make it 3-for-3 atop the podium this year when the Rockstar Energy MX National Series returns to Prince George Saturday at Blackwater Motocross Park.
"I raced four supercrosses this year and come out healthy with some good results so I'm pretty excited about that. There's a few injuries that bother me but I'm feeling fit and injury-free right now and I plan to keep it that way for the season and keep the ball rolling like it has been the last few weeks."
Motocross at the highest level is a thrill ride like no other. Supercross riders are considered among the world's most fit athletes and they have to be to hang on to their bikes racing in motos that last 30 to 35 minutes. In those races riders maintain heart rates of about 180 beats per minute.
"I put in a ton of work - it's like an everyday job and everything I do revolves around motocross," Pettis said. "I wake up and train, ride, eat healthy, it's a full program and every day I work towards bettering myself as a rider."
Pettis came to Oakland for his first supercross as a privateer, pitting out of his own van with a small crew of family and friends to support him.
"No one had a clue who I was coming into it and I think that's why I had no pressure on me and I just went out and had fun," he said. "It was awesome being the only Canadian out there, it was pretty cool to hold down the flag for us. I was super-calm and I think that's why I got a great start in my heat race. I got the hole shot and made a few mistakes and didn't get into the main event but I showed the world I had the speed to run up front with the top guys."
The Salt Lake City race was broadcast on Fox Sports and on the Fox Sports Go app and drew an estimated screen audience of 846,000 viewers, the highest-ever ratings in the 44-year history of supercross. Pettis qualified 12th for that race.
"I was running almost in the top-10, around the 11th mark, in the main event and had a little crash and couldn't start my bike, so I ended up 18th in the main event," he said.
Pettis opened the outdoor series in Calgary on May 26, winning both his 250cc motos, then hit Popkum Motorsport Park near Chilliwack last weekend and posted second- and first-place finishes and another overall title.
"It's been awesome, I put in a lot of work in the off-season in California and it's starting to pay off," said Pettis. "It's a great start to the series."
Pettis leads the 250cc class with 117 points, eight ahead of second-place Shawn Maffenbeier of Swift Current, Sask., and 17 up on third-place American Josh Osby of Valparaiso, Ind. Jonah Brittons of Prince George, 18, was 12th overall in Calgary and placed 20th in Popkum and he'll be back to race this weekend at Blackwater.
In the 450cc points race, Colton Facciotti, a four-time MX national champion from Aylmer, Ont., has a 21-point lead over Matt Goerke of Panama City Beach, Fla., after two events.
Pettis didn't get a chance to attend the practice Monday at Blackwater, where he first started learning the ropes of racing as an eight-year-old kid in the 50cc mini class. He hasn't ridden the track since last year, choosing instead to practice on his parents' property in Beaverly. He spends his off-season in Menifee, Calif., where he lives and trains for six months with Kevin Urquhart. The benefit of living in California was not only the warm climate but Pettis has a supercross track to train on, which was a huge help once he started racing in stadiums.
"It's completely different," he said. "All the jumps are really big, every obstacle on the track is very aggressive and it's like nothing I've ever practiced before so it took some getting used to. It's really aggressive and you can get hurt really easy doing it so you have to make sure you ride smooth and don't crash.
"I think that's made me a better rider all-round. You've kind of got to learn how to ride different obstacles and passing people. I was racing the best people in the world and that gave me some confidence coming back to Canada."
Pettis, part of the Royal Distributing FXR Yamaha team, is thankful for his local sponsors - White Spruce Enterprises, Spotless Uniforms, Dean Birks Royal LePage and P.G. Klassic Autobody - which help him pay the bills. Frequenting the podium in Canada is not enough to make a living but he might get there if he starts winning supercross races and gets sponsored by a factory team, a definite possibility for Pettis if he keeps proving he can race with the big boys.
The Rockstar MX National Triple Crown series visits 10 cities. Last year's Prince George race drew a crowd of more than 3,000 fans, unprecedented in the history of the track, which opened in 1996.
"Last year went really well at Blackwater, I went 2-2 for second overall, which was awesome in front of the hometown crowd, and they showed a lot of support for the hometown kid last year, so hopefully we can get another overall win and keep the red plate heading into Round 4," he said.
"Now people know what to expect so it should be a good turnout."
