Jess Pettis had high hopes for Team Canada at the Motocross of Nations event held this past weekend in Ernee, France.
Pettis, the 26-year-old Prince George rider, was coming off a second-place finish this year in the Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Tour 450 cc class.
Also on the three-rider Canadian team was DylandWright of Drummondville, Que., who edged Pettis for the 450 cc Triple Crown Series championship, and 250 cc pro class Candian champion Ryder McNabb of Minnedosa, Man.
Pettis competed in the open class and ended up 18th in the B final. Wright crashed in his qualifying run in the MX Grand Prix class and placed 29th, while McNabb finished ninth in the B final.
“What a crazy experience and grateful for the opportunity at MXON 23,” said Pettis, in an Instagram post. “Our team had so much rough luck and bummed it went that way, but we have more years to prove our spot.”
It was Pettis's second appearance at the Motocross of Nations. In 2018 in Michigan he competed in the event.
Despite a knee injury suffered in training while on the Supercross stadium circuit in the United States that forced him to miss eight months in 2019, Pettis has remained one of Canada’s top motocross riders. The KTM Red Bull THOR team rider won the Triple Crown 250 cc series title in 2020, after achieving runner-up status the year before. He jumped to the 450 pro class in 2021 and placed second overall.
Injuries limited Pettis to three Triple Crown races in 2022 but he made the 450 pro podium in all three.
The manager of the Canadian team in France is Kourtney Lloyd of Prince George, who first took on the job in 2016, becoming the first female Motocross of Nations team manager. Lloyd also heads the Cycle North Powersports pro motocross team that supports 29 Canadian riders.
