End of An Era - Blackfoot Racing Retires

After 12 years in Canadian National Motocross, 11 of which were national championship winning seasons, Calgary-based Blackfoot Racing Inc. is retiring from their National efforts. The winningest team in the history of Canadian motocross will no longer field a multi-rider team in the CMRC National Motocross Championship.

“It is with a heavy heart and lots of soul-searching that I have come to the decision to withdraw from active motocross participation and close our National Racing Division,” said Jason Mitchell, Vice President of the Blackfoot Group of Companies, which owns and operates Blackfoot Racing Inc.

“We will always love motocross and will continue to support racing at the local level, just not at the level we have been at over the last 12 years. We are very proud of what Blackfoot Racing has accomplished and contributed to the sport. Leaving this scene is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make because it affects not just me, but a lot of other people and companies.”

“For the next few months we will be winding down the racing operations including the sale of a complete race facility, 12 years of parts, tools, machining equipment, accessories as well as the team semi.” added Mitchell. “We have had numerous inquires already, however it is our goal to sell the assets as a complete package, which for someone starting a team or looking to upgrade their racing efforts, it would be very beneficial.”

During its tenure in Canadian motocross, Blackfoot Racing not only raised the bar on operating a top-flight professional motocross team, under Mitchell’s guidance they won an impressive 18 national championships and one international title.

Since 2001, the year that Jean Sebastien Roy joined the team’s 250cc lineup (later to become MX1), Blackfoot recorded a staggering 80 overall wins, 50 of which were clean sweeps. The combined total MX1 moto wins reached 154, when Colton Facciotti won the first (and only) moto at the final round of the nationals in Walton this year.

In the volatile 125cc class, Blackfoot won the 125 West Championship with Sean Hamblin in 2000, which was the team’s first foray in the nationals scene. Four more 125 West titles followed. In the 125 East title hunt, Blackfoot claimed the championship in 2003 with Randy Valade. When the 125 East/West series was revamped as the MX2 Championship in 2008, Blackfoot proved their mettle by producing back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011 with Tyler Medaglia.

In 2001 and 2002 Blackfoot Racing headed south of the border to campaign the American Supercross Championship during the off-season, regularly scoring top-15 results with Jean Sebastien Roy and grabbing the AMA Privateer Team of the Year Award in 2002.

In addition to winning Canadian motocross championships, Blackfoot clinched the THQ US Open 4-Stroke Championship in 2001 with Blair Morgan and won the Montreal Supercross three times with Jean Sebastien Roy.

The 2007 season was the only one without an MX1 title, but with Colton Facciotti, making his debut with the team, Blackfoot still brought home runner-up in the series. That same year they won their last 125 West Championship with Jimmy Nelson.

Mitchell applied the many years of business skills he acquired in the motorcycle industry – including co-managing Canada’s Premiere motorcycle dealership Blackfoot Motosports and assisting with Blackfoot Direct – to running a National racing team. Although Blackfoot Racing was his baby, Mitchell credits its unparalleled success to the support of his partners, the riders and people who were involved in the operation of the team.

“From day one we had really talented riders and dedicated staff members who made sure our riders had to concern themselves only with pre-season testing and campaigning the nationals. Everybody knew their job descriptions and everybody pulled their weight,” Mitchell said. “We were also surrounded by the top manufacturers and sponsors, which made our job easier knowing the support was there at all times. We cannot thank each and every one of them enough for their commitment to our team over the years.”

Mitchell continued, “It was teamwork in the true sense of the word. We had an agenda. We weren’t just in the business of racing; we were in the business of winning. It was all for one, one for all. Once you were part of our team, you were part of our family. We were all on the same page. We had only one objective and that was to be the number one family in Canadian motocross.”



MX 1 Championships

2001: 1 Jean Sebastien Roy; 2 Blair Morgan

2002: 1 Jean Sebastien Roy; 2 Blair Morgan

2003: 1 Jean Sebastien Roy; 2 Damon Huffman

2004: 1 Jean Sebastien Roy; 2 Damon Huffman

2005: 1 Jean Sebastien Roy; 3 Damon Huffman

2006: 1 Dusty Klatt; 2 Jean Sebastien Roy; 3 Blair Morgan

2008: 1 Colton Facciotti; 4 Blair Morgan

2009: 1 Colton Facciotti; 4 Blair Morgan

2010: 1 Dusty Klatt

2011: 1 Colton Facciotti; 2 Dusty Klatt

125 East & 125 West Championships

2000: 1 West, Sean Hamblin

2003: 1 East, Randy Valade

2004: 1 West, Dusty Klatt

2005: 1West, Dusty Klatt

2006: 1 West, Jimmy Nelson

2007: 1 West, Jimmy Nelson

MX2 National Champtionships

2010: 1 Tyler Medaglia

2011: 1 Tyler Medaglia

International Championships

2001: 1 Blair Morgan, THQ U.S. Open 4-stroke



www.blackfootonline.com

www.blackfootdirect.com

www.blackfootracing.com

For further information please contact:

Dean Thompson, dean@blackfootracing.com 1.403.214.2850

Jason Mitchell, jm@blackfootonline.com 1.403.818.3773