Chris Noyland, a professional motocross rider in Alberta, says he has watched 11-year-old Spedden rider Brennan Gooden since he started riding over seven years ago.
Noyland, who also serves as sales manager for Cycle Works West Motorsports at the company’s Acheson location, says he likes how Brennan has improved his craft since that point, so much so that Cycle Works West has decided to sponsor Brennan.
“We always try and sponsor people that are good at the track,” says Noyland. “We want to sponsor people that are polite and present a good image for our shop. He has always been polite and he pretty much lives and breathes motocross racing,” he adds.
“It is a bonus that he is so fast on the bike.”
The sponsorship has afforded Brennan a free bike from Cycle Works West for the next five years. This year, Brennan has chosen a Suzuki RM85 bike. Noyland says by Brennan choosing this bike he is helping further his development.
“The nice thing is that it is a two-stroke bike,” he says. “You learn a lot more on a two-stroke. With a four-stroke they’re easier to ride because the power is always there. With a two-stroke you have to do the corners better to keep your speed up, which makes you better when you move onto four-stroke.”
This new bike helps put Brennan in a position to go to more races than the four he attended last year.
“I really want to try and attend most of the races this year,” says Brennan. “I really like getting on the different courses and having fun.”
The course at Devil’s Lake and Antler Lake ranks as two of his favourites. He looks forward to visiting both after the season starts in May.
“Devil’s Lake I really like the GP (Grand Prix) Track because it is such a fun section with all its big jumps. I like the wagon hill at Antler Lake. It is fun going down it because it is a steep jump.”
Achieving a top five ranking is a goal for Brennan this season. In order to do so he says he needs to get off to quicker starts in his races and he needs to generate more speed on the corner turns.
Fountain Tire Loyalty
It could be tempting for an original sponsor for an athlete to cut bait with that competitor when he or she lands a new sponsor. But that thought never occurred to Jason Quinney, the owner of the St. Paul Fountain Tire.
“Jason said ‘no way,’ we are sticking with this guy,” says Cory Gooden, Brennan’s father, and the owner of the B3 Motocross Track, which is the main course Brennan practices on, near Spedden.
Quinney initially sponsored Brennan four years ago and has supplied the young motocross rider with deckels, tires and other materials over the years. Unlike Noyland, Quinney does not have a background in motorsports.
Gooden says Quinney’s support for Brennan is for two reasons - one reason is he sees potential in Brennan, and the second reason is he is simply a helpful guy.
“Jason always likes to help people out, whether it be a coffee cup, or $1,000 or whatever, he is always willing to help people,” says Ed Cardinal, who works with Quinney at Fountain Tire.
The partnership between Quinney and the Gooden family extends to Fountain Tire sponsoring the B3 Motocross Park’s Fountain Tire Cup every year.
With both his new and old sponsor supporting him every step of the way, Brennan seems poised to have a great season.
