Last night I had the pleasure of attending the 2012 KTM Canada team launch party at Red Bull’s offices here in Toronto.  Andy White at KTM was kind enough to send me an invitation and I was honored to attend.   I had a great season shooting for KTM in 2011 and was very excited to see what was under the hood for 2012.  This year’s roster consists of two-time MX1 champion Colton Facciotti, national #2 Dusty Klatt and 2011 Montreal Supercross winner Jeremy Medaglia.   According to my math, 15+2+1 = podiums.

The hottest ticket in town.

I wanted to stop in at the Toronto Motorcycle Show to check out the latest issue of MXP and walk the floor a bit.   I got there in the early afternoon and met up with Charles and Gauldy at the booth.  The mag looks amazing and I am really pleased with how it turned out.  We took the opportunity to talk about next season and the upcoming photo issue. It’s going to feature some of  my best images from the summer and I am really looking forward to seeing it.  I waited until the show was over and headed to Red Bull with Gauldy, Frankie B, Dylan Kaelin and Fabs. It was a chilly walk but it wasn’t long before we got warmed up at Red Bull’s killer digs.  I wasn’t planning on shooting anything but just couldn’t leave my camera behind.  I didn’t snap anything at the show but am happy I brought it to record the great night at the launch party.

KTM Canada General Manager, Florian Burguet, kicks off the launch outlining KTM’s vision

Our 2012 SX product line up and our business attitude are now perfectly aligned for successful results. At a time when other motorcycle companies may question their involvement in racing, KTM means to do the opposite and reinforces its commitment to winning – Florian Burguet

Team ambassador, Jean-Sébastien Roy, and KTM Racing Manager, Andy White

Andy White talks about KTM’s non-compromise approach to racing.

 Just like in the US with De Coster, Dungey, Roczen and Musquin, our new Canadian team will respect a non-compromise racing approach. We will be extremely victory-driven and Colton is definitely the first step in building a complete championship team. – Andy White

Colton Facciotti shares his thoughts about being on board with the new team.

Everybody felt the energy from the presentation. This team is united, top to bottom.

National #2, Dusty Klatt, talks about what he hopes to bring to the team in 2012

Jeremy, Dusty and Colton with 5x National Champ and team captain, JSR.

Team KTM Canada riders Dusty Klatt, Colton Facciotti and Jeremy Medaglia

The new Fox kits look amazing.

Florian, Andy and their team did a great job with the launch.  Their passion and desire to win was felt by all.  This is a tight team and they will be tough to beat.  From the top down, everyone is committed and will accept nothing less than 100%.   The bikes and kits look amazing – the best on the circuit in my opinion.  Stephan Leblanc did a outstanding job of preparing the bikes.   I can’t wait to snap some action shots of these!  Once the launch portion was complete, everyone mingled and enjoyed the great party they put on for us. Red Bull knows how to host a great event.

“Red Bull Gives You Wings”

Always killer tunes spinning at Red Bull

Just chillin’ by the Red Bull fridges

Jeremy Medaglia

A Festivus for the rest of us – Feats of Strength

Red Bull’s BMX phenom, Drew Bezanson, stops by for a visit

Huge thanks to Florian, Andy and the team at KTM for inviting me to your launch!  Thank you J.D. and everyone at Red Bull for hosting such a great party.

I can’t wait to see what 2012 brings for this team and look forward to capturing it all.