Shortly after being featured on the cover of the Nation (volume 8, no. 13), young moto-cross racer Nathaniel Bosum was temporarily grounded by car thieves. His father Abel’s pick-up truck and 16 foot trailer were stolen from a parking lot near the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Montreal, either late Friday night, May 25th, or in the wee hours of Saturday the 26th.
The Bosum’s were overnighting in Montreal and heading for a race in Victoriaville the next morning. They awoke at 6:00 a.m. and were getting ready to leave a half an hour later when they noticed the truck and trailer were missing. After verifying with the parking lot that the vehicle hadn’t been towed, they realized that it had been stolen. “He was devastated, he was just speechless,” Abel said of his son. The police had no immediate suspects and told the Bosums that, with car theft as rampant as it is in Montreal, there isn’t much hope for recovery in situations like this.
Along with the pick-up truck and the trailer, the thieves also made off with the contents of the trailer, which included two racing bikes (sponsored by Yamaha Canada), spare parts, precision tools, and all of Nathaniel’s racing equipment and clothing. A set of knee braces alone can set you back $1600. The estimated cost of stolen goods inside the trailer is between $25,000 and $30,000. With the truck and trailer the total estimate is about $70,000.
The truck is insured, and they are talking to Yamaha about replacing the bikes for Nathaniel, but the trailer, which Abel has spent much time and money customizing as a mobile garage and workshop, is a writeoff. It seems that trailers are hard to insure since they aren’t considered vehicles, and can’t be included in house policies either. Abel’s trailer had been stolen once before, three years ago in Dorval, but he was lucky enough to recover it that time, thanks to one of his suppliers spotting it in Ville LaSalle.
In spite of this setback, Abel has informed us that Nathaniel is getting right back into his next big race. “He’s trying to get over it,” said Abel. “We’re preparing for a race this weekend (outside Drumondville) and trying to fix up one of his old bikes.”
When asked about the incident, Nathaniel said, “I was a bit mad when it happened, but I’m feeling a bit better now.” The young racer carries a good attitude and is looking forward to getting back on the racetrack and timing his jumps right. “I still feel pretty confident. Even though I lost my new stuff, I’ll still have the same kind of equipment, just older. I won’t be used to the equipment right away, it’ll take a little while to re-adjust. It’s been a tough time, but we’ll pull through okay.” The Nation wishes this young man good luck.
Note* At the time of going to press the Nation has learned from Abel Bosum that Nathaniel managed a sixth overall finish at his race in Notre Dame de Bonne Conseil, near Drumondville. This is very respectable in a field of about 40 racers, especially when considered that Nathaniel did it on old equipment, in the rain. We were also informed that three of the sponsors, Oakley Canada, Castrol, and Yamaha Canada have already agreed to help reequip Nathaniel. Yamaha will be shipping him two new bikes from Toronto.
