The familiar smell of burning gasoline, a buzzing roar of off-road motorcycle engines and the thrilling sight of riders flying through the air entertained a dedicated community of motocross enthusiasts last Saturday at an outdoor park in Estevan.
These off-road motorcycle worshippers were among the 150 or so motocross racers from southeast Saskatchewan and from as far away as North Dakota, Manitoba and northern parts of this province who descended on Estevan to show off their skills at the Trackside MX Park for the second stop of the Southeast Corner Racing Circuit (SCRC).
“It’s great,” SCRC vice-President Josh Nay said about the race day conditions July 4 at Trackside MX Park. “The dirt is nice and moist. It makes for good traction. It makes for good passing and it makes for great racing.”
Nay said the SCRC’s second circuit stop in Estevan of seven circuit events this summer across the southeastern part of Saskatchewan, involved various classes of races for the different sizes of bikes and ability of their riders. He said the winner of each class accumulates points that are used to determine the overall winner at the end of the season in early October.
“This race series has been going for about seven or eight years now and it keeps growing,” he said. “A lot of people like coming out to it because it’s a littler series, but that makes it a stepping stone for guys who want to move on to racing provincial series.”
Dezirae Franke, a local rider who finished third in the Women’s Class, said this race was only her second of the season, but she felt “pretty good” about her finish, considering the fifth-place standing she earned in Ruthville earlier this year. She said straight-aways and corners seem to be her strong points right now, but she still has to do some work on jumps if she hopes to make it to a first or second place overall finish with her Yamaha 250 bike this fall.
“I’ve definitely gotten faster this year because I trained a lot this winter,” said Franke, who credits cardio and strength work with enabling her to keep up her stamina while riding the course. “That really helps with everything.”
Nay said the next SCRC stop in Estevan will happen on August 22 and it should be a good race. He said the riders would be tight in points by that time, which makes for a close and contested meet by all the local motocross racers who are looking to finish atop the standings at the end of the season.
“There are a lot of local riders that are getting really fast and putting down some incredible speeds and have the potential of being a national rider,” Nay said. “That’s worth coming out to watch. They can ride the bike well.”
Winners from each class at the July 4 race are: Ty Stadnick (125 2-Stroke); Ryder Zackrison (50cc/Small Wheel Beginner); Keagan Patton (50cc/Small Wheel Beginner); Jett Grohn (50cc/Small Wheel Beginner); Matt Hutt (85cc); Bryce Friess (A-Class); Kate Lees (Women); Andrew Reiger (B-Class); Landon Reiger (65cc); JJ Barnstable (C-Class); Randy Franke (Vet 30+); Kade Anderson (Youth 16-29) and Matt Hutt (Super mini).
