2011 BMX North West Championships off to a flying start
Last weekend the Karratha BMX Club hosted round one of the 2011 BMX North West Championships with spectacular riding across all races.
Friday night saw riders take to the track for some friendly racing which gave out of town riders a chance to get a feel for the track.
After four motos most riders had an idea of what the competition was going to be like on Saturday but there was still the unknown with riders foxing each other and trying not to give too much away.
Saturday morning saw the Sprocket riders (seven years and under) back at the track for a coaching session and a few more pointers on how best to ride the track.
With riders as young as four these Sprockets are the future of BMX and it was great to see them all out on the track having a go over the weekend.
After a quick warm up session the track was ready and the riders were pumped; officials were briefed and volunteers organised and racing was about to get underway.
The gate dropped at 3.30pm for moto one of the 2011 NW Championships and the 14+ Pro Open Men put on a show of what was to come.
With 155 riders competing in Karratha from around the Pilbara, Geraldton and Perth there was some fast and furious racing throughout the afternoon.
There was close racing in all classes and sometimes riders got a little to close which resulted in a few spills throughout the event.
Thanks to the help of the Saint Johns Ambulance volunteers and first aiders most riders were back on their bikes and racing again with a few words of encouragement.
Major sponsors for the North West Championships are Bikeforce Geraldton, Lubritrene, CCR and Tom Price Skip Bins.
The Karratha BMX Club would also like to acknowledge the generous support of Onsite Rentals, Coates Hire, Coral Coast Electrical, Apex, Rio Tinto, Woodside and Scotts Cycles.
The North West Championships will move to Tom Price for round two on the weekend of August 6 and will finish up with round three in Port Hedland on the weekend of September 3.
With positive feedback from most riders over the weekend hopefully the word spreads and the next two rounds will be bigger and better.
The Karratha Club has set the bench mark and now the Tom Price and Hedland Clubs have a busy time ahead of them to prepare for their round of the NW Championships.
BMXWA officials made the most of the weekend’s competition to travel to Karratha to measure up and asses the track to ensure it is suitable to host the Superseries later in the year.
Feedback from BMXWA on both the Karratha BMX Club facilities and the way the event run was positive and should help promote the Superseries.
Racing at the Karratha BMX Club will now take a break for a couple of weeks over the school holidays but normal Friday night racing will start again when school goes back.
7 year old Sprockets off and racing as the gate drops
