Motocross set to ride in Iowa

The sport of Motocross is getting a fast start in Iowa, with a summer of competitive motorcycle racing events planned. Tony Wenck organizes and promotes motocross events in Iowa, and describes the sport. He says 40 riders are funneled down to a 20-foot-wide dirt track, running a closed course over hills, over jumps, and around corners. Wenck says who wins is determined about five-percent by the machine and 95-percent by the rider. The classes are broken down by size, age, skill level of the rider, and a class for women, though he says many of the women contestants also can enter and often win in other classes. You can make a living riding motorcycle, but he says not many people do it. This is a hobby, and an expensive one, but he calls it a good alternative to other sports. Iowa’s tracks get riders from age three to 60, and it’s like “one giant family,” everybody knows each other. Wenck says the motocross community has been his extended family, and putting together races is his way of giving back to the sport. He’s signed on sponsors for the first ever MotoCross series coming in April at the state fairgrounds. See Wenck’s site at www.motovenue.com and other Iowa motorcycle racing and club info at :www.motoxschool.com/tracksiowa.htm