After a short hiatus, Arenacross is back for its 24th year, and the recent opening round in Penticton attracted competitors from across the country.

In beautiful spring weather you fully expect to see the RV city that pops up beside the dirt bike track, but we were a bit surprised to see one grow outside the arena in Penticton in November when the temperature was dropping and the south wind was howling. Such is the life of a racer on the circuit.

And don't think watching the event indoors is any warmer, either. In order to properly ventilate the venue and for the riders to flow freely from the track to their outdoor pits, the doors are open and the outdoors is brought inside, right down to the dirt. Noticeably absent this year were pro freestyle riders, who always put on a good show. The lack of safe landing space inside an arena changes their game from risky to even riskier. Risky is exactly what Arenacross is and probably one of the reasons it is such a draw for the riders, aside from the large chunks of change up for grabs.

Round 1 put Lindsay, Ont.'s Kyle Keast at the top of the block in both the Pro-Am Lights category and the Pro-Am Open category.

The Galz caught up with Keast during warm-up and asked him what it was about Arenacross that brought him clear across the country.

"I'm more of an outdoor guy," Keast admits, "but I've been starting to get into the indoor stuff more lately."

Indoors is where Surrey resident and former Canadian Arenacross Champion Kyle Beaton prefers to race, and following Round 1 in Penticton sits second in the Pro Am Lights category and fourth in the Pro-Am Open.

"Definitely indoors," says Beaton. "I think it's just more technical, more of a skill. I think indoors takes a little bit more finesse. I seem to do a lot better at it."

Better compared with the outdoors? Not quite. Beaton is an experienced Supercross rider on the indoor circuit in the U.S., and despite injuries, the adrenalin rush keeps him coming back.

"This last injury kind of had me on the fence," explains Beaton.

"Maybe it was time to take a step back, just have fun at it and not take it so serious."

But settling into everyday life wasn't exactly what he imagined it would be.

"After having a real job and running an excavator all summer, I don't know about real life yet," he says with a laugh. "I think I'll still stick to the dream."

Injuries and motocross, however, go hand-in-hand and no rider is unscathed.

"It's tough," says Ryan Lockhart, returning to the circuit after two years away, "I'm 27 now so I'm a little older, but when you're younger you don't really think about it. It's just like you get back on the bike, you get back at it.

"Now that I'm getting a little older, the body doesn't heal the way it used to so you take a little bit more time and definitely a little more caution. It takes a little more time to get the ball rolling again."

Joining him in the lineup this year is his younger brother Brad. While Ryan has relocated to the Lower Mainland, brother Brad is still a resident of Nova Scotia, but made the journey West to compete. We asked Ryan how he felt returning to the lineup and having his younger brother alongside.

"It's kind of cool," says Ryan. "It's the first time we'll be racing against each other."

"I'm pretty pumped," adds Brad,

"I just drove all the way across Canada." "I've been looking up to all these guys," comments Brad about being alongside his competition.

"But I think it's my time. There's a lot of competition here. A lot of good guys."

In the end though, Keast was the one to take top spot and his secret, "It's a short race and starts are everything. You get a good start, stay up and stay consistent."

The Nov. 11-12 Penticton event had no shortage of excitement, and expect the same at rounds 3 and 4, scheduled for Jan. 20-21 at Chilliwack Heritage Park Arena. The final rounds are set for Feb. 3 and 4 at the same arena.

MotorcyGalz appears every Friday in the Driving section. If you have any comments or would like to inform us of an event, contact us at contact@ motorcygalz.com. To read our daily motorcycle adventures, follow us at www.motorcygalz.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Nelson rides to provincial silver

Williams Lake motocross rider Levi Nelson recently finished second in the Intermediate GP division and third in the Intermediate MX2 event at the B.C. Motocross Association provincial championships at Kamloops’ Whispering Pines race track.

Alexa Nelson photo

By Greg Sabatino - Williams Lake Tribune
Published: November 22, 2011 7:00 AM

Levi Nelson continues to establish himself on the track.

The 18-year-old motocross racer, in just four years on the B.C. Motocross Association circuit, has gone from a junior rider with the Cariboo Motocross Association to being on the brink of turning pro.

Nelson, who began riding when he was six years old, finished second in the Intermediate GP division and third in the Intermediate MX2 events at October’s BCMA provincial championships at Kamloops’ Whispering Pines motocross track.

Nelson races in the Intermediate 250cc class.

“They call it intermediate but it’s for anyone under 24 years old,” Nelson said. “Intermediate is all the kids trying to turn pro.”

The 10-race series sent Nelson to races around the province including events in Kamloops, Penticton, Smithers, Terrace, Williams Lake, Quesnel, Prince George and Kelowna.

At this year’s Williams Lake races in June, Nelson took several first-place finishes.

“Next year we’re planning on going to the Western Canadian Amateur Nationals [in Raymond, Alta.],” Nelson said. “If you do well at that, if you finish in the top three, you go to the Canadian Amateur Nationals [in Walton, Ont.]. and that’s one of the biggest events in Canada.”

And if all goes according to plan and Nelson can avoid injuries, the local rider said he plans to turn pro.

In the meantime, in order to keep riding and keep busy over the winter, Nelson is racing in the Future West Arenacross Series.

About two weeks ago Nelson was in Penticton competing in an arenacross event.

“I was leading the whole way and on the very last corner on the last lap I fell,” he said. “Someone dropped his bike and it was just bad luck.”

Nelson’s next race is the arenacross Regional Competition at Heritage Park in Chilliwack on Jan. 20. On Jan. 27, Nelson will again be back on the track in Chilliwack for another event.

He added the support he’s received from his local sponsors has been phenomenal.

“Heino Seibert at Spectra Power Sports, he gives me a [Kawasaki] KX250F and he lets me use that for the year,” Nelson said.

He added Peterson Contracting, Integra Tire and local motocross professional Brock Hoyer have been a huge help.

“Brock helps me with training and pretty much everything else I need,” he said.

via bclocalnews.com

ORILLIA - Blake Koopmans was all of two when he first ventured out on a bicycle without the aid of training wheels.
By age three, the Oro-Medonte youth had left behind his pedal-powered two-wheeler for a dirt bike.
“It was probably the best present ever,” says the 13 year old. “That got me into racing, and it’s my favorite sport.”
At age six, Koopmans began taking part in competitions hosted by the Canadian Motosport Racing Corporation.
“I like hitting the jumps, I like being high up in the air,” he says. “I love the adrenalin rush when you get off the gate into the first corner.”
Today, Koopmans races every Sunday from April to October at competitions across Ontario, where he frequently finishes at the front of the pack.
His rides of choice are a Suzuki 85 and a 112 CC.
“If you are out front and you get a good lead, they usually can’t catch you,” he says.
“You’ve got to stay in shape. You have to use your leg muscles going through the ruts and the breaking bumps. It’s pretty tiring and people don’t notice that.”
Koopmans hopes to one day race super cross, “in the states with all the fast guys, with the pros.”