High-flying motocrossers replace cross-country riders for weekend's Aonia races

For a second weekend running, amateur dirt bike racers and their families will fillAonia Pass Motocross Park, but this week it's a completely different group of racers - high-flying motocrossers rather than tree-dodging cross-country riders.

Hundreds of amateur motocross racers from age 4 up will try to qualify for a spot in their sport's premier event in July. They're racing to qualify for what they call "The Lorettas," the Loretta Lynn-sponsored AMA/Air Nautiques Amateur National Motocross Championships.

With the gates at Aonia Pass Motocross open all week, crowds are expected to peak at several thousand for Friday's practice session, followed by Stock classes racing Saturday and Modified classes racing Sunday.

Previous years have seen some 1,500 riders of all ages competing, with each rider supported by several family members. The amateur riders range in age from four years old and up, male and female, with dozens of classes broken down by rider age and ability, and size of bike.

This weekend's racing is an area qualifier for the amateur national motocross championships. Racing at Loretta Lynn's Hurricane Mills in Tennessee, the championships have grown into the largest motocross event in the world, with more than 25,000 entries in last year's nation- wide program.

In the series' two-step qualifying procedure, riders must ride one of 52 area qualifiers like this weekend's races at Aonia Pass and finish in an advancement position to ride at one of 12 regional championships. Only if the riders finish in an advancement position can they be one of the 1,382 racers with a spot at the big National race at Hurricane Mills at the end of July.

As always Wilkes County Emergency Medical Services will be on hand to deal with the inevitable injuries that come with motocross racing. "We treated 19 riders for injuries last week, but only had to transport four," EMS Director Blake Thompson. "We hope we'll have a light weekend, but I'll have an air ambulance on standby and units from surrounding counties for mutual aid if it's needed."

Local businesses are also looking forward to the predictable boost in business that comes with visiting motocross families. Many rider families are finding their way in to Washington to see the sights and shop. "Merchants are telling me they're seeing more traffic from Aonia races," Tourism Director Ashley Barnett said. "The race organizers have been great about listing our lodging, dining, and shopping on their web sites, and more racer families are visiting, shopping, and staying here than ever."

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