Supermoto thrilled with Strathmore track

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Alberta Mini RoadRacing Association and (AMRA) the Rocky Mountain Motards club held a race at the NorthStar Raceway at the Strathmore Motosports Park on Aug. 16.
AMRA, who have been around since the early ’90s, joined with the Calgary Kart Racing Club to call the Strathmore track their new home earlier this year, with many racers of various skill levels participating in the event from all over the western provinces.
“The new track is nice, we really like it,” said Chuck Downie, AMRA president. “Our old track was a challenge, but this one here, they’ve added a few corners that are even more of a challenge from a rider’s standpoint. Most people had trouble at first but now they’re liking it because it makes them try harder.”
Downie liked what he saw on the track with racers, but said it would’ve been nice to have more riders out to provide more competition. He thought since the track was new, it proved to be more of a testing year after a year off.
“It is kind of the first year,” said Downie. “It actually started off pretty good. Because we had a whole year off where that track was down and (we) didn’t have a new one. People go do other things like we did ourselves because you got to find something to do.”
Mini racing has had its ups and downs over the years, but Downie mentioned that it can be a great core sport for everyone.
“It’s kind of ebbed and flowed with the economy,” said Downie “People are doing other things, something else gets their attention, but it’s always been a good core sport.”
If riders are interested in participating in the sport they will have to follow certain guidelines in order to race with the Supermoto, which are the dirt bikes based on the 450cc, and the mini bikes are required to meet a minimum of a 200cc engine.
Jonathan Finn of Bushell Park, Sask., has been riding from a very young age and found inspiration from within his family to ride.
“I got into racing when I was six years old,” said Finn, who is now 12 years old.
“It wasn’t really me that decided that I wanted to race. It was kind of my dad and grandfather that took me out to a go-kart track and we were going to get into go-karting, but it turns out it was the Bikes National weekend in Regina. My dad’s friend’s son, he races and I was lucky to go out for a couple of sessions. Then the following Christmas I got a Honda Sierra 50 and pretty much after that I’ve been progressing through the levels.”
He really likes the Strathmore track because he feels it really tested his abilities.
“I like the set-up because it’s one of the tracks where you work to succeed,” he said. “There’s lots of elevation changes and that’s the fun part. It’s not the greatest location because there’s lots of sand everywhere but it doesn’t really effect anything.”
For the Rocky Mountain Motards club president Jim Titmus, the speed is not the biggest factor on this track and he believes that it comes down to talent on the track.
“This new track here in Strathmore is awesome,” said Titmus. “It’s built on a side of a hill as you can see. We’re going up and down and twist and turns. You’re constantly turning so horsepower isn’t always the name of the game. It’s all talent.”
According to Titmus, the key factor in being successful in Supermoto is knowing how to ride on and off the road.
The circuit also goes to British Columbia and Saskatchewan every year, for those who want a variety of tracks.