MINOT — With the roar of over 50 dirt bike engines revving and the drop of a green flag, a wave of competitors in the seventh annual J Day Offroad Race at Hemond’s MX and Offroad Park Sunday in Minot shot forward.
With so many bikes taking off at once, the racers were clustered together as they came upon the first corner. Riders bumped into each other, and others fell from their bikes after being hit from behind or the side. Riders on the ground were often plowed into by bikes still upright.
Once around the first corner, things were less congested and the competitors whipped off into the woods, while the fallen hastily picked up their bikes and sped off after the leaders.
The event comes from the vision of John Day of Norton, Massachusetts, who grew up racing professionally, and had an idea to add more “woods trail” events in the sport.
“In motocross, there’s so many points to spectate, and you kind of feel like a rock star when you’re riding and everyone is cheering, but with woods racing, you’re just seen at the start and the finish, so I wanted to change that,” Day said.
His first event seven years ago was the Pine Crush GP in Foster, Rhode Island, which attracted about 140 racers. This year, his event welcomed over 600 competitors.
“It was great because I’m friends with a lot of the racers, and so I was able to get tons of feedback from them about the event,” Day said. “Since then, every year we’ve grown a little more.”
This year, according to volunteer George Romano, the weekend-long event has three racing options: a dirt track, a woods track, and the “extreme” track, a combination woods trail/obstacle course.
There was a race for everyone, with a variety of classes from amateur to professional, as well as a Pee Wee class, with riders ages 4-11.
Van Gosselin, winner of the Pee Wee SR class, rode his KTM 65 SX to victory in honor of his dad and brother, who also race. Gosselin, who has been riding since he was 3 years old, also won the “hole shot” for his class, meaning he was the first racer to reach the first corner.
“He’s our little champion,” said family friend Erin Rogers.
Competitor Steve Banach, who is currently in third place overall in the J Day Offroad Championship, was unable to compete due to an injury he received three weeks ago, but he was still there to watch his competition.
Banach, a rider of two years, said in order to get into the sport and get better, just keep riding.
“Every bike is different, so it’s better to ride the same bike, get to know it, and modify it to fit you,” Banach said.
J Day at Hemond’s is event No. 7 of the championship, which consists of 12 events total, ending in November.