Red Flags and Dissapointment

Anticipation mounts once inside "the Pits", for those not in the know. The Pits are where the riders and mechanics set up shop. Spectators park acros the street or in the pits. There is a mandatory riders meeting prior to each race at 9am followed by practice at 9:30 and racing at 10am. The riders meetings consist of the days practice breakdown, classes that may have been combined or scratched and most importantly, the meaning of each flag and what to do. The Green flag means "Go", checkered flag, the lead rider has finished and the race is over. Yellow="Caution", Black="you did something wrong or there is something wrong with your bike" if you have a black flag, you must leave the track and report to the tower. A red flag means "Stop" the race is temporarily haulted as continuing is unsafe for your and the other riders. This is a flag NOONE wants to see and noone has thus far in the season.

Then it happened the red flag was used not once, but twice during the the second 65cc Novice moto class race. Jeremy races this class, the first flag came up within the first lap. Track conditions were very dry. The brook water is pumped from was very low due to the current drought condition throughout the state, two tanks were hauled in. With water being used sparingly the track was in rough shape. Deep ruts and dust offered nothing but poor visibility and challenges for the racers.


The race track consists of a few jumps, a small hill and a table top at the flagging area. After the hill is a switchback (a sharp U type turn) racers generally shift at the bottom of this hill heading into the switchback to make the turn. This time, the kids didn't make it to the switchback the first rider dropped the bike the next drove over him and the bike and three more dropped like dominoes before hitting the first two. Five kids down, parents scrambling to get them up and out of the way. The red flag drawn, Jeremy haulted at the top of the hill waiting while EMT's cleared all the downed riders to continue.

The race restarted, as the first lap wasn't completed. The riders lined the starting gate and off they went, some with a vengeance others with the same attitude of doing his or her best. Th e race was going well until the third lap, a rider came over the table top his rear tire starting to squirrel under him as the rider attempted to recover the dirt was too much the child was thrown from his bike. When I say thrown I mean tossed like a pancake in the air! My heart skipped as I held my breathe and watched a boy all of 10 or 11 flip through the air 360' bounce, rotate in mid-air landing face down on his stomach. Not a sound was made, not a breathe taken until the sound of crying was heard. The childs father was the first to get to him and pull him off the track. The hurt child was a lead rider other riders were right on his tail landing at the bottom of a table top is not the place you want to be,

As EMS tended to the boy the red flag was again displayed with vigor. A parent asked an official why the race was stopped the official explained what I think was obvious....hello, there is a child hurt on the track. The parent didn't want to hear that, the situation was off the track and he saw his child lose points in the overall. I'm sorry people but I think some people need to reevaluate the priorities. Moto-X like all sports not jsut extreme are dangerous people, as dangerous as walking across a street or driving my car 30 minutes each way to work everyday.

The boy hasn't returned to the track since the crash, I spoke to a relative and he is allright. He was VERY bruised when he came off the track that day but other then bruising he is practicing but the powers that be a/k/a Mom doesn't want him racing. I have mixed feelings about this, the boy wants to race, his mother didn't attend the race that day (the guilt of not being there), so she didn't see the crash only heard snippits I'm sure. I saw the race and the crash and I still let both my boys ride and Liam still races. I see it as something I signed up for, he LOVES riding he LOVES all things associated with riding, he sleeps with toy dirtbikes, he walks around my house in new dirtbike boots so he can "break them in".

They don't call the sport an extreme sport because the risk factor is at a zero. Let your kids do what they love and don't let them see you worry.