Rider of the Week Race 1 April 29th
Elizabeth Spurr
Week one proved to be a difficult decision when it came to picking rider of the week, many riders were at the top of their game coming into the new season, but one performance stood out above the rest. Seven year old novice Elizabeth Spurr certainly came out swinging for the first race of 2012. Her class this week was combined seven and eight year old novice and she was the youngest of the group, that alone is difficult to overcome, but that didn’t bother Elizabeth. When her first moto came around turn one she found herself in second place, after a hard charge up the third stretch, out of turn three and down our challenging rhythm she had closed the gap and made the inside move stealing first place from Kelsie Campney. This gave Elizabeth a spot in the main event! In the Main She came storming out of gate 8 and pulled the holeshot in turn one. It looked like she was going to lead wire to wire until an untimely mistake brought her to the ground and cost the win. When most riders would have walked off and called it a day, Elizabeth remounted and finished the race in a true display of grit and determination.
When asked what she liked most about BMX, she says that she loves racing against all the boys! In 2011 when Elizabeth decided she wanted to race, she was the only young girl at Catamount BMX, but soon after many other girls signed up, and now we have a novice class almost entirely made up of girls!
Elizabeth at Mcmoto night!
Racing resume: 1 main event win 2011 district #2
2011 New York #11 (including a main event appearance at the empire state championship)
Years Racing: 11 months
Favorite Track: Catamount BMX
Hobbies: jump roping, gymnastics, skiing, swimming and softball
Favorite Food: Mac n’ Cheese
Favorite T.V. Show: Johnny Test
Week one Honorable Mention: Austin Martinka wins his expert debut, Brooks Robson wins his first main event ever, and Jordan Campney and Owen Downey for racing hard and clean splitting moto wins.
Rider of the Week Race 2 May 13th
Brooks Robson
It wasn’t as difficult to pick our second rider of the week as it was the first time around, although there were multiple contenders. Eight year old novice Brooks Robson picked up his second main event win in a row, and this time he did it in convincing fashion. Brooks has started 2012 on a hot streak and showed a lot of speed and confidence on his bicycle. Back on March 29th he won a transfer round and went on to win the main event. He came to the track on Mother’s Day looking to repeat, and he did just that. When his first transfer moto came up to the gate Brooks looked to be carrying the confidence from week one with him as he pulled the holeshot from lane one. He led the moto from start to finish, putting himself right in the Main Event.
Kelsie Campney who transferred to the main through the second round of motos was looking to put up more of a fight when the time came for the 8 novice main event. Brooks came flying out of gate 7 with Kelsie right next to him in gate 6. The pair drag raced into the first turn side by side, Campney had the inside advantage and took the lead, her father cheering for her to “PEDAL” all the while. Carnage ensued in the second turn when third place rider Averil Downey took a tumble. While the crowd was distracted by the wreck, brooks pounced on the leader, putting in a hard charge up the third straight to get side by side going into the third turn. Kelsie Campney looked like a veteran and made the crossover move getting back beside Robson. Neither rider was willing to give up down through the rhythm section and the two went the entire distance to the last turn neck and neck. When they got there, Brooks had the inside line, he stole the lead and laid down the power to the finish getting the Win!
When asked what he likes most about BMX, he said he enjoyed racing because it is an individual sport, his father always tells him to “race your own race”. He also likes when the competitors congratulate each other after the race has been run.
Racing Resume: 2 Main event wins
Years Racing: 2 full years
Favorite track: Catamount BMX
Hobbies: Tae Kwon Do, Trampoline
Favorite Food: Calamari from Carmody’s and Capri Sun juices.
Favorite T.V. Show: Adventure Time
Week Two Honorable Mention: Owen Downey wins his second of the year at Catamount, making him USABMX’s newest intermediate rider. Kelsie Campney for another hard fought battle, her first big win is just around the corner! Averil Downey for finishing her race after going down in the main. Aimee Funk for putting up a good fight after getting combined with intermediate boys, and Chase Burgess for almost taking the win in 9 inter at only 6 years old.
