Motocross racer Sara King was once again on the podium when she competed in Raymond, Alberta.
Her performances in the Western Canadian Amateur National Motorsports Championships earned her second in the Ladies A class and tenth overall in the Junior MX2 class at the beginning of July.
There were 16 female riders competing in the Ladies A and 37 riders in the Junior MX2 class.
“For people in western Canada it’s the biggest race of the year,” said King.
The competition draws riders all across western Canada, and the fastest girls, so going in, King’s goal was to make the top three in the Ladies A.
“It’s stacked,” said King.
She entered the Junior B MX2 class just to be riding more and to keep her more competitive within the Ladies class, she was not expecting to make top 10.
While she placed third everyday in the Ladies, she was so consistent over the three days of racing, it put her in second spot when the dust finally settled and tallies were in.
In the Junior B MX2, King’s first race was a disappointment, as she was caught in a pile-up on the track and lost time, ending up thirtieth overall out of the 37.
But on the second day she moved up to eleventh and then made it to seventh place by day three.
It was King’s fourth year competing in Raymond, she won the Ladies B class in 2009, which then moves her up to the A class, and she likes the course and the competition.
She said the track includes a bit of everything, hard-packed, rutted, and sandy sections are all there for the riders, which she likes because it acts as a bit of a equalizer, with some riders strong in one type of terrain and weak in others.
Before the racers arrived, rain had made it necessary to detour one section of the course, and rain for training day kept that piece closed for the first day of racing, but by day two, the entire track was in good shape thanks to really high temperatures, with high temperatures posing their own challenge for riders.
King’s next race on her schedule was Terrace on July 21-22, for some North Series races for the British Columbia Motocross Association (BCMA).
“In Terrace, the track is so nice,” said King. “It’s just a beautiful track.”
King said because she liked it so much, she entered into three classes to get more riding in, which meant she would be racing in six motos each day.
She did six motos on Saturday in the Ladies, Junior A MX2, and schoolboy classes.
On Sunday, in the final race of the day, she crashed right off the start.
“I remember going about 20 feet out of the gate then it just goes blank,” said King.
King ended up with her thumb dislocated and broken, a mild concussion and some scratches on her face and bruising on her elbow.
The bike appears to be fine.
While King is fairly sure she’s out for the rest of the season, as she will be in a cast for six weeks, she’s still itching to get back on the bike.
“I really hope I”m going to be able to ride before winter,” said King, because she thinks it would be torture to not be able to ride for eight months.
