Motorsports fans will have even more reasons to head to the Hope Sports Bowl at Sixth Avenue Park on Brigade Days weekend. The Ten-Four Briggie Endurocross kicks off its inaugural event on Saturday, Sept. 10, with races from junior to expert classes.
Hope Brigade Days vice-president, Mark Petryk has teamed up with endurocross riders Steven Patterson and Jarrett May to create a course that uses parts of the 4×4 track and adds unique elements, such as berms — and obstacles that can be moved and stored away for future events.
“We’ve got a moto double jump, where more experienced riders will jump the gap,” said Petryk. “We’ve even got a hiboy trailer. Experienced riders can do a four-and-a-half-foot drop off the side, or you can roll down a ramp at the end.”
“We had to carefully plan it, zigzagging between what was already there,” explained Patterson. “We had to make it 4×4 friendly.”
The dirt-based elements can stay in place but all the obstacles in the demo-derby area have to be moved out for Sunday’s motorsports — and Saturday night’s musical entertainment.
“We’ll be running from 8 a.m. till 5 p.m., then setting up a stage for the concert, that starts at 6,” said Patterson, who lives in Hope. Both he and May are sponsored Husqvarna riders. May lived in Hope at around the turn of the century but now lives on Vancouver Island. He came back to help design the course.
Endurocross is a tangled mix of three kinds of dirt bike riding: supercross, enduro and trials. There’ll be mud, jumps and rough parts that challenge a rider’s balance. On the internet, search “endurocross” for some examples of what “Ten-Four” has in store.
“We’re expecting over 80 riders,” said Petryk. “We’ll have six to eight going at a time — elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder.
“We’ll have six classes and each class has two heats. How you advance is by how many laps you complete in the time limit.
“I hurt my tailbone, doing some dance moves at a wedding,” he confessed, “so I’ll be a race-day decision.”
Petryk rides a Honda CR-250. He figured the event will see two-stroke and four-stroke bikes from 175 to 450cc.
Volunteers have been packing the jumps and raking out the dangerous-sized rocks from the track, to prevent them from getting flung on riders and spectators.
“Rick Limb, of Ogilvie Mountain Holdings has been a huge help in the construction of the track — also Hope Towing and Emil Anderson Construction,” added Petryk.
“The Popkum Motor Park has a small endurocross course and there are courses in Calgary and in the States — but there’s nothing like what we’ve got, in this area,” said Petryk. “We have this great park, with all the seating in place.”
Petryk hopes this first-time event will lead to many more in the future.
Riders aged 14 and older are welcome to sign up. The $60 entry fee includes a Briggie wristband for the whole weekend. You can register online at brigadedays.com/sports/tenfour/.
