Cycle News

P28 IN THE WIND F or the first time in 40 years, the National Motocross Championship returned to Utah after making a stop at the seven-yearold Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele. Many hard-core motocross purists, however, weren't happy about the idea of having a National using a man-made track inside a road-race facility, and they certainly voiced their feelings via the Internet, but even some of the skeptics admitted afterwards that the event went off well. The Miller facility offered many advantages over many traditional outdoor track sites. There was plenty of room for the teams to set up camp, the pits were set up on asphalt, the facility is located just 30 minutes and an easy drive from a major city (Salt Lake City), and the Miller staff was thrilled to have a motocross race come their way and were very accommodating to the AMA and the series' organizer, MX Sports. More than 160,000 cubic yards of dirt - including tons of sand for one section - was hauled in to make the course, which did feature minor elevation changes. Many compared the Miller track to the Lake Elsinore National track, which are both built by the same person - Mark Peters. As for riding on the Miller track, opinions were mixed. At first, most riders seemed less than thrilled about the fast Supercross-type Miller Motorsports Park and MX Sports have committed to a three-year agreement to hold a round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. layout and the massive jumps, but as the day wore on and the track became rougher and more motocross-ish, many riders seemed to gradually accept it. After all was said and done, most said the track ended up being better than they expected but admitted there was room for improvement, which can certainly be expected for any first-time event. "It was fun and I enjoyed it," Ryan Dungey said. "It was different and there was a lot of getting used to. For the first year it was good, they now have a good idea what to do next year." "It [the track] was good but it definitely can be better," Ryan Villopoto said. "But it's their first shot at it. Now that they've seen and how the track developed, then they can learn off of that. Overall it was a pretty good racetrack… and this place is pretty cool." The race was also well supported by the local fans with more than 21,000 coming out to watch, and most seemed to be happy with what they saw. After the race, MMP and the AMA committed to another three years to host a round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. One of the concerns that the naysayers had was their fear that more National motocross tracks will be built inside road courses, like Talladega and Daytona, taking away the character and tradition of outdoor tracks, but according to MX Sports' Davey Coombs, that's not going to happen. "We're not going in this direction," he said. "This is just a oneoff race, something a little different, and it's a great option to go to a city that supports motorcycle racing, especially since it's losing Supercross next year. Miller is a fantastic facility and has lots of potential." Kit Palmer PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER NEW BEGINNINGS

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