Narrabri’s Newtown Park motocross track to host King of MX qualifier

The Narrabri Dirt Bike Club will host a massive motocross event this weekend, with the local Newtown Park track chosen to host the second qualifier for the Motorcycling NSW State Titles.

The event is officially named the King of MX series after the State Titles underwent a change more than two years ago.

In 2018, Motorcycling NSW acted to reinvigorate the NSW state motocross titles.

Its aims were to provide racers of all ages with an incentive to continue racing, provide racers with an equal opportunity to compete across the state, allow riders to race as many other club and open race meetings and series as they like without any disadvantage, give a tangible reward to those who achieve in what is a tough sport, honour long held traditions, and ensure that the NSW State Champion was a sought after title.

And so, the concept of the King of MX was developed, where-by racers only need to qualify for the final, rather than race an entire series.

At the finals in Cessnock from June 6-8, state champions will be crowned along with a King, Queen, Prince and Princess of MX.

To have a gate at the finals, riders must attain a golden ticket at one of the six regional qualifier rounds.

The first of those was held in Bega on February 15 and 16, round three will be held in Lake Macquarie on March 14 and 15, Wagga Wagga will host round four on March 28 and 29, round five will be raced in Bathurst on April 18 and 19, and the sixth and final round will be held at Dargle on May 9 and 10.

“We run the qualifying events across rural NSW, to give all riders as much chance to make the finals as possible,” Motorcycling NSW head of brand Lauren Werrin said.

“These events also help generate income for the local Motorcycle club hosting it.”

Golden tickets will be given out to the top six or seven of each class at each qualifier on a point score basis.

The wide range of classes ensure the whole family gets time on the track, and nippers ride free.

This weekend there will be 250 racers competing to earn the golden tickets on offer, among them several local racers from the Narrabri Shire.

This event is one of the most significant the Narrabri Dirt Bike Club has hosted in its recent history.

Club treasurer and race secretary Diane McDougall told The Courier that the club was pleased to have been allocated a qualifying round.

“We had to apply to get a qualifier, we’ve actually applied the past three years and we’ve got one this year which is just great,” McDougall said.

“This is very good for our club.

“We’ve got some big names in the juniors coming out.

“Looking at the lists of who’s entered we’ve actually got some of the kids who won last year coming to Narrabri to try and qualify again.

“In all the classes we have people coming here from all across NSW.

McDougall said that the track was in ideal condition for a weekend of racing and that the recent rain has benefitted it significantly.

“The track looks mint, absolutely mint,” she said yesterday.

“A lot of the track maintenance guys have put a lot of time and effort into it and I can’t thank them enough for that.

“We have done a lot of upgrading since January, we’ve put a lot of dirt on the track, so it’s definitely ready.”

In each of the 18 categories this weekend riders will have a practice lap and then will race across three heats.

The final standings will be worked based on a point score system which takes into consideration the riders’ placing in each heat.

Racing will start at 9am on both days this weekend and will go well into the afternoon.

Spectator entry is free for the entire event and the canteen will be operating on both days.

Both the Narrabri Dirt Bike Club and Motorcycling NSW encourages the Narrabri Shire community to get trackside and watch some top quality motocross action.

“Come out and have a look and watch some top riding and support our locals,” McDougall said.