Penticton BMX riders took advantage of home turf to earn great results in a provincial qualifying race.
The club hosted the qualifier at Lion’s Park Sunday evening.
“We were ecstatic about the results and the turnout,” said club president Andrew Bayston, adding the event attracted 120 riders, including their own, from Vernon, Kelowna, Kamloops, Prince George, Alberta and the U.S.
Penticton riders who performed well were Nash Bayston, nine, first in the novice moto, Josh Holland, first in 15-16 expert class, Ambrose Colbeck was first in the four to five novice moto, while Marquez Gonzalez placed third in Vernon, second in Kelowna and won at home in six novice moto. Paige Haamers, 17, also had a good showing, as did Jeff Babuin and Corey Brown in the 40-plus moto.
“Penticton on home turf dominated,” said Bayston.
Members also competed in Vernon Saturday night and travelled to Kelowna Sunday morning. While results weren’t available, Bayston said the riders performed well.
Bayston said the provincial qualifiers give the riders a chance to get into nationals, which Kelowna is hosting in two to three weeks, and Chilliwack hosts a larger (roughly 1,000 riders) national competition in the fall. All of the races are sanctioned by the American Bicycle Association. Before hosting the race, Penticton BMX volunteers completed track renovations to make it better and Bayston said it “made a huge difference.” The club received positive comments from visitors on the changes.
“People were happy we’ve done what we’ve done,” he said.
In other club news, membership has doubled from the 25 regular riders they had last season. Once the soccer and baseball seasons end, Bayston anticipates they will get some of those kids.
The club has race days every Thursday with registration at 6 p.m. and racing 30 minutes later.