Motocross riders kick some axles in Cowtown

If you didn’t have to wash off a layer of dust from your body this weekend then you missed out on some of the most talented local and motocross riders from all over the world, as the Saipan Motocross Championships returned to the Cowtown Raceway Park in Marpi this weekend.

Riders from Guam, Japan, the Philippines, and Argentina battled each other while maneuvering through the “S” curves, double jumps, and launching themselves into the stratosphere over the tabletops to entertain the crowd.

There were easily a couple of thousand people in attendance as cars and trucks outlined the course and lining the dirt road leading to the thundering venue.

The two-stroke and four-stroke engines were soothing the souls of les mechaniques as the heart pounding action got underway on Saturday morning and rumbled through to Sunday night.

There were 15 different classes and more races than there were cows at Cowtown. There were two and four wheelers kicking up dust and spitting out the competition in weather that was termed ideal by several at the event.

The masters of all things four-wheel were, by class; Britney Camacho in the ATV-mini, C.J. Camacho in the ATV Mid-range, Chris Alepuyo in the Bad Boys ATV Novice, and Bob Bucek on the Bad Boys ATV Expert.

The high-revvin’ winners on two wheels were Manny “Da Man” Flores in the Super Minis I Novice and Paul Angoco in the Expert class.

Of the racers in the 50 Modified, it was C.J. Quitigua who out-pointed the dusty riders that spent the better part of the weekend chasing him.

Proving that the women have what it takes to circle the course without remorse was Kana Shinshara from Japan in the Power Puff class. This young lady could easily have been racing with the guys.

For the more experienced riders of the Veteran Class it was Frank Rios of Guam that took the title of the fastest and funniest.

For the Fast and Furious, Ryu Mastuda raced to victory in the Novice, while Brian Gumataotao finished first in the Expert class.

Those that chose to race in the 125cc Novice know well the name of first place finisher Roman Tudela. In the Expert class, Popeye Rubi of the Philippines must have eaten his spinach because he outraced them all.

The 250cc Novice race was a thriller, with Masuhiro Nakamura topping the points. To round out the day, Rubi repeated his feat in the Expert class.