By Tyson Buss
ATV motocross, which is racing and jumping all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) against up to 20 other people at a time, has been a sport for many years and has had a lot of improvement through the years. I have become very good friends with two people who have come a long way in ATV motocross and have made their lives around it from a young age. They have made businesses and a full living around the sport.
Gage Beebee, owner of B^2 Tech, got into racing at six years old from watching his older cousin race and have fun, so he thought he’d give it a try, and has now been racing pro class for around two years. He has kept doing it because it is a super competitive sport and has now built his whole life around racing, even making a business for parts to help on the track from his passion for the sport. He has met lots of people through the sport including Chad Wienen, who is a big role model in the sport from Galena, IL, and is one of the best in the world, having won eight national championships as well as being a four-time AMA Pro ATV MX champion.
I also met Keaton Sterk who now owns a big company called 38 Motorsports in Maquoketa, IA. Keaton's dad got him into riding in high school and he has never quit since then. The reason he keeps doing it is the drive to be better, and that the feeling of winning is too good to quit. He has also met a lot of people through the sport, including his now wife Andrea Sterk, who at one point was the number one rider in Womens Pro MX. Keaton has also formed his life around racing by meeting his wife from it and making a business for the sport. He started his business by word of mouth and fixing his neighbors’ four-wheelers, to now making parts to improve racing for many people.
ATV Motocross has grown to be a big sport through the years and I hope it continues to grow as I like to race. I like to be able to watch pro races and have friends who love to do the same. Gage and Keaton have made their whole lives around the sport, and one day it is my hope to be able to do that at an older age and have fun.
By Riley Droessler
Roman Frederick, a senior at Potosi High School, started riding dirt bikes at a very young age on a ttr50, which is a great beginner bike. He said in order to get this ttr50 he had to learn to ride a pedal bike first, which quickly gave him motivation. He began riding his ttr50 on his dirt bike track and fell in love with the sport.
He quickly mastered riding his ttr50 and moved up in bike size from a kx65, to a yz85, then a 2016 yz450f, and then his current bike, a 2020 yz450f. All the bike models that start with yz are Yamaha dirt bike models. The kx is a Kawasaki dirt bike model. A rider knows when to switch bikes when they physically can handle the bike well and when it just becomes too small for them. A kx65 is a step up from the ttr50, and it has much more power. The yz85 has a pretty big difference in power and height from the kx65. The yz450f is the biggest motocross bike on the market, along with all the other brands that make 450’s.
One of the reasons this is such a hard sport is maneuvering a 220-pound bike in the air as fast as you can is not easy. Dirt biking is a lot more than meets the eye; it is one of the most physically demanding sports there is. This sport requires a lot of devotion and training.
Roman said that his favorite professional rider of all time is Ricky Carmicheal, who is one of the all-time greats of the sport. He has won 15 AMA championships. He had such an influence on Roman because his riding style was very smooth, which made him much faster. This is one of the people who Roman watched and saw their techniques and ways to be faster than the rest.
A lot of these races are very tough and the duration of the races is long so you have to stay focused. Roman said that one reason he likes the sport is that it is not forgiving; if you lose you only have yourself to blame, so it’s very rewarding when you win. He also told me the adrenaline rush is like nothing else. Roman is planning on racing in the near future.
There are amateur races all over America and they go by different districts for races you go to. For example, where we live, we would be racing in District 16 of motocross. The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA ) is the organization that runs all of this. They also host the pro races. A racer will need an AMA card to go to these races. Competitors can buy a yearly membership and can then get into any of the races for that season.
The different classes are class C for beginners, class B for intermediate, and class A for the best amateur racers. Usually, a race goes for 20 minutes and two laps. A full lap can range from many different times though, depending on the size of the track.
This is a very interesting sport that keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Roman recommends anyone who is thinking about getting into the sport to do so. This is a thriving sport that has been growing quickly over the last few years.