It seems like almost every weekend in Vegas is a sell-out anymore, but the May 5/6 weekend will definitely see the town packed to the max. The Kentucky Derby happens that weekend, and gamblers flock to the desert hot spot to put some money down on their favorite horse. Oscar De la Hoya takes on Ricardo Mayorga at the MGM Grand hotel. Supercross invades the Sam Boyd stadium on Saturday night, and the fastest mini bike pilots in the world will be racing inside the Orleans Arena on Friday.
We contacted Tim Clark, one of the promoters of the MiniMoto event, to find out the details on who will be racing and what else is going on.
Racer X: So Tim, how are things progressing for the Maxxis MiniMoto this year?
Tim Clark: Right now, I would say everything is right on schedule and going great.
So when do you take off for Vegas?
We left on
Sunday morning, early. We need to take a lot of stuff, so we drove
down. We set up an office today and start moving dirt in Tuesday
morning.
From what we are hearing, it sounds like the riders are taking it pretty serious this year.
No
question about that. The companies that specialize in the mini business
are pulling out all stops. BBR has told us they built, like 31, race
bikes. I know Pingree and Red Baron are taking it very serious also.
McGrath had a mini track built to train on, and I heard Willy Browning
has been down in Texas testing and riding. Each year it just seems to
reach a new level.
What's the total entry count this year?
It looks
like it will be capped off at 573 entries. There are riders coming from
10 different countries and about 20 different states. We basically shut
down entries about 8 weeks ago... I think we could have hit a thousand
riders by all the calls we have received, but we can only process so
many guys in one day.
Sounds like the Women's class has some top talent this year. Jessica Patterson and Sarah Whitmore are racing, right?
That's
right, both Jessica and Sarah are signed up along with Tarah Geiger and
Tania Satchwell. Its going to be just like a WML national ... only
on mini bikes. And get this ... Mercedes Gonzalez is also racing, so
she'll be fun to see back on the track again. The boys from Wonder
Warthog have kicked in $500 for the winner and MiniMoto Magazine is tossing in another $500, so the ladies have at least a $1,000 purse to race for.
Any other plans or surprises?
Well ... there are
a lot of big names signed up to race, and we will have the Ball Of
Steel Stunts Team performing again, this time on their quarter pipe,
and I think they will have the Cage of Death out in the parking lot
performing during the day. Plus we have the Pit Bike Expo. The pits and
the expo are open and free to the public, so it should be a fun day for
those who make it.
So for those going to Las Vegas this weekend, where can they get tickets?
The best bet is to buy them online at www.orleansarena.com or call 888-234-2334. There are still tickets available, but I wouldn't wait 'til the last minute.
Okay, we'll let you go. Thanks again for bringing us up to speed.
No problem. You guys are always great about helping us get the word out. Thanks for the support and we hope to see you in Vegas!
|
