MOTOCROSS riders around region will be revved up when the 2020 Mount Gambier Junior Motorcycle Club season kicks into gear next month.
The opening round will be held on a family property at Dyson Road, Mingbool on Sunday, July 5.
The calendar was originally scheduled to start in April, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But after two months of waiting, restrictions finally eased to accommodate a return to racing with a maximum of 300 people allowed at the property.
The flat track has been described as a “tight and technical layout” by MGJMC president Richard Humphries, who was relieved when he spoke to The Border Watch recently to announce the new season.
He said the club has put in a mountain of work recently to get kids back on their bikes again.
“The last few weeks have been full on organising our first event,” Humphries said.
Initially the club planned to drop the gate with a two-day event when restrictions only allowed 80 people in attendance.
However, once the limit increased to 300, the MGJMC pounced at the chance to resume its normal activity.
Humphries said the riders will enjoy an unchanged format as he awaits approval from the Australian Motorcyclist Association.
“It will be very similar to years gone by with the same classes,” he said.
“We are just in talks with promoters to see if we can run the same classes, but the way we ran things with age limits and size of bikes was perfect, so I do not think it will be a problem.”
The club had high hopes for this year’s season after aligning itself with the AMA.
Humphries anticipated to have close to double the amount of riders this season, but COVID-19 slowed the club’s momentum to a standstill.
In response to the pandemic, the club has offered 18 month or two season memberships for the price of 12 months.
Although the MGJMC has not opened registrations yet, Humphries hopes the entry list can rise above triple figures.
“With the amount of interest we have received, we should get higher numbers than last year because it is going to be a lot more affordable for families,” he said.
“We were averaging between 80 and 100 riders last year, so if we can get around 100 to 150 that will be a win for us.”
The remainder of the season is still to be confirmed after COVID-19 has thrown all previous plans out the window.
Due to relations in Victoria, Humphries said some rounds are not an option yet until the border reopens.
So to keep options open, he said the club is taking a round-by-round approach.
“We do not have an actual calendar yet because of COVID,” Humphries said.
“In our original calendar we incorporated other clubs from around the place to maximise numbers, but borders are still closed, so we cannot now.
“We could be looking at one every couple of weeks, but we will try and get in as much as we can.”
The jewel in the crown of the MGJMC season has been the successful Millicent Stadium Cross event.
But the round has been thrown into serious doubt after the Millicent Show was cancelled recently.
However, Humphries remains confident the club’s big event scheduled for November 6 to 8 could still take place with a reduced program.
“We are in talks with the Millicent Show Society and there is a good chance of it still going ahead away from the show,” he said.
“But it will just be a day event with no Friday night running, so if it goes ahead it will be on Saturday and Sunday.”
Although coronavirus has created many problems for sporting clubs, it has given the MGJMC extra time to find a new home.
When the club’s 2020 season begins, over two years would have passed since it said goodbye to its McNamara Park facility.
Humphries said the committee has made some promising progress.
“COVID-19 has helped us try to find a new home and we are in talks with a couple of people, but cannot reveal too much,” he said.
“It looks promising, but we have a fair bit to go under the bridge.
“Hopefully we can announce something there soon enough.”
But with his focus on the return to action, Humphries said the riders are excited to flick mud up in the air again.
“Everyone I have heard is keen to get back on,” he said.
“We are looking forward to the 2020 season getting under way.”
