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Jacob Hayes of the AMSOIL competition tour will kick up dust and get big air on the track built within the Coliseum.
The dirt — 3,000 tons of it — is expected to arrive at the Alliant Energy Center on Thursday morning and be in place by late that night. Crews will work diligently to sculpt custom-designed obstacles that will send motorcycle racers as high as 30 feet in the air this weekend and give spectators the kind of thrill Madison racing fans don’t often see.
“It makes for a big day, but we can get it done,” says Lindsey Alkire, media operations manager for AMSOIL Arenacross, an annual competition tour that brings the increasingly popular sport to select cities all over the country.
On Feb 10-11, Madison will be the fifth stop on the 12-city 2018 AMSOIL Arenacross tour, in which 16 professional motorcycle racers compete for the coveted Ricky Carmichael Cup — named after the man widely considered the greatest motocross racer of all time.
“We have always received great response from racing in Wisconsin,” Alkire says, noting that the last time the AMSOIL Arenacross series came to Madison was in 2011. “It’s been four years since we have been in Wisconsin, the last time being in Milwaukee. We decided it was time to come back. No specific reason other than there are a lot of racing fans in the Midwest, and we want to put on a good event for them.”
Madison is the tour’s only Midwest stop, and it provides a rare opportunity to check out this high-flying sport up close. “Spectators can smell the exhaust, they can hear the sounds of the four-stroke machines revving, it’s a totally engaging sport,” Alkire says. “Even if you don’t follow the series specifically, no two races are ever the same. There is always drama and excitement. Riders are racing so fast, and there is minimal room for error.”
How fast? Racers are expected to complete laps around the arena floor in about 22 seconds.
Several riders from the Madison area and surrounding cities and states also will participate in an amateur platform on Sunday, seeking to qualify for the Amateur National Arenacross Championships in Las Vegas in May. Riders will compete in 27 different classes but on a much more “tame” track than the pros, Alkire says.
For more info, see arenacross.com/tickets. Opening ceremonies begin at 6:30 p.m. and racing starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday; action starts at noon on Sunday.