Ross Johnson has seen a lot of the world looking through the handlebars of his motocross bike.
From his home in the tiny town of Tenino, Wash., Johnson has learned how to survive and thrive on the bumps, dips and jumps he encounters in his racing travels all over North America and Europe and this week he's in Prince George to create some full-throttle, edge-of-your-seat excitement for fair visitors at the B.C. Northern Exhibition.
Tonight and Friday, from 6-9 p.m., Johnson and at least two other pro riders will join a field of about 100 amateurs racing on the outdoor arenacross track he built next to CN Centre. Johnson introduced motocross to big crowds at last year's BCNE and this year his playground is bigger and better.
"They gave us more room this year so it's more technical with some bigger jumps and a bigger rhythm section and the finish-line jump is 65 feet and that will definitely be exciting to watch," said the 27-year-old Johnson.
"In arenacross, everything is right there in front of you so you can see all the action, all the tight passes. The track is so tight, it makes all the riders really close to each other, so there's always something to see. It's always cool for the kids to ride in front of their friends in their hometown in the fair they've been going to their whole lives."
Johnson is a three-time Canadian Arenacross champion who competes regularly on the CMRC Motocross pro national series and also races AMA supercross and arenacross events in the United States and Canada. He's heading to Germany in October to race supercross pro circuits in soccer stadiums through the winter months.
Brock Hoyer of Williams Lake, Cycle North Powersports pro Scott Champion of Murrieta, Calif., and possibly one other rider will be battling with Johnson for $6,000 in prize money that's up for grabs for the pros over the next two days. The winner will take home close to $3,000.
BCNE motocross coordinator Kourtney Lloyd says the two-day event will give locals a chance to experience the type of course they would ride in the B.C. arenacross series during the winter months.
"Arenacross is a lot different from outdoors, it's a lot tighter, a lot jumpier and more technical," said Lloyd, who sponsors Johnson as manager of Cycle North Powersports racing team.
"Our arenacross series is all in the Lower Mainland and a lot of northern kids can't afford to travel down there and it's hard because the roads are so bad for them to drive down every weekend. This is a cool opportunity for them to ride an arenacross in Prince George and to have these guys who are on TV. They get to ride with them and pit beside them. For people interested in getting their kid into riding it's a cool way for them to check it out."
The track took two days to construct, with heavy equipment donated by O'Brien Training. The fastest riders will complete a lap in about 35 seconds.
The BCNE arenacross is a tuneup for riders from the region who will race in next week's outdoor motocross at Blackwater Motocross Park. Johnson visited the Blackwater track in May, where he taught a two-day riding school and was impressed with what he saw.
"It's really good, that's a top-notch facility," Johnson said.
Johnson would love to race at Blackwater but he'll be in either Montana or Idaho on the outdoor arenacross circuit, racing at state fairs.
"It's real cool the city here lets (the BCNE) race - a lot of the places shy away from having a motocross event at the fair because they think it's dangerous, but really it's just a good family sport," said Johnson. "Around here, you guys have a really good dirt bike off-road community. It seems everybody has a dirt-bike or quad or side-by-side or snowmobile and it's cool the city embraces that and brings it into the fair."
Practice sessions are scheduled today and Friday at 4 p.m. Entry for spectators is included with the price of BCNE gate admission.
