Local riders itching for WAMX Senior Motocross Championship event at Sukey Hill

Cranbrook’s Sukey Hill will host the fifth round of the WAMX Senior Motocross Championship this Sunday, which is expected to attract more than 100 riders. A host of local competitors will take on some of the best in the WA across nine different classes. This will be the second time Cranbrook Districts Motorcycle Club has held a round of the WAMX series, the previous one being in 2019. The 2km Sukey Hill track includes natural terrain built on a subsidiary peak of the Stirling Range and also contains man-made jumps. Riders will get to practice before three rounds of racing on Sunday. The club has partnered with Farmers Centre 1978 Pty Ltd and Case IH to make unique trophies that reflect the local farm-land surrounding the Sukey Hill track. The trophies with red tractors mounted on them will be awarded to the top two in the MX1 and MX2 class and the top three in the ladies class. Albany brothers Dion and Todd Knuiman will be local riders to watch, along with Jerramungup’s Jarred Smith in MX clubman, Barry Baynes and his son Brayden from Broomehill and possibly Kendenup’s Paul Smithson in the veteran class. Jacob Jones and his brother Will from Narrikup will compete in MX2, while 16-year-old Laura Featherstone-Dawes from Albany will ride seniors for the first time or be the club’s sweep rider at the event. Will Jones said it would be a great event to compete in. “I’m feeling excited,” he said. “I don’t really get nervous until I’m sitting on the gate really and then once the gate drops you’re just racing. “I started racing about seven years ago and I’ve raced club level, State level and inter-club.” Featerstone-Dawes has ridden in State rounds before but said she was ready to take the step up to seniors. I’m a junior at the moment and this will be my first senior event,” she said. “It’s going to be a bit different racing against the seniors. “I haven’t really raced against those guys before but I train on the track a bit.” The motocross event will be livestreamed, which CDMC president Justin Shepherd said would help showcase the club. “It’s been great that the Shire of Cranbrook have jumped on board to support the event via funding the live streaming,” Shepherd said. “This will be a great opportunity to promote our track to the WA and national audience.”