Amateur Nationals Go International

Raimundo Trasolini

Aug. 6 - Hundreds of families make sacrifices to give young motocross racers a shot at championship competition at the AMA Amateur Motocross Championships. To get to the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurrican Mills, Tennessee, some travel across the country.

Others travel across oceans.

Each year, a few families travel from abroad so their young racers can compete against what they call the world's best young amateur motocrossers. Racers from Costa Rica have been showing up on a regular basis at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in recent years, but two young newcomers from South America are also testing themselves at this year's championships.

"This is the top level in the world," said Gonzalo Davalos of Quito, Ecuador, whose son, Martin Davalos, came to compete in the 85cc Modified (14-15) class. His first moto wasn't until Wednesday.

Another racer who came from South America to compete was Raimundo Trasolini of Cagua, Venezuela, who finished 11th in the first moto in the 65cc Stock (7-9) class. What's the difference between racing at home in Venezuela and competing in the United States?

Raimundo Trasolini wheelies away from the starting gate on his warmup lap.

"It's harder here," says 9-year-old Trasolini.

In fact, the racers' parents say the biggest culture shock is not the language or the food, but the difficulty of the tracks and the strength of the competition. In South America, young racers like Davalos and Trasolini do not race on the same tracks as older kids or adults. So doubles, triples and whoops are obstacles they only see when they come to the United States.

Like everyone else, the foreign riders must qualify to earn a spot at the AMA Amateur Motocross Championships, and that means multiple trips from overseas. Davalos qualified in the Southeast Region and Trasolini qualified in the South Central Region. They rely on friends in the tight-knit motocross community for support.

But the South Americans say it's worth the extra expense and difficulty they face to enable their sons to test their skills against the strong field of U.S. riders found at the Loretta Lynn Ranch every year in August.