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2018 Fall Nationals race report
Lemoore, California is a small farming town in the middle of Central California. Lemoore used to be home to the U.S. Nationals, and back in the good ol' ABA days, it was a regular stop on the national series. It was a great race, but the dog-legged first straight away used to give a distinct unfair advantage to the inside lanes. It was very well known that if you had lanes 6, 7 ot 8, your chances of winning were slim to none.
The original Lemoore track was also built inside a flood-zone, so every year when the rains came down, the entire venue would be under water. The last time USA BMX held a national in Lemoore was 1997; over twenty years ago! And my, how things have changed since then!
The original Lemoore track was also built inside a flood-zone, so every year when the rains came down, the entire venue would be under water. The last time USA BMX held a national in Lemoore was 1997; over twenty years ago! And my, how things have changed since then!
The nearly brand-new Lemoore BMX is INCREDIBLE! The facility is now a part of Lemoore Raceway, surrounded by a sand drag race strip, dirt track, and speedway, (Rumor also has it that the top-secret Kelly Slater Surf Ranch is hidden behind a large row of trees, making Lemoore the fake-Surf Capital of the World).
Construction of this new and improved Lemoore track began back in 2015, and was completed by fall of that same year. The first rendition resembled more of your traditional BMX track, but over the past two years, major improvements have been made, including huge concrete turns. The first and most notable thing you'll see when you pull up at at Lemoore BMX is the gigantic 5.5 meter starting hill. This makes the Lemoore hill equal to those in Rock Hil, Oldsmar and Austin, TX. (The current Houston BMX build will also have a hill as big as Lemoore.) It's a long climb to the top, but Lemoore had no shortage of dirt when they constructed this place. Behind each turn are huge off-ramps; big enough for EZ-Up canopies and pit zones. The off-ramp around turn two starts right after the finishline, so riders can easily climb right back up to the starting mountain. Inbetween the first and last turns is a wide opening and infield, for even better spectating. Once you've witnessed this venue, there's no doubt that it was created with hosting a national of this caliber in mind.
Then there's the rest of the track, with it's slurried surface and great variety of obstacles! It's wide, with a decision-maker second straight, and rides super smooth.