Fastlane BMX Magazine – 15 Dec 2011
Fastlane BMX Magazine 15th Dec 2011
Words: Kelvin Batey
Irish BMX Back on the map!
The first BMX race in Ireland for over 20 years was held at the new Ratoath BMX track on the outskirts of Dublin.
This was held in the last weekend of November and what a memorable and amazing weekend it was for everyone involved.
Kelvin and crew having a grand old time at the new Ratoath BMX track.
Kelvin: Having travelled in on Friday, Emily and I were out early on Saturday morning facing the cold and windy Irish weather head on when we went to the track to practice with the other guys who would be racing at the weekend.
On our arrival at the track it was obvious to see the hard work that had gone into building the track by everyone involved at the Ratoath Club who had gone to so much effort into attaining permission to use the land, funding to pay for the materials and then the graft that went into the actual build. The track was very similar to Manchester outdoor track in the layout with a good fast first two straights and the more technical jumps on straights 3 and 4.
Irelands Kelvin Batey giving the Ratoath BMX track a good pasting!
Through Saturday, people came and went on a regular basis but despite the weather conditions there was a continuous 50-60 rider’s using the track until it went dark. A few of us then went out to a local bar where BMX was the focus of topic with old skool stories being told and talk of the progression the sport will make in Ireland over the coming years.
Race day and we woke up to clear blue skies with everyone feeling positive for how the day was going to go. Shay McNally, the Chairman of Ratoath along with Eamonn Wyre have both done so much in getting the club up and running and when we arrived at the track they seemed to be everywhere, trying to make sure things were being run properly along with the other members of the club. Everyone had seemed to pull together in making sure this would be a day to remember.
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