AMA Pro Flat Track Racing - Half Mile, Lima OH.

Photos by: Alex Lee

At the end of June Alex and I travelled down to Lima, Ohio to catch the Lima Half-Mile that Town Moto rider Doug Lawrence #73 was racing in. It was actually the first chance we had to check out an AMA Flat Track Race so we were pretty excited.

The race track is a great place, super exciting and always lots going on and lots to look at. We were there early to catch the practice and qualifying laps and met up with some of Doug's friends to pass the time while waiting for show to begin.

The track at Lima is a cushion track made up of loose sandy small bits of gravel and stays fairly loose compared to the clay tracks which get very hard when raced on. This results in anyone who's not in first placed getting sprayed with this dirt/gravel mixture which hurts like hell and tears up leather and paint which is why you might see a lot of riders taping up their bikes, helmets and even leathers in some cases to protect the paint on their bikes and gear.

Doug had a tough day with his bike and broke down when he was closing on the last transfer position to the main event in his semi race. Jared Mees ended up with the first place finish in the main, followed up by Brandon Robinson and Bryan Smith.

It was really cool to check out an AMA race and hopefully we'll be able to get to another one or two this year. If you want to check out some Flat Track racing closer to home Flat Track Canada is in Leamington, ON this Saturday for the Leamington Half-Mile. Check out their site for the season's full race schedule.

- Andrew