Tearing up the track in Wareham

Jul 26, 2014

More than 150 dirt bike riders kicked up some dirt and flew through the air Saturday during the second round of the Triple Crown Race Series at the Wareham Motocross facility.

The riders ranged from age 5 to 50 and came from all over New England, according to Jacob Morrison, owner and operator of Wareham Mx LLC in East Wareham.

"Today's going awesome. We had a really good turnout," said Morrison, who leases the land at 3042 Cranberry Highway from Bill Atwood, who ran a race track there for more than 20 years.

Morrison put on a few successful races at the track during the winter and has expanded the number of races held at the facility in recent months.

"It's definitely a learning process, but things have been going together great," he said. "I've been getting some great input from a lot of people."

At each of the three races in the Triple Crown Series, Morrison is donating half of every $10 spectator fee to Wareham town services. He said he has donated to the police and fire departments in the past and is considering donating to other town institutions, such as the library.

Additionally, Morrison will donate one dollar for every rider in the race to Reforest the Tropics, a non-profit group that plants forests in Costa Rica. Scott Keller, a representative for the group, said that money raised by the riders would offset the carbon they put in the air, creating a green dirt bike event.

The race series is sponsored in part by Loud Fuel, a Falmouth-based company that donated fuel to some of the award winners.

Morrison said he has received positive feedback from parents who say the facility is a safe place to bring their kids. One parent whose kids take lessons from Morrison is Matt Light, former Pro Bowl offensive lineman with the New England Patriots.

Light will be at the next Triple Crown Race in Wareham on Aug. 30 to sign autographs and raffle off Patriots tickets.

Morrison also said he spent over $1,000 on awards across each of the more than 20 races on Saturday. One of those went to young Bubz Tasha of Falmouth, who won the 85 A class race. Tasha said he comes to Wareham about three times a week to ride.

"This is my main track. I ride here a lot," he said.