A recent spate of injuries and the death of 16-year-old rider Wayne Stevenson at a Kahuku motocross track have left Oahu motorcycle competitors with sobering reminders of the risks involved in their sport.
"It’s a very dangerous sport, no matter what," said Gary Feyerisen, treasurer of the nonprofit Hawaii Motorsports Association Inc., operator of the motocross track.
"It’s really sad. Our hearts go out to his family," Feyerisen said Monday.
Feyerisen, whose 20-year-old son participates in motocross racing, said that on weekends as many as 400 to 500 riders could be using the motocross area, with each rider paying $3 a day.
Once a month the nonprofit group organizes a race.
On weekdays the military uses the 440 acres of leased state land for training maneuvers.
Stevenson’s death Sunday was not the first at the track. In 2007, 52-year-old Leslie Souza died after falling off his motorcycle and hitting a boulder.
But riders, young and old, find the sport exhilarating.
In addition to the motocross track, on which riders take about 2 1⁄2 minutes to complete a lap while going up and down slopes with jumps and bumps, the surrounding area has riding trails.
Stevenson, an avid motocross racer and a Kahuku High School student and football player, was riding on a practice day on the main track at 2:30 p.m. Sunday when he crashed following a jump.
He went into cardiac arrest following the crash and was attended to by track officials until paramedics arrived.
The exact details of Stevenson’s jump remained unknown by Feyerisen and others interviewed for this story.
People involved in motocross racing said improvements in motorcycle technology since the late 1970s have enabled riders to jump higher and handle bigger bumps at high speed, increasing the potential risk of injury.
Sunday’s crash was the fourth time during last weekend that emergency personnel were called to the Kahuku motocross area.
Feyerisen said at least a couple of the accidents did not take place at the track, but on natural trails. He said the track, which had recently organized a sanctioned American Motorcycle Association event, was in good condition.
JOHN DeSoto, an early pioneer of professional motocross racing, said he’d like to see the nonprofit motocross group have flag people and emergency medical personnel standing by during practice days.
DeSoto, who is in the American Motorcycle Association Hall of Fame, said flag people and emergency personnel are on hand only during race days.
DeSoto also said he’d like to see the motocross area open more often to allow riders to improve their skill level.
Both Feyerisen and DeSoto said they are against seeing the motocross area closed down and agree that it would lead to more motorcyclists riding in other areas of Oahu, as happened in the past.
