MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County Fair is a great place to enjoy time with your family, catch up with friends you grew up with and support your local 4-H members. But for some, the best part of the fair is being able to display their motocross skills to friends and family in the county they grew up in.
Six Two Promotions had formerly owned a track out of Martinsburg called “Route 62 MX Park” but has since sold and its’ owner Lonnie Richardson has directed the company’s focus more towards promoting to local county fairs. On Monday, Lonnie and his crew spent six hours on the track for the Knox County Fair to host the event.
Joshua Morrison/News
Collin Sager flies through the air during a race at the Faircross Series event Monday night at the Knox County Fair. For more photos and a video, check out mountvernonnews.com.
“The Motocross Family is just a huge family,” said Richardson. “They don’t care if it’s rain or shine, you see it rain on them and not one of them left.”
For local riders the Knox County Fair hosting a motocross event can become a relief and a good time to enjoy the sport they love in the county in which they were born and raised.
Collin Sager is a rider that just graduated from Mount Vernon High School and loves competing at the fair because it’s only a handful of minutes from his house.
“Most other races and fair races are 30 to 40 minutes away, so it’s really nice to have one this close,” said Sager.
Collin has been riding ever since he was three years old and has been on competing in events since age 13. On Monday he competed in the 250B class, Open B class and Pitbike class. Sager is a newcomer in the 250B and Open B class, he recently made the switch because they are faster than what he had previously raced. Sager’s made this decision so he could improve on his game. He stated in order to get fast, you have to race faster guys. Sager finished fourth place in the 250B, third in the Open B and fourth in the pitbike class. Despite racing for so long, Collin hasn’t grown out of the sport because he loves what he does.
“I like just doing it for fun. ... There’s no reason to get upset about it,” he stated. “It’s not like I’m going to go pro.”
Austin Pagani is another Knox County native that competed in the pitbike class on Monday. Pagani has competed off and on in motocross for the past five years and was astonished at the Knox County Fair turnout. He has traveled out of state and all across Ohio on the weekends for motocross events which has made it difficult for friends and family to watch his races. Having an event in Knox County made it a great opportunity for his supporters to watch.
“It’s just fun because no one ever gets to really see you do this, no one travels to the other fairs to watch you,” he said. “Being able to do it in your hometown is amazing.”
Pagani is drawn to the pitbike races because the intensity the race brings with big men on such a small bike. Pagani finished the evening placing eighth out of 27.
