Is Saddleback Back?
IS SADDLEBACK BACK?
IT SEEMED TOO GOOD TO BE true, and maybe it was. For four glorious days in early September, residents of Orange County, California, again had a motocross track to call their own. After 2 1/2 years of hard work, partners Brad Etter, Alan Herrmann and Jon Waller opened up their new Saddleback Motorsports Park on the shore of Irvine Lake, about one mile down the road from the old Saddleback Park, the legendary offroad riding area which closed due to insurance hassles in 1984.
A grand opening was held over Labor Day weekend, and some 600 riders turned out on each of the three days to ride on three different tracks-Main, Vet and Pee Wee, all designed by Supercross track-builders Dirt Wurx. A similar number came to ride on the following Tuesday, kicking off what was supposed to be the
track’s regular twice-weekly practice schedule. But something went wrong before Thursday, when the track was next scheduled to open for evening practice. Arriving riders were turned away at the gate, and a visit to the track’s website (www.sciddlebackmx.com) revealed that the owners had “voluntarily and temporarily closed” the facility while the county reviewed their permits.
At the center of the issue was a grading permit that had been issued to the Serrano Water District. The track owners had utilized this permit in building their facility, and county officials wondered whether they had “exceeded the boundaries” of that permit. A hearing was held on Monday, September 10th, and was continued to the next day. Unfortunately, that was Tuesday, September 11th, the day terror-
ists committed the atrocities in New York and Washington, so the government buildings were closed as a safety precaution. At presstime, county officials were said to be reviewing the permits, and a decision could take as long as four weeks. Depending on which way the pendulum swings, Saddleback’s owners will either be able to re-open for business, or have to begin the permit process anew.
This comes as a cruel blow to Orange County motocrossers, but most are content to wait it out. After 17 years with no place to ride, what’s another month?
Brian Catterson
