Slippery Rock, Harrisville youths qualify for National Motocross Championship in Tennessee
They have traveled different paths, but their destination is the same.
Axel Neff, 14, of Slippery Rock, and Hayden Surrena, 15, of Harrisville, have qualified for the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., Aug. 1-6, the event formerly called the Loretta Lynn Nationals.
It takes place on the legendary country music singer’s ranch.
Axel has been racing dirt bikes since age 9. Hayden is in his first year of motocross after doing woods racing for a few seasons.
“This was my in-between year of going from ‘B’ to ‘A’ in woods racing,” Hayden said. “I figured now was the time to try something different. I think I’m going to stay with this.”
With good reason.
To qualify for nationals, riders must place among the top nine at an area qualifier, then among the top six at a regional qualifier. The country is divided into eight regions with eight area qualifiers within each. Riders must compete at the same regional in which they qualified.
Hayden won one of the two motos at his area qualifier. He placed fourth overall at the Mid-East Regional at Wildcat Creek MX in Rossville, Ind. Axel placed third in the 250 cc and fifth in the 125 cc at that same regional.
“I’ve been serious about this (dirt bike racing) for the past two or three years,” Axel said. “I’ve probably done 15 to 20 races this season, up and down the East Coast. We’ve been to Florida, we’ve been to New York.”
Hayden and Axel have become friends through racing. Both have been to the South of the Border MX training center in Hamer, S.C., and both plan to return. Hayden says he is headed back down there in two weeks. Axel has been back and forth between there and home over the past few months.
“We’ve been doing a lot of traveling,” said Gary Neff, Axel’s father. “Everyone in the family has become involved in this. Axel’s been at that South Carolina center for a month at a time. He’s been doing cyber-school, taking courses online.”
Gary Neff has raced dirt bikes himself and still does on occasion, “though I sold my bikes to get more bikes for him,” he said.
The South of the Border training center is directed by a pair of professional motocross riders, Matt Bisceglia and Matt Toth.The site features 100 campsites and 300 motel rooms.
The training day for the younger riders is very structured and regimented.
“They get up at 6 a.m. and do a full weight room workout at 6:30,” Gary Neff said. “They start doing warm-ups for the track at 9 a.m., then practice starts out of the gate at 10 a.m.
“There’s five different tracks down there. They’ll ride for a half-hour, take a half-hour break, ride for another half-hour ... That all goes on until around 2:30 p.m. Then they do another workout at 3:30 p.m.”
The day ends with the riders washing and cleaning their bikes, then doing homework. They get up the next morning and repeat the process.
“Yeah, it’s a lot,” Axel said. “But that camp is definitely helpful. I’ve picked up speed and endurance. We push each other on the track and it’s pretty hot. That will help prepare us for the heat we’ll get in Tennessee.”
Axel said placing among the top 10 or 15 in Tennessee “would be an ideal finish for me.”
Hayden described the training center in South Carolina as “hard work, but we’re getting taught by the pros.
“Tennessee is going to be really hot and we’ll be up against the fastest riders in the country. I’m pretty excited about it.”
