Alex Gatt and Amanda Stewart.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED
December 12, 2021 - 5:58 PM
A Penticton teenager is competing in the biggest motocross competition of his life and travelling to the Golden State this winter to do so.
Alex Gatt, 17, is heading to California next month for the 2022 Supercross Futures in Anaheim. The competition takes place Jan. 29 at Angel stadium, the home of the Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Angels.
“I have a feeling the track’s going to be pretty crazy,” he said. “I imagine it’s going to be similar to what the big guys who get paid millions to ride get to use.”
Gatt’s been riding since he was 2, took his training wheels off at 3, and began racing on the Outdoor Provincial Championship circuit when he was 4.
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He was introduced to the sport by his father Dino Gatt, who is a retired motocross professional.
The upcoming competition in Anaheim brings Gatt one step closer to living his dream, which is to do professional motocross for a living in the American league. The top four riders will qualify for an even bigger competition – the Supercross Futures AMA National Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Supercross Futures is the official advancement platform of Monster Energy AMA Supercross. The series provides the world’s fastest up-and-coming talent a chance to compete in the same stadium and on the same dirt as the elite athletes of Monster Energy Supercross while honing their skills in advance of their professional careers.
“Once the wheels touch the grounds there are thousands of little parts working together … it’s almost like Tetris in a way, you gotta make all the pieces fit just right,” Gatt said.
Gatt qualified for the upcoming contest in Anaheim by scoring high at a previous competition in Pala, California. He found American riders to be much more competitive than what he’s used to in Canada. And he nearly blew his chances of qualifying after wiping out on the first lap of the race.
“I thought it was all over,” his mother and manager Amanda Stewart said. “Let’s pack up and go back to Canada kind of thing – then he got back up.”
To help Gatt know what position he was in after his crash, Stewart continually updated it on the pit board.
“When he hit 16th place he got into lapped traffic and we couldn’t tell any more,” she said.
“He’s always shown the gumption when the chips are down, he pulls out that extra 10% that nobody knew he had.”
There were 28 riders in the race and Gatt was the only Canadian. He advanced to the race in Anaheim by placing 12th overall in Pala.
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Stewart said she is amazed by her son’s focus and dedication.
“This spring we spent hours videoing him in the hot sun, working on suspension and posture, going back, watching, and doing it again to get better and better.”
Stewart even purchased a motorhome recently to help her son pursue his dreams. At first she figured they would be travelling across Canada for competitions.
“Then out for the blue he said that he wanted to try to qualify for Supercross Futures in California – he got all the info together and the dates and he and I drove down together, bikes behind us on a cargo trailer,” she said.
Alex and Amanda's motorhome and camp in Pala, California.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED
Gatt will be racing with his 250cc Yamaha four-stroke dirt bike.
To ensure Gatt will have enough time to train, him and his mother are planning on taking the motorhome back to California more than three weeks before the 2022 Supercross Futures.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED
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