Five Minutes with … Richard Strang
APRIL 10, 2008

Richard Strang is making a push this spring to give Atlantic folk a quality indoor race. Who knows, if things go well, maybe it will evolve into a mini-series like they have in BC.

photo: James Lissimore

By Danny Brault


New Brunswick, are you ready for arenacross?!? Well, you better be, because the bar-banging action is coming to the Sackville Civic Centre April 18-19. Richard Strang, an Atlantic track owner and promoter, is organizing the event, with help from his colleagues, local businesses and Ryan Lockhart, who has more than his fair share of AX experience. We caught up with Rich this week to see how things are going.

RXC: Richard, how are you doing? I was given your name from the Newf.
Richard Strang: Beautiful!

So what’s going on? I hear there is an arenacross coming to Sackville, New Brunswick on April 18-19.
Yeah, we’re doing one. I just wanted to give our kids a crack at doing something indoors. It’s always focused around the pros—and we have a good pro class coming too—but realistically, in our region, we only have a few. We decided to do one for our region, give our kids a chance to race an indoor format, and bring in some pros for a good show. We’ll see if we can get something started in this area!

I think it’s a great idea. I’m surprised the Atlantic Region doesn’t have more indoor events—you guys love moto!
Yeah, it’s great. I have a track here that I hold CMRC races at in our region. Those aren’t until July and I’ve always wanted to try this. I just said one day, ‘Aw, hell, if I lose money, I lose money [laughs]. If I don’t, great!’

Where is this arenacross taking place?
The Sackville Civic Centre; it’s a hockey rink.

Who else is helping to organize the event?
Well, I’ve been the sole player so far, but I’ve had help from a few buddies.

When was the last time New Brunswick welcomed indoor racing?
We had one years and years ago; I think it was in a horse stable in Truro. The last one in this area was in Moncton or Fredricton. I’ve had a lot of input from Ryan [Lockhart] and he plans on coming. We’re actually building the track tomorrow, and Ryan is going to come down with his bike and he’s going to help design the track. He’s also helped me with classes to run; he’s seen a lot of arenacross so he knows what’s going on. I’m excited he’ll be around to help out a bit.

You’re trucking in dirt already?
Yeah, we’ve hauled in close to a hundred loads today.

Doesn’t that cost a fortune, to have the arena rented out for a week before the event?
Yeah, I know, but the Sackville Centre has been really good to me. They don’t have anything going on. Todd Cole, who used to race years ago, he’s the manager of the facility. He knows what it’s like to get dirt at this time of the year. He talked to the town, and said, ‘Listen, nothing’s going on and these guys want to put a track in there. If they wait until next week, and it pours rain Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, how do you think they’re going to build a track for Friday and Saturday?’ It’s taken a lot of stress away. That’s why I think this will be a successful race, because everyone is helping out.

It’s not too often you find a town willing to accommodate motocross racing.
Well, the town is excited about it; there isn’t much going in Sackville this time of the year. It will bring people into their restaurants; they’ll gas up here; they’ll bring people into the town. From the town’s point of view, this is what you want. Hopefully this will spark some interest, and maybe we can have one here, someone else can have one, and we can have a little series. I know my kids and I would travel if there was a series to follow.

Did you make it out to Toronto, Richard?
No, we spent three weeks down south. We got back three days prior to the event, and we were going to make an effort to go, but there was a local rider who passed away before Toronto. We know the family quite well, and we’re actually naming event after him. It will be called the Josh Damery Arenacross.

Do you have any sponsors supporting the AX?
I’m going this one alone. I was hoping to get quite a few sponsors, of course, Atlantic Motoplex is coming on board, and Toys for Big Boys and Larry Northrup have been a big help. But mostly, I have trophy sponsors from local businesses.

Well, Richard, if things work out, we’ll be seeing you next Friday night!
Great, thanks a lot!