LAKE ELSINORE: Motocross star inquiring about Lake Elsinore track
SUN CITY NATIVE JEREMY MCGRATH IN NEGOTIATIONS
By MICHAEL J. WILLIAMS - North County Times
Legendary motocross rider Jeremy McGrath is looking into taking over a popular dirt-bike racing track in Lake Elsinore.
McGrath said earlier this week that he and a business partner have been negotiating with Lake Elsinore Motocross Park owner Randy Hiner.
"(We) have been talking to Randy and it's a possibility it could happen," McGrath said. "We're pretty excited about it."
McGrath, 38, who was raised in Sun City, spent a lot of time at the Lake Elsinore track, an institution among dirt-bike riders and off-road vehicle drivers. However, the park recently shut down operations. Several attempts by The Californian to reach Hiner were unsuccessful.
"I think it closed two weeks ago, but it's not gone forever," McGrath said. "I think it's just one of those deals of figuring out who is the guy that can either do it or not do it."
McGrath's interest in the motocross park on Cereal Street in southern Lake Elsinore led the city Planning Commission to postpone a hearing recently on the park's operating permit while he tries to work out the deal with Hiner.
The park has been out of compliance with some of the city's requirements and planning officials have been trying to work with Hiner to resolve the issues without forcing the operation to shut down.
McGrath's involvement would bring one of the truly big names in motocross racing to Lake Elsinore. He dominated motocross throughout the 1990s, winning two 125 Western Region Supercross Championships in 1991 and 1992, seven Supercross Championships in eight years from 1993 through 2000, plus one Outdoor National Championship in 1995 and two world championships.
"I have been following Jeremy McGrath's career for 20 years," said Lake Elsinore Planning Commissioner Rick Morsch, a fan of the sport. "He put motocross on the map single-handedly. When he rose to the top, he exploded that industry and made it what it is today."
McGrath has retired from dirt-bike competition, but still races off-road trucks. He is now competing in the Traxxas Torc Off-Road Championship Series.
"I've got to keep busy," he said. "I'm too young to sit on the couch."
He said that if he and his partner are able acquire the Lake Elsinore park, they can breathe some new life into the venue.
"The track needs someone with a lot of passion and I love motorcycles like nothing else in life," McGrath said. "I think it would be a fun project and would bring some life back into dirt bikes."
