Off-road motorcycle racing this weekend

The time for off-road motorcycle racing in the Odessa area has arrived once again. Thankfully, the snow has departed for the most part, so riders will have mud and maybe soft ground to contend with this year rather than the more usual dust.

Organizers from the Stumpjumpers Motorcycle Club have been in town since about mid-March to begin laying out the course and make contingency plans if the weather should continue to be winter-like. Fortunately, the weather has warmed up, so snow drifts and frozen ground will no longer be hazards on the race course.

On Saturday, March 30, riders will converge south of Odessa on ground owned by Jerry and Ellen Schafer for the Frostbite Grand Prix. The race is Round 2 of the Northwest Motorcycle Association’s off-road racing series. On Sunday, March 31, the White Knuckle Grand Prix, Round 3 of the same series, will take place at the same location.

Fireworks

As an added attraction this year, a group of pyrotechnic specialists has been granted permission to use the edges of the racing site for a free fireworks display on both Friday and Saturday beginning at dusk. The group members must keep their required certifications current by performing practice displays at certain intervals. Odessa and the visiting motorcycle crowd will also benefit from this free entertainment.

All participants are welcome, says the group’s web page, and need not be members of the Stumpjumpers Motorcycle Club.

Breakfasts offered

The Odessa EMTs will be offering breakfast at the race site this weekend on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. From a trailer parked near the starting area, the medics will serve biscuits with sausage gravy and breakfast burritos.

On the following weekend, April 6 and 7, the Desert 100 events will take place at the site located on the corner of SR 28 and Irby Road. The Odessa Drive-In will open for breakfast from 8 to 10:45 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. More information will follow in next week’s Record.