THE state's best motocross riders will converge on the Wimmera at the weekend for the first round of the 2014 Victorian Senior Motocross Championships.
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It is the first of four two-day rounds to be staged in Victoria this year.
About 400 riders will be in Horsham for the event on Saturday and Sunday, with about 200 competitors racing each day at Dooen Recreation Reserve.
Some of the top talent in Australia will compete, including reigning Victorian open champion Adam Monea riding for the Monster Energy Kawasaki race team and Kade Mosig. Maddy Brown, the first woman to race in A Grade in 25 years of state competition, and two-time Australian girls champion Emma Milesevic, who is making her senior race debut, will also compete.
Wimmera riders set to race include Tamika Edwards, Brett Harris, Daniel Purtle, Cam Grayson and Adam Watts.
It is the first of several state and national level events scheduled for the club this season.
Next month Horsham Motorcycle Club will host the Australian women's motocross titles and a sidecar spectacular.
The Australian quad bike titles will also be at the Dooen track in October.
It comes after the club successfully staged the Australian Junior Motocross Championships last year, with the best young national and international riders competing in Horsham.
Horsham Motorcycle Club president Kenny Watts said the big events reflected the club's stature within the Motorcycling Australia ranks.
"All the hard work we've put in has turned into getting a lot of major events for our region," he said.
"We're hoping to get a really big crowd, because entry is free and you don't get to see riders of this calibre at your back door too often."
Mr Watts said the last time the club hosted a round of the Victorian titles was in 2012, but heavy rain affected the course. "It was the wettest week of the year last time and it didn't go very well for us, so now we're keen as mustard to reclaim some pride and put on a great race meet," he said.
"We want to prove we've got the best complex maybe in Australia, so we've got to get our track preparation to match the standard of the venue that we have.
"We've put a lot of hours into getting it right and hopefully it all works."
Mr Watts said the titles would also give Wimmera businesses a boost thanks to an influx of participants and spectators.
The Dooen race track has a capacity of 5000 people.
