Motocross riders battle firewood pit, monster truck tires

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For the first time in Clark County Fair history, the endurance motocross event Moto Tuff Extreme hit the grandstands on Thursday, Aug. 8. The event featured over 15 different endurance motorcycle riders from around the Clark County area as well as world champion in the event, Colton Haaker. 

“The firewood pit was the hardest,” Haaker said of the course which featured monster truck tires, jumps and a pit made of four cords of chopped firewood. 

“It looked like we were getting ready for a luau pit out there,” John Borba of WGAS Motorsports said. 

The track also incorporated 30- to 40-inch boulders, wire spools and 33-inch monster truck tires. 

Preston Boespflug of Battle Ground finished first in the expert category which consisted of two rounds of five laps. 

Boespflug also found the firepit to be the most challenging aspect. 

“It (was) nice and slick so when you tried to turn, all the firewood just washes out from under you.”



Boespflug is 14 and has been riding his bike since he was about five or six years old. He started taking racing and endurance events seriously about four years ago. He says his favorite part about riding and racing is having fun with his friends around town and at Portland International Raceway (PIR). 

The event kicked off with a race between two youngsters, one of whom was Noah Smith, a seven-year-old from Vancouver who has been racing for three of four months. He practices racing and riding his bike at PIR on Thursday nights and rides around with his dad on Sundays. 

Smith said his favorite part of the track was the “bumps and logs” and said the logs were one of the hardest things he’s done on his bike since he has been riding. 

Robert Phillips of WGAS Motorsports felt the event was a success with its many different classes of racers and a challenging course. 

“It was definitely a crowd-pleaser,” he said. 

Mickey Webb, CEO of the Clark County Fair and mastermind of the event, echoed Phillip’s thoughts on its success and hopes to bring it back next year.