Local kid competes in Junior Supercross Challenge

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Cody Wandler entered his son in the KTM Junior Supercross Challenge (KJSC) and although Wandler may have met the requirements, so too did thousands of other kids across North America.  All were just aching to get the chance to race during the intermission of the American Motorcyclist Association Supercross Championships, which are a series of professional races at 10 venues across the U.S. and Canada.

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It was a random draw, and Wandler won.

He was selected as one of 15 riders for the Minneapolis Supercross on February 18. In addition to the race itself, all participants also got to meet some of the pros, including Ryan Dungey.

“I was so proud,” Koehl said of watching her eight-year-old son race at U.S. Bank Stadium. “There were probably 50,000 people. Or maybe more.”

Wandler, who finished in 11th because of a bad start, didn’t have your typical experience.

When asked why that was, he had a surprising response.

“Because I got 15 stitches in my leg!” he replied with enthusiasm, as if it was a fun thing to have happen. “A peg went through my leg. It hurt for a while but I was good. It was cool because I got to go in this $3 million trailer where all the pros go to get fixed and there was almost one of the best doctors in the world fixing me.”

Koehl, who also happens to be in school for nursing, explained that the peg of another bike hit Wandler when two other riders collided and Wandler drove by. He didn’t actually feel anything at the time, and finished the race.

“[After the race], he was worried that his finger hurt and didn’t even say anything about his leg,” Koehl said. “And then when his dad took his motorbike pants off, then it was not so good.”

“There was a lot of blood dripping down my leg and I didn’t even feel it,” Wandler added with a smile.

As a parent, there are certainly nervous times for Koehl, watching her son go off jumps and through obstacles at just eight years old.

“I just get kind of worried as he’s getting older because it just gets to be bigger jumps and they go faster,” she said. “But it is really entertaining. It’s really fun to watch.”

At Wandler’s age and current experience, there is no shifting during races. The bike used during the KJMC is automatic, and just 50cc, which is not a lot of power.

But that’s going to change soon.

“When they go up to 65 [cc], which he can race this year… they start shifting and it’s a little bit more power,” Koehl said. “We’re trying to afford to get him a [new] bike.”

With peak motorcross season about to get into gear in the coming months, Koehl said it would help her son if there were more places in the city to ride around. She said there used to be a good dirt bike track off of Territorial Dr. by the garbage dump but that it’s gotten run down recently.

“We’d really like to see it kind of get up and running again so that more kids around here can use it and practice and we can maybe be part of the circuit again for racing,” she said.

Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

@NathanKanter11