JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – WW Motocross Park has a busy month and a half ahead.
The park on Jacksonville’s westside will serve as host to two major events between Friday and the end of July, with the Spartan Race and the Florida National championship motocross event on deck.
First up is the Spartan, an obstacle course race that takes place over 3.1 miles of terrain and no shortage of barriers to get past. Last year’s event had 7,500 participants. This year’s Spartan was on pace to surpass that before the coronavirus pandemic.
The first day of action is Friday with a variety of events that include races like a 10K non-obstacle trail run and the team-based Hurricane Heat. The main Spartan races are Saturday. Due to the pandemic, there are numerous safety parameters in place for both days of racing this week.
“Everything is safety, safety, safety right now,” said Junior Scarborough, owner of WW Motocross Park.
On July 25, the park will pivot to its namesake and play host to the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship’s Florida National motocross event. It’s the second year in a row that the park will have hosted one of the biggest stops on tour. The championship round of the Florida National will be televised live on the NBC Sports Network.
“Last year we had 20,000 people in our city,” said Alan Verlander, CEO of Airstream Ventures. “We had attendees I think from over 40 states and nine different countries, so it’s a huge sports tourism event for our city. It puts Jacksonville on the map because it’s once again nationally televised.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fan capacity will be reduced at this year’s event, but fans will be allowed to attend.
“We are proud to welcome the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross back to Jacksonville,” said City of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry. “We are fortunate to have a world class facility and look forward to the competitors and fans having a great and safe experience. I am grateful for the leadership of the Scarborough family and our partners at Airstream Ventures for leading the efforts in bringing sports tourism back to our city through this nationally televised race.”