By Nick Brockman, Messenger Sports Reporter nbrockman@the-messenger.com
Six weeks ago, motocross racer and Madisonville native Ethan Tapp lay in a hospital bed as doctors worked to wire his mouth shut following an accident at an Indiana course.
A simple track run nearly derailed Tapp from participating in the sport's most touted amateur race, the 28th annual Air Nautiques/AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships.
Although Tapp just began eating solid foods, he will be among some of the nation's best bikers when he takes to the track next week. The event takes place Aug. 1-8 at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.
"It's going to be the biggest competition I've had all year," Tapp said. "It's pretty rigorous trying to get into it. It's a lot of people's goal just to make it to this race, let alone turn it into a career. I consider myself pretty lucky with the talent I have to be able to do something like that."
Tapp, a 2008 Madisonville-North Hopkins grad, pushed the limits of his luck when he was testing a new suspension setup in June when a mishap cost him valuable training time.
"It just caught me and I hit my chin on the handle bars," Tapp said of his accident. "I knew my jaw was broken. It was the most excruciating pain I've ever had out of all the bones I've broken. I didn't wreck. That was the most heartbreaking part. I just rode off the track and realized we had to go to the hospital."
Fortunately, Tapp had already qualified for next week's national championship by placing well during a series of area and regional qualifiers.
A simple track run nearly derailed Tapp from participating in the sport's most touted amateur race, the 28th annual Air Nautiques/AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships.
Although Tapp just began eating solid foods, he will be among some of the nation's best bikers when he takes to the track next week. The event takes place Aug. 1-8 at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.
"It's going to be the biggest competition I've had all year," Tapp said. "It's pretty rigorous trying to get into it. It's a lot of people's goal just to make it to this race, let alone turn it into a career. I consider myself pretty lucky with the talent I have to be able to do something like that."
Tapp, a 2008 Madisonville-North Hopkins grad, pushed the limits of his luck when he was testing a new suspension setup in June when a mishap cost him valuable training time.
"It just caught me and I hit my chin on the handle bars," Tapp said of his accident. "I knew my jaw was broken. It was the most excruciating pain I've ever had out of all the bones I've broken. I didn't wreck. That was the most heartbreaking part. I just rode off the track and realized we had to go to the hospital."
Fortunately, Tapp had already qualified for next week's national championship by placing well during a series of area and regional qualifiers.
To prepare for the prestigious race, Tapp hired a trainer and practiced for three months in southern Georgia where he raced nearly seven hours a day.
"We were doing long 30-minute motos, we did sprints, starts," he said. "We worked on corners, and then after that we take about an hour break and we all go to the gym until late at night. We work out until about 8 p.m."
Next week's race marks the second consecutive year Tapp has participated in the championship, but he said he has attended the race every year since 2004. This time, Tapp will race in the 450cc A class and 450cc A pro sport, the highest level of amateur racing, he said.
Practice sessions begin Monday and Tapp's first race is Tuesday morning, though he has at least one race every day through Aug. 7.
Tapp will be accompanied by 41 other racers in each respective class. A winner will be crowned after three races and will be determined on a point system, which awards a certain number for each place.
"We all take off at the same time," Tapp said. "We all funnel into a really small first corner that's not big enough for 42 people. It's pretty much 100 percent skill from once the gate drops until the end of the race."
After enduring weeks of recuperation from his jaw injury, Tapp's fate will be determined by the slimmest of margins.
"If you're not on top of your game, if you're not ready to go out and do battle, you won't get a good start," he said. "Milliseconds is what decides from being in between first through 10th off of the start and being buried at the back of the pack going into the first corner."
Check next week's editions of The Messenger to track Tapp as he chases his dream.
"We were doing long 30-minute motos, we did sprints, starts," he said. "We worked on corners, and then after that we take about an hour break and we all go to the gym until late at night. We work out until about 8 p.m."
Next week's race marks the second consecutive year Tapp has participated in the championship, but he said he has attended the race every year since 2004. This time, Tapp will race in the 450cc A class and 450cc A pro sport, the highest level of amateur racing, he said.
Practice sessions begin Monday and Tapp's first race is Tuesday morning, though he has at least one race every day through Aug. 7.
Tapp will be accompanied by 41 other racers in each respective class. A winner will be crowned after three races and will be determined on a point system, which awards a certain number for each place.
"We all take off at the same time," Tapp said. "We all funnel into a really small first corner that's not big enough for 42 people. It's pretty much 100 percent skill from once the gate drops until the end of the race."
After enduring weeks of recuperation from his jaw injury, Tapp's fate will be determined by the slimmest of margins.
"If you're not on top of your game, if you're not ready to go out and do battle, you won't get a good start," he said. "Milliseconds is what decides from being in between first through 10th off of the start and being buried at the back of the pack going into the first corner."
Check next week's editions of The Messenger to track Tapp as he chases his dream.
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