New England motocross track review: Hemond’s Motocross Park (HMXP)

December 9th, 2008 • Review

Note: This is the second in a series of posts where I will be reviewing the motocross tracks of New England from my perspective. Remember, I am not an expert racer, but a newly promoted Amateur. These posts are my opinion, just because I like/dislike certain characteristics of a track does not mean riders of other abilities/preferences will like/dislike them.

-Photo by Paul Buckley.

Even though Hemonds Motocross park is one of the newest tracks in New England, it has already gained itself a reputation as one of the elite motocross parks in the area. Located in Minot, Maine, the track is quite a haul for me and most other New England riders, however, it is worth it. The park features two full sized motocross tracks. The original is a little smaller, tighter, and features a supercross-esque layout. The newer track is wide open, featuring big jumps, fast corners, and long straightaways. Because the newer track is used much more often, it is the one I will concentrate on for the remainder of this post.

Dirt

-Photo by Paul Buckley.

Hemond’s motocross park has several different types of dirt throughout its layout. For the most part however, the track is fairly hard packed. Personally, I am not the biggest fan of hard packed dirt. I love deep sandy berms, so the dirt at Hemond’s is certainly not my favorite. However, many riders like the dirt, and I feel that it suits the layout well. I know that the crew over at Hemond’s has been doing a lot lately to make the dirt softer, and their efforts have paid off. The track has improved light years from its original dirt which was absolutely rock hard, unforgiving, and not fun to ride on.

Hemond’s has been working hard to expand the track, and in their efforts, they have introduced some new types of dirt into the layout. One of my favorite on the track, the rolling whoops before the finish line, features very soft and sandy dirt. This dirt is perfect for this type of section and gives the whoops a Southwick feel. Unfortunately, because the track cannot afford to water the more hard packed sections without making them unsafely slippery, the sandy section often does not get enough water throughout the day and becomes very dusty by the second half of the day. Nevertheless, this added variety of the dirt makes the track much more interesting, fun, and enhances the racing experience.

Layout

The layout at Hemond’s is absolutely amazing. It features one of the best designs in New England. Not only is the track feature very long lap times, but it has one of the widest variety of obstacles in New England. Right after the wide, safe, uphill start, you are presented with a series of S-Turns, leading into a small double double section and then finally an off camber corner before dropping into the back section. The track continues with more doubles, s-turns, off camber turns, table tops, step downs, step ups, and whoops. If you can think of a motocross obstacle, it is most likely featured on this track. The layout of the track is extremely interesting and keeps riders on their toes for an entire lap. Thankfully, Hemond’s has also managed to keep the track relatively safe while still keeping it fun. I feel confident in saying that no other track offers the same variety of obstacles as Hemond’s Motocross Park. Out of all Hemond’s obstacles, a few standout as my favorites:

• Uphill Double-Double
• Sand Whoops
• “Screw-U” Corner

Due to the wide variety of obstacles, corners, and straightaways, HMXP promotes some of the best racing in New England and there are plenty of good places to pass. However, the long straightaways definitely give ad advantage to riders with a faster/larger bike.

Start

Hemond’s starting straightaway is one of my favorites. It is one of the few dirt starting pads in New England, so it definitely requires a different style to get a good jump off. For me, I like to dig the rut out down to the hard dirt. This gives me really good traction off the start and lets me touch the ground flat footed with no blocks even though I am relatively small for my 250f. Other than that, the start features a nice, gradual, uphill grade into a relatively sharp left hand corner. The start is pretty safe, however, I have seen a number of crashes there throughout the past few years, none of them serious, thankfully. One of my favorite features of the Hemond’s start is that there is no outright best starting spot. At Southwick, the farthest inside spot has almost been the best for me. However, at Hemond’s there are no standout starting gates. I still like to start on the inside, but it definitely isn’t head and shoulders above the other gates.

Overall Safety

-Photo by Paul Buckley.

Unfortunately, Hemond’s suffered a death this past season (RIP Dan Arnold). This event saddened the entire mtocross community, and made us all realizes how dangerous motocross truelly is. However, I am of the opinion that the death was not the fault of the track itself. I am not 100% certain on the events surrounding that day, but as far as I know, the design of the track has not been to blame. I feel that the majority of the jumps, corners, and straighaways on the track are built extremely safely, and there is nothing that is abnormally dangerous. On the contrary, the area sorrounding the track is slightly “sketchy.” There are some big drop offs in close vicinity to the track, and some of the fences sorrounding the track are not the most confidence inspiring. If HMXP cleaned up some of these areas, the track would easily be one of the safest in New England.

What Would I do to Improve?

I am no expert in track design or development, but there are a number of things which I would do to improve HMXP.

• Softer dirt: For some, Hemond’s hard packed terra firma is great, but I prefer softer dirt in almost every condition. I just love the ruts, bumps, and good racing lines that develop in soft loamy dirt. Hemond’s has done a lot in the past few years to soften up the dirt, and it has been paying off, they just need to continue these efforts.
• Safer sorroundings: While the track at HMXP is more than safe, the area round it is lacking. The track crew needs to clean up and smooth out some of the drop offs, rocks, and fences around the track.
• Better Watering: Because Hemond’s currently has rather hardpacked dirt, water is extremely difficult. It is important to keep the dirt wet in order to prevent it from drying up over the course of a race day, but there is limit where too much watering makes the track slippery.

Facilities

Of all the tracks in New England, HMXP features some of the best facilities in the area. The entire pit area is beautiful green grass, making a weekend stay there a pleasure. In addition, they have a great food stand with breakfast and lunch food. Finally, they have shower’s available for use if you don’t have a motor home. The Hemond family has done a lot of work to make a weekend stay there as enjoyable as possible, and they have succeeded.

Special Events

In addition to hosting numerous NESC and Maine Motocross Series events, the Hemond’s family recently began hosting the New England Classic, a 2 day, 3 moto format race featuring great racing, great riders, and a great track. I attended the first year of the event, and had a blast. Unfortunately, I could not attend this year due to my short break from racing.

The New England Motocross Show did a great race report of this years New England Classic, check it out.

Conclusion

The new track at Hemond’s Motocross Park may not have as storied a history as Southwick, but it is well on its way to becoming a legendary track. The track features a good mix of dirt, a very varied layout, an safe design (overall), and a great pit area. I commend the Hemond’s family for making so much progress and such short amount of time, and I expect this track to make huge waves in the industry in the coming years.

You can learn more about Hemond’s motocross park including directions, racing schedule, contact information and more on their website.

Tags: Hemond's, HMXP, motocross, NESC, New England Classic, Review, Track Review

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