A Black Mountain resident is aiming to place in the top five at the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals.

Casey Keast, 18, got into dirt biking when he was 11.

This will be his second time competing in the MX2 category (250 cc) during the national competition, which starts this weekend in Kamloops at the Whispering Pines Raceway.

According to the motocross website, 乌鸦传媒渢he MX2 class is the breeding ground for up-and-coming talent and throughout its history has been mostly dominated by young Canadian racers.乌鸦传媒�

Keast feels confident about the races, after placing ninth overall last year.

乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 know what the expectations are this year. You always figure out your realistic expectations after the first race,乌鸦传媒� he said.

Keast will be racing against 40 other motocross riders, starting on what he calls 乌鸦传媒渉is home turf乌鸦传媒� race track, which he has grown up racing on.

The Rutland Senior Secondary graduate hopes to make it to the podium in this competition, racing full-time after graduation last year.

His love of dirt biking and the realization that he was good at the sport came to him at 11. By 15, Keast was starting to think about becoming a professional racer.

So far, one of his favourite things about competing is the places he乌鸦传媒檚 had a chance to visit.

乌鸦传媒淲hat I like about it the most is the traveling and the places I get to see乌鸦传媒� all the cool places that people normally don乌鸦传媒檛 get out to go see,乌鸦传媒� he said, adding he乌鸦传媒檚 enjoyed visiting places tourists wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 normally visit.

Keast travels to California in the winter to train because there aren乌鸦传媒檛 as many opportunities in the Okanagan for a professional racer. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 almost a second home to me,乌鸦传媒� he said, adding Kelowna and California have a similar feeling due to climate.

Sitting on the bike, revving his engine and waiting for the start, Keast doesn乌鸦传媒檛 think about the race as it乌鸦传媒檚 happening.

乌鸦传媒淢ost sports you don乌鸦传媒檛 really have time to think about what you乌鸦传媒檙e doing, you just go as hard as you can,乌鸦传媒� he said, loving the adrenaline rush.

乌鸦传媒淎fter the first two laps in a race you don乌鸦传媒檛 even remember anything, it乌鸦传媒檚 just like pure adrenaline. You just go. My favourite thing about it is just riding as hard as you can and your body is completely dead after.乌鸦传媒�

In his spare time, he plays basketball and snowboards at Big White in the winter. 乌鸦传媒淭hat乌鸦传媒檚 one of the harder things about the sport. I don乌鸦传媒檛 get to hang out with friends (as much),乌鸦传媒� he said.

His mom got him into the sport professionally.

乌鸦传媒淢y mom was the one that wanted me to start racing. She inspired me to get out there. She must have just known that I乌鸦传媒檇 like it a lot.乌鸦传媒�

Keast乌鸦传媒檚 father loved dirt biking as a kid but couldn乌鸦传媒檛 do it professionally due to financial circumstances.

It makes Keast grateful for the opportunity.

乌鸦传媒淎nytime I乌鸦传媒檓 in California riding and I have a bad day, I think about my parents and what they do for me and how fortunate I am to be able to ride just this day, let alone staying down there for a month.乌鸦传媒�

The nationals, celebrating its 25th anniversary, starts June 2 and 3 and will stretch across Canada, from Kamloops to Ontario.

carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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