Local boy races with Supercross crowd

A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK- Tyler Weyman, 7, competed in the Jan. 6 Anaheim 1 KTM Junior Supercross race, following in the path of his dad, Terry, a former bicycle racer.

Tyler Weyman, 7, of Newbury Park was selected to compete Jan. 6 in the Anaheim 1 ride in the KTM Junior Supercross race for young bicycle motocross racers. Anaheim 1 is the first and one of the biggest events of the Supercross series.

Tyler 's father i s Terry Weyman, a Thousand Oaks chiropractor and a former bicycle motocross racer.

Tyler signed in at 9 a.m. and went to the KTM trailer where he received free gear that included pants, jersey, gloves, helmet and goggles. He then went to a rider's meeting for a discussion of the rules and a chance to chat with some of the pros.

The 15 young racers then proceeded to the pro Supercross track where they would ride and on to the pits and visit witness some of their racing heroes in action.

Tyler and the other young racers had their first practice at 2 p.m. and appeared nervous riding in the big stadium. Tyler crashed four times and had a hard time getting used to a KTM, a bike that was lighter and smaller than his personal Cobra.

The youths signed autographs at about 3 p.m., and about 200 people lined up for signatures.

"I am learning this track, and i t 's not as scary as I thought," Tyler said following the second practice. "This is so much fun."

Next came dinner and the opening ceremonies. The youths came to the podium and gave a tribute to Ricky Carmichael, a professional motocross racer.

The competitors raced for three laps before the main Supercross event. Tyler had no crashes and won ninth place.

"This was the best night of my life," Tyler said at the end of his busy day.