Dayne Cutrell’s motocross career began as a joke.
His father had an old 50 cc bike and said to him, “If you can go up that hill and back down again, I’ll buy you a 65cc bike.”
Cutrell, who was no older than eight or nine at the time, scrambled up the hill and sped down, much to the surprise of his parents.
They looked at each other and said, “We should put him in a race!” and chuckled about it for a while.
It wasn’t a joke to the young motorbike enthusiast though.
He insisted on getting a chance to race, and in his first attempt later that year, he won third place and found a life’s love.
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Cutrell is now 15 years old and one of the fastest motocross racers in the region.
Recent success
At the last MCQMX event of the year in Williams Lake on June 23-24, which featured riders from both the South Series as well as the North Series, Cutrell finished first in Junior MX3 and second in Junior MX2.
His final standings for the year after the meet place him on top for Junior MX2 and third for Junior MX3 for the North Series, which he’d been competing in all season.
His grandmother, Sandra Flanagan, is his biggest fan and travels with him to as many races as she can.
She says Dayne is entering Correlieu Secondary School in the upcoming school year, after just wrapping up at Quesnel Junior School.
One of her fondest memories of him was when he won the Junior B in the B.C. Kawasaki championship three years ago in his first year competing on a 250cc bike.
“He was 12 years old and people couldn’t believe he got on a 250 and competed,” she says, bursting with pride.
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Denise Smith, secretary for Quesnel Motocross Association, agrees with Flanagan.
“He’s one of the most exciting racers here since getting on to the 250,” she says.
“His dedication is paying off.”
Smith adds Cutrell has matured into a nice young man and one of the top riders this year.
Next up for Cutrell is the B.C Championship series, where he will race against some of the best in the province in a series of meets, in Nanaimo, Prince George and Williams Lake.
sports@quesnelobserver.com
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