Ontario Ski Resort Adding Moto!

Motocross trails being developed at ski hill  

By Alan S. Hale, The Daily Press

Tuesday, May 12, 2015 10:22:40 EDT PM

TIMMINS - It may seem a stretch – but the jobs of security personnel at local mining quarries and tailings sites should get a bit easier now that Timmins is getting a motocross track.

The track is being built as a new summer feature of the Kamiskotia Snow Resort.

It will be operated by a local motocross company 705MX.

Neal Neamtu, the owner of 705MX, said having a proper place for motocross will not only give Timmins residents another outdoor activity to enjoy, it should help put an end to the dangerous practice of individuals who take their bikes onto mining sites because there is nowhere else to go.

“We want to get the kids off the streets, out of the pits and off the mining properties,” said Neamtu. “They’re always excavating, and it’s dangerous,” said Neamtu. “We want to get the kids out of there and into a controlled riding environment where everyone is going the same direction in a safe manner.”

Neamtu has been trying to establish a competition-level motocross track in Timmins for almost a decade, but has never seen his project come to fruition.

When he proposed the idea to Kamiskotia last summer, they leapt at the chance.

Monique Koski, who has been appointed as the project’s director by Kamiskotia, a motocross track fits perfectly with the resort’s long-term goals.

“Kamiskotia has always wanted to be a four-season resort,” she said. “It’s always been one of our action items to have something happening here in the summer time. We were approached by Neil, saying he would like a location for a track, and we thought it was a no-brainer. We already have facilities with the restaurant, the bar, the bathrooms and we have the property. So it was just a matter of getting permission.”

After some bureaucratic wrangling, the ski hill received permission from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to log a 10-hectare plot on their property located just off the main road leading up to the ski lodge. Local logging company DeBastos & Sons donated their equipment and personnel for the job.

Presently, most of the future site of the track has been cleared of trees, and Borèal Collége has agreed to bring in some of their forestry students to remove the stumps once logging is complete. But before they can start to build the track, they will need another round of permits from the MNRF, and no one is sure how long that process will take.

Neamtu said he envisions a track that will be the envy of the rest of the province.

“The plan is to have the one of the best – if not the best – track in Ontario,” he said. “There will be all the regular elements such as doubles, triples, tabletops, and we hope to bring enough material in to build some nice big berms. We’ll be providing some nice racing and practising areas so kids can fine-tune their skills, and parents can come out, watch and have a coffee.”

Plans for the track also include a motocross school, and Neamtu’s welding company will be fabricating a bank of bleachers for spectators.

Once the track is complete, the Kamiskotia plans to get it certified by the Canadian Motocross Racing Corporation, which will allow it to host sanctioned racing events.

Because of the uncertainty in the required permitting process, there is no opening date set for the new track, but Kamiskotia hopes construction will be complete by the end of the summer.