Sisters siblings capture state titles

Benjamin and Nick Chappell are tops on their bikes. photo by Conrad Weiler The Chappell brothers, Benjamin and Nick, came away with Oregon State Motocross (MX) championships sponsored by Albany Supercross over Halloween weekend in Salem.

Benjamin (number 111) competed in the peewee age 7-8 class championship and Nick (number 66) took the peewee age 3-6 class event.

The brothers raced over three weekends at Albany, Madras and finally at Salem.

"The two outdoor events in Albany and Madras had good outdoor weather," said their father Matt Chappell

"Salem is an indoor course and was a real technical challenge for the boys," he said. "We used far less gas for the bikes there than at the outdoor events. Albany was a fun course over a varied track for the boys to ride and Madras was long and fast."

Both boys used 50 cc King model Cobras for their wins. These mini-cycles can reach 40-45 mph speeds on open straightaways.

"I love MX racing," said Nick. Brother Benjamin added, "The obstacles were fun at Salem. I enjoyed the 'table-top' obstacles, between 10 and 30 feet, and the step-ups and step-downs on my bike."

The Salem event ended with a best-costume ride on Halloween Sunday and was enjoyed by all contestants.

Both boys have been MX riders for about two years and look forward to competing in the Northwest championships in the future.

Next season starts in March at the indoor Redmond track. Presently, there is no MX track in Sisters.

Asked how his sons got interested in motocross, Matt Chappell answered, "Another Dad and his son told us about it and we tried it out. We liked it and went from there."

The brothers attend Sisters Elementary School, with Benjamin in third grade and Nick a second grader.

Local sponsors for the Chappell brothers are Sisters Auto Supply and Sisters Space Age Gas.