![Tamworth Regional Council mayor Russell Webb, Member for New England Barnaby Joyce and Tamworth City BMX Club president Dan Morris with local riders. Picture by Peter Hardin Tamworth Regional Council mayor Russell Webb, Member for New England Barnaby Joyce and Tamworth City BMX Club president Dan Morris with local riders. Picture by Peter Hardin](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/150521478/5b5920be-b118-40f7-b5c1-2bae348f5e9a.jpg/r0_321_6016_3703_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
AFTER asbestos left local riders without a training facility for three years, BMX riding is finally back on track.
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Remediation works are complete, and BMX riders are ready to get the wheels turning again at a brand new, national championship quality track.
And after years of commuting more than three hours to the nearest track, no one could be more excited to get riding again then Tamworth City BMX Club president Dan Morris.
"It's been tough," he said.
"This is really exciting that not only do they get somewhere to ride on again, they get to ride on something that will prepare them to go anywhere in the world."
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When the track closed in March 2020, after non-friable asbestos was discovered, it coincided with a period of growth for the club.
Mr Morris said membership numbers were only just scraping double digits, but he was confident this would boom with the new facility.
"Without a facility to ride, people weren't going to keep paying their memberships," he said.
The new and improved 350-metre track includes an all-weather surface, straights, a bridge and whirlpool to get riders competition ready.
A $55,000 pump track has also been built at the Marius Street facility.
Mr Morris said he was already in talks with the BMX governing body about hosting state and national competitions at the facility.
Tamworth Regional Council mayor Russell Webb said he was thankful for the clubs patience in getting the track back open.
He said a shortage of workforce during the pandemic and wet weather had delayed the remediation works.
"Everyone in NSW that's a 'BMX-er' will want to come here," Cr Webb said.
"I really look forward to this track growing and this club growing."
The federal government chipped in $867,000 towards the track upgrades, a figure Member for New England Barnaby Joyce said would help show off the region.
"It becomes a mechanism that can draw people in from not only around the state but from around the nation," he said.
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