The Red Rock Raceway is fully developed for dirt bike and rock crawler racing, and races are taking place, according to officers with the Red Rock Dirt Riders, a local organization that oversees the facility.

Members of the Red Rock Dirt Riders told the Grand County Council last week that local dirt bike riders now have a fully developed track for practice and pleasure, and they are using it. A system to inform and encourage local riders to utilize public ride days is being developed, raceway officials said last week.

Club members and high school students nearly filled the council chambers during the May 19 meeting. “They were expecting some controversy,” said Grand County Chief Deputy Sheriff Curt Brewer, who accompanied the students learning about local government.

But the evening’s discussion regarding the raceway was free of conflict. Council members expressed their satisfaction regarding the facility and encouraged the club to do more local advertising.

The club held 75 public ride days in 2008, and 30 days so far this year, according to a presentation to the council by Red Rock Dirt Riders’ president, Jason Parriott, and treasurer, Mark Thayn.

Last September, when the club’s $1 per year lease on Grand County property near Ken’s Lake was renewed, council members appeared uncertain about whether the club was meeting its obligations. Some county residents complained about problems with dust and noise, and council members expressed concerns that the track was not adequately serving local needs.

At that time the raceway property was successfully annexed into the Grand Water and Sewer Service Agency, enabling the club to use water from Ken’s Lake for dust suppression. Because the property is in San Juan County, that county’s approval helped pave the way for the annexation and implementing the dust control measures.

Fund-raising, along with help from national organizations wanting to hold races in Moab, provided the money needed to fence the property, buy insurance, and build facilities such as a ticket booth and starting pad, Parriott said.

“In January [2008] the XXRA contacted us out of the blue and asked us if they could hold their event at our facility on Easter weekend,” Parriott and Thayn told the council. XXRA is a national organization that sponsors rock crawler races. That event paid for insurance and other facilities, Parriott said.

Last October the club held its first “Outlaw Race,” so-named because the event was not sanctioned by any national motocross race organization. That race proved “we are a race-ready club and track,” according to the club’s report to the council.

Then, the Thanksgiving Classic Race was moved from Mesquite, Nev., to Moab by the St. George Motocross Club. It is the last sanctioned points race of the year, Parriott said.

So far this year a points race was held in March, with 631 riders and approximately 2,000 spectators, he said. The “annual” rock crawler race was held during Jeep Safari week, and the UTV rally used the track for a week to test new suspension systems and equipment.

A “Pro Purse” dirt bike race, labeled the Four Corners Shootout, will be held in July, with a $3,000 purse to be split among the first three finishers, Parriott said.

Public ride days are scheduled around the races and other events. The track must be closed for 10 days to prepare it for a race, Parriott said, adding that efforts are underway to inform riders when the track will be available. Local riders are charged a $10 fee for using the track, he said. Riders under six years of age are admitted free.

“Powder puff days for women only are being worked out,” Parriott said.

County councilman Gene Ciarus noted that there has been controversy about the track. He, along with council chairman Bob Greenberg, encouraged more advertising to inform the public about public ride days. Councilman Chris Baird said he visited the track and likes it.

“Things are moving along,” Baird said.