ISLE PROFILES • MOTOCROSS RACING
Kamaka'ala has been cleaning up on the dirt tracks
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Kainoa Kamaka'ala, right, recently completed the eighth grade but he's already won 62 trophies in motocross competition as far away as Guam. Kainoa's father, Thad, inspects his son's Kawasaki 80cc motorcycle.
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Sixty-two, scattered all over his Punalu'u home. In the living room, on his bedroom shelves, downstairs.
The 13-year-old added his latest one — a first-place overall trophy at the 2002 Miller Lite Smokin' Wheels competition last month in Guam. Kainoa was the only Hawai'i racer invited to compete.
One of the youngest motocross racers in the international event, Kainoa beat out more than 20 others in his division to place first in four races and third in one.
And that third-place finish shouldn't have happened.
"He was in the lead, about 35 seconds in front of second place, then he slid out, came around the corner too fast," explained Kainoa's father, Thad Kamaka'ala.
"But I was catching up," Kainoa replied.
"Even though he took four first-places easily, he had to always start from behind," Thad Kamaka'ala continued, ignoring his son's remark.
"But once I started," Kainoa said, with a gleam in his eyes, "I was gone."
Kainoa started motocross racing — riding motorcycles on a dirt track over hills and through obstacles — three years ago, when his father's friend bought him his first bike: a used Kawasaki 60.
"If I knew what would happen, man," Thad Kamaka'ala said with a laugh. "If I knew what I was getting myself into, I would've given (my friend) back the bike."
The Kamaka'alas traded in weekends fishing in Kahana Bay for weekends riding at the Kahuku Motorcycle Park.
"It's a family thing for us to go to the tracks," said Thad Kamaka'ala, who, along with his wife, Kalei, volunteer at the park, keeping it clean and safe for riders.
Even Kainoa's younger sister, 6-year-old Carrie, races.
"She's got that killer instinct, much more than Noa," Thad Kamaka'ala said. "She has to win ... That took (Kainoa) years to develop."
But he had skills.
Kainoa, who just finished the eighth grade at Kahuku High and Intermediate School, quickly picked up the mechanics of riding, easily winning nearly all 16 races in his class. He was last year's 60/65cc class champion.
Last year Kainoa sold his first bike to help pay for an 80cc model, moving him up a level and forcing him to compete against older, more experienced racers.
"The kids are older, the bikes are faster and the competition is better," Thad Kamaka'ala said.
"But 60, ho, that was a breeze," Kainoa said.
Turning pro is Kainoa's dream. And maybe someday, he said, he'll do it: move to the Mainland and get a sponsor. But for now he enjoys being a rascal teenager, cruising with his friends and shooting hoops in the driveway.
"He goofs around at home, even before the race," Thad Kamaka'ala said. "But when he gets to the starting line, he gets into the groove, in a trance, you can't get him to blink."
Kainoa thrives on competition. In his mind at the starting line, he thinks: "Get a good start, don't make a mistake. I can win if I get a good start."
That focus and determination set Kainoa apart from the other racers at the two-day event in Guam, where he dominated in the mini-5, flat track and supercross races.
But Kainoa won't take all the credit. If it hadn't been for a few sympathetic people, he may not have participated at all.
Having just come back from Disneyland, the Kamaka'alas couldn't afford to send Kainoa to any out-of-state competition. But racing team owner Annie Alvarez paid for the flight and hotel accommodations for Kainoa and Thad.
Once there Kainoa was given a used bike to ride. (Transporting his bike was too expensive.) But during a practice run, he nearly crashed because the bike was practically falling apart. That's when veteran racer Joey Crisotomo loaned Kainoa his brand-new Yamaha 85cc to use.
"That's something we'll never forget," Thad Kamaka'ala said.
Competing in motocross has taught Kainoa a lot. About helping others. About competition. About life.
"Winning isn't everything," he said. "I don't care if I get last or first. I just want to ride. The main thing is I had fun, right, Dad?"
Thad Kamaka'ala nodded and smiled.
