J. EDMUND BARNES

PHOTO 1: Langley stands by his bike and the trophys he has won in just a few short months of racing Behind him is the banner that his fan club displayed at the KTM Invitational held at the Superdome. ST. ROSE – It was early spring of this past year when the best Supercross cyclists in the world assembled in the Louisiana Superdome for the KTM Supercross Challenge. One by one they rode out of the tunnel into the spotlights and lasers of the big show. When the fourth rider came out of the tunnel, a small section rose to their feet to cheer him on. There were about 100 of them, and their banner had the words “GO BIG! ZACK LANGLEY” splashed on it in yellow and black. Langley rode out and cupped his hand to his ear as if to say “I can’t hear you,” and the crowd cheered louder. Then he rose up on the bike and pointed at his image on the Superdome’s Jumbotron. The announcer shouted “Zack The Maniac’ Langley has a fan section, and they’re all on their feet!” PHOTO 2: Zack Langley shows off his trademark move, the no-footer, at a recent night race. A big production, yes, but most races on the professional level are. Then again, one should note that Zack Langley is only 9 years old. The student of St. Charles Borroweo had been invited to be a KTM factory cyclist for a race, and was making the most of it. Langley has been racing 50 cc motorcross bikes since February – the KTM Challenge Supercross race was only his second competition. His parents admitted to fibbing a little bit. “(To compete in the KTM Supercross Challenge) you have to have been racing at least a year,” said his father John Langley. Now he races two to four times a month, and is in second place in the 7-8 year-old stock and modified class series points. “It was nerve-wracking,” said Zackery about the KTM Challenge. “Being in front of 35,000 people. The best part was when I finished (the race) and hung out with all the people in the race.” “He got to hobnob with all the pros in the dome,” explained his mother Michelle Langley. And the pros were there – while the race Zack participated in was only an exhibition, the rest of the Supercross world was there, and some of them weren’t much older than Zack. Pros like Travis Pistrano, who is only 17 years old. Zack has only been riding motorcross bikes since the Christmas 2000, when his parents gave him his first motorbike. He hadn’t even learned how ride a bicycle yet. But he picked it up quickly. In a month he was riding a bicycle. His father remembers the first day Zack rode his motorcycle. With Zack on the other end of a long straightaway, he was going to have Zack slowly ride up to him at which point he would pull him off the bike and to safety. “He got on and took off,” said John Langley. “Two hours later he stopped and said Dad, can you build me a ramp? I want to jump.'” For Zack, the best part about racing is the airtime he gets when he jumps. “When he was little he always wanted to fly,” said Michelle Langley. “We called him a pilot.” But while his parents have encouraged him to race, they are careful to draw the line between encouragement and pressure. “I never want him to feel forced to ride,” said John Langley. “It’s competitive. Sometimes he wins. Sometimes he loses. We just want him to have fun.” Michelle Langley said Zack usually finishes in the top five of the 15-21 kids who enter the races. “(We want him to) just be a kid,” said Michelle Langley. But there is a difference between just being a kid and competing in a potentially dangerous sport, be it football or motorcross racing. “There’s a lot of things that can happen,” his father said. “He always has his safety gear on, but things can happen out on the track. They can happen fast.” “Travis Pistrano just got in an accident,” said his mother, who was watching the race on television. “I screamed. I’m still worried about him. He’s only 17. He’s got a concussion. (Zack’s) on a 50 (cc bike), so it’s OK now. (The bikes) go faster, jump higher (as the engines get larger).” But the desire to fly does not stop Zack from scaring his parents every now and them. “I did a Superman once,” boasted Zack. A Superman’ is a move when a motorcross or supercross racer jumps his or her bike into the air and holds on tight to the handlebars while his or her body soars parallel to the bike as both machine and rider arc through the air. “(The first thing) after the race he asked me Did you get it on tape?’ I said Yes. Don’t do that again!'” Michelle Langley remembers. Zack even has a trademark move now – the “No footer.” His parents occasionally ask him why Zack is not interested in the sports that the rest of the kids his age are participating in like football. “He says Because I don’t want to mess up my career. I don’t want to mess up my series points,'” said Michelle Langley. Zack’s career nearly came to a head at the beginning of this month. Against everyone’s expectations, Zack was invited to compete in the Grand National Motorcross races held annually in Ponca City, Okla. For the past 26 years, “Ponca” as it is called by motorcross insiders is where the amateurs go to jumpstart their professional careers. “Actually he qualified and we didn’t think he would,” said John Langley. But why didn’t the family pack up the bike and roadtrip it up to Oklahoma? “It’s pricey. Like Disney World,” said Michelle. So Zackery did not go. They forfeited his spot so another racer for the Dixie Region (Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi) could go in Zack’s place. In fact, the Langleys are looking for sponsors to help their son race at the next level. John Langley said his brothers Mike and R.J. are current sponsors, as is SoCal Racing/De Cal Works. In the mean time, Zack races and practices every month, always striving to do better. “(Zack’s) always down playing things. He’s always looking to go and race again. He always wants to be better. He’s his own worst critic,” said his father. His mother said, “He gets better every time he goes on the bike. He’s the one who asked us to race. He has fun. It’s a family oriented sport. Getting dirty in the sun,” she laughed.