Brother, sister ready for starting line

One sport that schools don’t offer is the one this brother and sister are passionate about.

Sophomore Annie Wernig and Senior Charlie Wernig both participate in motocross outside of school. Their father used to race and he was the one to get both of them interested in it.

The two love to ride, but they also love to win.

“It’s fun to beat Annie,” said Charlie.

Annie enjoys the speed and beating her male competitors.Though most of her races are in all female classes, one series she participates in is a mix of both male and female. Beating male competitors is a lot of fun, according to Annie.

The siblings race in about 30 races during the summer and have won a majority of those races. Their home is filled with trophies from all the years.

“We have like 300 trophies, but Charlie has the most 1 place ones,” said Annie.

Charlie has been racing for 12 years, while Annie has been racing for eight years. The two are very competitive with each other.

While Annie has another year to decide what to do after high school, Charlie already knows and it includes motocross.

“I’m hoping to go pro,” said Charlie.

Right now the two are racing on tracks that are between one mile and one and a half miles. Charlie says the tracks for pro races are slightly longer, but otherwise pretty much the same as those he is racing now.

Baltimore just hosted Arenacross in early January, which is indoor motocross racing with higher jumps and involves more stunts.

“It would be cool to do something like Arenacross, but Charlie says I would get killed because I’m not a good jumper,” said Annie.
During the summer they practice every day on the track on their property and to prepare for races. The average drive time to a race track is three hours, but some are even longer. Annie’s favorite track is Loretta Lynn’s in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, which is about a 12 hour drive.