AHRMA MAG January 2023, Vol. No. 5, Issue No. 1

welcome to the AHRMA Mag

EDITOR

Steph Vetterly ahrmamag@ahrma.org

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Kevin Cameron, Bob Close, Joshua Schucker, Albert Newmann, Suzy Moody, Frank Eaton, Richard Brodock, Marc Warburton

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTORS

Don Emde, etechphoto.com, Sarah Lane, Danielle Vanderwarker, Alicia Coon, Rick Cowers, Mike Horan, Sam Merrell, Ty Wilson, Bobby Hedge, Jeff Cox and The Photo Trailer, Sharon Bean, Pam Warburton

ADVERTISING

Jim Doyle jim.doyle@ahrma.org

PUBLISHER

The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association

ADDRESS 8913 Town and Country Circle #1093 Knoxville, TN 37923 PHONE 888-41AHRMA (888) 412-4762

COVER -

Jesse Davis finishes strong at the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Festival, taking the 2022 Superbike Heavyweight Vintage Cup title aboard his 1982 Yamaha XV920RJ, but not without a serious amount of adversity. Read our interview with Davis on page 36 in this month’s issue.

Photo by Steph Vetterly

AHRMA MAG is published ten times a year by the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American copyright conventions. Reproduction of this work in whole or in part without the written consent of the publisher is strictly prohibited. AHRMA MAG is printed in the United States of America. The articles contained in this magazine are works of journalism and do not represent the opinions or ideas of AHRMA MAG. AHRMA MAG and the publisher assume no responsibility for the content of advertisements. While we welcome submissions, the magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Please do not send originals.

from the editor

This time of year is always exciting. It’s the end of the season, so I finally get a chance to stay home for a bit and relax, not worrying if my flight is going to be canceled, or if my van will have a mechanical failure on the way to (or from) one event to the next.

It’s also exciting because the schedules for the next season are being finalized and published (as you’ll discover in this issue, we have a few events to share with you). It’s a time when my eyes are bigger than my stomach, so to speak. I start planning which events I’ll go to in the coming year, not thinking about the countless hours of sifting through images and editing; I always have high hopes that I’ll figure out some better method to streamline my processes.

In this issue, our staff shares some behind-the-scenes info, giving you, the readers and members, a better idea of how much work goes into their goal of providing the best racing experience. In the spirit of sharing, I’d like to give you some insight into how each issue of this magazine comes together. First, we discuss as a team which events, articles, and news pieces we want to share. Next comes finding individuals who are willing, able, and have the knowledge to do so. After articles are received, I sit down with my coffee (and lots of it) and hard copies of every piece to go through and edit for content, sentence structure, accuracy, and spelling. Some pieces are a breeze and need hardly any revisions; others take a serious amount of time to reorganize in a coherent and interesting narrative.

The fun (and sometimes frustrating) part for me comes when it’s time to choose the images. Just as Joe W. Koury did when he held the mantle of Editor, I try to showcase as many different riders throughout the year as I possibly can. At times, I have only a small number of submitted images to choose from, so some riders get lucky and are seen in multiple issues. Also, more times than I care to mention, I see a great image, but can’t identify the rider due to the number on their bike not matching results or the MSR database.

After articles have been edited and photos have been chosen, it’s time to layout the magazine design. Our printer requires that we have a specific page count (multiples of 16 is ideal), so there is constant rearranging of ads, articles, and photos until we hit that magic number. It’s then sent to a small team of individuals to double-check that I haven’t missed anything (after staring at words and photos for countless hours, I’m bound to miss something). After further revisions, it’s off to the printer (fingers crossed the USPS delivers in a timely fashion), and we start all over again. It’s a great endeavor, and one that I sincerely thank our contributors, members, and staff, for making enjoyable and worthwhile.

So here’s to 2023 and many more races, articles, and photos! see you on the track!

Steph Vetterly

Thanks to everyone who subscribes and looks forward to each issue.

We at AHRMA MAG want to hear from our readership. We’d like to know how we’re doing.

Send us feedback and comments about your favorite stories and columns, likes and dislikes and what you’d enjoy seeing in future issues. Keep it under 250 words and we’ll try and include your comments in the next issue: ahrmamag@ahrma.org

photo by Skip Kennedy

How low can you go? Racers really leaned into the berms

THE CONVOLUTED HISTORY OF F 750 - Renowned motorcycle journalist, Kevin Cameron, takes us on a journey through time to understand more of the history of the 2023 Roadracing Vintage Cup class - Formula 750.

ADIEU ‘22 - With a strong finish at the White Rose Motorcycle Club, Joshua Schucker shares the final round of the Mid-Atlantic season.

TEXAS VINTAGE GP - Albert Newmann reports on all things Texas - Gran Prix-style

INTERVIEW WITH JESSE DAVIS - We take a moment to talk with Jesse Davis, winner of the 2022 Superbike Heavyweight Vintage Cup, and learn more about the adversities that challenged his accomplishment.

FALL RACING WITH AHRMA NORTHEAST - In an article extravaganza, Bob Close catches us up on what’s been happening in the second half of the Northeast Region’s season.

T&S FINALE - Every season has it’s end, and what better way to go out than at the T&S Racing facility in Henryetta, OK?

A TALE OF TWO RACES - Marc Warburton shares the story of his season and the journey to taking the Post Vintage Historic 250 Intermediate class - his first ever title!

2023 RACE SCHEDULES - While there is still a lot of discussion happening to finish setting the 2023 schedule, we have some info to help you plan your next season’s travel. SWAP MEET & MARKETPLACE

at the Texas Vintage GP in Donie, TX.

PHOTO BY BOBBY Hedge

Happy New Year, AHRMA! I hope your holidays were fun and festive, and that you were able to spend quality time with those you love. It is a special time when we can reconnect with those that mean the most to us and reflect on the successes of the past year and the opportunities that lie ahead.

We have plenty of both and 2023 promises to be a better year for our club. I always look forward to this time. The moment after you have done all you needed to set up a great year ahead. When you have your plans, your team, and your bikes in order and looking forward to that first race start – GO!!! I know many of you are anticipating another fun year of racing with AHRMA, and we have put together a solid program for you to enjoy.

We made a lot of progress in 2022. We created the business platform

A New Day

that allows us to see our performance in real time and adjust on the fly. We built a reporting process for the Board of Trustees, including everything from performance by discipline to our financial details. We created race schedules that will be manageable and most likely to create good results for AHRMA while maintaining our quality member experience. We elected trustees that will represent our membership in a positive manner and offer quality inputs and solutions for our program across disciplines. We managed ongoing changes and have created a management platform and a team that will help us become both better and stronger. Change isn’t always easy, but it does provide opportunity to improve and succeed. We will do both in the year ahead.

Racing was challenged in 2022... no news to anybody. Many organizations struggled financially and had to adjust schedules and offerings in order to sustain their operations. AHRMA continued to offer the great experience of racing very unique and historic motorcycles in a fun and competitive environment, with both regional and national championships as a reward. We are still the best and biggest historic

racing organization, and we are focused on improving and growing for the future. We will need your help to do that.

How? We need your support. We need you to come out and show that AHRMA is important to you. Attending events, enjoying the camaraderie, and running the races – as many as you can – and having a blast doing it. Your participation and support in 2023 will help make the difference we need for the future. If you or a friend would like to volunteer for any of our disciplines, we would very much welcome the support. Our team is welcoming and supportive…please participate in any way you can.

In closing, I’d like to thank all of our staff, volunteers, management, and trustees for the time and effort you all give to make us the best. And finally, my thanks to YOU our members, and owners.

Now, let’s race!

Craig L. Grantham

CRAIG L. GRANTHAM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AHRMA

PHOTO BY OXYMORON PHOTOGRAPHY

OFF-ROAD

in each of the regions so that a National event is within a reasonable driving distance for our members.

The process of identifying tracks and promoters involves many people - Regional Coordinators, the Cross Country and Trials coordinators, Trustees and Members bring many of the tracks to our attention and help us get the background and proper promoter contact information.

Are the promoters willing to adhere to the standard AHRMA contract requirements? We need to know that the promoters are willing to adjust the track to meet our unique track requirements. Is the promoter OK with financial conditions listed in the contract? We get more into detail at a later date on this as we send the contracts out.

In the process of all of this, we talk to many promoters that may or may not meet our needs, available dates, or the desire to meet our unique requirements. If your favorite track or location is not on the schedule, it may be for one of these reasons. Or better yet, we might just not know about that track.

The 2023 Off-Road schedules are now available. You will see that we have gone back to some of our iconic races (Diamond Don’s) and added some historic tracks (Honda Hills) to the mix.

A lot of thought, coordination, and an enormous amount of effort was involved between many, many people before venues and dates were confirmed. The number of promoters and tracks that were contacted were many. To be selected, a number of things must align for a track to be chosen for the upcoming season.

To give you some insight on what goes on behind the scenes, here are some of the criteria we used to make our decisions:

Has an AHRMA event been hosted here before? If it has, both AHRMA and the track know exactly what we’re getting into.

Is a date available that fits into the schedule? If so, do the dates conflict with other major events in the area such as Supercross, AMA Outdoors MX, CZ World Championships? Do other vintage organizations have events going on during the same timeframes or dates that we are

looking at? Yes, we do talk to other vintage organizations that are not part of the AHRMA family to coordinate our schedules and theirs so that we can reduce the possibility of creating a conflict!

Selecting a date gets more difficult with each event that we confirm as the available date ranges get smaller. There is a lot of juggling to find dates that work between promoters and AHRMA. Sometimes this involves conversations between multiple promoters and AHRMA personnel to shift dates around before we can get a satisfactory schedule.

We have to coordinate this schedule with the regional schedules and see who we will be able to count on to help support these events. There is also coordination internally with the Cross Country and Trials Coordinators to see where we will combine events, when standalone events are scheduled, and how best not to step on the different disciplines so that they can have the best events and turn outs possible.

We also look at where in the US each event is. Although we’re not always 100% successful, we try to put events

The initial scheduling is just the beginning of what will be a year-long effort to bring these events to fruition. The number of hours these folks have worked on your behalf to move this forward is huge. When you see some of these folks, be sure to thank them. They work VERY hard.

Please keep in mind that the initial schedule is tentative and there are events that may be added to fill holes in the schedule that couldn’t be addressed in the time frames for the announcement.

Looking forward to the 2023 Season! Have fun, be safe and ride fast!

Terry McPhillips

TERRY MCPHILLIPS OFF-ROAD RACE DIRECTOR

PHOTO BY SHARON BEAN

Coming off the 2022 season, I can say without a doubt we have successfully “Turned the Corner.” I sat down and looked at the overall program and individual events to see what areas we excelled in and what areas we need to work on. With steady growth, we’ve seen some of the biggest rider turnouts in many years, but we also took some hits along the way. In 2022, we tried some back-to-back weekends and some multi-day events to give riders more bang for their buck, but that did not work out as well as we’d hope. This year, the schedule was carefully designed to eliminate back-to-back weekends in the same region and also to focus on areas where our rider turn out is consistent. That being said, we are still trying to reach new areas and riders; I do want everyone to know that I hear you when it comes to wanting races in new and old regions and we will get there. Currently, it is a difficult line to walk maintaining what we have while trying to expand. A downturn in the economy over the last year has been felt through AHRMA and we must focus on financial responsibility. I appreciate everyone’s support and will strive to provide great events for our riders. I knew when I took over this program it wouldn’t be easy to get it back on track, but with a lot of work and a lot of help from some great people, I know we are headed in the right direction.

New for 2023, Dirt Track will be adding a Vintage Cup program. This program will highlight a specific Dirt Track class during the year and offer discounted entry fees, special trophies, and special media coverage for the top riders. AHRMA has been

promoting a Vintage Cup as part of Road Racing for several years and we hope it will create the same excitement and competition in Dirt Track and generate more interest in AHRMA. For 2023, the Dirt Track Vintage Cup will highlight the Sportsman 750 class while Road Racing Vintage Cup will highlight the Formula 750 class, which means 2023 will be a great year for seeing and hearing big twins from the 1970’s tearing it up on the dirt and pavement. Also new for 2023 is the introduction of the Legacy Class. This class is designed to allow veteran riders to have a place to still get some track time in a non-competition environment. It will also be a place for riders with rare or collectable machines to bring them out and show them off with less worry of damage occurring. This class has specific rules to ensure safety for both riders and machines; these rules can be found at AHRMA.org. While this is a non-championship class, all participants will receive special awards at each event which will add up to a year-end award for their legacy contributions to AHRMA and the sport of dirt track.

With some new tracks on the schedule as well as some familiar tracks, we also return to a few much-requested tracks that haven’t made the schedule in several years. Partnering with SDTA (Southern Dirt Track Association), we start the season at Callahan Speedway in Callahan, FL, on February 25th followed up with a visit to Crossroads Motoplex in Jasper, FL, on March 25th. We have some great short tracks lined up including returns to

Beaver Creek Speedway in Toney, AL, and Tar Heel Speedway in Tar Heel, NC. Adding to our big tracks, we will be racing during the fair in Clarksville, TN, and will return to Baton Rouge Raceway, both 3/8 mile tracks. For those looking to really open up their machines, there is the 1/2-mile cushion track at Athens, OH, Fairgrounds. Some major events for us this year will of course be Jackpine Gypsies Championship during Sturgis Bike Week and AHRMA Classic MotoFest™at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, but it doesn’t end there. We will return to Lodi Cycle Bowl for a special weekend to honor legendary racer, and AHRMA supporter, Dick Mann for a memorial race and championship. Be sure to check the full schedule for all of the great Dirt Track events this year.

I want to thank all of the riders and supporters that came out in 2022 and hope to see everyone this year as we continue to rebuild the Dirt Track program.

RICHARD BRODOCK DIRT TRACK DIRECTOR

PHOTO BY EDDIE PHILLIPS

Hey Team Happy New Year!

As I write this column, I am sadly busy with the efforts to locate our new RR team leader. I am still very excited about the future of AHRMA and what that means for all the members. I have been forming a few special committees to focus on what the majority of our members are looking for in their AHRMA life, what they want to continue with and what they may want changed. In that order, there may be few polls and requests to vote through MSR on changes that you have asked for. Your vote will matter as the board is not looking to activate programs that you as a whole do not want or support. In light of the AHRMA finances, we will be focusing on changes that add member value, not additional cost. Speaking of finances, we are working on our 2023 budget and are getting close to announcing a recovery plan with a “Retire the Debt” initiative that

the board can get behind knowing that it’s a real recovery program and not just an ask for more money.

Thanks to all of you for making AHRMA the place to be in 23!

At

your service,

Brian Larrabure

BRIAN LARRABURE WESTERN TRUSTEE / CHAIRMAN

PHOTO BY ETECHPHOTO.COM

Who are you?” seems to be a frequent (and sometimes frustrating) question for me these days. As AHRMA Communications, part of what I do includes preparing press releases and newsworthy items which are published on our website and social media, and sent out in email blasts. This preparation process usually requires selection of one or more images to accompany these publications. When it comes to articles, press releases, website news posts, etc, if I am not able to identify a competitor based on the race number shown on their bike, I can’t use the image. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I had a GREAT photo and was unable to identify the rider so I couldn’t use the photo.

Steph Vetterly, the AHRMA MAG Editor, and I have commiserated over this situation many times. And her situation is even more difficult than mine since she receives numerous photos for each article submitted.

Many AHRMA Members, for whatever reason, choose not to run the number they have been assigned. Sometimes they have a leading zero in their

assigned number (which is no longer allowed) which is left off. Sometimes they have a leading (which is no longer allowed) or following letter in their assigned number which is left off. Sometimes, the number painted on the bike has some significance or provenance, and they are unwilling to change it or can’t get that number assigned to them.

At times, IF we know at which event the image was taken, we can find your entry in MotorsportReg. But that’s mostly for Road Racing as the majority of the off-road and dirt track racers don’t pre-enter on MotorsportReg.

So... we need your help. Check your account (or the back of your membership card) for your permanent number assignments, and make sure you have the same number(s) on your bike(s). You should have one for each discipline in which you compete.

If you don’t like the number or are running a different one and want to keep it, contact one of the following individuals to request a number change:

For Road Raceahrma@oneracing.org

For Off-Roadmembership@ahrma.org

For Dirt Track - dirt.track@ahrma.org

I’d really like to be able to select a picture of you for a press release and/or post. Help me out, would you?

Well, who are you?

(Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)

I really want to know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) Tell me who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)

Because I really want to know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)

Who are you?

Ooh wa ooh wa ooh wa ooh wa ooh Ooh wa ooh wa ooh wa ooh wa ooh Ooh wa ooh wa ooh wa ooh wa ooh

PHOTO BY KEITH POWELL

2022 DICK MANN TEAM CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM LOST BOYS WIN IT!

Collecting a winning total of 313 total points (the next closest team’s points total was 282), Team Lost Boys kept their eyes on the prize from start to finish. Team members competed in seventeen individual events from California to Alabama, South Dakota to Texas, and points in between. Congrats Lost Boys Team Members!

Vintage MX - Rob Poole, Premier 500, Tiburon, CA

PHOTO kaPTured BY kaTe

Road Race - Matt Esterline, Sportsman 750, Portage, MI PHOTO

Cross Country - Greg Tomlinson, Classic, Dana Point, CA PHOTO sTePH veTTerlY

Vintage MX - David Wilson, Premier Open Twin, Longmont, CO PHOTO kennY lau - awesOme sHOTs

Road Race - Steve Aretz, Class C Handshift, Largo, FL PHOTO

Trials - Greg Houchin, Classic, Kennewick, WA

PHOTO kaPTured BY kaTe

Dirt Track - Richard Brodock, Sportsman 250, Nashville, TN PHOTO dragan HarBOv

Cross Country - Michael Stivason, Classic, Kittaning, PA PHOTO sTePH veTTerlY

Congratulations to the 2021 Inaugural DMTC Champions, who received their trophies at the Barber Festival this yearCliff Mee (Vintage MX), Wes Orloff (RR Premier 500), David Aldana (Dirt Track), Dennis Brown (Premier CC), and Tyrus Wilson (Premier Lightweight Trials)

PHOTO eTecHPHOTO.cOm

Do you have a vintage race bike or two not being raced? Maybe you’ve retired from racing or are slowing down, cutting back and are not racing multiple bikes anymore? AHRMA has a new competition for you: the Builder’s Cup championship.

In 2023, AHRMA will offer a chance for owners/builders of vintage roadrace bikes to put riders of their choice on their bikes and compete for the inaugural Builder’s Cup. Using the same bike through the season, the race-finish points accumulated by riders on that bike will be tallied and the highest point total will win the Builder’s Cup championship. The Builder’s Cup championship in 2023 is sponsored by Rickard Vintage Racing – racing see-thru bikes since 1996.

The idea was conceived by Trustee Arthur Kowitz and discussed with Trustee Dave Rutherford. Dave got championship sponsor John Rickard and Trustee Mike Dixon involved and a set of guidelines and rules were formulated. Numerous AHRMA racers already ride bikes owned or built by others, to wit: Tim Joyce, Alex McLean, Rob Hall, Wes Orloff,

Dave Roper, etc. The goal of the new championship is to get more bikes out of shops and garages and back onto grids with new and different riders. The bikes are out there -freshen them up, put new tires on, give a talented rider a chance to ride and go racing!

And best of all, entry in the Builder’s Cup Championship is free! The rider of a particular vintage roadrace bike simply registers for a race. All vintage roadrace classes are eligible (Handbook, Sections 10.2, Grand Prix, 10.3, Formula, 10.4, Classic, 10.5, Sportsman, 10.7, BEARS, and 10.8, Vintage Superbike). At the track, the builder/owner and rider complete a Builder’s Cup entry/release form. The builder/owner must be an AHRMA member in good standing. The points earned by that rider on that bike in the class designated as the Builder’s Cup entry are then accumulated for the season.

For the inaugural year, the rules are fairly simple. The same bike must be used throughout the year. Points

for a bike are accumulated in a single class throughout the year. If the same bike runs in multiple classes as Builder’s Cup entries through the year, each class for the bike constitutes a separate Builder’s Cup entry which accumulates points for that class, i.e., a single bike cannot combine points from multiple classes for a single championship. Different riders may accumulate points in a particular class for a single bike, i.e., a bike can have different riders accumulating points throughout the year. There will be a points handicapping procedure for Builder’s Cup entries in races which have only one or two entries; classes which have three or more entries will earn full finishing points. For 2023, the Builder’s Cup championship is limited to vintage roadracing. Hopefully, Vintage Motocross will have its own Builder’s Cup championship in 2024.

So, dust off those unused vintage roadrace machines. Spoon on a set of new tires. Offer a ride to a deserving and capable rider. Riders, ask owners/builders to let you ride their unused race bikes. Get folks and machines out onto the grids and let’s have more fun racing in 2023!

PRESS RELEASE DECEMBER 1, 2022

On behalf of AHRMA, it is my pleasure to announce the results of the 2023 AHRMA Board of Trustees Election. This online election resulted in a total of 1028 ballots (of which 13 were paper) being cast out of 3,027 eligible AHRMA members for a 34% turnout! This is an increase over our 2022 turnout of 30.8%. The election was conducted from November 15, 2022, 11:59 a.m. CST until November 30, 2022, 11:59 p.m. CST. The official results are listed as follows.

Brian Larrabure

BRIAN LARRABURE WESTERN TRUSTEE / CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Eastern Region

Name

Votes

Western Region

Name Votes

Carl Anderson * 444 (24.01%) Greg Tomlinson * 684 (41.22%)

Tim Terrell * 391 (21.14%) Albert Newmann * 625 (37.67%)

Tony Paul 307 (16.60%) Jesse Davis 331 (19.95%)

Robert Lisey 281 (15.19%) Trampas Parker (write-in) 8 (0.48%)

Beno Rodi 255 (13.79%) Chris Todd (write-in) 1 (0.06%)

Khari “Skip” Ford 167 (9.03%) David Boydstun (write-in) 1 (0.06%)

* Current top vote getter

Editorial note: additional details on election results can be found at www.ahrma.org/news

Bill Samstag

I remember my first AHRMA Race. It was in Novato, California. I was standing in line at sign-up with Dick Mann, Fred Mark, and Mike Green, and all the old CVRG (California Vintage Race Group) guys that were there for racing. I got up to the lady and she says to me “You can’t use those numbers” and I replied “Why not?” She said “This is AHRMA not CVRG.” I almost died because there was no way to get new numbers for two classes. But I DID have some black, one-inch electrical tape, so I said “can I have number 11?”

She replied “You got it.”

My most prized possession is the AHRMA life membership with the number 11 on it.

Cal Rayborn won the Daytona 200 in 1968 on a Harley-Davidson KR.

PHOTO CREDIT DAVE FRIEDMAN, COURTESY OF THE DON EMDE COLLECTION

CONVOLUTED HISTORY

THE OF FORMULA 750

WORDS: KEVIN CAMERON (INTRO BY BRIAN LARRABURE)

Attention all vintage road racers! Formula 750 is our Road Race Vintage Cup for 2023 and as such has been a hot topic in 2022. A formal announcement is pending finalization of the Sponsors for the Vintage Cup. In the meantime, the following article was commissioned by Daniel May and penned by noted motorcycle journalist, Kevin Cameron, and speaks to the history of Formula 750 and the revolution of that period. Dick Mann, a founding AHRMA member had great success in Formula 750, along with a long list of motorcycle racing legends. Early in the history of our organization, AHRMA created our own take on the Formula 750 class to recreate the sights and sounds of one of the most exciting eras in motorcycle racing. We are looking forward to a great season of racing. Enjoy the read!

Brian Larrabure

BRIAN LARRABURE WESTERN TRUSTEE / CHAIRMAN

When Dick Mann on a race-prepared Honda CB750 won the 1970 Daytona 200 mile road race, it was the leading edge of a new kind of racing based upon American riders’ demand for greater power and performance.

As Honda introduced the production CB750 in 1969, Triumph, BSA, and Norton in England were likewise releasing 750-class street motorcycles. With much fanfare from the British “comics,” Japanese manufacturers Suzuki and Kawasaki announced that they would contest US AMA road races beginning in 1972. Yamaha, participating at first only with their small and light 350 twins, would in 1974 contest Daytona with their twostroke four-cylinder TZ750A of 695 cc and 90 hp.

This sudden increase in the number of factories involved in AMA road racing was no accident, for the US motorcycle market had become the Great Prize. Motorcycle sales here doubled from 1965 to 1970, and then doubled again by 1974. All those new entries attracted riders from many nations, quickly making the Daytona 200 into the most important motorcycle race in the world. It showcased the fastest bikes in the world, ridden by the fastest riders, on the fastest track. The idea of 200-mile races caught on in Europe as the Imola 200 and Paul Ricard 200, bringing a proposal that a 750 Grand Prix class be added to the other FIM classes (the FIM is the International Motorcycle Federation, organizer of world motorcycle sport).

Some of this success was to a degree planned, but it was a complete surprise to the AMA and to riders and teams. By comparison with this newly erupting American 750 scene, European GP road racing was a thin affair with Giacomo Agostini on his 500 cc factory MV, minutes ahead of a procession of Manx Norton and G-50 Matchless big Singles. In the mid-1960s, after production of the classic Singles ceased in 1962, there was FIM talk of dropping the 500 class for lack of manufacturer support.

Change was also under discussion in the US, as the often heard cry of “Too fast!” had produced a proposal to cut the top AMA class to 350 cc. Such talk fell silent as two little two-stroke Yamaha 350 twins finished the 1968 200 second and third behind winner Calvin Rayborn on a newly-poweredup Harley KR. How did those Yamahas get there?

Around 1961, Yamaha had created a two-headed racing organization in Japan. One part developed a 125 and 250 bike for European GP racing, and the other went racing in the US with designs based on modified production bikes. When Phil Read was 250 world champion 1964-1965 on Yamaha’s 54 hp RD-56 250, the US Yamaha effort surely set that power as a goal for the R2-based 350 twin they were aiming at AMA racing. In both cases, engine power was made reliable by industrial R&D. Through intensive development work at Meriden in England, Triumph had pushed their 500 OHV parallel twin close to 50 hp, while Harley were able to dramatically raise the power of their KR to more like 58 hp for 1968. With 50+ hp, but lower weight, Yamaha’s 350s were competitive.

Triumph twins had won the Daytona 200 in 1966 and ’67, so when they could finish no higher than sixth in 1968, Triumph managers lobbied

hard for rules changes to restore their competitive position. Harley’s new horsepower had been almost accidental – one afternoon a gathering at C.R. Axtell’s California dyno shop had discovered that the KR’s cylinder heads were acting as intake restrictors. Removing the restriction lowered compression to under six-to-one, but the flow increase boosted power – a lot. Add to that Harley’s slick new fairing, developed in the Cal Tech wind tunnel, and the Triumphs were suddenly obsolete.

Manufacturer representatives presented their proposals at AMA’s Competition Congress in December of 1968. Because Triumph had a 650 OHV twin in production, they moved to raise the displacement limit to 650 cc. This would replace the previous formula allowing 750 cc for flathead engines and 500 cc for other types.

Harley-Davidson, because they

Dick Mann on pit lane in 1970 at Daytona, the year he won the Daytona 200 on a Honda 750.

PHOTO CREDIT DAVE FRIEDMAN, COURTESY OF THE DON EMDE COLLECTION

already had ideas for an OHV 750 V-twin, supported Triumph’s push for increased displacement and raised the proposal to a straight 750 cc for eligible production-based engines.

The motion passed, to take effect in 1970. The old rules would remain in force through 1969 (Calvin Rayborn won the delayed 1969 Daytona 200 again on Harley’s KR).

Meanwhile, England’s longsuccessful motorcycle industry was ill. Instead of offering new products of modern specification, they had repeatedly enlarged existing twins to provide increasing performance to the American market. On the one hand, progressive engineers such as Bert Hopwood had for years proposed a modular design scheme using common parts to build a 250 Single, 500 Twin, 750 Triple and a 1000 cc Four.

Management were not alarmed by the “Japanese invasion” of 50 cc stepthroughs and other “tiddler” bikes up to 250 cc because, as they saw it, big British twins were the only “real” motorcycles. Japanese imports were dismissed as “toy bikes.”

In Japan, the postwar need for cheap transportation had brought 200 makers of small motorbikes into being. Harsh competition soon cut that number to five. After saturating the Japanese market, the survivors faced the grim lesson of Germany’s huge postwar motorbike industry: when lowpriced cars hit the German market in 1955, motorcycle sales collapsed. To avoid this fate, Japan’s makers had to export. America’s strong postwar economy made it the obvious target.

Much-admired in Britain at this time was what was called “American-style management.” It argued that the less a manager knew about the product, the more

successful he could make it in the market. This, it was believed, would make costly retooling for new models unnecessary. Quite late in the game, Triumph did add a third cylinder to their 500 Twin to make a 750 Triple.

During Soichiro Honda’s 1954 machine-tool buying trip to the US and Europe, he “bet the company” on his plan to reduce production cost by using the most modern tooling available. In this way, Honda Motor was able to sell the four cylinders, overhead cam, and electric start of their new CB-750 at kick-start prices. Edward Turner, who had designed the highly successful Triumph ‘Speed Twin’ for 1937, had returned from a trip to Japan to write and circulate a report on what he’d seen. He suggested that unless the British motorcycle industry modernized production and offered new models it could lose a competition with Japan. When Honda’s CB-750 Four and Triumph’s 750 Triple hit the market, the Four greatly outsold the Triple.

It was a fast-weakening TriumphBSA organization that produced a last British-bike win of the Daytona 200

in 1971 – Dick Mann again, but this time on a BSA Triple.

What had happened to HarleyDavidson, whose sophisticated update of their KR flathead had won the 200 in 1968 and ’69? For the new Competition Congress formula they were furiously building 200 examples of their OHV XR-750 with cast-iron cylinders and cylinder heads. H-D race manager Dick O’Brien told me that in the dyno room, switching off the lights after hard running revealed that the test engine’s heads were glowing dull red with heat. Sure enough, overheating put the new bikes out of the 1970 Daytona 200, Harley’s highest finisher being Walt Fulton, Jr. in sixth on a KR flathead.

When the XR-750 was redesigned for 1972 with an aluminum top end, it was on its way to a record-setting career in dirt-track. There would be no more Harley entries in the Daytona 200 (despite this, O’Brien would later show me drawings for a four-cylinder 750 two-stroke Harley).

In 1972, Kawasaki and Suzuki unleashed their 100 horsepower 750 two-stroke racers but they achieved nothing at Daytona because 100 hp

The Suzuki factory team at Daytona in 1973. That’s me (Don Emde) on #25 with teammates Geoff Perry (65), Ron Grant(61) and Paul Smart (8). After winning the race in 1972 on a 350cc Yamaha, I switched to Suzuki in 1973 and was the only one of the four to complete the full 200 miles and finished seventh. The other bikes had some problems in the race and a Yamaha 350 won again.

PHOTO CREDIT DAVE FRIEDMAN, COURTESY OF THE DON EMDE COLLECTION

tires did not exist. Yamaha had, by then, refined their 265-lb 60 hp 350 twins, which won the 200 in 1972 and ’73, leaving far behind the big 750 two-strokes, wobbling and shredding their tires. The light, tire-friendly Yamahas finished Daytona 1-2-3 in those years.

At the end of 1972, Kawasaki race team manager, Bob Hansen, sent me to Japan. While there, I attended the Tokyo Motor Show where in a special annex I saw the prototype of Yamaha’s planned four-cylinder twostroke street bike. Conceptually, this was a pair of 350 twin crankshafts placed end-to-end, each carrying a thin gear at its inner end. A single double-width gear meshed with that pair to take the drive to a clutch in the usual place. Because of tightening US exhaust emissions limits, this bike would never be produced.

Its twin-crank four-cylinder concept did not disappear but morphed into two forms; a 500 cc two-stroke GP bike and the TZ750A road racer for the US. The new 750 won that year’s Daytona 200 and the eight consecutive following 200s.

Yamaha had, from the beginning of their involvement in US AMA racing, offered their racers for sale, beginning with the TD1 and TD1-A of the early 1960s. Those early bikes were not very good, but they rapidly improved until the 1967 TD1-C chased the four-

strokes right out of the AMA’s 250 road race class. Because hundreds of such production racers were sold in the US, they soon became the ladder that would carry many top riders from the novice level to stardom. The TD1-B of 1965-’66 sold for $1,147 plus destination and set-up, and all of its parts were available through any dealer.

Kawasaki had offered their 500 cc H1-R Triple two-stroke racer for sale

during 1970 and ’71 at about $1,500. In 1970, veteran New Zealand rider, Ginger Molloy, rode a Kawasaki H1-R to second place in the 500 FIM world championship, behind Giacomo Agostini’s MV Triple.

From 1972 Kawasaki ceased to produce what they called a “selling-bike” for racing, and Suzuki continued their policy of producing their water-cooled 750 Triple race bike (based on the production “Water Buffalo”) only for their own factory riders.

Up to 1975, the AMA had maintained a rule requiring that at least 200 of a given model be imported in order for it to be homologated for racing. I discovered an important fact about this when two friends and I opened a TriumphKawasaki shop on April Fool’s Day, 1969. When we decided we wanted to go racing, I phoned the Triumph importer and inquired about ordering the necessary racing parts to build a Trident-based machine like those I had admired at Daytona in 1970.

Kenny Roberts raced a modified Yamaha 680cc Grand Prix-type machine to victory at Daytona in 1984.

PHOTO CREDIT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY PHOTO, COURTESY OF THE DON EMDE COLLECTION

Giacomo Agostini en route to victory at Daytona in 1974. After my victory there in 1972 and Jarno Saarinen in 1973,both on 350cc Yamaha’s, Agostini scored the first Daytona 200 victory aboard a four-cylinder Yamaha. It was a 700ccmachine that year, with Yamaha increasing the motor size to 750cc in 1975.

PHOTO CREDIT DAVE FRIEDMAN, COURTESY OF THE DON EMDE COLLECTION

The voice on the phone told me that although the AMA required them to list such parts in their parts book for homologation, they did not require that any be sold to the public. We then ordered a new 1970 Kawasaki H1-R.

When nine motorcycle brands were entered for AMA road races in 1973, the rule requiring 200 bikes for homologation seemed out-of-date. Did anyone expect 200 bikes from each of nine brands to appear on the Daytona start grid? The homologation quantity was reduced to 25 for 1975. For 1980 it was further reduced to one. This suggests that some non-public conversation had taken place between the AMA and manufacturers – to the effect that “We need you guys on that Daytona start grid.”

“Yeah, but we can’t build 200, so count us out.”

“Uh, OK. Then how about 25?”

The FIM had never expected MV in European GP racing to produce more than the bikes required to field Agostini and maybe one or two

other riders, but the many over-thecounter Yamahas, which were by 1969 filling the 250 and 350 classes, were bringing a lot of riders to FIM events. And from 1973 Yamaha and then Suzuki were entering their factory two-strokes in 500 GPs. Agostini, switching to Yamaha, was 500 champion for a final time in 1975, and Barry Sheene on Suzuki was 500 champion in 1976 and ’77. With the death of Count Agusta in 1971, MV’s

racing lost momentum. They would race for the last time in 1977.

Kenny Roberts went to Europe in 1978, initially as second fiddle to Johnny Cecotto, but KR’s new dirttrack-derived riding style made him 500 world champion 1978-1980 inclusive. Yamaha lost interest in their obsolete TZ750 and thereafter put all its racing R&D into 500 cc GP racing. Kawasaki and

Tim Joyce (309) on his Triumph 750 and Jay Springsteen on his Harley Davidson XR750 (9).

PHOTO CREDIT ETECHPHOTO.COM

Graeme Crosby winning the 1982 Daytona, the final Daytona 200 victory by a Yamaha TZ750.

PHOTO CREDIT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY PHOTO, COURTESY OF THE DON EMDE COLLECTION

Suzuki had continued to enter their few factory bikes in 750 races worldwide, but it was clear that the 750 class was attracting no new manufacturers.

Kenny Roberts told me that he’d never liked the TZ750. “It had too much of everything,” he said. By comparison, the new 500 was much more sophisticated, with a powerband closely matched to tire grip as the bike accelerated out of turns. Racing had changed again – it would now be mainly about chassis, because adding more power just shortened tire life. Underlining this was 1981 FIM 500 champion Marco Lucchinelli’s way of winning: at the start, he would let others vie for the top positions while he “rode easy” back in sixth or seventh. When he could see that the leaders’ tires were fading, he would move up, his rivals powerless to defend themselves because their tires had “turned to grease.”

In the US, the AMA sought in 1980 to maintain interest in its races by admitting highly-modified 1000 cc four-strokes to run against the many TZ750s in private hands. For 1982, Honda entered its powerful liquidcooled “FWS” V4, but in the Daytona 200 it hit tire troubles, allowing a last TZ750 win in the hands of Graeme Crosby.

While the AMA considered its options, Yamaha took two more Daytona 200 wins – 1983 and ’84 - this time using enlarged versions of its 500 GP bike.

How had simple two-strokes taken over racing in the first place? The best answer I have is that for a given amount of R&D spending, a two-stroke builder could run more experiments and get answers quicker than could a four-stroke builder. Honda challenged the new two-strokes in 1979 with its V4 oval-piston 32-valve NR500 fourstroke, spending lavishly. Ultimately

it could not be made reliable at the 23,000 rpm necessary to make it competitive.

When nations banned or limited sales of new production two-strokes because of their high pollutant emissions, the rationale for racing them disappeared.

For 1985, US multi-brand competition was restored by making the AMA’s top class a four-stroke formula –AMA Superbike. In 1988 the FIM, capably urged onward by fasttalking US Superbike advocate Steve McLaughlin, created the four-stroke World Superbike series.

Grand Prix road racing began its conversion from two-stroke to fourstroke in 2002 with a new 990 cc formula. Named ‘MotoGP,’ this new series is today 100% four-strokepowered.

Tripp Nobles on his Harley Davidson XR750 (114)

PHOTO CREDIT ETECHPHOTO.COM

Adieu ‘22

AHRMA MID-ATLANTIC CROSS COUNTRY AND MOTOCROSS AT WHITE ROSE

WORDS: JOSHUA SCHUCKER PHOTOS: MIKE HORAN AND SAM MERRELL

What a great season 2022 has been, and as per recent tradition, White Rose Motorcycle Club (WRMC) gets to close the year out with a big ‘ole exclamation mark. The amazing crew here at the scenic and historic club grounds in South Central, Pennsylvania, never disappoint in their efforts to put together a stellar event. While it is always bittersweet knowing that the off-season is just days away, the event has always ended leaning far more toward the “suh-weeeeet” side than “bitter.” This year promised even more fun than usual since the Mid-Atlantic’s (MA) inaugural promotion of motocross racing had targeted WRMC for the climax of its season as well. Despite the added efforts needed to prepare for two events on the same weekend, the club members pulled everything together brilliantly!

Motocross was first on the weekend’s agenda and took place in the large open field to the east of the club’s famed hill climb. This area had previously housed a long, turnladen grass track that was featured prominently in the 2021 crosscountry course serving as a final

battle royale for position just prior to the checkered flag. While abundantly enjoyable, after seeing what was successful at other rounds of the series, the WRMC team felt that a reconfiguration was in order. Seeking a bit less corn maze and a bit more Carlsbad, the course’s final iteration was decided upon days before the event, and it was a good one. The more power the better here, not that it is a requirement for fun, but the course will take everything a 500cc two-stroke can offer…or the rider is able to provide. A long stretch followed the rubber-band start with a slight arc toward the first hard twists, a one-eighty left and a ninety right led into the first tame jump through a fence row. Several esses brought the riders over another fence row launch and back into view of the collecting crowd of onlookers by the start area before sweeping back uphill. Jumping over a natural incline hurtled riders toward the highest elevation of the track and some great natural whoops. A few long straights connected by hard packed turns funneled into a downhill ski jump right before the scoring tent followed by a hard left, over a kicker jump, and grab a whole lot of throttle for the vast lefthand

sweeper past the congregation of spectators as you rejoined the start stretch for the next lap. Fast, competitive, vintage-friendly, and downright fun. The only negative was a bit more dust than hoped, but in a dry year, it is hard to combat. Overall, the gates were jammed full of appreciative racers making it clear that WRMC knocked this first attempt at motocross out of the park.

Following Saturday’s racing, the MA crew hosted an appreciation picnicstyle dinner for everyone under the porch roof of the club’s pristine facility and kicked-off the Halloween celebration that has become an integral part of the season-ending event. After everyone had their fill of fried chicken, salads, sandwiches, and such, the children took part in a trick-or-treat session up-and-down the pits while impromptu gatherings took shape throughout in celebration of Halloween and vintage motorcycle racing kinship. A few strange anomalies were noticed throughout the night to add to the Halloween lore, such as the club’s UTV appearing to drive itself to the edge of the woods, and a strange rustling of the chains at a distant access gate and the visage

Sylas Merrell (185)

PHOTO BY sam merrell

of a shadowy figure. Oddly, all these incidents seemed to coincide with multiple claimed Sasquatch sightings throughout the evening. Assuming that the Yeti was simply a competitor trying out his/her costume for the next day’s cross-country races where we would find out the true identity proved to be false hope as Bigfoot did not make the starting line on Sunday. True cryptid or costume? If costume, then who? Shouldn’t it be taller? These answers may never be known but be sure that the legend will be told next year and beyond with eyes peeled for another glimpse of the interloper.

Apart from Sasquatch, the crosscountry race brought out a menagerie of costumed characters to celebrate the spirit of the holiday and vie for the coveted peoples choice award. Perhaps aided by his crazed orange smoke-bomb fueled lap around the morning’s vintage race start, but certainly earned by the top-notch execution, Randy Bennett took the honors with his Animal (of Muppets fame) costume! Awesome job by everyone (Slash of G’N’R, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Headless Horseman, Combat Wombat, The Joker, Bugs Bunny, and others) for competing in costume and keeping this fun going each year.

As for the cross-country racing, it was epic as expected at WRMC. There seemed to be a full-house on each of the three race’s starting grids where line-by-line riders powered their way up the step-up jump uphill. A quick jaunt through the woods on the eastern edge of the property dumped the competitors right into the meat of the motocross track, but only for a short while as the course dipped into the tight confines of the fence row separating the main sections of the motocross area. Shooting out of the fence row, the course made a long-haul bee-line across the field and into another rooty, tight section before hitting the woods proper for some nice, flowy, singletrack that was a favorite from last year but run in reverse. A sweeping dirt road followed with a row through the gears before an abrupt whoa sends you back into a mile or so of a combination of fresh cut singletrack and existing trail. From here the participants would blast from the wood’s edge and out into the spectator’s favorite, a stretch of motocross style tabletops near the

plateau atop the hill climb mountain. Familiar trail brings the loop around to the incline that has served the club’s successful hill climb events for nearly seventy years. Eventually the course makes its way back toward the pit area using the playground of challenging elevation changes adjacent to, and across, the hill climb track. The loop’s return to flat ground is beyond brief when it turns back into the woods and up once again headed for the valley that bisects the mountain and the motocross

course to the east. Winding back and forth, up and down, through plenty of off-camber singletrack with ample exposed roots, the course makes its way to the far end of the valley where it terminates near the motocross course before reversing on itself to run the valley back, albeit on the parallel side to the ingress route. More of the same challenging, but fun, terrain resides on this side of the valley as the course winds to a close in tiered descent to the scoring tent. As always, the terrain and flow

Grant Reichart (731)

PHOTO BY sam merrell

Randy “Animal” Bennett (3x) PHOTO BY mike HOran

are a treat at WRMC, and it serves as a fantastic venue for closing out the season and settling any championship scores that were as yet undecided.

Another awesome event at WRMC with perfect weather, beautiful fall foliage, fun-filled Halloween activities, and stellar race action. Many thanks to the club in general for allowing AHRMA events to use its facilities. Special thanks to the WRMC track crew for all the work that goes into setting up a weekend event: Geoff and Dewey Kemp, Rick Albert, brothers Grant and Brett Reichart and their better halves, Jessi and Emily, all familiar faces to the MA family. As awesome as the event was, so to was the now closed 2022 MA racing season where the steady leadership of Dave Kutskel and the dedicated work of a small army of seasoned volunteers took the risk of adding motocross to their already busy schedule. Somehow, with the labor from Dave and team as well as the efforts and enthusiasm of the network of racers, families, and friends, the series managed to increase overall cross-country participation rates over the prior season yet again despite a plethora of negative socioeconomic factors. Certainly, the sponsors are a major part of the success as well and sincere thanks are in order for the folks that supported the series throughout the 2022 season: Potomac Vintage Riders, Preston Petty Products, Stainless Cycle, Grove Printing, KMI Printing, and Horizon Homes.

To see the results for the entire weekend please visit: www.ahrma.org/ahrma-mid-atlantic-region

Looking forward, based on the success of the 2022 season, the plans for 2023 are bigger and better! The schedule is intriguing, exciting, and is out now! Be sure check the link above for the details. Also, before the 2023 season starts, get your bike(s) prepared right by making plans to attend our premier sponsor, Potomac Vintage Riders’, epic swap meet in York, Pennsylvania. The January 22nd event is a “can’t miss”!

Details at www.pvrclub.org/swap_meet

Josh Folmar (840)

PHOTO BY sam merrell

Jim “Slash” Laird (87j)

PHOTO BY mike HOran

TEXAS VINTAGE

CROSS COUNTRY

While not an unknown to the SouthCentral region much of the country is not aware of a hidden jewel of CrossCountry courses in the more eastern half of central Texas. The course layout at the Huffman Farm in Donie, Texas features more of an open layout and thin woods of the pasture lands here. Dust is not a problem typically though a good rain here can make for some interesting riding. No such worries here as the weather was perfect. To facilitate a seamless schedule between the motocross and cross-country programs on the day the layout diverted parts of the course that either utilized or ran near the motocross layout. Viewing areas are plentiful as many spectators can pull their trucks and four wheelers near the course outlines in several locations and cheer on the racers. All in all, the 5.5 mile course features some elevation changes, washouts, small creek bed crossings, tight woods in some sections, and the sandy-loamy dirt that can test the

cornering capabilities of someone deep into the race.

The Saturday morning Vintage race program Kevin Obrien and Chris Gillespie were laying down extremely fast lap times. Obrien aboard his small bore Hodaka won the Sportsman 200 Expert class and the Can-Am mounted Gillespie won the 50 Plus Expert class. Jacob Ritorto and his workhorse BSA was a joy to watch and listen to around the course as he won the Classic Expert class and just a plain workhorse race Mike Parker finished second. Steve Fox continues his comeback of 2022 and won the 70 Experts. A few newcomers to AHRMA Cross-Country racing Novice were most like well received at the end of the race with promotions as another new racer Rick Allen looked great in the Post Vintage 200 Novice as well as John Mathewson in the Post Vintage 60 Plus Novice as their times were well above many of the Intermediates. This course had no real advantage for the longer travel bikes.

For Saturday Post Vintage it was once again an amazing ride from Jonathan Campbell in Post Vintage Open Expert as he continues to jaw drop some of the long-time racers with his expertise on the woods side of racing. Jonathan says he spent more time in his younger days racing these events than motocross though it’s only being showcased recently. Another interesting racer on the trails was Brandon Glenn as his times were amazing in the Post Vintage 200 Expert class. Chris Gillespie topped Darel Parsons in the 50 Plus Experts and in the 60 Plus Experts local Mark Andrews finished behind Kevin Obrien riding a Kawasaki.

On Sunday as attrition takes over the classes became a little lighter which is expected. It was a repeat of the top finishers from Saturday as Obrien, Gillespie, Ritoro were the top three overall and winning their classes. Zach Telchik won the Post Vintage 200 Novice; David Wilson made some noise at Donie and won the Premier Experts. Our own Becky Hayes enjoyed the limelight in winning the

WORDS: ALBERT NEWMANN

PHOTOS: TY WILSON AND BOBBY HEDGE

2022 BRIDGESTONE TIRES AHRMA NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY / MOTOCROSS SERIES

GRAN PRIX

Post Vintage Women’s Intermediate as well as Sherri Parker winning the Post Vintage Women’s Novice along with Linda Dowell winning the Vintage Women’s Novice class. The very competitive regional Vintage 60 Plus Intermediates dueled it out as Jimmy Stark came out with the win over David Anderson and Bud Koonce.

The Post Vintage racing saw Campbell and Glenn bow out which drew the attention to Chris Gillespie and some familiar names. Gillespie again edged out Darel Parsons for the 50 Plus Experts and Obrien won the 60 Plus Experts. William Rozell looked crisp in winning the Pre-Modern Expert again over Jim Buckalew. Now bumped up to Intermediate Rick Allen won the highly competitive 200 Intermediate class aboard his XR200 with Niels Jensen finishing second and Robert McWhorter third. Brian Aliff remained sharp on Sunday to take the win in the 200 Expert class over Tyrus Wilson. Lloyd Loux came down to race and looked impressive in his win and course times to win the 60 Plus Intermediate over Jeff Degroot.

The course held up great, the marking was highly complemented, and many

were appreciative of the clean woods that the Huffman team cleared. It is a course for all as Novices and Experts are challenged but safe at the same time. Tyrus Wilson who has been over many parts of the country was very complimentary of the course so Kudos to all in putting on this event! Mission accomplished.

MOTOCROSS

The fourth Time Machine National AHRMA National race at the Texas Vintage Grand Prix Course in Donie, Texas was once again another successful event in the AHRMA race calendar. With all the challenges of 2022 facing members it was wonderful to see racers teaming

Cross Country Ultima class start

PHOTO BY TY wilsOn

Vallejo hauling the mail, Texas-style.

PHOTO BY TY wilsOn

up to travel and for many running out of their pickups to offset cost. It’s been a while since I have seen so many racers running out of their trucks it seemed like we were back to the 1970’s and 1980’s! Jay and Rene Huffman along with the many volunteers and staff would make one think that this special use facility was an actual year-round race venue. The weather was outstanding as October is the best month of the year in Texas so when these dates pop up in the South-Central region of the country it’s a fairly safe bet you will have cooperative climate conditions. Once again, the race also was a donation drive for the Women Rock foundation for breast cancer awareness and support. This year our donation drive topped the $18,000 mark from this single event. AHRMA members and racers are a giving group and honestly the article could just stop right here!

With the track in pristine shape the dirt was ready for some motocross and on Saturday Vintage series racing was off and running. One of

the early races featured the Vintage 50+ Intermediates and Experts. Keith Klump and his trusty CZ pulled a holeshot and early lead over Trampas Parker and Bart Watts in each moto. Parker would overtake Klump in both races by lap three which then lead to a great dual with Watts and Klump. To see a Bultaco, CZ, and Maico really did harken the early 70’s racing and was a fan favorite race of the day. The Intermediates gated with the Experts in this race and none were far behind as another Bultaco rider James Sanchez of Beverly, Kansas was on fire this day to successfully hold off hard charging newcomer Craig Jackson and Charlene Campbell. For the Expert class it was the finishing order of Trampas Parker, Keith Klump, and Bart Watts and for the Intermediates the top three were Sanchez, Jackson, and Campbell. Also gated this race it was Jacob Ritorto aboard his BSA winning the Classic 500 Expert and Wes Wyman winning the Classic 500 Intermediate.

One of the most impacting races of the day for national championship implications was the Sportsman 125 Expert. Race four had the small bores lined up and the top running points leaders had some unforeseen challenges on the day as Nick Jones took off a little time from his professional racing pursuit to come home and swing a leg over a few bikes this weekend. Jones aboard a Honda Elsinore 125 was simply amazing to watch. The racing behind Jones was the show as local Wade Woodall put himself into the mix of Jerry Mattox and Tim Borgfield’s championship battle. If anyone wants to know the level of racing talent there were six former national champions lined up as well. Mattox managed to move himself into second place of the first moto rather quickly leaving Woodall and Borgield to duke it out each lap. In the second moto though Woodall passed Mattox midway through lap two and it was Mattox having to hold off Borgfield. Jones takes the win with Woodall’s 3-2 finish putting him into second, Mattox third, and Borgfield fourth. In the Intermediate gate it was Taylor Blackwood once again putting in a solid ride to win the class. In race five was our largest Novice gate of the day which again had

Forrest Player and Parker Whitley

PHOTO BY BOBBY Hedge

very competitive racing with moto wins varying from top to bottom of the grid. John Mathewson and his Can-Am took an early command of moto one and as usual throughout the season it was Richard Weber battling with him. In moto two though Stephen Clark made quick business of the situation and on the second lap passed Mathewson to rocket to the lead and begin to gap the field. Mathewson evidently found the soft loamy soil a little loose and by the time he recovered Weber and Mark Leopold were battling for second place. Weber with his 2-2 finish wins the class with Clark finishing second, Leopold third, and Mathewson fourth overall. Mike Gray won the Classic Novice and was in the mix of the age group class both motos.

The highly competitive and regarded 70+ group was our race seven action and the anticipated rematch of Rick Williams, Chris Dublin, and Steve Fox. After this day there was no doubt about the speed of Rick Williams and his trusty BSA. Williams dominated the group on his win with Dublin finishing second and Fox third. The 70+ Intermediates saw Bobby Guilbeau showing his speed recovering as he ran up front all day in front of Tony Moseley, Leigh Hightower, and the remaining group of our elder racers.

Race nine was a mixed gate of 500cc machines and age group classes. Billy Murphy and Tom Hetzer swapped positions in the Sportsman 500 Intermediate, and it was Murphy winning the overall. Ray Mcfarland

and Greg Conn battled in the Open Age Intermediate with Mcfarland taking both motos and the win. Tyler Reed and Keith Klump also met up in this race as the two put on a nice race in the first moto and a win along with the overall and it was Jay Gref winning the Vintage 40+ Expert class aboard his CZ.

Race ten capped off the day with the Sportsman 250 Expert class being the highlight. Wade Woodall, Jonathan Campbell, and Gary Alsop met up with Woodall coming out of the gate strong in moto one only to be overtaken by Campbell midway through the race and Woodall fending off Alsop for second. The next moto it was all Campbell leaving Alsop and Woodall to pick things up where they left off earlier. This time Alsop

Bart Watts

PHOTO BY BOBBY Hedge

Wade Woodall

PHOTO BY BOBBY Hedge

Gary Alsop

PHOTO BY BOBBY Hedge

Taylor Blackwood

PHOTO BY BOBBY Hedge

drove into second place early on and maintained the position throughout the moto. Campbell wins with Alsop finishing second and Woodall third. Mike Parker won the Sportsman Open Twin Expert and Troy Howell continued his winning ways in the Sportsman 250 Intermediate.

Post Vintage and Next Gen Motocross racing on Sunday was exciting as the turnout was one of the best of the season and in race three it was interesting as some very fast racers lined up in the Historic 125 Expert class as local fast young racers and a few older ones put on a show of speed. Forrest Player aboard his Yamaha YZ125 returned this year to shock Parker Whitley and Gerard Hayes with incredible rides in each moto. Whitley, riding a beautiful KX125 from the Joe Alsop stable, kept pace though passing Player was not going to happen on this day. Gary Emerson keeps looking stronger and stronger in the Post Vintage 100cc Expert class which he won along with Dallas Winter winning the Women’s Intermediate class.

Ben Brown also continues to show his display of speed in the Grand Prix Four Stroke Intermediates as he topped all the Intermediates on the gate. Tommy Fabregas of Houston, Texas edged out Jordan Lake and Wes Wyman in the Ultima Four Stroke Intermediates. Nick Jones though blazed the track in the Grand Prix 500 Expert class and as Nick has time to drop in on some AHRMA action throughout the year do yourself a favor and watch this young man.

Race nine was one of the larger gates on the day with Intermediates and in the 50 Plus class it was James Sanchez looking looking great out of the gate both motos to win the class over second place finishing Jacky Kyzer and newcomer Rick Allen of Leesville, Louisiana. Ray Mcfarland looking sharp all weekend won the Open Age group over Eddie Lee. Scott Turk knocked off a little rust to win the 40 Plus group and Bart Watts lead all the gate in winning the 50 Plus Expert class.

Sundays largest Novice gate had some familiar names in varying senses. In Ultima Novice was Chandler Glenn showing good form and speed as he lead end to end in each moto of good competition. Philip Prinz looked great in moto one

as he pulled into the second spot of the moto one and maintained his position over Christian Almadoz and Martin Kata. The second moto saw a different story as Kata worked his way up to second as Prinz dropped back to fourth. Overall, it was Glenn taking the top spot with Kata second, Almandoz third, and Prinz fourth. Also, on the same gate is was Ramon Garcia winning the 40 Plus Novice with Kendale Pittman’s steady 2-2 finish for second and Michael Boudreaux third. Sherri Parker’s win streak stayed alive in the Women’s Novice as she held off Linda Dowell and it was Dallas Winter winning the Open Age Novice over Duane Morgan.

Race eleven was our 60 Plus class and while only two racers lined up on the expert side the intermediate side was full. Gary Emerson won handily each moto to take the experts and it was Jack Kyzer looking expert fast as he beat out an impressive draw of intermediate racers. Tommy Fabregas again looked strong to go 2-2 over Brian Smith out of Shreveport, Louisiana who finished third overall. Going into 2024 it appears that Gary Emerson is going to be a leading contender for a historically fast group of riders in our 60 Plus Experts so the rest of the country is on notice!

The race everyone looks forward to at this event is our 100cc Challenge race. This year the Women Rock Pro 100cc Challenge featured the usual three moto format of 100cc

air cooled drum brake two strokes. The racing was intense and drama great through all three races as defending champion Trampas Parker had a group of younger former professional racers make their way into what is considered the premier 100cc race in the United States. Moto one saw Trampas Parker come out swinging and to a quick lead over Brandon Glenn, Blake Wharton, Eric Vallejo, Nick Jones, Tyler Reed, Gary Emerson, Cole Johnson, and Taylor Blackwood. Parker held off Glenn and company the first moto and looking to repeat. Moto two Eric Vallejo finds his way to the top of this crowded set to fend off Glen and Parker. You could never tell Vallejo had been sitting behind a banker’s desk for a few years! Moto three the racing was on as three racers were nearly tied for the overall. Glenn this moto has the jump on the gate and had to withstand the constant pressure from Parker and Vallejo. The third moto win put Glenn on top of the podium with Parker second and Vallejo third. All the racers put these very small two strokes to their limits and much credit goes to the bike builders of this special race as well. Buddy Byrnes and the enormous number of donors to this event should be proud as the young guns showed up this weekend and we topped all previous years of fundraising to date.

Keith Klump leading Trampas Parker

PHOTO BY BOBBY Hedge

IT ALL CAME DOWN TO BARBER...

In a year fraught with challenges, broken bones, and a missing digit, Jesse Davis pulled it all together at the last round of the 2022 Bridgestone Tires National Historic Cup Roadracing Series to take home the Superbike Heavyweight Vintage Cup title.

WORDS: STEPH VETTERLY PHOTOS: STEPH VETTERLY, RUPERT BERRINGTON ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY, AND JESSE DAVIS

Since the age of 10, Jesse Davis has been hitting the track in search of championship titles. He started out with Texas-based clubs such as the Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association, CMRA, and the Central Road Racing Club, CRRC. He has been a team member of the Endurance National Champion team and has earned himself a number of titles and endurance championships over the years. I had a chance to talk with Jesse and get an inside scoop on his journey to defend his 2021 Superbike Heavyweight class win.

LET’S START WITH AN OVERVIEW OF HOW YOUR 2022 SEASON WENT. It started out at Daytona. I blew the motor up in practice at Daytona, so I didn’t get to race in the Vintage Cup there, which was a rough start to the season. We got everything fixed and back together in time to make [High Plains Raceway in] Colorado, which, other than the terrible conditions at Colorado, the race went fine.

I won both Vintage Cup races there. Then we went immediately to Thunderhill Raceway where I crashed in practice and separated my shoulder. I had to have surgery on the shoulder to fix it, which put me out for like four weeks.

[After I was able to get back to racing,] I entered a MotoAmerica race on the same bike at Laguna Seca the week before the AHRMA event and got taken out on the first lap of practice of that weekend. It knocked me out, broke my other shoulder, and I lost a finger [laughs]. There was some recovery time after that, but I healed up in time to go to Blackhawk and Gingerman. Basically, I had to win the rest of the races to still have a chance at the championship.

I did just that, and it came down to Barber where I had to finish no worse than second on both days. That’s what I did, finished second on both days. It put us in a tie-breaker with Jeremy [Maddrill] all the way down to our head-to-head races; we had the same amount of first places, the

same amount of second places, and I won out just because I beat him head-to-head during the races that we were in together.

All in all, it was successful, but not without some major hurdles, putting bikes back together and putting myself back together.

THIS YEAR, YOU RACED A 1982 YAMAHA XV920RJ. WHY THAT PARTICULAR MACHINE?

The bike is kind of a modern replica of the bike that my dad built and raced in the early eighties. When those bikes were new, he built one and had a lot of a lot of success with it. It had its own cult following back in the day. Kevin Schwantz rode my dad’s bike in his first AMA pro race, so that was kind of a big deal, and there weren’t very many of them even back then being raced.

I like to do oddball stuff anyway, and when I wanted to go vintage racing, that was the only thing that I wanted to ride. I build bikes for a living and when it came to vintage racing, the only thing that interested me at the time was to recreate the bike my dad built, mostly just for sentimental reasons. I thought it would be fun to build one with more modern technology, at least what we could get away with in the rules. It started out as a basket case and took over a year to build. I basically bought a frame and a motor that was rolling and threw away 80% of it and then just made the rest, made it into a race bike. They definitely weren’t super high-performance bikes when they were stock. It was more of a sport cruiser kind of a bike; it was definitely more of a leisurely type of motorcycle and took a lot of work to turn it into a race bike. And it turned out to be a pretty good one. Pretty much everything on it is

LEFT - Jesse’s father, Vernon, was a successful road racer in his own right. Seen here on his Yamaha XV920RJ, Vernon nicknamed his bike “Lurch.”

RIGHT - Although Jesse hasn’t picked out a name for his own steed, he says it’s definitely Lurch’s offspring, paying homage to his dad by running a Lurch decal on the underside of his rear fender.

“I didn’t just go out and win a championship... I was sleeping in a chair for two months, mending broken bones and missing body parts...”

Jeremy Maddrill (L) and Jesse Davis (R) square up in Alabama for one final weekend of racing to determine the 2022 Championship title.

PHOTO BY

handmade except for the frame and engine cases; all the performance parts were handmade by me. There’s just not a lot of hotrod parts out there for that model.

HOW MANY RACES DID IT TAKE BEFORE ALL OF YOUR TINKERING WAS DONE AND YOU HAD IT MORE OR LESS THE WAY YOU WANTED IT?

I won the first race that I went out on it. But like I said, it took a year of doing everything very thoroughly. I didn’t want to have to chase issues. I had a lot of help from my dad on what to look for, what to do, what modifications to make. I pretty much had a recipe from him on how to make the bike as good as it could be. I took it out to Laguna Seca last year for its very first races and won both races by over 10 seconds. I didn’t lose a race last year, and I only got beat at Barber this year by Curtis Adams, who was on fire.

IS IT SAFE TO ASSUME YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF THIS SEASON WERE THE INJURIES?

Yeah, definitely. The time off and having some pretty significant injuries to try to heal up from. But I was focused on trying to win that championship, and if my body would let me do it, then that’s what I was going to try to do.

The Davis family has known Kevin Schwantz since the 1980’s when Vernon and Kevin met at one of the first iterations of the Austin Aqua Festival, a road race event held on the streets of downtown Austin, TX. Jesse and Kevin even did some endurance racing on the same bike while Kevin was training to compete in the Suzuka 8 Hour.

To have both Vernon (lefT) and Kevin (rigHT) in his pits at the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Festival made the title win just that much more special.

ANY CLOSING THOUGHTS ON THE 2022 SEASON?

I’d like to give props to Jeremy [Maddrill] for making it to so many races this year, which made it to where I really had to be on my best behavior to even have a chance of winning the championship. I had a lot of respect for his dedication and his riding this year. I feel like he and I became pretty good friends. That’s something else that I feel like I gained from the season, other than just winning the championship and a trophy – forming a relationship with another rider that I have respect for is always another kind of a win.

I’d also like to thank John Turner and Chili Pepper Racing, who have both helped me out a lot this season. Obviously Bridgestone and 4SR Leathers helped me out quite a bit, too, along with JD Moto Service, which is my own company.

WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA FOR 2023?

I’m building a couple of different bikes that are legal for [next year’s Formula 750 Vintage Cup] class. I have a couple options and we’ll just see which one works better and

which one is maybe more fun. One’s a two-stroke 750 and one is a CB 750 four-stroke-based bike. I’m just trying to get my name on that Vintage Cup as many times as I can. I’m excited about the challenge because I’ve never raced something that’s that old, proper vintage. I’m excited to see all of the people that are all building other bikes. I think it’ll be a good class with a good turnout and some good riding.

I have some plans to do some more off-road events; I didn’t do any this season. I was planning on doing one, but it was it was after Gingerman and my body was not ready to do an off-road event. I was pretty sore after just road racing for the weekend, so I canceled my plans, but I definitely want to do some more off-road stuff. I really enjoy cross-country events and trials. I’ve done a lot in previous years and I would definitely like to get back out there. Road racing and the Vintage Cup are definitely my priority, along with doing some MotoAmerica stuff in the Super Hooligan class.

Congratulations to Jesse for his accomplishments this season in the face of some rather unique adversity.

PHOTO s c O ur T es Y jesse da vis

PHOTO s BY ru P er T B erring TO n ac T i O n PHOTO gra PHY

Fall Racing in AHRMA Northeast

BOB CLOSE

BEAR CREEK SPORTSMAN CLUB

Hancock, NY - Sept 3rd and 4th Northeast racers and families love to spend their Labor Day weekend in the Catskill Mountains near the Delaware River and the New York/PA border, and this year was no different. Warm, sunny weather greeted our racers on both days at the Bear Creek Sportsman Club.

For the Saturday cross country racing, thirty racers showed up to take on the well-known rocks and roots in the Vintage and Post Vintage

nothing to do with the “Not So Fast and Furious

maybe that “chasin’ the clouds away…” part. Our

for both of our September race events and let me tell

head out to the garage and look at a clean bike. Very happy! But

(PV) races. Expert Mike Ferguson was the man to beat and overalled the Vintage race on his Penton 250 Hare Scrambler (as well as taking the win in Sportsman Open Expert). First Intermediate overall was Rick Ketcham, who beat Dave Salmen for Sportsman 200. The Vintage 50+ Intermediates were very fast on the day with Noah Gullickson and his XL250 grabbing the win over Joe Chodnicki in Vintage 50+ Intermediate. Finally – KUDOs to Bob Sauerhoeffer for his PV 200 Sportsman Novice win.

A shout-out to our Iron Men –Dave Salmen, Mike Ferguson, Joe Chodnicki, and Rik Smits, who all raced again one hour later for the PV cross country. Once again, it was a Mike Ferguson show – this time on his XR200, with Rik Smits chasing him to the finish on his Husky. First Intermediate Eric Miller was not too far behind these guys on PreModern Yamaha IT 200, Tony Yanitelli following on his GS Maico for the PV Open Intermediate win. Lots of racing in the PV 50+ Intermediate, with James Henry beating out three other racers on his Suzuki.

WORDS:

PHOTOS: SARAH LANE, DANIELLE VANDERWARKER, ALICIA COON, AND RICK COWERS

Out of the gate! Harry Ahnert (141) leads the pack off the start, including Ed Abdo (268), Josh Fisher (17f), and Mike Mandla (R14). PHOTO saraH lane

Don’t fall out of your seats, but I’m going to go just a wee bit lighter on the details and call out just some race winners/class winners on the day - my theory is that it will make more room for pictures, right? In the Vintage classes, maybe THE fastest guy on the day was Stephen Clare and his trick Elsinore 125 (Vintage +60 Expert and Sportsman 125 Expert class wins). Craig McInnis was also rocking on his CZ 400 (Vint +60 Intermediate and Sportsman 500 Intermediate), and Mike Mandia looked awesome on his Ossa Phantom 250 (Vintage +40 Intermediate). Andy Rider beat two other guys in both motos to grab the Sportsman 250 Intermediate foam board on his Bultaco Pursang (and I’ll throw in his Historic 500 Intermediate win on his OTHER Bultaco Pursang 370).

In the Post Vintage classes, I think the fast guy award also goes to a guy riding a 125! Both an overall race winner as well as grabbing two class wins, Henry Ahnert and his RM 125 looked awesome (PV Open Age Intermediate and GP 125 Intermediate). Robert Grimes was racing Henry on his Red Rocket Honda and earned himself a PV +50 Intermediate win as well as GP 250 Intermediate. Mike Mandia was racing all day long, joining the Post Vintage crowd on his Yamaha YZ and winning PV 40+ Intermediate.

And we cannot forget our 100s –Justin Moshanty and his RM100 beat two of our most seasoned racers to the finish line in both motos for the PV 100 Intermediate win.

Our Next Gen/Pre-Modern/97-99 Millennium classes have enjoyed strong sign-ups and great racing all season long and Bear Creek was no exception. Fastest of the fast proved to be Zach Possinger on his Suzuki RM250, winning Next Gen 250 Intermediate as well as 97-99

250 Intermediate. Brian Teague was chasing Zach on his Honda CR125 and grabbed himself two wins (Next Gen 125 Expert and Open Age Expert). Final shout-out to a very fast Next Gen 250 Novice Sam Wall on his Kawasaki 250.

Thank you to the Bear Creek Sportsman Club for another great weekend at your facilities. We’ll be back next year and just possibly…in a much bigger way. Stay tuned!

Post Vintage 100 racers Justine Moshany (303) and Marc Kalipolites doing battle at Bear Creek motocross.

PHOTO saraH lane

Eric Gullickson (13) is hunted down by Aaron Moyer (69) in the Post Vintage Bear Creek cross country.

PHOTO saraH lane

Craig McInnis and his mighty CZ 400 in action at Bear Creek motocross. PHOTO saraH lane

Minerva, NY - Sept 17th and 18th There is never a dull moment when we arrive at the Brett Darrow (and Alicia Coon) racing ranch just down the road from Gore Mountain in Minerva, NY. The mornings were cool (it IS September in the Adirondacks), the afternoons warm and full of sunshine, and the Saturday night dinner prepared by family and friends was AWESOME, as was our annual fireworks display. Yes, I said fireworks display.

Brett and his team (Rik Smits, Jay Danek) finally laid out an “easier” 3.5 plus mile cross-country lap for Saturday’s racing. Of course, easy just means he bypassed a few of his tougher sections, but this was definitely a faster course than previous years – not that the fast sections do not beat the crap out of you!

Once again, the Spoonagle family showed up to do some racing, with Dad taking a break this year, but Chris Spoonagle was all in – racing his Can-Am 250 in Vintage and a Husky in Post Vintage (PV). In the Vintage cross country race, it was ALL Chris as he grabbed the overall and PV

Open Expert. Rick Ketcham was a few minutes behind Chris (uh…quite a few), but he grabbed the Intermediate Overall as well as Sportsman 200. Part-time journalist Bob Close (that’s me), beat two other racers to the +60 Intermediate win on a Penton Berkshire 100. A final shout to Next Gen P Open Age Novice Scott Patton on his KDX Kawasaki.

The majority of our cross country sign-ups were lined up for the PV race and the fans were not disappointed. Spoonagle grabbed a second win on the day in the PV Open Expert class over Charlie McCormack. Dale Sonnenschein graced us with his presence and got the PV +50 Expert win. It was James Henry over Joe Chodnicki for PV +50 Intermediate. Burn some incense at the Tony Yanitelli altar, as Yanitelli beat five other guys to the finish line in PV Open Intermediate on his red John Deere... err I mean GS Maico. Bob Young looked smooth all afternoon and that won him the PV +60 Intermediate foam board over three other racers. And finally – a shout out to Andy Palmatier for his Millennium 2/S Open Intermediate win over two other riders.

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned the wonderful Saturday

night meal prepared for the racers, family, and friends as well as the fireworks. Let’s roll into Sunday and talk motocross racing, which took place down the road on a 100% oldschool grass-track layout. But not before we say THANKS to the Minerva High School class of 2023 that was on hand to feed the masses with their excellent concessions stand.

With 60 racer sign-ups, Merritt Brown cooked up his usual recipe of races for everyone to ensure lots of moto opportunities. That usually starts with our PV age classes, and at this round, we’ll send KUDOs out to the following senior, or not-so-senior, racers: Crag Curry and his Suzuki topped Mike Sciocchetti’s Can-Am for PV +60 Expert, Matt Noble beat all comers for NG Open Age Intermediate honors, and Tony Yanitelli opened up a can of whoop-#@$ on Rik Smits for the PV +50 Intermediate blue ribbon. And how can we NOT forget to mention Merritt Brown Senior and his dominant Post Vintage +80 Expert win! In the “modern” bike categories, Ryan Coyle exchanged moto wins with Trevor Badgely in a battle of the RMs but took home the Millennium 2/S Intermediate title by virtue of his second moto win. Great racing!

For the older bikes and guys classes,

KELSO CREEK CLASSIC

Next Gen 250 racer Paul Heid (104x) rips on his way to a win at Kelso Creek motocross. PHOTO danielle vanderwarker

Pete Marcin showed the Vintage +60 Intermediates how to do it on his Husqvarna with Marc Bottessi doing the same in Vintage +60 Expert. We’ve had a lot of Novice turnout this year, so let’s give a shout out to Lisa Sherwood riding a very familiar (to some) orange H-D 250 motocrosser and Bob Bolt on his Next Gen +60 Honda. Bob was having so much fun, he went back out again and won the PV +60 Novice trophy later with his Yamaha YZ. Keep coming back, Mr. Bolt. Some faster boys and bikes were

on offer in our GP classes. The biggest sound off the line were the five guys on GP 250 Intermediate machines. Congrats go to Steve Cuomo on his Yamaha YZ, with John Matrazzo taking second. Charlie McCormack grabbed the GP 250 Expert win. The sort-of-modern bikes returned for Race 6 on the day; Troy Miller grabbed the Next Gen 125 Expert win with Matt Noble taking the Intermediate win at that displacement. The Next Gen 250s saw Nathan Vanderwalker’s Kawi win a foam board, and the best racing was between moto winners Chris

I do not want our Historic and ESS racers to feel ignored or discriminated against so here goes (final race of the day): Mighty Pete Komarek beat out Andy Rider and Merritt Brown on his Maico by virtue of his 1-2 moto scores in what might have been the best racing of the day. And Dave Salmen topped Bob Young in ESS 250 Intermediate on his side pipe CZ.

Kronyak and Tom Curry in PreModern 250 Intermediate, with Chris taking the win by virtue of leading home in the second moto.

“Hey Craig Curry (4c) – the flag man is in front of you”. Post Vintage starting lines at Kelso Creek cross country.

PHOTO alicia cOOn

October in upstate New York is a sight to be seen, my friends (“upstate” in this context being anything north of the Tappan Zee Bridge). No bolder fall foliage colors, no better weather – at least this year, and two of our favorite - and final - AHRMA Northeast racing rounds are found in the month of October. So…start up that outdoor fire pit, pull on the Carhart, grab a cider of your choice – and read all about it!

FRENCH WOODS FALL CLASSIC

Hancock, NY - Oct 1st and 2nd

I have no idea where Otto De Jager finds the energy and time to put together this cross country and motocross event in the French Woods locale by his home. Especially after he spent early August hosting 700 plus riders in the town of Hancock for the very popular Quarry Run Dual Sport ride that he and town of Hancock host. But he does, and in the second year of this event, no one was disappointed.

There were two cross country courses to go up and down these Catskill hills – a vintage loop and a Post Vintage (PV)/Pre-Modern loop that added additional miles to the vintage course! And I’ll just add what a great, challenging course it was;

many riders said it was their favorite of the year. A total of 40 entries were split between the Vintage and Post Vintage races with notable sign-ups being Darrel Wassil (aka the “Wichita Lineman”) and Kurt Flachbart from Trail Rider Magazine! I know this is starting to sound like a bit of a broken record, but once again Expert Mike Ferguson was the man to beat. Ferguson would take the overall in the Vintage Cross Country and first place in the Vintage +50 Experts with his “Uncle” Tim Ferguson, on his beautiful Triumph 250, keeping him honest while also taking a first place finish in the Vintage +60 Expert class. The first Intermediate overall (200 Sportsman Intermediate) was a very fast Dave Salmen on a Yamaha MX175 that just loved this course. Also, a nod to Mr. Flachbart, whom

we mentioned above, whose early ‘70’s Husky did not get a great start but came by me on the last lap and said “goodbye,” beating two other Sportsman Open Intermediates for the gold.

For the PV/Pre-Moderns race, we got to watch our Allen’s Farm PV Cross Country winner return to the circuit and claim the overall here: Mike Rockefeller and his early ‘80’s Honda CR (in the PV Open Expert class). Michael Ferguson beat two other PV +50 Experts to the finish line. We had all kinds of Expert sign-ups for this round, with Brian Ashcraft (in the Next Gen 60 Expert class) and Kelly Ashcraft (in the PV Women’s Expert class) representing their family camping compound and winning their respective classes. The PV +60 Expert class saw

Post Vintage Women’s Expert Kelly Ashcraft (335) shows her dad Brian (58) the way around French Woods MX. +70 Expert Paul Wawrynovic (72c) enjoys the show. PHOTO saraH lane

“To everything turn, turn, turn There is a season turn, turn, turn And a time to every purpose under heaven”

Don Gavin’s Husqvarna take the checkered flag first. Intermediate wins were taken by James Henry (+50 Intermediate class), Kurt Flachbart (Open Intermediate class), and Carl Hutcheson (over two other guys) in +60 Intermediate.

Sunday’s motocross racing had a good sign-up with 75 entries on the day on an interesting layout that was a combination grass track and gravel pit. Maybe not pretty, but the riders loved it.

Great weather (dry!) once again greeted our Sunday motocross racers. The club’s motocross course was in excellent shape and stayed that way most of the day. Let’s talk about some of our PV classes first – and once again burn some incense at the altar of Michael Rockefeller (the Young…). He and his orange Can-Am Qualifier were fastest on the day in PV age class motos as well as the GP/Ultima motos, grabbing PV Open Age Expert and GP 250 Expert wins, beating all who came. Darrell Wassil recovered from his bad Cross Country racing the day before to finish the weekend strong with good results in the motocross.

The most crowded PV classes produced some great racing, with Robert Grimes and his red Honda CR beating three other guys in PV 50+ Intermediate (sorry Curry bro’s…) and Bob Frederick besting three other “old” guys in PV 60+ Intermediate. Steven Cuomo and his YZ Yamaha led the race in GP 250 Intermediate, and Mark Cuomo kept it all in the family by winning PV +40 Novice.

Pre-1975 racing classes also entertained us on this vintagefriendly layout. Dale Sonnenschein’s Husky topped Dan Gavin’s CZ in Vintage +60 Expert and Peter Marcin continued his winning ways in the Vintage +60 Intermediate class.

I’m going to wrap up the French Woods motocross action by talking about the biggest racing class on the day – Race 8’s Disc Brake Novice (need to look that one up…): EIGHT guys bashed bars for two motos, with John Horn finishing on top with his Yamaha YZ, and Kevin Keesler close behind in second on the green machine KX.

Our thanks to Otto and his merry men for some great days of racing!

Phantom Menace! Darreil Wassil (21B) leads Jim Kechisen (37k) and the rest of the pre-1975 crowd out of Turn 1 @ French Woods motocross.

PHOTO saraH lane

Carl Hutcheson (h47) on the way to another Post Vintage +60 Intermediate win this season at French Woods. PHOTO saraH lane

CAYUGA COUNTY RIDERS

King Ferry, NY - Oct 9th

Just one week later, the AHRMA Northeast band of brothers (and sisters) showed up at the alwayspicturesque fields and woodlands above Cayuga Lake for our one-dayonly finale. NO double points on offer this year (sorry guys). We had racers from as far away as South Carolina (Travis Newberry had moved there a month earlier and came home to finish up) and we were also graced

with a few of our motocross-racing cousins from an event the day before at Broome Tioga (that is a foreshadowing reference…check in on our 2023 racing schedule).

Racing started early on the day with a single cross country race on order for ALL Vintage and Post Vintage/ Pre-Modern racers. Familiar woods trails, a stream crossing, some fresh cut corn fields (always), and a “Tunnel of Love” hedge row were part of this four-mile loop put together by

Riders club.

Fast and furious would describe our overall fastest guys, as William Thierfelder’s Yamaha YZ (taking first place in the PV Open Expert class) and Mark Blackwell (first place in PV 200 Expert class riding a KX125) put some hurt on this field of 53 riders. The first Intermediate rider across the line has been a familiar face this season – Rick Ketcham and his Honda (taking first in the Vintage 200 Sportsman class). Some more shout-outs: Carl Rehatchek and his

Dave Barnes and the Cayuga Country

Chris Brown (66V) and his Husqvarna experience some “water cooling” at Cayuga County Riders Cross Country. PHOTO saraH lane

Coolest bike, coolest rider? ESS 250 Expert Craig Lane and his Yamaha 250 DT1 MX were only beaten by one other guy in the pre-1975 racing.

PHOTO saraH lane

The legen-DARY Expert Bill Ferguson (237) was running fast (until he wasn’t) at Cayuga County Riders Cross Country. PHOTO saraH lane

Husqvarna were faster than three other guys in PV 60+ Expert, and another Carl – Hutcheson – beat three of his fellow racers in PV +60 Intermediate. Finally – I’m going to give a shout out to our racing WOMEN on the day: Kelly Ashcraft (1st PV Women’s Expert), Autumn Barnes (PV Women’s Novice), and Trisha Barnes (1st PV Women’s Intermediate). Those last two are a daughter/mom combo and – yes- are very tight with their dad/husband Dave.

A short lunch break, a couple of practices, and it was time for some motocross racing on the now famous Cayuga County Rider’s “maze” motocross track, which starts out as mowed grass (surrounded by four foot tall uncut grass/ hay), subsequently turning into an excellent dust-free, action-traction lay-out for the afternoon’s activities.

Almost 80 entries were divided up into eight racing classes on the day. The racers, families, and friends, were not disappointed on this overcast 60-degree day. Post Vintage (PV) age classes kicked off the action with 15 racers leaving the line. Dan Field was the class of this field on his KTM, winning PV +60 Expert over Brain Ashcraft, while Dave Feary and his Kawi topped PV +50 Expert. Rick Bennett’s Maico was first home in PV +60 Intermediate. Pre-Modern Race 2 was all Michael Rockefeller, who rode a borrowed Yamaha on the day

(taking first place in the Millennium 2/s Open Expert) with cross country fast guys, Thierfelder and Blackwell, chasing him. He continued with his winning ways in other Pre-Modern Race 6 age classes, winning Next Gen Open Age Expert.

The best PV racing on the day had to be the battle of the PV 100 Intermediates, with Travis Newberry beating four other racers on his “throttle-had-to-be-taped-open” Honda XR100, with the real thrill being his first place finish in the second moto after starting in the back of the pack.

Six Novices left the line Race 4, with five Next Gen Disc class entries being led home by Doug Carmen. GP and Ultima racing (Race 5) was all Joe Brillo on his mighty Can-Am 400 MX6 winning both motos over four other sign-ups. Series-regular Dustin Loss was no worse for the wear from his morning cross country win (PV 200 Intermediate) and brought home the foam board over Josh Fisher and two others in GP 250 Intermediate. Fast women in the afternoon included Jana Schneider (first place in Next Gen Women’s Intermediate) and Kelly Ashcraft (first place in PV Women’s Expert).

Vintage racing (pre-1975) had some cool bikes and some fast folks, with almost everyone running Age classes in Race 3 and period/displacement

classes in Race 7. Devin Trexler was first to the line in both races on his 250 Elsinore (taking first in both Vintage +40 Expert and Sportsman 250 Expert), with Ron Krzaczyk’s Yamaha YZ250A giving chase (taking first in Vintage +50 Expert). And check out the photo of Craig Lane’s 1971 DT1, who also chased Devin’s CR, and won ESS 250 Expert. Five guys battled it out in Sportsman 250 Intermediate, and Dave Marcin continued his winning ways, topping Tim Treadaneri’s Honda CR250 and Pete Pileski’s Bultaco Pursang. Dave Scheffer’s always-immaculate Harley-Davidson 250MX won Historic 250 Intermediate.

Thanks again to the Cayuga County Riders club – great tracks, excellent concessions, and a fantastic end to our 2022 AHRMA Northeast racing season.

And that’s a wrap!

A final Thank You to our Northeast region leadership (Merritt and Ed) and our trackside scorers, flaggers, etc. As a racer myself, I know we ALL appreciate their efforts. You can go to the AHRMA Northeast link on AHRMA’s website to see all the results: https://www.ahrma.org/ ahrma-northeast-region/

Next Gen Open Age Intermediates Ryan Collins (85) and Dustin Loss (741) gassing it. PS – Dustin won at Cayuga County Riders Motocross. PHOTO rick cOwers

CROSS COUNTRY

Let’s finish big!!! That is what 700+ AHRMA National participants did in Henryetta, Oklahoma, at the T&Spromoted final event of the year. Wow! What a great way to finish up at one of the favorite venues on the AHRMA National circuit. Almost in the middle of the country, it gives racers the opportunity from the west coast to the east coast to finally meet at the same event to enjoy a world of camaraderie and serious bar banging

Cross Country racers were excited to know they would be racing on a six mile, Trampas Parker-designed course. Working with nice woods surrounding the Nichols Park and a big grass track/start field, it was sure to be a fun cross country race. Come Friday afternoon, all eyes were on the sky and radar as a weather system was coming in which, according to the Weather Channel, was to bring “strong thunderstorms, damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado” it definitely had everyone’s attention.

FRIDAY VINTAGE/WOMEN:

First up was the Vintage/Women’s race at 1:15pm, right when the storm should hit. But in good ol’ racer fashion, everyone lined up and boogied around a few turns in the field before they dove into the woods.

Hodaka-mounted, super fast Kevin Obrien took a quick start, running some smoking laps and leading Trampas Parker on his 1974 Bultaco 200; in the mix was my friend, Mike Monroe from Alabama, all within seconds of one another. On the third lap, Trampas put the pedal down

WORDS: SUZY MOODY (CROSS COUNTRY), RICHARD BRODOCK (DIRT TRACK), ALBERT NEWMANN (MOTOCROSS), FRANK EATON (TRIALS)

taking the Vintage Overall for the day, followed by Kevin and Mike to round out the podium. Jacob Ritorto, with the cutest blonde cheering section, won the Classic Expert class riding a nice BSA. Pacing right with the experts was Kurt Parsons winning the Sportsman Open Intermediate class. Fast Laci Horvath, coming all the way from Pennsylvania, put in some smoking laps and won the Women’s Expert class riding a nicely turnedout Honda XR200. Jennifer Juarez put in three very consistent laps and winning Women’s Post Vintage (PV) Intermediate class, while Trini Cunningham, who just gets better every race, riding a beautiful MR175, won the Vintage Women’s novice class. Luckily the rains held off just enough to complete the Vintage race.

FRIDAY PV RACE:

And the rains came. Right on cue, the rain and thunder and wind arrived. It got really, really dicey for several hours. Needless to say, the Friday PV race was cancelled.

SATURDAY PV RACE:

Lining up Saturday morning, it was cold and wet and still a bit dreary at an 8:00am key time. No matter, there was a full field of lovely PV machines ready to race. For whatever reason, Terry Cunningham came off the line dead last, but riding like the multitime National Enduro Champ, ISDE Vet he is, worked through the pack and came through the scoring tent in first place and did not look back as he overalled the morning PV race. John McLemore and Tyler Cuckler had a close race in the PV 200 Expert class with John taking the win, Tyler a close

second. Ricky Parker went from 20th overall on lap one to fourth overall at the end, taking third in the same verycompetitive PV 200 Expert class. Kansas-based Jeff DeBell borrowed his buddy, Jimmy’s, Yamaha IT175 and won the PV 60 Intermediate class. The course was really coming in by the end of this race and was just about perfect.

SUNDAY

VINTAGE/WOMEN’S

second overall while Suzy Moody riding an IT200 rounded out the podium in third place. Laci Horvath put in a strong ride taking second in the Women’s PV Expert class and fourth overall! Mike Nadeker riding a vintage Greeves won the Classic Intermediate class, and riding a little 100 cc Hodaka, Dave Rozier had a grand day wining the Sportsman 100 Intermediate class.

RACE:

Sunday morning had a time change, but with a lot of motocross races, a shootout and an end-of-the-year banquet on the schedule for the day, the start was an early 7:30 am. If the course was really good Saturday morning, it was epic Sunday morning. Again, Kevin Obrien put his bike in the wind, taking the lead and keeping the throttle pinned to overall the Sunday Vintage race. Floyd Cole, riding the Sportsman 200 Expert class, grabbed

Considering we had a strong storm come through the race site, the weekend could not have been more perfect. Team Parker, the town of Henryetta, the AHRMA officials, the sweep crews and Mother Nature put on one of the best Cross Country events of the year.

Thank you all for your hard work all year long and keeping AHRMA strong and growing.

Congratulations to all of this year’s National class winners!

DIRT TRACK

Henryetta, Oklahoma, was the setting for the 2022 AHRMA Dirt Track season finale. With a good night of rain Friday, the new, bigger, dirt track was ready with ease. This new track was over twice the size of the previous track and would make for some great racing across all classes.

In Brakeless HW, Mike Newton would grab the win over Kirk King and Gary Moore. Newton would also take the win in Four-Stroke Super Single. Moore would finish second in Brakeless LW behind Richard Brodock. Brodock would go on to take

Tyler Cuckler (41T).

PHOTO jeff cOx and THe PHOTO Trailer

Jeff DeGroot (37y), Brian Miller (293), Bob Diffee (229)

PHOTO jeff cOx and THe PHOTO Trailer

the win in Sportsman 250 over Tim Banks and Mike Stivason and the win in Sportsman 750 over Clay Nelson and Stivason. Banks would shoot it out and take home the win over Steve Griffin in 50+.

The big races would be the Spanish cup and Vintage HW with Gage Smith and Ty Mac setting a pace that few could maintain. Smith would take the win over Mac in both classes while Wyatt Campbell would hold his own in the Spanish Cup but still come up short, ultimately taking third. Sportsman 125 would go to Bryan Johnson over Micheal Collier in a race that would have more lead changes than all other races combined. They would swap on every corner and every straight for eight laps. Steve Stacey took home his second win of the year in Sportsman 600 securing him third place in the National championship.

Thank you to Trampas and Sherri Parker, the city of Henryetta, and all the volunteers and riders that made this years finale such a great event.

MOTOCROSS

Year three of the AHRMA National Championship round for motocross looked strong as over seventy percent of the states were represented in this final race event of the season. Bringing racers from coast-to-coast and all points in between was a large goal of the concept and to add further legitimacy to the national champions. So far it appears the

concept has proven successful. The city of Henryetta continues to provide amenities to AHRMA as well as our host of Trampas and Sherri Parker commitment and member accommodations are second to none. This year rain was a concern, although with drought conditions for much of 2022, it was a welcomed concern. By the end of the weekend, dust was more of the concern and rain was a distant memory. Seasoned racers know very well how a little mud eventually turns into dust more often than not in motocross. The weekends total was nearly 350 entries which was a strong showing for the year and led to incredible racing across the classes.

The 60 Plus Intermediates were Race 1 of the day and Bill Hester was phenomenal in his swansong as he moves to the Expert class for 2023. Bill was immediately to the front of each moto, leaving the remaining racers to duke it out. Jack Kyzer pulled into the second spot of moto 1 with Bill Rockley, Shawn Mayo, and Mick Spisak all jockeying for the next four spots. Kyzer showed great speed to eventually gap the riders behind him and take second. In the next moto, it was Hester again to the lead, but Kyzer failed to show, leaving Spisak, Rockley, and John Fedor to fight for the positions on the box. Hester took the overall win, and with a 3-3 finish it was Rockley taking second and Spisak’s 5-2 placing him third. One of the best races of the weekend in one of AHRMA’s most competitive classes.

We followed up with the 60 Plus and 40 Plus Experts in Race 2. California fast guy, Duke Dowell, and annual champion, Bob Bean, were set to face off in a very tightly contested 60 Plus Expert class separated by only a few points. Moto 1 had Bean with a great start and fending off Dowell until the last lap when the Maico rider made a late pass to grab the moto win. The second moto was not the same as the first, seeing Dowell with a fantastic start to secure the lead and fend off Bean for the overall win and the championship! The 40 Plus Experts were just as exciting as Jay Gref and Robby McQuary had their own duel. Gref was able to maintain the lead throughout the moto despite McQuary masterfully working his way through the pack and nearing Gref on the last lap. Unfortunately for McQuary, it was too little too late this time. For moto 2, he managed to work himself in front of Bean and Dowell, leaving Gref in no-mans land as those two had an intense battle going on. McQuary took the overall win, with Gref securing the national championship in his class.

As highlighted late this season, the Sportsman 125 Expert class had a large resurgence and the talent this weekend was possibly the best yet. Jerry Mattox had burst onto the AHRMA scene this summer at the Muddy Creek National and had been a force to deal with in the second half of the season. The gate, being stacked with talent, was evident in moto 1 where there were three different racers swapping

Thomas Garland (31T) PHOTO jeff cOx and THe PHOTO Trailer

Grant Lowe (44)

PHOTO jeff cOx and THe PHOTO Trailer

positions throughout the race behind Mattox to keep the pressure on. The Rocketship Vintage Racing pilot, Tim Borgfield, took the first swipe to pass Mattox; local racer, Tim Wilkinson, then passed Borgfield to take a shot, followed by 2Brothers Racing Hodaka rider, Kevin Obrien, moving into second place on the final lap. Moto 2 had Wilkinson to the lead for lap 1, only to lose the lead late on lap 2 to Mattox. Mattox withstood the charge of Wilkinson and won the class. Borgfield finished second, Wilkinson third, Jason Elder fourth, Kevin Obrien fifth, Gerard Hayes sixth, and Bob Winter seventh. All champions at some point of racing! Congratulations for Mattox in his first season of AHRMA and his National Championship.

One of our most interesting Novice gates of the day was race 10, where

we featured the 60 Plus Novices and a unique group of 80 Plus racers who wanted to compete against each other in a friendly race. The 60 Plus Novices with the first gate drop had Richard Weber of Southlake, Texas, into the lead early on with Kevin Heldebrandt in tow. Weber would take the first moto; in moto 2, it was all Hildebrandt with an impressive win and the overall. Weber finished second, John Mathewson third, Stephen Clark fourth and former champion, John Nelson, fifth. The 80 Plus racers saw Henry Gref renew racing with Teddy Landers and others which was quite a joy. We had six racers over the age of 80 years old riding with AHRMA on this day!

Race 11 was a very fun race as many of the crowd favorites were on the track including the 50 Plus Intermediates and Experts, along with

the Open Age Experts. Sean Eisen and Bob Bean put on a great show racing each other. In the 50 Plus Experts, it was Jamie Adams and Trampas Parker. All four of these racers passed one another at some point in each race, causing fans to line the fence and watch who would come out on top. Eisen went 1-1 to Bean’s 2-2 and won the Open Age class. It was Parker running to the top of each moto to win the 50 Plus Experts. In the 50 Plus Intermediates, the racing was equally as good. Bill Hester did what he typically does and shot out to an early lead, holding everyone off for the first moto win. Unfortunately, a bad start in moto 2 allowed William Miller and Rick Allen to run up front ahead of him. Miller won with a 3-1 finish; Allen’s 2-2 earned him second with Hester finishing third overall. Congratulations to Trampas Parker, Bob Bean, and Bill Hester for winning

Starting line shot of the Okie Wild West Shootout.

PHOTO BOBBY Hedge

the National Championships in their respective classes.

The final vintage race on Saturday had the 100cc Intermediate and Experts along with the Women’s Intermediates and Experts line up. Charlene Campbell put in two spectacular rides as she faced off with Laci Horvath. Campbell, who is the holeshot queen of vintage racing, once again did what she normally does and rocketed to the lead of the first moto. Campbell would take the win, with bike issues preventing Horvath from making the start.

In the second moto, Horvath and her Yamaha made it to the line and Campbell once again ran to the top to hold off the challenge of Horvath. It wasn’t quite enough, and Horvath was able to take the 2022 National Championship title. In the Intermediate Women’s class, it was Dallas Winter and Angie Wright in an excellent race for the national

gold. Wright also had great starts in each moto, putting her name at the top of the roster, only to have Winter eventually make the pass and take the win. In 100cc action, Andy Blackburn went uncontested for his win; in the Intermediate class, it was Brian Miller dominating a solid class of riders behind him for the win.

Post Vintage racing on Sunday in race 2 saw a very competitive gate of small bore 125 action. To nobody’s surprise, leading the way was the very fast Robert Thornton from Atlantic, Iowa, as he pulled the holeshot in moto 1 to fend off Tim Wilkinson, Gerard Hayes, and Bob Winter in the Grand Prix 125 Expert class. Moto 2 saw Wilkinson snag the holeshot, but the swarm of 125s consumed him by turn three, and it was Thornton back to the front of the pack to take the lead and the win. The Intermediate Grand Prix class had James Golliher on the gas and running with the

Experts much of moto 1, however in moto 2, local racer, Wim Wolf, found himself near the top and held off the many attempts of Golliher to overtake him. Wolf would win the class with a 2-1 finish over Golliher. Ultima 125 Intermediates showcased the incredible growth of speed over the year from Jeffery Blackwood as he dominated this class for the win. Jeffery’s secret trainer, Jamie Adams, ran to the lead of the Ultima 125 Experts to beat out Jason Elder and Trampas Parker. It was Brian Brock on a Cagiva taking the win in the PreModern 125 Expert class, with Brian Aliff winning the Grand Prix FourStroke Intermediates.

Race 3 featured what many would call an upset as another local racer jumped into the Grand Prix 500 Expert class alongside favorite Sean Eisen and several other big bore hot shoes. It was Eisen with the holeshot and

Phillip Mills (79p), Gary Emerson (921) (PV 60+ Experts)

PHOTO BOBBY Hedge

the lead for most of the first moto until the final lap as Robby McQuary made a clean pass to overtake Eisen and secure the moto win. Moto 2 saw McQuary into the lead early in lap one, withstanding the challenge from Eisen on each lap. McQuary upset Eisen in the Expert class. Also gated were the Grand Prix 250 Intermediates and jockeying of positions each moto found Claude Cutshaw with the overall by finishing

1-2 over Terry Frohnapfel in second with a 3-1 finish and John Fedor rounding out the top three with his 2-4 finish.

Novices comprised Race 5 with several championships on the line. The more hotly-contested Post Vintage Women’s Novice had Sherri Parker, Linda Dowell, and Nancy Lisey competing once again. Parker managed to grab the lead with

Dowell close by in second and Lisey in third. Both motos stayed exactly in that order with Parker taking the overall win and the championship. Debra Meszaros accomplished the same feat as Parker, winning her race and championship in the Next Gen Women’s Novice class. Kenneth Trexton led every lap of every moto in the 40 Plus class, capturing the win and the championship. One more championship was crowned in the

Robert Thornton (471) and Jamie Adams (34) (PV)

PHOTO BOBBY Hedge

Jonathan Campbell (PV)

PHOTO BOBBY Hedge

Joe W. Koury (Vintage 70+ Intermediate)

PHOTO BOBBY Hedge

Another exciting set of classes ran in Race 6 as the 50 and 60 Plus Experts lined up together for a gate drop. In the 50 Plus Experts, it was Phil Reed leading the way each moto over John Vasquez and John McLemore to bring home the win while Vasquez

had to settle for second. On the 60 Plus Experts, we saw Gary Emerson with a great start into the lead for all four laps to hold off Phillip Mills. Overall, it was Mills 2-1 finish to earn him first place, Bridges’ 3-2 earned him second, and Emerson, having a horrible second moto, managed to place third with his 1-7 finish.

Over in the second gate drop of this race was our 50 Plus Intermediates. James Sanchez, Carlos Mayo, and Bill Hester were absolutely on fire pushing each other in the first moto. The three were nearly inseparable in moto 1, and had Hester not dropped out of the second moto, it might have ended differently for the overall as Hester really was closing the door on Sanchez late in moto one. Sanchez took first, Mayo second, and Hester third. Sanchez won the championship in a squeaker over Hester. Both riders will be competing in the Expert class for 2023, which should really shake up the field.

Race 10 featured a rematch of a Saturday Vintage race and some fantastic big bore 500cc class racing. In the Ultima 500 Intermediate class, James Golliher and Kurt Parsons swapped wins, giving Parsons the overall in the class. Tim Banks won the Ultima 500 Expert, Robby McQuarry looked unstoppable in winning the Pre-Modern 500 Experts, and John Vasquez won the PreModern Four Stroke Experts. Mac Cole dominated the Ultima 250 Intermediates winning that class over Bobby Ward and Michael Husted. The rematch of Jonathan Campbell, Bob Bean, and Duke Dowell occurred in the Ultima 250 Expert. The first moto had Dowell out of the gate quick and into the lead of the first lap. However, on lap 2, Campbell made the pass and never looked back. Bean was unable to challenge Dowell in this moto as Intermediate-class rider, Cole, was up in the mix. The second moto was much different as Bean, with a great start, immediately found himself into the lead with Campbell and Dowell within bike lengths of him. Campbell eventually made the pass midway through the race to push Bean into second where he remained. Campbell went 1-1 over these two impressive champions, Bean finished second overall and Dowell third. Dowell picks up another championship here but the going looks tough for the coming year if both Campbell and Bean continue to make races in 2023.

Race 12 contained eight different Next Gen classes; the best racing came in the Next Gen 50 Expert and Next Gen 1 125cc classes. Gregory Lykens lit up the course each moto to finish first of all the entries alongside

Next Gen Novice as Thomas Garland held off Terry Hensley and Michael Welden as his 1-1 finish won the race.

Ricky Parker riding the BA Motorsports Honda XR200 in the Okie Wild West Shootout.

PHOTO BOBBY Hedge

Jonathan Campbell (PV)

PHOTO BOBBY Hedge

Jay Gref. These were the top two finishers for that class. It was the seasoned veteran, John Fedor, winning both motos and securing his national championship in the 125 class. Wesley Wallace and Brad Nuckolls swapped moto wins in the Millenium 2-Stroke 250 Intermediate class with Nuckolls second moto win earning him the honors.

The Okie Wild West Shootout was one of the best yet as teams battled each other on a choice of either a Post Vintage-eligible 100cc model or a Honda XR200. Much like previous years, neither bike choice completely dominated the other, so the intrigue of the bike model is always present. This year’s defending champion team, Team Cramp #1, comprised of Jamie Adams, Michael Keating, and Troy Barrow, had a large target on their backs. The shootout is a threerace tag-team type format; it’s fun for the crowd to watch the bike exchange and the frantic pace at which the riders run at to pick up even a second of lap time. The first moto highlight was watching Ricky Parker about the BA Motorsports Teams finally outpace his father, Trampas Parker, leading his team to the first moto win. After the race, Trampas stated, “I tried my best, but my boy was simply outcornering me today and I somewhat got caught up watching how fast he was riding.”

The second moto was all “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner Team” as John Mclemore and Brian Smith were lights out and in winning picked up their teammate Trampas Parker in the process. On Sunday it was our final moto, and the racing was intense as lead changes were occurring by various teams throughout the program. In the end it was the team of Trampas, McLemore, and Smith who would bring home the golden boot. What a race and what a weekend!

Many thanks to the city of Henryetta, Oklahoma, Trampas and Sherri Parker, the staff, track workers, and the AHRMA volunteers, coordinators, and directors for a well-run event. It is truly beyond the expectations AHRMA had for this event, and others are learning from it to better all our events in the coming years. Great way to end 2022!

TRIALS

Rain was in the forecast for Friday, the final round of AHRMA trials. It looked like it would be a wet trials with possibly heavy rain. Fortunately the trials was scheduled begin at 8:30 am and conclude at 12:30 pm to finish just before the rains were scheduled to come. There was a light rain early but the majority held off, resulting in an overcast cool morning. The rain did come about 4:00 pm following the vintage cross county race. Perfect timing.

Trampas and Sherry Parker have been using Nichols Park seven years for AHRMA Nationals. This is the third year for trials and wow what a trials event this has become!

James Holton and Kevin Kight laid out 10 sections around the perimeter of Nichols Lake. The park is closed during the event so the paved road around the lake is used as part of the transfer between sections. It is

fun to get on the road between a few sections to relax and cool off.

This was an awesome trials testing the skills of all levels of rider. The sections were challenging but not difficult. Most all riders cleaned each section at least once but dropped a point or two on a previous try or the following try. The rocks could be tricky to navigate at times throwing you off your line.

Henryetta is located in the middle of the US and we had 24 riders from at least 10 states represented, including Arkansas, Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, and Washington. The past two years even included riders from California and North Carolina. Let’s make this a true championship event where we see the best trials riders in each class. Only YOU can make it happen. Let’s do it!

There were two classes that displayed the most competition. The

Jerry Mattox in front of Tim Borgfield and Tim Wilkinson (Sportsman 125 Expert)

PHOTO BOBBY Hedge

first being the Premier Lightweight Intermediate class where George Kirby, riding his 1965 Francis Barnett, was up against Mike Parsley, riding his trusty Triumph Cub. Mike got the win posting 6 points and 28 cleans with George posting 7 points and 27 cleans. The Modern Classic Expert class had Dennis Burnett riding a Honda-powered GRM Maverick and Mark Sturtevant riding a Yamaha TY250 going head-to-head. They both had four points after the first loop. Dennis dropped one point to Mark’s clean card on the second loop. It came down to the third loop where Dennis had a little trouble and dropped nine points to Mark’s single. Hodaka power dominated the Classic Expert, Intermediate, and Novice Classes with James Holton, Robert Lord, and Greg Houchin winning respectively.

Tom McNeal rode the Master Line on a strong Honda TL125. During the third loop, he had a pinch flat on the front. It would have been very difficult to replace the tube and finish the event by the 12:30 cut off time. Mark Sturtevant volunteered his Yamaha TY250 following his completion of the third loop. Going from a TL125 to a TY250 is quite a change, but good riders can ride anything well and Tom rode the TY very well. People like Mark are what help make AHRMA great.

As we all know, the average age of riders is increasing. It was nice to see young riders, Colin Kirn and Ari Horstman, competing and doing well. The dads and even Colin’s grandfather were keeping a close eye on their progress. Let’s try and get more riders involved in trials, both young and old.

Oh, and the bikes! It was so cool seeing the bikes that show up at these events. If only we could have a photo of every bike that competed, although that would not do them justice. We had Honda, Yamaha, Yetman, Montesa, Bultaco, Fantic, Ariel, BSA, Francis Barnett, Cotton, Triumph, GRM Maverick, and Hodaka represented.

A big thanks to James Holton and Kevin Kight for setting up the trials course. Thanks to Tom Hillard who helped out on Wednesday and Thursday with the split markers. Thanks to Trampas and Sherry Parker for running this National AHRMA event. A special thank you to Mike and Donna Collier for running the scoring part of the trials. I can not say enough about what Mike and Donna have done for AHRMA trials over the past 20 years. They are best. We had 10 awesome observers for the sections. Rain was possible and they still went into the woods for over three hours. Trampas even jumped in and checked a section. Without

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

volunteers, these events would not happen.

PHOTO TY wilsOn

PHOTO sTeve allen

PHOTO sHarOn Bean

PHOTO sHarOn Bean

Awards Banquet

PHOTOS: TY WILSON

Congratulations to all National Championship winners for the 2022 season. And what a season it’s been! Rest up, as 2023 racing will be starting before you know it.

only did

also

Dirt Track racer, Gary Moore, with the Brakeless Heavyweight title, and a second place in the Brakeless Lightweight class.

Trampas Parker and Chris Gillespie had some great racing in this year’s Cross Country events; Parker takes the title for Vintage 50 Expert, with Gillespie only 22 championship points behind.

Mike Parker with a third-place championship overall in the Classic Expert cross country class.

Randall Kohl is your Sportsman 200 Novice title-holder for the 2022 Cross Country series.

Wyatt Campbell taking home two Dirt Track titles - in both Light Vintage and Spanish Cup classes.

Not

Tim Banks take home the Dirt Track 50+ title, a second place in both the Dirt Track Sportsman 250 and Light Vintage classes, but

took the title in the Vintage +60 Expert Cross Country class.

A TALE OF TWO RACES LESSONS LEARNED CHASING A CHAMPIONSHIP

WORDS: MARC WARBURTON PHOTOS: PAM WARBURTON AND SHARON BEAN

“This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

- Winston Churchill, October 1941

After ten years, a hip replacement, a lumbar fusion and a punctured lung, I finally won my first AHRMA national championship in the Post Vintage Historic 250 Intermediate class. I learned a few things along the way that might be useful to folks seeking fame at the spacious and well-lit Henryetta Civic Center awards ceremony. It is perhaps presumptuous of me to be dishing advice having won but one championship; I mean, it’s not like I’m Bob Bean, who is handed a first-place trophy at sign-up. I’m just a squid

writing to my fellow squids to encourage them to get out there and make a run at eternal glory. With that noble objective, allow me to tell you about a couple of races, from which I will derive some “hot tips” which may not be so obvious and which may inform your own competitive strategy for chasing a championship. While these lessons are based on my experience racing AHRMA motocross, I suspect they are generally applicable to all racing disciplines.

2022 SEASON FINALE

I pulled into the pits in Henryetta on Friday afternoon, about three minutes before the sky broke open and dumped a few inches of rain on the parched dirt. I sat in my van for four hours watching the puddles get deeper, and fretting about the tornado alert then in effect. Welcome to Oklahoma. I was in contention for the Vintage Sportsman 500cc Intermediate class, trailing my

archnemesis John Fedor (56J) by just four points. As I have all year, I planned to also race the Vintage 60+ and PV Historic 250cc classes, both of which were seemingly impossible to win because Bill Hester (735) had been mopping the track with the rest of us all year. I did, however, have a shot at second place in the Historic class as I was three points in front of Kenny Coen (a29) out of Ohio.

On Saturday morning I walked the track and was relieved to see that it suited me. Its natural terrain had no deep ruts in the turns (for which my face seems to have an unnatural attraction), and no scary SX jumps that leave my thighs paralyzed the following week. The dry ground sucked up all that rain so there were just a few slick spots. The first race was my Vintage 60+, so I lined up with my trusty Husky 250 Mag and was off…but only for about 50 yards before the guy next to me slammed into my handlebars from behind, knocked me ass over teakettle to the

Marc Warburton and John Fedor (56J) banging bars on the spectacular vintage track in MD.

PHOTO crediT: sHarOn’s mx PicTures

ground, and somehow took the skin off the inside of my upper arm with one of his tires. My first thought: was I dead? Nope I concluded; I hurt too much and there’s no pain in Heaven (an admittedly big assumption there.) Then: how badly was I hurt and what were the implications for the championship? After a bit I shook it off and managed to get in a single lap. That was a very close call. My arm was killing me but I quickly switched to my Maico 440 and jammed to the gate for the Sportsman 500 moto, the only race that really mattered.

While I have you on the edge of your seat, let me tell you why I was only four points behind John in the Sportsman 500 and why it is important to the lessons below. I last battled John at Mill Creek, AR and ended up four points ahead of him, overall. I knew he wasn’t going to Diamond Don’s, and was pretty damn sure that the next races in CO, CA, TX, and GA were all too far away for him to attend (he’s from Toledo, OH). I had originally planned to hit the GA race hoping to increase the point spread between us but, with gas prices being the way they are and a nasty case of laziness, I first built a spreadsheet of all the possible finishing combinations to see if the drive to GA or TX would be worth it (I live in VA). I concluded that if I blew off the races in GA and TX I could still probably win the championship given most of the potential finishing scenarios in OK, except for the case in which John beat me in both motos. So, I just had to beat him in one moto to win the championship.

On the Saturday evening of the GA vintage race, I was scrolling Facebook and saw a photo of John standing on the podium in GA with two first place moto finishes! Curse you, Red Baron! The conclusions from my fancy spreadsheet exactly flipped - now he was four points ahead and most of the potential finishing scenarios would break in his favor! ARRRGGHH! I would now have to beat him in both motos in OK, with no margin for error. Enough of that; back to the track in Henryetta. My Sportsman 500 race took off and by the second turn I was in third, right behind John. My Maico pulled his 380 CZ up the hills and I was diving deeper into the turns than he was, but he was outfoxing me

in the twisties. I tried all my secret lines, but he had broken my code and blocked every one. There was one last chance - the last turn of the race had a bitchin’ berm on the outside, and John had been reliably taking the inside line. I figured I had little to lose since I need to beat him both motos, so on the last lap I came into the outside hot, hit the berm like Åke, grabbed a handful of Blendzal…and the big Maico slid out and took a dirt nap. I finished fifth. John now had to make only a single lap in the second moto to win the championship. My only hope was that John’s Zed didn’t start for the second moto and he got a DNS, but, alas, he showed up at the gate ready to rock. And rock he did, soundly beating me. It was all over but the tears and a second-place plaque. (Interestingly, it turns out that John’s CZ had been having serious starting issues in the weeks leading up to Henryetta. That his bike may not have started for the second moto was a distinct possibility!)

Sunday morning, I headed to the riders’ meeting and checked out the race order for the PV Historic 250. WTF?!?! Bill Hester, whom I knew was

there racing, didn’t sign up for the race! I went to find Kenny to tell him, who in the course of conversation told me that he, too, went to GA and got two seconds! Holy crap! The point spread between us flipped in his favor by 11 points, so I now had to beat him in both races! I got a decent start in the first moto, aware that I was in front of Kenny. After a couple of laps, I glanced back and saw a silver-tanked Zed ridden by a guy with red leathers - Kenny’s bike and outfit. I breathed a sigh of relief, but a minute later someone stuffed their front wheel into my Suzuki. It was Kenny, who was right on my butt the whole time (I guess I’ll have to quit wearing ear plugs and buy new glasses). I managed to stay ahead of him, barely, and win the moto. I got a great start in the second moto, avoiding the traffic that tied Kenny up, which cut me some slack. Uncharacteristically not falling or killing my engine in a tight turn, I won the race and the championship. Ever the gentleman, Kenny shook my hand at the finish line and offered his sincere congratulations.

The author roosting John Fedor in PA. Photo credit: Pam Warburton

LESSONS LEARNED

On the 17-hour drive home from Henryetta it occurred to me that these two races demonstrated several important lessons about racing for a championship – especially when you’re not the fastest dude out there – that I’d like to pass along. The statistics mentioned in what follows were derived from the 2022 Vintage MX results for competitive classes, meaning those classes for which at least two racers qualified (i.e., raced in four events) for a national championship before the finale in OK. This year 30 classes ended up competitive. Keep in mind that the season finale pays double points.

1. It’s about points, silly Wabbit. Championships are not necessarily won by the hot shoes (though being one helps a lot); they’re won by the person who amasses the most points. It’s rather like winning the popular vote vs. winning the electoral college in presidential elections: the former helps, but the latter is what counts. Strategies for going faster are subsets of the strategy for gaining points.

2. Point spreads matter, so race a lot. You obviously have to race the required number of qualifying races (four in 2022),

but unless you win every moto in your first eight motos and max out on points, you’ll want to have your best four to be as good as possible. In 2022 VMX, 17% of the championships were decided by 10 points or fewer, and 50% were won by 40 points or fewer (which is a single moto win at OK). In my case a fifth qualifying race in Arkansas added six points to my best four in the 250 Historic class, which I subsequently won by only five points in OK. I wouldn’t have won the championship had I not hit that fifth race.

The obvious downside of this advice is that it’s expensive. Hitting a lot of national races means travel. In 2022 I raced three classes at six races, driving a total of about 7,000 miles, even though I never drove west of Henryetta. I spent over $4,000 on gas, motels, entry fees, and multiple bags of teriyaki beef jerky, plus another $500 to fix my Husky’s big end bearing I scattered in New York.

3. Plan on racing the finale in OK. Every VMX champion raced in OK, and three regular season leaders (10%) who didn’t race in OK lost. Furthermore, the 11 folks (37%) in second who didn’t

race in OK lost, even though their points spreads were competitive. Four leaders lost to their secondplace competition. This means that:

If you are leading you better go to the finale; and, if you are in second (or lower) and competitive, there’s something like a 25% chance you can still win (but re-read #2.)

4. Be sure to start every moto, and finish at least one lap. Remember that a DNS receives no points, but a DNF receives last place minus two places points if you finish at least one lap. So, for example, if there are four entries in a qualifying moto and you DNF after one lap, you’ll still get nine points, which as mentioned was decisive in 17% of 2022’s competitive VMX classes. This means you have to make sure your bike is in tip-top shape every race. That’s a big commitment of time.

5. Be careful about assumptions. If you are going to nerd-out with finishing calculations like me, make sure you do what’s called a “Key Assumptions” check. Identify your assumptions, and then ask what happens to your conclusions if your assumptions are wrong. If your conclusion changes, you’d better reevaluate your assumption. Had I asked, “What if John and Kenny race in GA?” I might have (nay, should have) sucked it up and gone to the race as well.

6. Contend for multiple classes on different bikes. There are two reasons for this recommendation. The first is that you may not end up being competitive in the class you thought you’d be, which happened to me. Second is that if your bike breaks and you’ve been clever about which classes to enter, you may be able to use your other bike in both classes. This also happened to me when my Husky big-end bearing went south - I was able to ride my Maico in the Vintage 60+ class.

7. Practice your starts. A rather obvious bit of advice, but here’s the twist: you want some traffic between you and your

Kenny Coen (A29) and the author dicing it out in MD. Photo credit: Pam Warburton

competition. If your competition gets stuck in traffic and as a result finishes just one position lower in a single moto he will lose four points. In 2022’s VMX races, four points were decisive in two classes.

8. Don’t get discouraged! Low probability doesn’t mean no probability. In my case, the only way I could have won the Historic championship was if Bill Hester decided not to ride, didn’t start, crashed, or whatever. The odds of any of that happening to Bill and my beating Kenny in both motos were very slim – on the order of 2% by my calculation. Even after I found out that Bill wasn’t going to compete, there was still only about a 25% chance I could beat Kenny in both motos (because we are pretty evenly matched), and a 75% chance he would win at least one moto, which would have given him the championship. Crappy odds indeed, but you will definitely lose 100% of the races you don’t enter.

9. Get to know your competition. The AHRMA pits can feel pretty clubby to an introvert like me or a newbie. That’s mainly because a lot of the guys have been racing against one another literally for decades. Go introduce yourself to the folks you’ll be racing against and do a little bench racing with them. You will most likely find that they are friendly, gracious, and helpful when your bike breaks (and it will break). It’s a lot more fun dicing a whole moto with someone you know.

10. Commit to the objective. The recommendations above require a lot of time, money, and effort. The problem is that the guy you’re competing against probably wants it as much - or more - than you do. That’s why Kenny and John went to GA while I sat on my butt drinking Old Fashioneds, and Kenny even raced in Maryland with broken ribs. Here’s a tip that works for me: make chasing a championship a bucket list item and tell everyone. Put it on Facebook. Once you are publicly committed you can stop

wringing your hands every week about whether it makes sense to continue and just get down to doing what you need to do in the next moment, like clean that filter, change that oil, or drive halfway across the country. Unless of course carrying on violates your convictions of good sense. And most importantly - don’t lose sight of what we’re really supposed to be doing: having fun racing old dirt bikes with our buddies!

Marc Warburton (L) and Kenneth Coen (L) with their respective Historic 250 Intermediate trophies.

2023 AHRMA NATIONAL SERIES SCHEDULES

2023 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA National Historic Cup Roadracing Series

AAR: Academy of Roadracing SRS: Sidecar Racing School

2023 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA National Vintage Motocross Series

Date Venue

2/18 Waldo Motorsports; Waldo, FL

3/4 Motoland MX Park; Casa Grande, AZ

3/18 Burrows Ranch; Chrome, CA

4/1 Farm 14; Centreville, MS

2/16-19 Roebling Road Raceway; Bloomingdale, GA 2/8

3/17-19 Carolina Motorsports Park; Kershaw, SC 3/8

5/26-28 Heartland Motorsports Park; Topeka, KS 5/17

6/2-4 Motorsports Park Hastings; Hastings, NE 5/24

6/23-25 New Jersey Motorsports Park; Milleville, NJ 6/14

7/14-16 Weathertech Laguna Seca (AHRMA Classic MotoFest™); Monterey, CA 7/5

7/28-30 Gingerman Raceway; South Haven, MI 7/19

8/4-6 Blackhawk Farms Raceway; South Beloit, IL 7/26

9/8-10 Talladega Gran Prix; Munford, AL 8/30

10/5-8 Barber Motorsports Park; Birmingham, AL

* all events, except Barber Motorsports Park, are hosting both the AAR and SRS

2023 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA National Cross Country Series

Date Venue

3/19 Burrows Ranch; Chrome, CA

5/6-7 Sugar Hill; Whiteville, TN

6/11-12 Desoto Motorsports Park; Grand Cane, LA 6/17-18 Ridgerunners; Bypee, TN

7/8 Shady Acres; Friendsville, MD

7/16 Weathertech Laguna Seca (AHRMA Classic MotoFest™); Monterey, CA

8/19-20 Ashtabula, OH

9/3 Bear Creek Sportsman; Hancock, NY

9/8 Diamond Don’s; Jefferson, TX

9/23-24 New Blaine; Blaine, AR

9/30 Bushey Ranch; Canby, CA

10/7-8 Hays Farm; Ramsey, IL

11/5-7 T&S Racing; Henryetta, OK

4/29 Muddy Creek MX; Blountville, TN

5/27 Two Rivers Racing; Milliken, CO

6/10 Desoto Motorsports Park; Grand Cane, LA

6/17 HLR Motorsports Park; Moberly, MO

7/8 Shady Acres; Friendsville, MD

7/15 Weathertech Laguna Seca (AHRMA Classic MotoFest™); Monterey, CA

7/15 Honda Hills; Thornville, OH

TBA The Ridge; Sanford, NC

9/2 Bear Creek Sportsman; Hancock, NY

9/9 Diamond Don’s; Jefferson, TX 9/30 Bushy Ranch; Canby, CA

10/14 Mill Creek Motorsport Park; Combs, AR 11/5 T&S Racing; Henryetta, OK

Date Venue

2/25 Callahan Speedway; Callahan, FL - ST

3/25 Crossroads Motorplex; Jasper, FL - ST

4/15 Baton Rouge Raceway; Baton Rouge, LA - 3/8 mile

5/19 Lodi Cycle Bowl; Lodi, CA - ST - Round 1

5/20 Lodi Cycle Bowl; Lodi, CA - TT

5/20 Lodi Cycle Bowl; Lodi, CA - ST - Round 3

5/21 Lodi Cycle Bowl; Lodi, CA Championship

5/27 Heartland Motorsports Park; Topeka, KS - ST - Asphalt

6/9

Lawrenceburg Motorcycle Speedway; Lawrenceburg, IN - ST

6/10 Cincy Speedway; Cincinnati, OH - ST

6/24 Tar Heel Speedway; Tar Heel, NC - ST

7/15

Weathertech Laguna Seca (AHRMA Classic MotoFest™); Monterey, CAST - Round 1

7/16 Weathertech Laguna Seca (AHRMA Classic MotoFest™); Monterey, CAST - Round 2

7/29 Clarksville Speedway; Clarksville, TN - 3/8 mile

8/7-11 Jack Pine Gypsies; Sturgis, SD

8/12 Jack Pine Gypsies; Sturgis, SD Championship

10/21 Beaver Creek Raceway; Toney, AL - ST 11/4 T&S Racing; Henryetta, OK - ST

2023 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA National Post Vintage Motocross Series

Date Venue

2/19 Waldo Motorsporst; Waldo, FL

3/5 Motoland MX Park; Casa Grande, AZ

4/2 Farm 14; Centreville, MS

4/30 Muddy Creek MX; Blountville, TN

5/28 Two Rivers Racing; Milliken, CO

6/11 Desoto Motorsports Park; Grand Cane, LA

6/18 HLR Motorsports Park; Moberly, MO

7/9 Shady Acres; Friendsville, MD

7/16 Weathertech Laguna Seca (AHRMA Classic MotoFest™); Monterey, CA

7/16 Honda Hills; Thornville, OH

TBA The Ridge; Sanford, NC

9/3 Bear Creek Sportsman; Hancock, NY

9/10 Diamond Don’s; Jefferson, TX

10/15 Mill Creek Motorsport Park; Combs, AR

11/6 T&S Racing; Henryetta, OK

2023 AHRMA

REGIONAL SCHEDULES

2023 AHRMA Northeast Schedule

Date Event Disciplines

4/29 Irish Valley; Paxinos, PA Cross Country

4/30 Irish Valley; Paxinos, PA Motocross

5/6 TBA Practice; Fulton, NY Practice

5/7 TBA Practice; Fulton, NY Practice

5/20 Lamoka; Bradford, NY Cross Country

5/21 Lamoka; Bradford, NY Motocross

6/9 Unadilla; New Berlin; NY Cross Country

6/10 Unadilla; New Berlin; NY Motocross - V / PV Pre-1978

6/11 Unadilla; New Berlin; NY Motocross - PV / NG

6/24 Ashcraft Run; Bellefonte, PA Motocross

6/25 Ashcraft Run; Bellefonte, PA Cross Country

7/15 State Line Riders; N. Pownal, VT Cross Country

7/16 State Line Riders; N. Pownal, VT Motocross

7/29 Allen’s Farm; Lawton, PA Cross Country

7/30 Allen’s Farm; Lawton, PA Motocross

8/19 TBA MX; NY Motocross

8/20 TBA MX; NY Motocross

9/2 Bear Creek Sportsmen; Hancock, NY National - Cross Country and Motocross

9/3 Bear Creek Sportsmen; Hancock, NY

9/16 Kelso Creek Classic; Minerva, NY Cross Country

9/17 Kelso Creek Classic; Minerva, NY Motocross

9/30 French Woods; Hancock, NY Cross Country

10/1 French Woods; Hancock, NY Motocross

10/7 TBA MX; NY Motocross

10/8 Cayuga County Riders; King Ferry, NY Cross Country and Motocross

10/21 White Rose MC; Spring Grove, PA Motocross

10/22 White Rose MC; Spring Grove, PA Cross Country

Championship Criteria for Cross Country and Motocross are:

Six (6) events minimum to qualify for regional championship and year-end awards.

Best seven (7) events count toward points championship.

2023 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA National NextGen MX Series

Date Venue

2/19 Waldo Motorsports; Waldo, FL

3/5 Motoland MX Park; Casa Grande, AZ

4/2 Farm 14; Centreville, MS

4/30 Muddy Creek MX; Blountville, TN

5/28 Two Rivers Racing; Milliken, CO

6/11 Desoto Motorsports Park; Grand Cane, LA

6/18 HLR Motorsports Park; Moberly, MO

7/9 Shady Acres; Friendsville, MD

7/16 Weathertech Laguna Seca (AHRMA Classic MotoFest™); Monterey, CA

7/16 Honda Hills; Thornville, OH

TBA The Ridge; Sanford, NC

9/3 Bear Creek Sportsman; Hancock, NY

10/15 Mill Creek Motorsport Park; Combs, AR

11/6 T&S Racing; Henryetta, OK

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Schedules and venues are subject to change, Visit regional websites for up to date information

2023 AHRMA Mid-Atlantic Schedule

Date Event Disciplines

4/15 Rocket Run; Three Springs, PA Motocross

4/16 Rocket Run; Three Springs, PA Cross Country

4/29 Irish Valley; Paxinos, PA Cross Country

4/30 Irish Valley; Paxinos, PA Motocross

5/20-21 S.P.E.R.; Frackville, PA Cross Country

6/24 Ashcraft Run; Bellefonte, PA Motocross

6/25 Irish Valley; Paxinos, PA Cross Country

7/8-9 Shady Acres; Friendsville, MD National & Regional Cross Country Motocross

7/30 Allens Farm; Lawton, PA Motocross

8/12-13 Coyote Run; Ebensburg; PA Cross Country

8/26 Reynlow Park; Reynoldsville, PA Motocross

8/27 Irish Valley; Paxinos, PA Cross Country

9/9 Kiki Valley Moto Park; Apollo, PA Motocross

9/10 Irish Valley; Paxinos, PA Cross Country

9/23 Sutton Station; Summerville, PA Motocross

9/24 Irish Valley; Paxinos, PA Cross Country

10/14 Reynlow Park; Reynoldsville, PA Motocross

10/15 Irish Valley; Paxinos, PA Cross Country

10/21 White Rose; Spring Grove, PA Motocross

10/22 Irish Valley; Paxinos, PA Cross Country

* all events are for regional points only, except Shady Acres (which will earn both regional and national points)

** all motocross events will host Vintage, Post Vintage, and NextGen competition

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SWAP MEET

WHERE AHRMA MEMBERS BUY, SELL, AND TRADE

1975 BMW R75/6

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1978 R80/7

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AHRMA BENEVOLENT FUND

The Benevolent Fund was created in 1992 as a means of helping AHRMA members in need. AHRMA offers a variety of raffles and other fundraisers benefitting the Benevolent Fund. Members also are encouraged to contribute directly.

Members in good standing for at least one year may take advantage of the fund. All applications for assistance are kept confidential. Requirements are listed in the AHRMA Handbook.

Contact Bob Goodpaster 219.942.2401 norton80_1@msn.com

A NEW BOOK by LEWIS HALE

James P. Hayes, Sr. began his storied motorcycle career in 1936. In the 2010’s Pro Motocross came to Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennessee. There were many motorcycle events “In The Heart of the Appalachians” between these years. Some of the happenings are reported in the book. Published by Fulton Books, Inc. It

AHRMA NATIONAL SAFETY SPONSOR

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