Spring Update & Regional Cross Country at Farm 14

WORDS ALBERT NEWMANN

Our 2023 race season is underway. However, we have somewhat of an auspicious start in that our Waco Eagles regional motocross and cross country weekend has been postponed twice now due to weather and will shift to the fall for a new date. It is not all bad news as we have one round of regional action completed with our Farm 14 event as well as our June 10-11 national motocross and cross country rounds at Desoto Motorsport Park coming up. The fall season will be busy in September through December so watch the schedule in back of the magazine as well as the South Central Regional page on the AHRMA website. Of note for 2023, Rhett Howell will be taking over maintaining points for the region. Racing? Yep, we got in our regional cross country at Farm 14 MX on the weekend of the national motocross program. While Mississippi is not in our region, the border location of the track to Louisiana gives us a location to split with our Southeast regional partners. Our race starter, Kevin Windham, was shocked when told that AHRMA utilizes a dead engine start. Much to his delight, it was not the regular ho-hum gate drop. Highlights of the race were the two clear leaders as Joel White, known more for his motocross skills, put a decent gap between himself and the other racers on the first lap. That was not the main highlight as out of nowhere comes Sam Burroughs. The Hanahan, North Carolina, native not only passed White on the second lap but gapped him by several football field lengths in the process. Incredible speed from Burroughs. Local Open

Age Expert Holden Babineaux and his XR200 Honda also had a great ride placing very highly amongst the leaders on the small motor bike. Holden won the Post Vintage 200 Expert class and in the Intermediate group for the 200’s was Mark White of Liberty, Mississippi, beating out Wes Wyman for the win. In the Post Vintage 50 Plus Intermediates, Rick Allen held off George Crafton to take first place, and in the 60 Plus Intermediates, Jim Voelk took the win over Doug Williams along with Carl Davis finishing third and Greg Carney fourth. The typically large Vintage 60 Plus Intermediate class had Alabama-native Larry Decker holding off Randy Holder for the win as well as third place John Mathewson. Plenty of Novice action as well with Ted Landy winning the 70 Plus Novice class after his fifty-year hiatus from off-road competition along with Kristen Sanjuan taking first place in the Post Vintage Women’s Novice, Linda Dowell winning the Vintage Women’s Novice, Luke Leger gaining gold in the Post Vintage 200 Novice, and Rusty Bernard on top of the podium for the Post Vintage 60 Plus Novice. The 8.5-mile course was a mixture of incredibly open areas and very single-track sections throughout. For a first-time event for AHRMA cross country, it went exceptionally well and will definitely be on the radar for a national event in the near future.

For any questions, concerns, ideas, or desire to become a sponsor of the region feel free to contact me at newmann.albert@gmail.com Until next month.