20 minute read
Paddock Puppies
Roebling Road Paddock Puppies
Words & Photos by: Kevin McIntosh With racing coast to coast, there is a lot of travel involved and while there are options to board our pets, taking them with us is many times the best solution for both pet and owner.
There is nothing like having a loyal pit mate to help you navigate a clutch basket swap, do a lap around the track, discuss gearing options or just close your eyes with for a little pre-race snooze... if that's even possible with two-stroke zingers flying around the track.
No matter how your race went, there is always someone happy to see you return safe and sound. They are ready to take you for a walk and talk about how things went on track, just don't forget a ball, a stick or even a 10mm wrench might work - they're not picky.
Jackpot!
Owner: Bob Cole
Desmo
Owner: James Eberhart
Mona
Owner: Kevin Rammer
Tess
Owner: Stuart Ballantyne
Lucy
Owner: John Scales
Beatrice
Owner: Denise Greimel
Tim O'Brien (driver) and Joseph Lynn (passenger)
Photo: Kevin McIntosh
Shane Quigg (762) and Robert Cole (509) Photo: etechphoto
Race 5
Was a great turnout of sidecars for the first race of the season. There were 7 classes represented and 1 new rookie crew added to the mix. There were great battles in F1 and TT2 both days, with George “Boris” Stroud & B. Stroud #111SC robbing Nicholas Bailey & Adam Cramer #603 of top honors in F1 Saturday. Bailey & Cramer did return the favor on Sunday with both crews dropping there best lap times by 2+ seconds.
In Modern Sidecar TT2 Dale Lavender’s rig #S46 with Muirisha Lavender as passenger crossed the checkered with plenty of room between then a 2nd Place Tony Doukas & Lisa Doukas #8NZ. Dutch Stivason and Jerry Hoag #47S brought up the rear for the final podium spot Saturday. Sunday’s results were the same, but it should be noted, the Doukas crew definitely brought their game as they shaved the finish line gap from 4.690 Seconds to 0.994 seconds. Nice racing.
It should also be noted that Tim Joyce’s Super Vintage SC2 #309 rig was clipping off some pretty modern sidecar lap times, nice riding! Race 6
The battle for the top spot in Sound of Thunder 2 was fierce on Saturday. Shane Quigg #762 motored to the checkered first, with Mark Tenn #22A squeaking out 2nd and Clint Austin #720 grabbing 3rd just a half a second behind Quigg.
On Sunday, Nathan Kern came out of the shadows and put all three top finishers from Saturday’s SOT 2 battle on notice. Kern grabbed the top spot, with a healthy 12+ second gap at the finish line pushing the best weekend lap time to 1:17.212. Austin improved to 2nd, pushing Quigg down to 3rd. Would also like to acknowledge Gary Orr #111 for sorting out his issues from Saturday’s race and coming back to finish a strong 4th place on Sunday. Also included in race 6 was a new exhibition class call Formula Lightning Extreme for the latest production electric race bikes out there. While the class only had one rider on the grid, Peter Nicolosi #1I, made the most of his track time and put down impressive numbers with a fastest lap of 1:24.923 and best average speed of 85.631 mi/h.
Peter Nicolosi Photo: etechphoto
Roebling Road to good times
Tsutomu "Tom" Okada made his way to Roebling from Gardena, CA. He took the AAR school, passed the class and went racing. It wasn't easy, but racing never is, especially while keeping your 1968 Yamaha DT1 two-stroke happy doing it
This was Alex Spanos' first race weekend with us and by his smile, you can tell he was loving ever minute of it... welcome Alex (#L29 SOT3)
Chris Haesmeyer & Thomas Ryan striking a pose before practice
Stopped by Sakis Vasilopoulos' spot Friday night and was lucky enough to hear a few stories of his racing and life experiences. From racing in his home country of Greece to engine timing gone horribly wrong... it was time well spent. Colton Roberts getting an early morning push start from Ryker Hollingsworth Tim Joyce gets a little help parking his 1939 Indian Scout
From R to L: Dale lavender (In the sweet Ponys), Eric Trosper, Danell Lavender (Dale's wife) then Milan Lavender (Dale's daughter and the monkey on Dale's F2 rig) then Bryan Koors (Milan's boyfriend) and front left Celia Trosper, Eric's wife and monkey
Peter Nicolosi showing off how you charge the Energica Ego electric race bike and some Oatmeal Pies to charge himself, a suprise gift from fellow racers to keep the mood light in the pits
Kyle Boisclair and his father the "world famous" RV Rick, who is the official unofficial RV handiman in Paddock. Your RV sick? find Rick! Rik Gould using the last bit of sunlight to get ready for the next day's racing
Never hard to find where Ralph Wessell is pitted Tony Read takes the first 500 Premier Vintage Cup Win of the season
John Kern gets prepped to head out for practice
Stuart Ballantyne, a born Scotsman and source of many a sidecar story, standing by F1 shell.
Stuart's Naked F1 Sidecar. What a difference the shell makes!
Race 7
Alex McLean wasted no time leaving his fellow Classic Sixties participants behind and joining the Classic Sixties 650 group for an evenly matched battle to the finish. McLean bested them all by just over a second for 1st in his class. John Rickard #864 grabbed 1st from Mike Baker #17C by .191 of a second and Jake Hall #588 was right behind just over a second behind Bob Lewin (724) Formula 125 battles with for 3rd to round out David Kaufman (C73) Classic Sixties 650 Photo: Kevin McIntosh the Classic Sixties podium.
Sportsman 500 was a bit of a cluster, with lots of DNSs, even
On Sunday, Nathan Kern once again made his presence known (remember race 6 SOT 2) and took the BOT1 900cc-Open win by a decent margin of 6.640 seconds. He also made sure no one would forget him, keeping by stomping out the the 2020 fastest competitive Champ, Eric lap of the weekend Cook #1P, in the with a 1:16:814. Orr pits on Saturday. took home 2nd place and Paul This gave Michael Vance climbed up from 5th to snag 3rd, Murray #072 a clear path chopping over 20 seconds off his total track to victory, with David Bossert time from Saturday. Nice work Paul! #56D 2nd and Herm Narciso #D33 in Formula Vintage was clean grid both Saturday and 3rd. On Sunday, the only consistent thing was Murray Sunday, no DNSs, just solid racing from David Crussell making the podium, but this time in 2nd, while Cook #117 who grabbed 1st on Saturday away from found his way to the grid, laid down some solid laps Mark Morrow #909 by 1.294 seconds. and took the win 2.380 seconds ahead of Murray. Brad Coleman #77R settled for 3rd Hunter Longshore #999 found his way into 3rd, while Saturday just 3.869 seconds Narciso posted a DNS. behind, but came back
Formula 125 had a strong showing from Colton Sunday for the win ahead Roberts #9, taking 1st both days. Things got of Crussell and Will Brint interesting for 2nd and 3rd both days with Bob Lewin #118 who inched out #724, Greyson Rogers #805 and Randy Knoop #17G Morrow for the final mixing it up Saturday and Sunday. Lewin took 2nd on spot. Sat and 3rd went to Rogers on Saturday and Knoop Motard numbers improved from 4th to 2nd on Sunday, pushing Lewin were light this down to 3rd.. round, but luckily Daniel Peter #1J had Race 8 a decent shovel
Another great battle for first place in Saturday’s BOT and dug himself 1 900cc-Open, with .677 of a second separating the top out of the recent 3 spots. Brian Larrabure #14 took the top podium spot snowstorm that hit on Saturday, with Mark Tenn #22A 2nd and Gary Orr Chicago and made #111 in 3rd. his way to Roebling.
Unfortunately, that shovel wouldn’t help him get to the top of the podium either Saturday or Sunday as Eric Block #922 had his number Saturday, which was 3 seconds at the finish line. Andrea Fregonese #30X took 3rd on Saturday and 2nd on Sunday.
Race 9 200 Grand Prix Plus had a healthy grid of 13 participants on Saturday, but top honors for both days was quickly established by Rob Hall #270 and finished both days with gaps of 30+ seconds between he and 2nd place John Scales #294 on Saturday and Don Hollingsworth #950 on Sunday. 3rd place went to Lorraine Crussell who didn’t give up 2nd place easily either day.
Saturday’s Class C Footshift was a warm-up to Sunday’s battle between Alex McLean #122 and David Tompkins #33Q, with just .614 of second between them at the checkered. Grant Spence #24 rounded out the top three on Sunday.
Tim Joyce #309 and Ralph Wessell #81 danced for 8 laps in Class C Handshift, with Joyce victorious by the slim margin of .542 seconds on Saturday. The Wind must have gotten the best of Wessell on Sunday as the gap widened to 18.985 seconds. Luke Conner #69 held the 3rd spot both days.
Would also like to give a shout out to the newest member of the Handshift grid, Stephen Aretz #244 and his ’45 flat head handshift Harley-Davidson. Stephen not only passed the race school, won “most colorful mask award” during class, but also finished a solid 5th during both days of racing. Welcome to the fold Stephen!
Race 10
The action built up over the weekend in Next Gen Superbike Lightweight, with Harry Vanderlinden #32V and Brad Coleman #77R making it interesting on Saturday with Vanderlinden taking the win by .710 of a second and David Wallace #139 grabbing 3rd. On Sunday things got really interesting in Next Gen, with multiple battles for the top three spots. Coleman and Vanderlinden were at it again for the top spot, with Coleman just getting by at the line. Keith Powell #42 and Shawn Smith #91 both had dibs on 3rd causing a few “puckering” moments throughout the race. The last podium spot was decided by .012 of a second with Powell finding the flag first. Formula Thunder found James Eberhart #245 turning the tables on Jim Padron #15R from race 2 and taking home the win on Saturday by .930 of a second. Scott Billings #35R and Mark Tenn #22A rounded out the top four with a great battle to the finish. On Sunday Jim Padron finally caught wind of Nathan Kern's arrival to the grid and stayed one step ahead or .790 of a second ahead at the finish line. Gary Orr #111 jumped from 6th on Saturday to 3rd on Sunday.
Race 11
It was a full grid in race 11 with 3 classes, 30 riders and 20 of them in Sound of Singles 3. Ralph Staropoli #80L set the pace both days, taking home 1st in Sound of Singles, followed by Stewart Aitken-Cade #251 and Thomas Teather #35T on Saturday. Teather stepped up to 2nd on Sunday, with Edward Blount #55C slipping right behind for 3rd on Sunday.
On Sunday the 250 Grand Prix was a battle of Aermacchis between Don Hollingsworth #950 and David Roper #1B, with Roper fending of a final push by
Hollingsworth at the finish with just .315 of a second between them.
Race 12
Fighting to the finish. Lorraine Crussell (917) chasing John Scales in the 200GP Plus class Photo: Kevin McIntosh
This was an interesting one as the individual class leaders sped off; the rest of the riders mixed it up between classes, having a good old time. The Thruxton Cup Challenge riders mixed it up with the Next Gen Superbike Middle Weight riders, while welcoming Kevin Rammer #1V to the mix from Vintage Superbike Middleweight.
Michael Burns #4M, Clint Austin #1a, Harry Vanderlinden #32V, Stan Keyes #7 and Kevin Rammer #1V all took top honors in their respective classes both days. Next Gen Superbike 2 on Sunday saw the best action with a five-way battle for the 2nd and 3rd between Eric Burrell #6E, Scott Billings #35R, Jim Padron #15R, Ervin Kollek #4X and Jeff Nelson #020. Burrell got the best of Billings and Padron found just enough space to keep Kollek and Nelson at bay for 3rd.
Race awards included the new AHRMA Brand Logo Logo & Photo: Kevin McIntosh
Brad Coleman (77R) and Harry Vanderlinden (32) in Next Gen Superbike Lightweight Photo: etechphoto
Race 13 The final race of the day was the Morrow, Read and Orloff show. While Mark Morrow #909 cleaned up in Formula 500 on Saturday, he was simply showing the 500 Premier Vintage Cup riders, Tony
Read #176 and Wes Orloff #74, the way around the track in preparation for Sunday. Tony and Wes were definitely taking notes on Saturday and came out of the gate Sunday nipping at Morrow’s heels the whole race. Mark had to step up his game to fend off both attackers and was able to sweat it out for a final win of the race weekend. Oh wait, Read and Orloff weren’t even in same class as Morrow, I forgot, it was just that close and such great way to end the first AHRMA road race weekend of 2021. On to Kershaw!
MARK MORROW'S CORNER
AHRMA ACADEMY OF ROADRACING HEADMASTER
It has been a week since the final red flag flew at CMP, and there has been a lot of discussion about the how, the why, and how do we fix it? I’d like to touch on a couple points.
Bob Demetrius had a great suggestion: that all racers review the standard flag procedures. He mentioned a crazy moment when he was reeling in another racer on the back straight when a yellow flag came out. The bike he was slowly catching suddenly hit the brakes and Bob was lucky enough to barely miss him and avoided a horrible accident.
I competed in four races last weekend and experienced a career high NINE red flags in those four races. In those nine red flags, I myself witnessed several situations just like Bob’s and also had the additional experience of having a racer blow by me very close on a red flag, going well over 100 MPH, while I was going about 50. I fully agree with Bob that a review of section 3.7 is in order. I’ve listed the rules from the rulebook and added a little perspective below:
Stationary yellow flag:
Potentially dangerous situation either on or off the track. You may pass and you do not have to slow down.
I teach my students this is a “heads up” flag. Keep on racing but be aware that a mistake in this area could have potentially worse results. Only slow if it looks like maintaining race pace there will put people at risk. Otherwise, carry on as normal.
Waving yellow flag:
Dangerous situation on the track. No passing allowed.
Note that you are not REQUIRED to slow down, but there is a good chance you will need to. This doesn’t mean keep it pinned and “send it!” through the section, but it does mean that suddenly slowing down could make an already bad situation worse. The reality is that most yellow flags will result in a slight reduction in pace, but you should NEVER just chop the throttle and park it. It all depends on the situation. If you cannot see what is causing the waving yellow, then it’s a good idea to back off a little just in case there is a sudden surprise around then next bend. But if you can see the cause and it isn’t a factor in your safety, it is a better practice to maintain a safe speed and get past the incident. The key element is to never “slam on the brakes.”
Red flag:
Racing is suspended. Safely reduce speed and report back to hot pit for further instruction. Whenever you see a red flag, before you do anything, PUT YOUR HAND UP IN THE AIR, count to three and SLOWLY roll off the gas. Reduce speed. The rulebook states: “approximately 25 MPH,” but I will be suggesting that this be amended to “no more than 50% race pace” during the next rules review period. A straight MPH figure doesn’t allow for the differences between short tracks and long tracks. This procedure is different than what many track day organizations recommend, (many recommend 80-90% race pace!) and this is a good reason why there are so many cases of dangerously close closing speeds on red flags. It is imperative to get slowed down, but you must make sure you are seen first and slow down gradually.
One last thing I would like to talk about is new racers. If you haven’t noticed, we have retired the old safety vests and switched to blue t-shirts. The new shirts look great and are easy to see, but there were several incidents this weekend that saw new riders being stood up, parked or even hit by more experienced racers. Remember that all of us wore a vest or t-shirt over our leathers at one point. You are giving them extra room not just for their safety, but for yours as well. Thanks to Bob for the excellent suggestion! I will use this space going forward to address racing education, both for speed and safety. If anyone has a particular technique, problem corner or safety question they would like to see discussed here, please email me at Roadracing.academy@ahrma.org and maybe your question/suggestion will be here next month.
Till next time!
Mark
THE DICK MANN TEAM CHALLENGE IS BASED ON TEAMS MADE UP OF ONE COMPETITOR FROM EACH AHRMA COMPETITION DISCIPLINE
Dick Mann Team Challege 2021 Points v1.0 3/11/21 Round 1 DICK MANN CHALLANGE ROUND 1 RESULTS
Jan. 16 Feb . 20 March 7 March 6 March 6 Total Top 4 Priceville Roebling Cahuilla Cahuilla Cahuilla
Name Discipline Class
Points Points Dirt TrackRoadrace Vintage MX Cross Country Trials
Team A 70 70Dick Mann Team Challege 2021 Points
Luke Sayer Cross CountryPremier v1.0 3/11/21 25
Round 1
Beno Rodi Dirt Track 750 Sportsman 25 25 Jan. 16 Feb . 20 March 7 March 6 March 6 Ron Melton Road Race 500 Premier 0 Total Top 4 0 Priceville Roebling Cahuilla Cahuilla Cahuilla Rob Poole Trials Premier Heavyweight 20 Name Discipline Class Points Points Dirt TrackRoadrace Vintage MX Cross Country Trials Ronald Smith VMX Team A Premier 500
0 070 70
Team B Luke Sayer Cross CountryPremier
25 Michael StivasonCross CountryClassic Beno Rodi Dirt Track 750 Sportsman Ron Melton Road Race 500 Premier 25 0
20 20 0 25 Hunter LongshoreDirt Track Seventies Singles 0Rob Poole Trials Premier Heavyweight 20
0
0
Stuart Carter Road Race 500 Premier Ronald Smith VMX Premier 500
0 0 0 25
0
20 25
0 20
Al Anderberg VMX Premier 500Michael StivasonCross CountryClassic 0 20 Team C Hunter LongshoreDirt Track Seventies Singles 0 Stuart Carter Road Race 500 Premier 0 65 65 0 Debbie Poole Cross CountryClassic Mark Sturtevant Trials Premier Lightweight 0 25
Tim Grow Dirt Track Al Anderberg VMX Premier 500 20 0
Chuck Crocco Road Race 500 Premier Team C
0 65 65 0 0
0
20 . 0 20
0
Matt Parsons Trials Premier Heavyweight 25 Debbie Poole Cross CountryClassic 25 Kelly Shane VMX Tim Grow Dirt Track Premier 500 0 15 0 Team D Chuck Crocco Road Race 500 Premier 0 Matt Parsons Trials Premier Heavyweight 25 95 95 . 0 Dennis Brown Cross CountryPremier Kelly Shane VMX Premier 500 15 0 David Aldana Dirt Track Seventies Singles 25 Team D 95 95
25
Winner Round# 1
25
15
Wes Orloff Road Race 500 Premier Dennis Brown Cross CountryPremier 0 20 Tyrus Wilson Trials Premier Lightweight 25 David Aldana Dirt Track Seventies Singles 25 25 Cliff Mee VMX Premier 500Wes Orloff Road Race 500 Premier 20 Tyrus Wilson Trials Premier Lightweight 25 25 Team E Cliff Mee VMX Premier 500 25 25 25 20 20
0
25 15
25
2525
Chad Bebout Cross CountryClassic Team E
0 25 25 0 Colton Roberts Dirt Track Seventies Singles 0 Chad Bebout Cross CountryClassic 0
0
Larry Poons Road Race 500 Premier Colton Roberts Dirt Track Seventies Singles 0 0 0 0 Robert Bellicitti Trials Premier Lightweight 25 Michael Miller VMX Premier 500 0 0 Larry Poons Road Race 500 Premier 0 0 Robert Bellicitti Trials Premier Lightweight 25 25 Michael Miller VMX Premier 500 0 0 25
0
0 0
25
25
25
Notes: Notes:
Points awarded as follows: 1st place in an event = 25 points; 2nd = 20; 3rd = 15; 4th = 10; 5th = 5; 6th or higher = 0 points. Points awarded as follows: 1st place in an event = 25 points; 2nd = 20; 3rd = 15; 4th = 10; 5th = 5; 6th or higher = 0 points. For Total Team points, each team's top four point-scoring riders will be counted to minimize the impact of natural attrition on a team's performance. For Total Team points, each team's top four point-scoring riders will be counted to minimize the impact of natural attrition on a team's performance. For multi-day events, a rider's best finish among the multiple days will be counted. For multi-day events, a rider's best finish among the multiple days will be counted.
