AHRMA Classic MotoFest™ in the Heartland

AHRMA Swag stand photo: Kevin McIntosh Wes Poole’s Beezercrosser photo: Kevin McIntosh

Heaven oN

words: Jim Doyle -Heartland Classic MotoFest Event Coordinator

Wheels

Well, the Classic MotoFest in the Heartland is in the books. If you didn’t make this, you missed one heck of an event. From my view, all the hours of work and planning were totally worth it. Seeing the smiling fans, workers and competitors told the story of the event. This was the first time in over twenty years that AHRMA was able to bring all disciplines together in one location. The very first of three (annual) Classic MotoFests showcased over 1300 competition entries during the event and a successful swap meet that will double in size for 2022 based on swap meet attendee feedback. The vintage bike show—with awards on Saturday—was well attended and showcased a very nice collection of proper vintage and classic examples. Livestreaming was used at the event for several of the shows and competitions. The hit of Friday evening was the All AHRMA Party. The very talented band, Crossroads 7, sponsored by Underground Racing Team (811) and Topeka HarleyDavidson, played our rock and country favorites. It was great seeing off-road and roadrace members enjoying the entertainment all together. A real hit that night was the pit bike slow race competition during band breaks. A wonderful evening for all. As I walked through the exhibitor area Saturday afternoon, I overheard a spectator on his phone, “Dude—where are you? This place is crazy. Something going on everywhere. Get here now.” I randomly would ask are you having a good time and would be thanked for bringing this to Topeka. A common question, “When do the sidecars run?” The first ever AHRMA vintage classic drag race event was Saturday night sponsored by Luke’s Racecraft. Exciting times watching vintage racers take the green light at the Heartland Motorsports Park world championship dragstrip. For me personally, a highlight was leading on-track parade laps for special spectators and having David Aldana ride as my sweep rider. Seroj Terian graciously loaned his winning race-prepped Harley 1200 Sportster for David to ride. When I told David what I had for him to ride, the ex-BSA factory rider looked at me and said, “Jim, I thought you were my friend.” We all enjoyed the on-track experience and I’m sure fans got a kick seeing Aldana taking laps on the road course. Oh, and not to forget, the great volunteers at this event. An event of this size cannot be accomplished without the outstanding AHRMA volunteers and

Hodaka trials bike photo: James Briery

Fred Traskowsy’s Yamaha IT photo: Kevin McIntosh

Saturday night street party slow race elimination heat between a young rider and Dewanna Comer photo: Kevin McIntosh

David Rutherford talking to his B50 photo: Kevin McIntosh Vintage iron, prized possessions of Mike Parker (15P), Chris Todd (462T) and Dallas Winter (26D) photo: James Briery

Tyson Fritz and his freshlyminted Honda twin photo: Kevin McIntosh What we do ‘in between’ photo: Kevin McIntosh

staff. From parking competitors, to getting members registered in. Local area volunteers like the Christian Motorcycle Association members came out in numbers to support us as well. Individuals from surrounding communities showed up to be a part of our success. A something- for-everyone event. If you didn’t make it this year, don’t miss it next year. AHRMA has already committed to returning to Topeka for Memorial weekend 2022. Get it on your calendar to be at this world class facility for a top flite experience for competitors and spectators alike.

#820: Mitchell Barnes, #215: Stuart Sanders photo: Kevin McIntosh

road race

words by: Joe W. Koury

The 2021 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA National Historic Cup Roadracing Series moved to Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, KS, for rounds nine and ten. This was also AHRMA’s first Classic MotoFest with trials, cross country and motocross right across the street, vintage drag racing on Saturday night, a swap meet and bike show. We even had a street party with a great live band and an entertaining slow race. My son and I (The Joes) were anxious to make the relatively short trip after waiting two long years to return and enjoy this fine facility and racetrack. In 2019, we endured high winds and unseasonably hot temperatures hovering around 100 degrees. This year, Mother Nature flip-flopped on us; heavy rain and cold temps drowned the entire Thursday practice program, but the weather Friday through Sunday was cool and pleasant. We would also like to welcome the 19 new riders who graduated from Mark Morrow’s AHRMA Academy of Roadracing on Friday.

#X82: sidecar Eric Trosper, Celia Trosper passenger photo: Steve Quinn

RACE ONE

Chris Akaydin grabbed the holeshot in the Le Mans start CB160 race followed by John Scales. Akaydin’s shift linkage gave up early in the race and Scales cruised to the win with Joe Koury finishing in second from his back row start. Tim Terrell completed the podium. On Sunday, Akaydin’s linkage repairs held up and he finished 10 seconds ahead of Koury with John Scales taking third. Charles Miller and Tim Terrell had quite an exciting and close race for 5th place. Alex McLean easily won the Pre-1940 race on a 1937 Norton Manx over Ralph Wessell and his 1937 Indian with the 1940 Indian Scout of Blake Wilson in third. They repeated the finishing order on Sunday

RACE TWO

Seroj Terian won the Thruxton Cup Challenge race by four seconds over reigning champion, Clint Austin,

#309: Tim Joyce, 500 Premier winner photo: etech #19: Chris Spargo on his Yamaha RD400 photo: James Briery

with Gregory Glevicky grabbing third. Terian repeated on Sunday, followed by Patrick McGraw and Charles Steinman. Jeremy Maddrill beat Kyle Boisclair in the Phillip Island Challenge race and won again on Sunday. Dennis Donahoe finished first in BEARS and Herb Haigh took top honors in Novice Historic Production Heavyweight both days.

RACE THREE

Too Hipp Racing’s father/son team traveled from California to split wins Saturday and Sunday in the Sportsman 500 class. It was too tight racing with father Stephen losing to son Kevin by less than a second on Saturday. Dad whipped Kevin on Sunday by an even narrower margin. Simon Brown finished third both days. In Classic Sixties, Alex McLean rode his ’62 Norton Manx to a ten second victory over Dave Tompkins’ Vincent with Patrick McGraw less than a second behind Dave on Saturday. Greg Tomlinson and John Rickard swapped victories in Classic Sixties 650. G.T. also rode another Triumph in Cross Country competition. Colton Roberts (Yamaha RD250) built a large lead over Marc Brown (’69 Honda CB350) and Jarl Wathne (’76 Honda CB400F) in Saturday’s Formula 250 battle. Joseph Ackley (Yamaha RD250) wanted in on the action Sunday and beat Colton by a half-second with Marc Brown third.

RACE FIVE There were three guys named Chris (Akaydin, Spargo and Haesemeyer) winning races this weekend. Haesemeyer (Triumph 675) grabbed his first hardfought win over Gary Orr (BMW R9T Racer) by two seconds in Saturday’s Formula Thunder clash. Orr

#94: Ryan Rader photo: etech

RACE FOUR

Saturday’s Next Gen Superbike 2 finish: James Milroy, Kurt Klein, Jim Padron. Padron won on Sunday followed by Klein and Brian Larrabure. Ralph Staropoli checked out early in both of the SOS3 races with Dave Frick in second. Edward Blount was third on Saturday and Jeff Whittemore took the final podium step on Sunday. Adam Harrison won Saturday’s Next Gen Superbike Middleweight race (’93 Honda CBR600F2) over Jonathan Hollingsworth (’89 Yamaha FZR400) and Shawn Smith (’89 Kawasaki EX500). Sunday it was Jonathan’s turn to win by a big margin with Harry Vanderlinden (’90 Honda Hawk GT) and Shawn Smith in a close battle for second eventually won by Vanderlinden. David Eulberg won both Vintage Superbike Middleweight races on a 1981 Ducati Pantah over Paul Elledge and Matt Joy on day one. Day two, it was Rick Richter second and Jeremy Maddrill third.

#80: Chris Haesemeyer photo: James Briery #6T: Teddy Honan, #18: William Kaszer photo: etech

won on Sunday followed by Brian Dobrowolski and a tight battle for third that Brett Folkerts won over Jim Padron and Patrick Lansu. We were pitted at turn eight, the chicane, and watched several adrenalinpumped riders straighten the turn right into wet grass and puddles, but no one went down. BOT2 was the Tony Prust show both days over Clint Austin and Bob Robbins. Randy Sullinger won Next Gen Superbike Lightweight on his Yamaha FZR400 over Andrew Mauk (Honda VF500F) and Shawn Smith Saturday. He had a margin in Sunday’s win, but behind him Monty Stauffer, Andrew Mauk and Jonathan Hollingsworth were separated by just one second. Great racing.

RACE SIX

Sidecar time. Brett Leveque (driver) and Brian Dobrowolski (passenger) won Modern USF1 in their Shelbourne screamer both days. In Modern TT2, Dale Lavender (driver) and daughter Muirisha Lavender (passenger) split wins with Tony Doukas (driver) and Lisa Doukas (passenger). They always put on a show, never more than one or two seconds apart. In the Super Vintage class, Tim Joyce (driver) and Renee Schuelke (passenger) won Saturday with Eric Trosper (driver) and Celia Trosper (wife and passenger) taking second and Steve Baugh (driver) and Keith Adams (passenger) finishing third. The Lost Era team of Jacob Trosper (driver) and Emily Mauser (passenger) won both races. Formula Classic, both days, was a win for Paul Koehler (driver) and Andrea Blake (passenger). Vintage SC1 was a double win for Michael Platt (driver) and Karna Kerr (passenger).

#10P sidecar Michael Platt driver, Karna Kerr passenger photo: etech

RACE SEVEN

This was a fine combination of two different classes, Formula 500 and 500 Premier. (500 Premier is the 2021 Featured Vintage Cup.) It was a Chris Spargo/ Mark Morrow RD400 showdown in Formula 500 with Spargo getting a narrow win on Saturday and a little more breathing room for his victory on Sunday. Dan Sokolich (Saturday) and Martin Morrison (Sunday) finished third. They mixed it up with the highly competitive 500 Premier class which included fast riders and a nice assortment of vintage racers: Tim Joyce (’62 BMW R-50); Andrew Mauk (’69 Honda CB450); Wes Orloff (’67 Honda 450); Dave Roper (1970 Harley Davidson ERTT); Tony Read (’71 BSA B50); Jerry Duke (’67 Ducati 350 Scrambler); Andy Findling (’61 BSA Gold Star); Colton Roberts (’67 Triumph T100). On the first lap it was tight: Spargo, Orloff, Joyce, Mauk, Morrow, Roper, Duke, Read. Morrow moved up a few positions to keep Spargo in sight, but the Orloff/Joyce/Mauk train was beginning to leave the station and gap the other Premier 500 competitors. On lap three, Orloff came into the chicane too hot and had to straighten the turn, losing several positions. He would eventually get back around Tony Read but ran out of laps. Joyce took the win with Mauk four seconds back and Dave Roper third. On Sunday, Orloff led Joyce and Mauk for four laps, once again the three riders hooked up like a train and putting some distance on the rest of the pack. Wes was on the big front drum brake hard entering turn eight causing the rear end

of the bike to squirm. It was pretty gutsy. On lap five, Mauk passed Joyce and Findling finds the mud after going straight through eight. But on lap six, Orloff went to the well one too many times entering the chicane and straightened it out again. He recovered quickly and came back onto the track. Traffic was snarled enough for Joyce to get ahead of Mauk. He held on for a 1.1 second win with Orloff 1.3 seconds behind Mauk. Not bad for an old-but-very-special BMW’s first crack at the 500 Premier.

RACE EIGHT

SOT3 was a race long battle between Chris Haesemeyer and John Dueser with a couple lead changes on Saturday. Haesemeyer won by less than two seconds on Saturday over Dueser with Zach Thomas third. It was Zach’s turn to chase Chris on Sunday. He took the lead on lap three, but it didn’t stick. He was right there at the finish though. Chris won by less than a half second with John Dueser third. Sportsman 750 was, once again, a Jeff Hargis and Matt Esterline showdown. Jeff won both days, but Matt gave him all he wanted on Sunday. Michael Dixon and Bruce Sass completed the podiums. Mark Hoyt (Yamaha FZ09) won the Vintage Superbike Heavyweight race over Dennis Parrish (Honda CB900F) Saturday with Will Brint (Honda CBX) third. Sunday it was Parrish, Brint and Kyle Boisclair (Kawasaki KZ650).

RACE NINE

Tim Joyce rode his ’39 Indian to victory over Ralph Wessell and Blake Wilson (both on ’37 Indians) in Class C Handshift both days. Alex McLean won both Class C Footshift races on a ’37 Norton Manx over Dave Tompkins (’48 Vincent Comet) and Grant Spence (’50 AJS 350). Saturday’s Novice Historic Production Lightweight finishing order: Beasley Ayers, Corey Golla, Winston Spencer. Mitch Skaggs won on Sunday over Ayers by a whisker with Golla third. Chris Spargo clawed his way through the pack after a bad start on his ’68 Yamaha YCS1 after Chris Akaydin built a six second lead over John Scales and Joe Koury. Spargo passed Akaydin on the last lap and Akaydin tossed it in turn 14 trying to return the favor. Scales would fade after his shift linkage failed but managed to finish a distant third behind Koury. On Sunday, Spargo grabbed an early lead. Akaydin chased him but never closed the gap finishing 12 seconds back. Mitch Barnes and John Scales chased Joe Koury the entire race, but Koury held on to finish third by a scant .2 seconds.

RACE TEN

BOT1 featured quite a battle between Randy Sullinger and Gary Orr. Orr led the early laps, but Sulllinger nipped him at the line by a tenth of a second on Saturday with Paul Canale in third. Orr won Sunday’s race by two seconds over Sullinger with Brian Larrabure third. Mike Harlow won both Motard races over Paul Elledge and Ryan Rader. Saturday’s Formula Vintage race finishing order: Jeff Hargis, Matt Esterline, Dennis Parrish. Will Brint won on Sunday followed by Parrish and Keith Powell.

RACE ELEVEN

The 350 Sportsman class always entertains, and Marc Brown beat Kevin and Stephen Hipp on Saturday, Kevin finishing ahead of Stephen by a tenth of a second. Sunday’s finish was a thriller with Kevin first, Brown second and Stephen third all finishing within one second of each other. Dave Roper won 350GP on Saturday over Alex McLean and Walt Fulton. Sunday’s finishing order: McLean, Fulton, Jerry Duke. Matthew Joy (Suzuki GS450E) won Vintage Superbike Lightweight both days over Bruce Sass and John Rickard both riding Yamaha singles. This is a fun class and easy to build a bike without breaking the bank. Come race with us! Chris Spargo won Saturday’s Formula 125 race. I had a heck of

#91: Shawn Smith, #02: Jonathan Hollinsworth, #32: Harry Vanderlinden, #008: Monty Stauffer in Next Gen Superbike Lightweight photo: James Briery

#66: Chuck Crocco, #143: David Campbell photo: etech

#M7: Jacob Trosper driver, Emily Mauser passenger photo: James Briery #277: Ryan Ambrosew photo: etech

a time getting around Greyson Rogers and Randy Knoop to finish second. Knoop and Rogers fought to the end, Knoop just getting Rogers at the finish. I had a six-lap battle with Rogers on Sunday. I blew turn six and let Greyson by on the last lap but was able to reel him in at the finish and win by half a wheel.

RACE TWELVE

Ralph Staropoli rode his Honda NSF250R to wins both days in SOS2 followed by Mike Harlow and Dave Frick. Jim Barker and Christian Jensen split wins in the Next Gen Superbike class. Ryan Ambrose showed up on a well-developed Big D Cycle ’79 Triumph T140 and won the Formula 750 race Saturday over Kenny Cummings (’68 Norton Seely Commando) and Martin Morrison (Honda CB550). Sunday it was Ambrose, Mark Morrow (Yamaha RD400) and Cummings. It was Ryan’s first race in seven years and the first time the bike had been raced. It featured an Ed Mabrymodified stock frame, Maxton shocks, AP brakes, centerfire cylinder head, long rods an M4 exhaust and several other trick components.

#33T: Seroj Terian photo: etech

RACE THIRTEEN

In SOT1 action, Brian Dobrowolski chased Chris Haesemeyer for six laps, narrowed the gap on lap five but came up short by two seconds at the checkers with Jim Padron third. Sunday’s finishing order was the same, but Dobrowolski did tighten the gap at the finish. Ralph Staropoli rode his Honda RS250R to wins in both Open 2-Stroke races with Greg Glevicky second and Dave Frick third Saturday. Sunday’s runner-up was Frick followed by Frank Schoenbeck. Saturday’s SOS1 race was a thriller with Mike Robinson chasing Kevin Brown lap after lap. Brown won Saturday by less than a second with Brad Richtsmeier finishing third. Sunday it was a Richtsmeier/Brown/Robinson finishing order all separated by less than two seconds. Worth the price of admission, that one. Arthur Kowitz won Formula Lightning Saturday in the electron-powered class followed by Curt Comer and Richard Illman. Sunday, Comer grabbed another second behind the winner, Illman.

Race Fourteen

Whew. Almost there. Last but certainly not least, it was another Chris Haesemeyer, Gary Orr, Brian Dobrowolski throwdown of blazingly fast laps. Haesemeyer won both races with Orr second on Saturday and Dobrowolski second on Sunday by a tick. Dobrowolski ran wide in turn eight on Saturday and ended up in that annoying little ditch full of mud in the chicane. He saved it though. Haesemeyer set the weekend’s fastest lap time on Sunday, a 1:46.658.

A great big thank you to all the volunteers who make these race weekends happen. And a special thanks to Jim Doyle and crew who managed to very successfully organize and deliver AHRMA’s first Classic MotoFest.

vintage drag racing

Hookin' up!

Anticipating

Jim Korn on his H1

Sidecar vs motorbike

Grand Marshal Russ Hendron

words by: Joe W. Koury photos by: Kevin McIntosh

AHRMA Classic Drag Racing? You read it correctly. The Heartland Classic MotoFest was an AHRMA first and so was Saturday evening’s Classic Drag Racing, sponsored by Luke’s Racecraft, organized and orchestrated by AHRMA trustee, Jim Korn. We headed over to the NHRA-sanctioned quarter mile drag strip after a day of playing on the pavement to catch the racing under the lights in single elimination, king-of-the-hill format. There were three vintage classes, two superbike classes and plenty of sidecars eager to try something different. Eventually, we saw quite a few of the AHRMA roadracers enjoying the pure thrill of their bikes’ horsepower without a single twist or turn to slow them down. And power is what drag racing is all about, from building horsepower, to riding the horsepower to listening to horsepower in the grandstands. We witnessed some power; even the Motard riders and electric bikes took their unlimited runs down the strip along with many of the modern roadrace class machines. A list of a few vintage bikes participating: Jim Korn 1973 Kawasaki H1; Dennis Parrish 1974 Kawasaki Z1; Tim Terrell 1971 Honda CL350; Matt Esterline 1977 Honda CB750; Herb Haigh 1972 BMW R75/5; Michael Platt 1968 Kawasaki W1. As much as we enjoyed the AHRMA competitors, we were also impressed by the runs made by Grand Marshal Russ Hendron’s top fuel, twinengine Harley-Davidson drag bike. A big thanks to Russ from Crazy Horse Garage and bike owner, Ray Sender from Air Cooled Motors. Jim Korn also wanted to thank all the AHRMA staff who helped that weekend.

cross words by: Jeff DeBell country

Iam writing this race report from a trail boss's perspective, and it should be titled "How AHRMA Teamwork Turned Lemons into Lemonade." (Thanks, Becky Hayes, for the idea!) After a yearlong Corona delay, hopes and spirits were high for a great three-day weekend of cross country racing to augment the full MotoFest menu of roadracing, trials, motocross, Saturday night drag racing, swap meet, and bike show. I had over six miles of off-road trails laid out which included a couple of lengthy and fast grass track sections. Earlier in the week, Trampas Parker and Off-road Director Tony Paul walked the entire course, made a couple of good changes, and then topped it off by brush hogging the majority of the course. As Flounder said in Animal House, "This is gonna be great!" And then Mother Nature stepped in. The rain moved in Thursday during the wee hours, and before it moved on for good Thursday afternoon, nearly four inches of rain fell and pretty much wrecked several spots on the course. Tony went and looked at the course and came back shaking his head. Eddie Parks and I rode a lap and came in disheartened. Fred Hoess rode a lap and said, "Yeah, it's gonna be tough." When a guy with 19 Six Days gold medals says it's going to be tough, that's a sure bet that it will be brutal on the vintage bikes and less experienced riders. The schedule called

#94Y: Eric Benson Photo: Pauly Chambers

#41R: Bill Row Photo: Pauly Chambers #403: Robert McWhorter and #22E: Eric Bolin Photo: Pauly Chambers

for Vintage and Post Vintage races on Friday, with Post Vintage on Saturday and Vintage again on Sunday. Tony agonized over calling off the Friday races, a decision made even tougher considering this was our first shot out of the gate with the MotoFest concept at Heartland. Canceling Friday was the right call, however. Racing on Friday would have been miserable for everyone and would have put the course out of commission for the rest of the weekend. Friday was spent re-routing and salvaging the better parts of the course, and that is where AHRMA teamwork came into play big time. When riders found they wouldn't be riding on Friday, well over a dozen found me and volunteered their services. It would take another complete paragraph to name everyone who stepped up, but you know who you are, and the entire AHRMA cross country field owes you huge thanks for your hours of hard work. I do mean hours, too, as it took from right after breakfast to well past supper before all the work was done. The course was basically split into a four-mile east loop for Saturday and a short two-mile loop for Sunday with Vintage and Post Vintage classes racing both days. Several sections were cut completely out with new bypass trails hacked out of the cedar trees and underbrush. I cannot thank the AHRMA family enough for being part of the solution! 23 hearty souls lined up Saturday morning for the Vintage cross country. It was going to be a true test of rider and machine as a couple of ugly spots remained. The riders blasted off the line and the moment they hit the woods it was clear that the dark Kansas soil had soaked up the rain and held onto it. Corners were greasy, sloppy spots got churned into soup, and even the grass track which had a day to dry out quickly became a mess. Dry, it would have been a fun, swoopy, turny affair that could have easily been ridden in third and fourth gears, but wet it became a mile long torture test of slippery turns that got worse with each lap. Gary Broyles put his Yamaha out front in the Sportsman 200 Expert class and led the race from start to finish. Mark Sturdevant churned up the mud with his big BSA thumper for second overall, and Clayton Moore snuck his Husky by Mike Parker's Honda on the last lap to grab third overall. One of my favorites was roadracer Greg Tomlinson, "GT," who was hooting and hollering the whole time on his Triumph 500 twin. At the finish he shouted, "That was a blast!" He said he was sorry he wouldn't be able to race Sunday due to roadrace commitments. It is nice to see discipline crossover. Linda Dowell, also a roadracer, rode her first ever cross country race, and soldiered herself into a second place finish right behind Trini Cunningham. Kyle Bowen, one of the Hagerty Insurance gang, rode his first cross country as well, taking first Post Vintage 200 Novice. There were four guys from Hagerty at Heartland experiencing the MotoFest weekend. Hagerty is one of AHRMA's major sponsors, and it was nice to meet the Hagerty crew. They all thought it was a pretty nice "business trip" and we look forward to racing with them again soon. 37 Post Vintage competitors lined up joking about how they could blame the Vintage guys for messing up their track. A few Vintage riders hadn't had enough of the slop and muck and wheeled Post Vintage bikes to the line, including John Bowman, Bill Ryburn, and Mike Parker. The Open Expert class would be the one to watch for this race with Clayton Farris, Dennis Burnett and Bob Thornton intent on keeping Six Days vet Fred Hoess off the podium. I don't know what happened on the first lap, but Farris, Thornton and Burnett came through the scoring caboose 1-2-3 with Hoess way back in 23rd place. Whatever the issue was, Fred got it sorted out and was in fifth the next time around, third after 3 laps, and was first to the checkered flag after four laps of horrible, greasy trail. He later went to town and spent $25 at a car wash to get the bike cleaned up for Sunday! Dennis Murphy topped the Post Vintage 60 Experts

#308: Gary Broyles photo: Steve Quinn

on the Yamaha followed by Bill Rozell's Husky leading the Pre-Modern Intermediates. Bob Ragon (Husky) led the Post Vintage 50 Intermediates, followed by Eddie Parks (second Post Vintage 60 Expert) and the Kawasaki of Dylan Alkire who won the Post Vintage 200 Intermediate on a weekend membership. Sure hope he decides to become a full member for continued racing success. Saturday's course was tough on the Vintage field, tough on both rider and machine, but Sunday morning a dozen riders decided valor was the better part of discretion and lined up to tackle the short course. The big grass track had two days of wind and scattered sun to dry out, and although it was still fairly slick, it was a lot better than Saturday's offering. The grass track was basically one big spiral which

curved in on itself, tightening to the center where a 180-degree turn sent you back out the way you came. Thanks to Chris Carter at Motion Pro and Tahlon Vohland at Acerbis, both grass tracks were lined with literally miles of ribbon. On the big spiral, as long as you had ribbon on the side you were turning, you were good to go. It looked confusing with riders passing riders going the opposite direction just 20 yards away, but it worked well to maximize the space in the field and there were no mishaps. In a repeat of Saturday's race, Gary Broyles put his Yamaha in the lead and never looked back. He got in 10 laps before the checkers flew! Jason Cuckler, riding Post Vintage Open Novice on a Suzuki, also put in 10 laps to take second overall. Flyin' Brian #500: Jason Cuckler photo: Steve Quinn Miller showed that little bikes can do it, too, doing nine laps on his Hodaka for third overall and first Vintage 60 Intermediate. Mark Sturdevant's big BSA topped the Premier Experts at fourth overall and John Bowman rounded out the top five on his Penton Berkshire winning the Sportsman 100 Intermediate class. Three women all brought home first place awards with Becky Hayes and her trusty IT taking the Post Vintage Women's Intermediate class win, former AHRMA Board member Debbie Poole topping the Classic Intermediates on her CZ, and roadracer Linda Dowell returning for a Vintage Women's novice win aboard an SL125. God bless Bill Ryburn and his sense of humor. He toppled his steel tank Penton in a sloppy corner and stalled it. I was nearby and jogged over to help him up. His boots were muddy, and he was having a hard time kicking the bike over

#859: Eddie Parks photo: Pauly Chambers

#105: Steve Fox photo: Pauly Chambers

with his boot slipping off the kicker. I offered to give it a go, and after a couple of kicks the old Penton lit off. Bill quipped, "I was kind of hoping it wouldn't start. I'm getting a little tired after yesterday's races!" Yup, Bill rode both Vintage and Post Vintage races on both days in the 70+ class. They don't make 'em any tougher than that! The Post Vintage ranks were thinned some from Saturday as well, with 27 of Saturday's 37 entries deciding they needed more abuse. After Saturday's epic battle between Fred Hoess and Clayton Farris, everyone was anxious to see what Sunday's green flag would bring. All I can say is that Fred put on a grass track clinic. Clayton is no slouch on two wheels, as anyone who's raced against him (more than likely behind him!) will tell you, but Fred just found another gear and consistently ran 15 seconds faster per lap than Clayton, who by his own right was posting some scorching lap times. Hoess lapped the entire field, including Clayton on the last lap, and Clayton lapped everyone as well. Fantastic racing by these two fast guys. Eddie Parks smoked his Honda to third overall, winning the 60 Expert class, followed by the Husky of Bob Ragon who aced the 50 Intermediates. Brent Mitchell was first 200 Intermediate and fifth overall, with ISDE vet Suzy Moody just two seconds behind as sixth overall and runner-up 50 Intermediate. Many of both the Vintage and Post Vintage riders went straight from the cross country finish line to the motocross track. There is probably more "bleed over" between XC and MX than with the other AHRMA disciplines, but we also have trials, roadracers, and dirt trackers who like to get dirty in the woods, too. If it involves two wheels, chances are it's fun! Finally, thank you to all the cross country racers who endured the scheduling and format changes. A number of competitors came up to me afterwards commenting on how they could see that it would have been a great course if only it was dry. A lot of people thanked me for salvaging the weekend, including a nice email from Debbie Poole, but as noted above, it was not me. It was a whole lot of AHRMA folks who made the weekend even moderately successful. These are the folks you camp next to, share meals with, help with mechanical issues, and line up next to on race day. You don't know how close Tony, Becky, and I were to just throwing in the towel on this race, but at the 11th hour a bunch of fine AHRMA folks stepped up and asked, "What can I do to help?" They are the ones who turned a bushel of lemons into at least a small glass of lemonade. Heartland was AHRMA teamwork in action. Thank you all!

#77M: Becky Hayes photo: Steve Quinn

#49J: Charlene Campbell photo: Bobby Hedge

Motocross

words by: Albert Newmann

Easily the most anticipated event for 2021, with the unique ability to walk across the parking lot to either race or spectate the roadrace happenings and off-road offerings, just south of Topeka, KS, sits the Heartland Motorsport Park where AHRMA has held roadracing but never off-road events. For the Redwood Engineering AHRMA National Vintage Motocross, Race Tech National Post Vintage Motocross and Next Gen Motocross Series portions of this MotoFest, we were treated to a vintage scrambles type course designed by former world motocross champion Trampas “Chad” Parker. AHRMA had 25 states represented in this inaugural event with members from as far away as Massachusetts, Florida, Washington, and Southern California. It was a rain-filled week leading up to the race so track and parking conditions were on people’s minds Saturday afternoon we were off and running with our vintage motocross program and for race one it was a large, combined gate featuring our Vintage Open Age Expert and Vintage 60+ Intermediate classes. Multi-class perennial champion Bob

Bean was on the line for this race and within two turns of each moto, Bob rocketed to the lead. The racing in the Intermediate group was slightly different; CZ-mounted Chris Dublin worked his way to first place in moto one to hold off

#34: James Adams photo: Bobby Hedge

#S57: Steve Allen, #15P: Mike Parker, #55T: Dan Johns photo: Bobby Hedge photo: Pauly Chambers

Kansas native Tom Bridgess along with Alan Hamilton, and Kent Hanson. Dublin put space between the rest of the pack on lap three and took the moto win. In moto two Hanson led the first lap and a half until Texan Alan Hamilton overtook him. Hanson slipped back in the pack and eventually out of the moto with a mechanical. Dublin finished second and Bridgess third. Chris Dublin had the win on the day with a 1-2 finish and it was Hamilton second overall with his 3-1 moto finishes. Bob Bean took first place in the Vintage Open Age Expert class with Mike Parker placing second. The race two novice gate was dramatic. Billy Cole (Suzuki TM125) proved you can take a butter knife into a sword fight and win. Cole jumped to the lead of the combined Open Age, 40+, and 60+ Novices and never looked back winning the first moto in the 60+ class. Things got off to a jumpy start in moto two as Cole early-bumped the rubber band and found it tied up in his front and rear wheels. Cole was turned backward to the gate for the penalty on the restart. It did not seem to matter. By the first turn he was in third place and on to victory in his class only trailing the eventual 40+ Novice winner Phillip Bush from Missouri. Chris Laclair edged out perennial champion Michael Welden each moto for the overall win in the Open Age Novice class. Our Women’s Novice group dropped on the second gate of this race, and it was a duel to the end of each moto as Dallas Winter took her Yamaha to victory in moto one with Linda Dowell and Sherri Parker battling for second. In moto two mechanical issues dogged Winter which left Parker

and Dowell to battle for the win. Parker took the overall with a 3-1 finish and Dowell’s 2-2 scorecard earned her second overall. Great racing! The always competitive class of our 60+ Vintage Experts were on the line in race four with Trey Jorski holeshotting each moto leaving Bob Bean, Bubba Dennis, Dennis Murphy, Kelly Shane, and a slew of other fast guys from across the country competing for podium positions. Bean took second place and Shane third in the first moto. The second moto was intense as Dennis and Bean ran tire-to-tire, but it was Dennis in the lead holding Bean off for the moto victory. Bean secured second place overall with a 2-3 finish and Dennis’s 5-2 finish put him into third place for the day. Race six was notable with the 70-year-old Expert class mixed with the younger 40+ Intermediates, Premier 500 Intermediates, and Premier 500 Experts. As in all prior races for the 2021 season, 70+ Expert

#819: Sherri Parker, #913X: Linda Dowell photo: Bobby Hedge

#705: Fred Hoess #J49: Trey Jorski photo: Pauly Chambers #D73: Dennis Murphy photo: Pauly Chambers

racer Rick Williams, out of Apache Junction, AZ, led each moto and dominated the gate with his BSA. Pauly Chambers easily won the 40+ Intermediate class over another perennial champion, James Golliher, and the amazingly fast Sam Huggins taking each moto win and second overall in the gate of various classes on the track together. Kelly Shane of Big Sky, MT, aboard his gorgeous BSA, secured victory with 1-1 finishes in the Premier 500 Expert class. Races seven through ten featured some great racing that included Mike Parker edging out Dan Johns in Classic 125 Expert and Mike Bickley winning the Classic 125 Intermediate with Steve Allen coming in second. Jordy Burnette squeaked out a win over some fast competition in Sportsman 250 Expert with Eddie Parks taking second and Robert Thornton finishing third. Glenn Gallimore won the Premier Lightweight Expert class over Beno Rodi in race eight and Bill Rockley won the Sportsman 250 Intermediate race over the extremely fast Jacob Taylor who appeared to suffer the dreaded gearbox dilemma on his vintage Honda CR250 in moto two. In race nine Charlene Campbell won the Sportsman 500 Intermediate class with James Golliher finishing second and Dennis Murphy winning the Sportsman 125 Expert class. More impressive was how Murphy was the gate leader featuring bikes four times the displacement of his own. Philip Bush edged out John Nelson and Dennis Jeffries for the Sportsman Novice class overall and Linda Dowell won the Classic Novice class in race ten. That evening many of the racers headed over to the Heartland drag strip to watch some interesting matchups on the drag way and celebrated a great day of racing. Meanwhile, Trampas Parker and the crew were on the motocross course making modifications to technically challenge the faster Post Vintage-era motorcycles. Sunday’s Post Vintage and Next Gen racing was off to an amazing display of speed as the Post Vintage 50+ and 60+ Expert gates were combined. The most decorated American ISDE racer ever faced off against one of the best motocrossers to join the AHRMA motocross circuit with Fred Hoess and Trey Jorski on the track at the same time. Hoess competing in the 50+ Post Vintage Expert class and Jorski in the 60+ Post Vintage Expert class put on a show of speed and skill. Jorski was flawless out of the gate, but today Hoess pressed hard and fast to move around Jorski. The corner speed of Hoess was incredible. Wheelieing out of nearly every corner, Hoess not only led but eventually put a gap between him and Jorski. It was a sight to see and talking to Jorski after the race he felt his vintage KX400 might have given him some cornering advantage on this style track, but he recognized Fred’s Ultima Husky 250 and riding style fit the track much better than he and the bike did on this day. Watch for Jorski’s CR480 Honda to make a reappearance in the fall. Oh yeah, the gate was stacked with some of the best 50 + and 60+ Post Vintage riders in the country. Bob Bean managed to fend off Dennis Murphy and a host of others to take second place overall in the 60+ Expert class with Murphy earning third. In Post Vintage 50+ Expert it was Dennis Burnett going 2-2 for a secondplace finish over Steve Blakely. And Brad Nuckolls and Richard Freund swapped moto wins in the 50+ Intermediate class with Nuckolls earning the overall. Hoess also appeared in race five in the Ultima 250 Expert race and won again as Bob Bean took second and Karl Poindexeter finished third. Suzy Moody won the Post Vintage Women’s Expert and Jordy Burnett dominated an extremely fast Grand Prix 250 Expert class. Gavin Moore, riding a historic-era Honda, easily won the Historic 250 Expert group, and it was Bill Patton taking the win over Tim Eubanks in Historic 500 Expert. Race seven was our Next Gen gate. This may have

been the first time I witnessed Charlene Campbell not holeshot a race as the super-fast Dale Schmick of Topeka, KS, was off to early leads each moto and ran away from the various Next Gen classes. In doing so Schmick won the Current Two-Stroke 125 AM Intermediate and Campbell put in a great ride behind Schmick winning the Next Gen Women’s Expert class aboard her Yamaha. Other notable class winners were Wesley Wallace winning the Millennium TwoStroke 250 Intermediate, Mike Parker winning the Next Gen 1 – 500 Expert, Chris Todd winning the Millennium Two-Stroke 250 Expert, and Scott Sears winning the Next Gen 60+ Expert class. It was fun watching the more modern bikes navigating a 1970sera scrambles type track! Race eight was a mild surprise from our Atlantic, IA, contingency of riders who travel together. Dennis Murphy is possibly the group’s fastest racer! Today it was his travel mate, Robert Thornton, taking victory away from Murphy winning the small-bore Grand Prix 125 Expert class. Craig Kirchner (2-1) beat Mike Bickley (1-2) for first in the Ultima 125 Intermediate and Jamie Adams ran away from the pack on his YZ100 in the Ultima 125 Expert class. The lightly modified, but efficiently lightweight 100cc of Adams proves the speed of the early ‘80s Yamaha 100s. Makes you wonder why they quit making them. The second most entertaining race of the day was Next Gen Pre-Modern 500 Intermediate. Of all the Next Gen classes, the Pre-Modern has been in existence prior to the addition of full disc brake bikes and has remained popular. The Pre-Modern 500 Intermediate class featured a fast newcomer this year from Texas, Steven Sinclair, but also brought out prior champion Greg Conn, fast Missouri native Richard Freund, and Rory O’Neill of Indianapolis, IN, all on Yamaha YZ490s. O’Neill’s great start in moto one was short lived as the points leader on the year, Sinclair, did not allow it to stick and opened a nice lead on lap three of moto one to win it. The second moto was slightly different as Sinclair and O’Neill both entered the first turn together and remained nearly side-by-side for the first lap. It was not as easy in the second moto for Sinclair to shake O’Neill. On lap three, O’Neill made his move with the two racers swapping positions the next few corners. O’Niell eventually secured the lead for the remaining lap and overall victory. Just superb, clean racing from these two competitors! Sam Huggins, on his beautiful early ‘90s Maico, and Jacob

Gergen swapped moto wins in the Next Gen 1 – 500 Intermediate with Huggins cruising to victory circle with a 2-1 finish. Race ten was our other Novice gate and final race of the day. Kyle Smith, aboard his Ultima model Honda XR200, ran away from the competition in Next Gen Novice each moto and most likely a bump to the intermediate class in the future. Several of the Hagerty Insurance racing team were in race ten and it was Smith taking the top trophy for their team on this day. The Ultima Novice was a fun race as Baldwin City, KS, racer Casey Maxon worked his way through the pack each moto to first place to win this class with Evan Carly finishing second overall and Kyle Bowen of the Hagerty Team third. Scott Rohr won Grand Prix Novice, and Gary Hensley earned gold in the Next Gen 40+ Novice class. The Post Vintage Women’s Novice Class was fun to watch as Dallas Winter, AKA “the Bike Destroyer,” cobbled together another ride to win the first moto of her class. Sherri Parker switched her game plan and went back to her comfort bike, the XR200 Honda, and won the second moto and the overall for the day. Congratulations to you all! Just as the motos ended some sprinkles started to come down so everyone scurried in the pits to load up, but it was just a light reminder from Mother Nature of her presence. The weather forecast held off for this weekend and we had some great racing on this first-time track. We were blessed with no serious injuries and action-packed racing each day. This was a pure volunteer-managed event and while there were a few bumps here and there it was executed quickly with few problems. Our AHRMA volunteers and coordinators can all pat themselves on the back for a job well done and it could not have been accomplished without you.

photo: Steve Quinn

Kelly Shane Dennis Simoes Trampas Parker

trials

words by: Tony Paul photos by: Kevin McIntosh

The Heartland Motorsports Park Classic MotoFest trials event for me was going to be the toughest off-road discipline to pull off as the terrain was mostly flat. I come from an area where we are surrounded by big hills and plenty of rocks so I had no vision. I expressed my concerns with the Trialmaster for the event, 1981 National Trials Champion, World Trials Competitor and AHRMA Executive Director, Curt Comer. Curt stepped in and started cutting out brush and managed to carve out eight AMAZING sections. The sections were very safe and vintage friendly, yet very challenging. I ended up

Kirn Family - L-R Zachary (First AHRMA trials event and father of Collin), Scott (grandfather and long time member), and Collin

checking section eight and had a great time visiting with all the amazing families and riders who joined in on the action. We had one family three generations strong represented at the event. Scott Kirn (grandfather), Zachary Kirn (father), and Collin Kirn (son). Nothing makes me happier than to see a kid riding a TY80 through my sections grinning from ear to ear, and we should get more children involved in the great sport of trials. 22 riders showed up to ride HMP, and let me tell you we had some heavy hitters out there with riders like Matt Parsons winning the Premier Heavyweight class by only 3 marks over AHRMA Trustee and Northwest regional coordinator, Kelly Shane. Mark Sturtevant representing Alabama won the Premier Lightweight class barely edging out Dennis Simoes. Two-time world motocross champion, Trampas Parker, had a tight battle with Dennis Burnett in the Modern Classic Expert class. However, Burnett would end up edging Parker for the win with a brilliant third loop as Trampas remained consistent; it was not enough to overtake Burnett. In the Modern Classic

Intermediate class Jordy Burnett convincingly won over Jemco Exhaust owner Mitch Barnes.

Other winners on the day included:

Modern Twin Shock Novice

Thomas Hillard

Modern Classic Novice

Dylan Alkire

Youth C

Colin Kirn

Prem Lightweight

Tyrus Wilson

Girder Fork

Beno Rodi

Classic Intermediate

Scott Kirn

Classic Expert

Steven Glinski