Desoto - MX, XC

By: Albert Newmann

Photo by Kenny Lau - Awesome Shots

AHRMA National racing made its return to Desoto Motorsport Park in

Grand Cane, LA, after unfortunately taking its date off the previous year’s calendar. Ricky Parker has been active this last year with a redesign of the track layout so those from the area were finally getting a look at it for the first time. Unfortunately, with the unusual spring rains this year, the track was saturated in the weeks leading up to it and the usual touches from Ricky for AHRMA racing were not as abundant as in the past. The forecast leading up through the week was mild with rain but in the end, our good fortune from years past caught up. The Vintage program was able to proceed on Saturday however Sunday morning the skies unleashed a downpour of heavy rain for the morning and Post Vintage racing was canceled. Saturday we were racing though and race one saw Andy Blackburn of Rome, GA, returning to the track in perfect form. Andy jumped to the lead each moto and was victorious in the Vintage 100 Expert class. Richard Smith, aboard his very cool Ossa, won the ESS 250 Intermediate class over Bultacomounted David Crawford. Steve Snedegar of Willis, TX, also returned to action this weekend to win the Vintage 100 Intermediate group aboard his trusty Penton 100. The second race of the day was our highlight race with the Vintage Age Group classes on one gate that consisted of the Vintage 40+ Expert, 50+ Expert, 60+ Expert, and 50+ Intermediate. It was the Kyle Kyzer show though. The 40+ Expert from Sheridan, AR, led every lap of each moto over this fast group of racers. Two South Carolina racers, Rhett Smith and Dale Burroughs, swapped moto wins in the 60+ Expert class with Smith taking the win with his 2-1 finish. Brian Oakley held off John Moore in the Intermediate class racing each moto to win the overall.

Redwood Engineering AHRMA National Vintage Motocross Series Race Tech AHRMA National Post Vintage Motocross Series

Scott Turk

Travis Shackleford (G16), Eddie Parks (859), Wade Woodall (N17), Mike "Doc" Tollett (75), Chris Richardson (5)

Our 70+ Intermediates and 70+ Experts made up race three. Daniel Beher made the trip down from Elwood, IN, to take the Intermediate class and it was Rick Williams from Apache Junction, AZ, down in the South-Central Region cleaning house in the 70+ Expert class. Moto one for the 70-year-old group saw John Gott get hung up in the starting gate but once out he put on a good ride to get past a very fast Loyd Morgan and Bobby Guilbeau. Gott took second place overall in the expert grouping. In Novice class racing, Linda Dowell won the Vintage Women’s, Michael Welden winning the Vintage Open Age, and John Nelson beating out Jeff Blackwood for the overall in 40+. The battle in the 60+ Novice group was good as Chris Cawein and Ole Oleson had some nice racing and a split on finishes with Cawein’s 2-1 beating out Oleson’s 1-2 for the win. A notable ride by Buddy Byrnes in the Sportsman Novice in Race 7 as his DT1 Yamaha looked good in beating out John Nelson and his Yamaha MX250 in race seven. The final race of the day was a barn burner featuring all the Intermediate and Expert groupings of the Sportsman displacement classes. Travis Shackelford and Rhett Smith put on a great show in the 500 Expert with Shackelford edging out Smith each moto for the win. Dale Burroughs took on Eddie Parks and Wade Woodall in the 250 Expert class. Woodall struggled in moto one but came back strong to take moto two and the win over two tough competitors. Brian Oakley was very impressive in the 500 Intermediate class to win over Charlene Campbell and Ray McFarland. Yours truly had a battle in the Sportsman 125 Intermediate as it was a duel to the end with Mike Aymond of Lafayette, LA. Aymond’s 3-1 earned him second place as Newmann wins the overall with a 1-2 finish.

While the track was wet, it was never sloppy, muddy. Ricky Parker was able to disc the track well enough in advance to keep the dirt turned and race ready. Many thanks to the entire Parker family and the staff of Desoto Motorsport Park for trying their best to put on a good event under adverse conditions. With the potluck dinner Saturday night, the racers seemed content that we were able to race and no serious injuries on the day. It was unfortunate that rain on Sunday took out our Post Vintage and Next Gen class so for those of you who want time at this track, come back November 20-21 for the AHRMA South Central Regional Motocross and CrossCountry race weekend. See you there!

Sam Huggins

David Crawford (714), Steve Snedegar (823)

By: Becky Hayes

Photo by Kenny Lau - Awesome Shots Hagerty AHRMA National Cross Country Series

Marc Ray

Ah, Louisiana in the springtime. Overly generous amounts of rain prior to the weekend forced Ricky Parker to have a shortened three-mile course which included some woods and the highest ground available around and including parts of the MX track. The inch and a half of rain on Friday did not help matters.

Saturday, 21 Vintage, Women, and Novice riders lined up on the MX track to start the Cross Country race. By the second lap, parts of the course were being cut and rerouted. The race was shortened to 45 minutes with no complaints. Darel Parsons, Tim Grow, and Mark Novosad each completed five laps.

The Post Vintage race had 39 participants. By the third lap, the main woods section became impassible and was cut out. This was a section that both Keith and Ricky Parker said had never gone away like that before. Jeff Ray on a Yamaha overalled. Heith Parker bested Mark Ray for first in the PV 200 Expert class by almost exactly one minute—45:43:857 vs. 45:43:708. Lloyd Loux took home the Arkansas Dirt Rider bragging rights by beating fellow club member Bob Diffee by seven seconds in the PV 60+ Intermediate class. More than a few Hallelujahs were heard at the checkered flag.

With the first ever AHRMA Sprint Enduro scheduled for Sunday, the pitter patter of more rain Saturday night and a look at the radar prompted a vote at the riders meeting. The majority voted to not ride and accept the points earned on Saturday to be given on Sunday. At 8:45, 15 minutes after the scheduled start of the Vintage race, it started to pour. The rain also prompted the decision to cancel all MX events.

Special thanks to the Parkers for hosting this event and the volunteers who make tech, sign-up and scoring possible. Someday, we will be able to have that Sprint Enduro.

Tim Grow (1), James Blackwood (124)

Richard Smith

Alan Drane

Bill Malec

Jeff Ray