The Making of a New National

The Making of

Cahuilla Creek a New AHRMA National Event

By: Terry McPhillips

I always knew there was a lot of work putting on an event, but I was surprised by the amount of effort that goes into it even after attending several and thinking I had an idea of what it took to make it happen.

The Cahuilla Creek National event included Trials, Cross Country and MX of all forms in a single weekend, March 6th and 7th. AHRMA had events at Cahuilla Creek MX several years ago with VMX, PVMX and Trials. People kept asking, “When are we going to race at Cahuilla Creek again?” So, when a few SW Regional folks volunteered to help with the Trials, Cross Country, and MX, and with Curt Comer and Tony Paul’s support planning this event back in November, I figured we had plenty of time to get everything in place and ready to go. This event would be one of the first in recent Off-Road history where AHRMA would be the promoter!

When we convened and listed what needed to be done, it was a surprise to me. The list became longer and longer the more we talked. Thanks to all the Regional Coordinators and Off-Road Director for putting together a checklist of the many things required to make any MX event happen (along with Brian Oakley who gave us a copy of the checklist he put together for his Louisiana event as a starting place!).

Overall Coordination, initial planning and preparation:

There were many folks who were involved in the process of putting this into place. Tony Paul, our Off-Road Director, was the point of contact for everything that went on. He contacted the track owners, getting the dates, venues and contracts set up initially. He also set up the requirements for an on-site ambulance for both days (Saturday’s Trials and Cross Country events and Sunday’s VMX, PVMX and Next Gen events). He followed up on insurance procurement, not to mention all the other required contractual stuff.

Cross Country Course and Trials Section Layout:

There were a lot of folks who met with us to set up the trials event to make certain it was worthwhile for those attending. Many Zoom meetings were held for this. I especially appreciated this input as I am a Trials newbie without a clue what would have been required otherwise. These meetings included requirements for running, layout and the other things necessary to conduct an event of this diversity.

Pat Wilkenings (Patch Wookie) was the primary contact for setting up the Cross Country layout. Morgan Proffitt was the Trialmaster. Pat, Luke Sayer (trustee), Morgan and I converged to set up the locations for Cross Country and Trials in advance. This required multiple trips to Cahuilla prior to the event in order to see what was available, and to determine the best possible layouts for both the Cross Country route and the Trials sections. Pat, Tony and Jeff Bushey set up the final Cross Country route and Morgan and Luke set up the actual Trials sections with Matt Parsons in charge of two sections. Rob Poole and Matt Parsons arrived in advance of the event to offer their suggestions, as prior Trialmasters, with ideas to make the trials sections better. Marketing:

Pat Wilkening and Kerri Kress devoted many hours creating a flyer for the event. It was outstanding and featured Joel Robert.

Cindy McLean was a huge help in making sure that the National and AHRMA Southwest websites were up to date.

Cindy also sent a number of things to us that we didn’t even think about. We received all the support we could ask for from the AHRMA National Office.

Kelly Shane put together an awesome t-shirt to commemorate the event! If you didn’t get one, contact Tony Paul.

We had several people volunteer their time to get the word out. Flyers were dropped off at many of the local businesses that work with motorcycles in any manner in Southern California! Many of the local motorcycle clubs in the area were contacted.

We also spoke to some of the local vintage organizations who shared our flyers on their websites, Facebook pages or email lists. They made sure all the members not only knew about the event but requested their attendance. This included Old School Scrambles Racing Group (Tami Greenhill), CalVMX (Frank Vettras) and the Socal BSA Owners Club.

Equipment:

Lance Brown stepped up and was all in, lending us the large amount of equipment needed to hold the event, including the PA System, hand-held radios, flags, race results board, On Track/Staging Tree, and so much more! Luke’s toy hauler was overloaded with all the stuff Lance loaned us!

Awards:

Morgan Proffitt created the trophies for the Trials event. The 3D printing for the trophies was really pretty cool. Pat Wilkening created the awards for the Cross Country and MX events with help from his wife, Kerry Kress. They did a great job on the awards!

Vendors:

Pat and Tony jumped in to make sure we had a food truck on site. This was more difficult than it sounded as Cahuilla is a pretty remote location. They finally found Common Grounds Coffee. Common Grounds had a pretty extensive menu, and the portions were pretty large! If you didn’t get some of their food, you missed out (not to mention the gourmet coffee drinks!). It would be great to have them back in the future. One addition was getting Pauly Chambers Photography on site. This was a very last-minute addition since we were unable to find a photographer. Pauly contacted us the last week to offer this service. We are extremely thankful that he did. Great pictures were taken! This is another vendor we wish to have join us next year. Chris Todd, the Western Tech Chief from Kansas helped with

making certain we had everything needed to run the technical inspections for both Cross Country and Motocross.

Event:

A number of people showed up days in advance to set up all the preparations for an event like this. Some of the preparation included:

• Putting up canopies for registration, Cross Country start/finish line, MX scoring • Setting up sponsor and AHRMA banners • Setting up signs and tables for registration, membership and technical inspection • Erecting directional signs for the pits • Setting up markers for the Cross Country and Trials events

These sound like simple things but are surprisingly time consuming.

There were many posts that had to be manned during the running of the event. We were fortunate enough to have many volunteers who filled these positions as they came up. Most of the positions were expected, but a couple of unexpected items did come up, like manning the gate after hours and collecting the gate and camping fees. We can’t begin to tell the volunteers how much we appreciate their efforts to make things happen. (Making sure the port-a-potties had TP was one of the least glamorous tasks. Thanks Russ and Pat!) Probably three of the most critical tasks were registration, membership and scoring. Tony Paul took care of the primary duties for these with help from volunteers. The one exception was the Trials scoring, which Morgan Proffitt, as Trialmaster, took care of.

Lessons Learned:

Even after the event concluded there was work to do. Although we were happy with the initial turnout, there were a number of things that were identified in a post-event meeting that need to be improved for the next race being held at Cahuilla. This included the following:

• Reduce the “jumpiness” of the track for the Vintage bikes.

There have already been conversations with the track prep folks on how to either eliminate or bypass this. They watched the race and understood our requirements for this. • Move the food vendor closer to registration for visibility • More and better marketing of the event • Adjust the difficulty of the Trials sections • More trials loop arrows to make it easier to find the trials sections • Better scheduling of registration and events so there are no conflicts, or have enough personnel assigned to cover both simultaneously. • Be more specific, in advance, of which positions will be covered by who and for what timeframes. • Start the planning process earlier.

There are a whole host of other things that we are also looking at as information is collected and acted upon where appropriate. We’re taking all comments and considering what we can do to make this the best event possible.

Results:

We were extremely happy with how it went based on the fact that this was the first time that many of us were involved in setting up and running an event of this size and complexity! We’ll consider what worked and didn’t and improve for next year! Overall, we think this was a great first step in what we hope will be an annual event!

Final results were as follows:

• Trials

40 entries • Cross Country 45 entries • VMX/PVMX/NextGen 119 entries • New Members 21 new members were signed up!

Thanks:

Keep in mind this event was put together and run primarily by unpaid volunteers! Without these people, none of this would have been even remotely possible. If you want to see more and better events, get involved! Volunteers are always needed at each and every event! Our thanks go out to the following people who were instrumental in making this event a success: • Tony Paul provided all track, insurance, ambulance contract requirements, communications with all parties and leadership.

When in doubt, Tony had the answers! Southwest Core Team—overall planning, set-up: • Luke Sayer—Trustee provided overall planning, leadership and much, much more • Pat Wilkening—Cross Country set-up • Morgan Proffitt—Trialmaster • Russ Heck • Pete Hughes • John Hart

• Terry McPhillips

Event Volunteers (in addition to Southwest Core Team). We couldn’t have done it without you!

• Don Duquette • Brady Walker • Kerri Kress • Mindi Walker • Christy Van Der Westhuizen • Debbie Benson • Eric Benson • Venice Mee • Andy Lofquist • Chuck Burnett

Special Thanks go to the following:

• Randy and Meg Minter for hosting this event at Cahuilla

Creek MX. We couldn’t have done it without your support!

We are very grateful for all the work you and your team put forth to make this event happen! • Lance Brown for lending us so much of the equipment required to put this on. • Jeff and Bindi Bushey for sharing their expertise as well as use of their 4x4 UTV. • Matt Parsons, Kelly Shane, Rob and Debbie Pool for sharing their Trials event expertise. • Dano Fitzpatrick for being our starting gate expert. • Dave Ehrhart for providing his announcing expertise as well as finish line for the Cross Country. • Common Grounds Coffee for providing an extensive menu of food and beverage. • Pauly Chambers Photography for providing excellent photos.

The takeaway is that if you want to start an event, get your friends together and if we can do it, so can you! Just start early…

PART 2 OF 2 THE RETURN TO:

4SR AHRMA NATIONAL VINTAGE DIRT TRACK SERIES

BY: RICHARD BRODOCK / PHOTOS BY: DRAGAN HOOLIGAN HARBOV

OCALA, FL MARCH. 20, 2021

To start the day, this quarter-mile dirt oval has been modified to add a TT track in the infield. A TT track consists of at least one right-hand turn and one jump. Long, fast straightaways and tight turns made this TT a tricky one with some close bar-to-bar action.

With all AHRMA classes combined into two races for the TT, David Aldana, Charlie Williams, Henry Sansing, Beino Rodi, and Richard Brodock lined up for the green flag in race one and Beno Rodi and Preston Palmer lined up for a Brakeless race two. A mad rush into turn one put Aldana out front with Williams close on his tail. Right behind them Sansing and me were neck-and-neck as we came over the jump into a tight right-hand turn. For several laps Aldana and Williams battled it out until a rider went down in turn, one bringing out a red flag. To top it all off, Aldana had ripped the rear brake line from his bike and cracked his exhaust which now hung by safety wire. A staggered restart with three laps to go, and we go green again. Coming off the TT back onto the main track, Aldana’s exhaust lets loose and flies off in turn three, but clear from the riding line. With Charlie hot on his heels, David can’t slow down. White flag out last lap, and Charlie gives one more run off turn four to try to beat Aldana to the finish line coming up just short. I missed a shift coming out of the tight lefthand turn back on the oval track allowing Sansing to grab several bike lengths before we crossed the finish line. As the rest of the riders take the checker, we head to the pits to get ready for the short track.

Roger Veith

After the dust settled from the TT rounds, the riders took a short break to relax and let the track crew prep the surface for the Round five short track. With banked turns and a small groove, this track would make for tight, fast racing. First race up put Aldana and Williams on the line accompanied by Paul Lampman and yours truly. The green flag flies, and we’re off into turn one, wide open. Coming out of two, Aldana loses the rear wheel. I barely miss him as David comes to a stop sliding just shy of the guardrail. A little too close for comfort. A complete restart with Aldana on the back line allowed Williams a good run into one and he never looked back, taking the win. On the last lap, I was in fourth (first in my class) behind Lampman. Down the backstraight, I run hard into turn three passing Lampman and taking third overall. As the Sportsman 250 class takes to the track, Sansing and I lined up next to each other yet again. Coming into this round, both tied up in the championship points, we both know how important the win would be here. With Henry taking the win on the

TT track, I would have to win on the short track to depart with an even point count. For Edward Allen Jones & Richard Brodocksix laps, Sansing leads with me showing him a wheel in every turn and on his rear wheel

Bullring Stables

down every straight. With two laps to go the racing was even closer. I hung it out in turn one and came out neck-and-neck with Sansing down the back straightaway. Henry pulls a slight lead but leaves the door open in turn three and I ducked underneath and held him off for the win.

With a few support classes to catch his breath, Sansing heads back out on the track lining up with Beno Rodi, Preston Palmer and David Coon for a combined Brakeless class.

David Coon (25D), Jon Cook (060), David Aldana (13) Beno Rodi's racers

Off the line, Henry gets a great start on his Ossa and takes the lead. Henry stays out front for most of the race with Coon giving him pressure the whole time. With a few laps left, Coon slipped by Sansing and stayed out front for the overall win and Classic 500/750 class win, Sansing taking the Classic 250 class win, and Palmer taking the Dinosaur class win over Rodi.

With two more rounds in the book and some fantastic racing by all, they now pack up and take a few short days off before heading to Baton Rouge for Round six.

David Aldana showing off for the crowd.

Johnny Comer Wins 1960 Alligator Enduro

During a recent visit to AHRMA Trustee Beno Rodi’s place, he pulled out a picture of a guy on a Matchless single receiving a trophy for winning the 1960 Alligator Enduro at

Daytona. Turns out, the rider was none other than AHRMA

Executive Director Curt Comer’s uncle Johnny, his Dad’s brother. Johnny raced enduros from the ‘50s through the mid

‘70s with some successes. A devoted father of two, his career with the Decatur, GA, Police Department included patrolling on a Harley-Davidson three-wheeler. He passed about 15 years ago. Curt actually learned to ride in Johnny’s back yard on his cousin’s Sears Allstate (Gilera) 106cc in 1968.

Beno’s dad was an Atlanta Matchless/Indian dealer and most likely Johnny dropped a copy of the picture off at the shop. The setting for the picture was the Matchless/

Indian dealer’s display at the Daytona Armory. Presenting the trophy is Dick Mercier, the East Coast sales rep. The bike Johnny is on appears to be a Matchless G80TCS 600cc single. In the background, on the right, is a G50 factory road racer. Cheers, Dave Kaufman AHRMA member 8122 AKA: AJS Dave AHRMA #C73 Riders from all over the world have come to Daytona to participate in Daytona 200 Motorcycle Club’s famous Alligator Enduro which was founded in 1949.Alligator EnduroMAY 2021 AMERICAN HISTORIC RACING MOTORCYCLE ASSOCIATION WWW.AHRMA.ORG 33

Oysters, gumbo, dirt track, oh My!

By: Richard Brodock

March 27th, 2021

his very fast Triumph 500. With some great racing in the heats, Charlie Williams lined up with Lucien Marioneaux, Mark Zeissler, Jimmy Ewing, Shannon Slocum, and David Aldana for their main. Williams’ Yamaha 500, built by Tim Bolin, put down some fast times and did not allow Aldana and his Honda to get by. Williams picked up a couple wins in Four-stroke Super Singles and Seventies Singles 50+ while David Aldana picked up the win in Sportsman 600 over Ewing and Slocum. After five rounds some of the closest racing has evolved from the Sportsman 250 and Seventies Two-stroke classes with Henry Sansing, me and Mark Zeissler adding to the mix. The heat race really showed the difference between bikes on the bigger track compared to the short tracks. Sansing parking his Rokon for his PDV 250 framer, he was able to get out front in Sportsman 250 making me have to squeeze every ounce out of my Yamaha 175. Working my way through traffic I was able to catch up after a couple laps and found a line I could hold the throttle open through the turns. A few laps later, I managed to get past Sansing to take the win. In the Seventies Two-stroke The 2021 4SR AHRMA National Vintage Dirt Track Series class, Zeissler took a commanding lead and never looked back rolled into Baton Rouge for the 4th annual Mike Gerald on his Bultaco 250, finishing ahead of me and Sansing. Classic presented by Laroque Motorsports and Todd Campbell With more than a dozen Bultacos lined up in the pits, it was Racing. This 3/8ths mile red clay track with banked turns no surprise that Charlie Roberts and the Class of ‘79 was there made for very fast racing. Rain overnight and into the morning as well as some created a mess in the pits but an amazing surface on the track. current pro dirt As the afternoon rolled around, the sun broke through the clouds and both Both photos: David Aldana (L), Mike Gerald (R) racers and spectators converged on Baton Photos: Morgan Campbell Rouge Raceway.

Starting In the brakeless classes, Henry Sansing took the win in Classic 250 on his Ossa while Gary Moore picked up the win in the Classic 500/750 class on

Jim Stump (13), Scott Taylor (85), Richard Brodock (278) Photo: Morgan Campbell

Riders meeting Photo: Maurice Turgeau Charlie Willaims, Beno Rodi, Gary Moore, Henry Sansing, Richard Brodock, Mark Zeissler Photo: Maurice Turgeau The Zeissler Motorsports Bultaco line-up Photo: Maurice Turgeau

track racers, Dalton Guthie, Morgan Michler, and Brandon Kitchen. Combining AHRMA’s new Spanish Cup and Roberts’ Astro cup, it made for a great showing of the ever-popular Bultaco Astro, while Dalton Guthie and Robby-Bobby McLendon walking away with the heat race the main would prove to be a very different but action-packed story. As the green flag dropped, the field left the line, except for Guthie. Starting in the wrong gear left him watching 11 riders pull away, but Dalton quickly found the right gear and got moving. With Charlie Roberts leading the pack down the back straight into turn three, Guthie had his work cut out for him. Roberts, McLendon, and Lance Jones were already crossing the start/finish line as Dalton started down the back stretch. Roberts fought off multiple riders for six laps to stay in the lead. By this time Guthie had not only caught the pack but had made his way through several riders to find himself in third. The last two laps would prove to be some of the best racing of the day. Guthrie made quick work getting by Jones and pulling side by side with Roberts taking the white flag. Both riders let it all hang out not giving up an inch. Into turn three they went still neck and neck with a pack of four riders right behind them. It was anyone's race. At the line, Guthie pulled off the overall win while Roberts took a close second and the win in the Spanish Cup. Such an epic race was the perfect end to cap a great day at Baton Rouge Raceway. With round six in the books and many championships still very close, AHRMA Dirt Track takes a few weeks off before heading to Aonia Pass outside Atlanta, Georgia, for round seven and eight of its dirt track series.

Charlie Roberts (64), AFT Pro Dalton Gauthier (2L) Photo: Morgan Campbell