New Jersey Motorsports Park - RR

NJMP MILLEVILLE, NJ JUNE 18-20 - 9th ANNUAL 2021 BRIDGESTONE TIRES AHRMA NATIONAL HISTORIC CUP ROADRACE SERIES NEW JERSEY

WORDS BY JOE W. KOURY // PHOTOS BY ETECHPHOTO

The venue shifted from the Heartland to just shy of the South New Jersey shore for rounds eleven and twelve of the Bridgestone Tires AHRMA National Historic Roadrace Series. The 2.25-mile, 12-turn “Thunderbolt” racecourse is located adjacent to the Millville Airport. Beginning in 1941, this was the site of the U.S. Army Airfield Gunnery School for fighter pilots flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft. The track was named after this famous WWII aircraft. There were plenty of roadrace pilots anxiously awaiting their shot at the track which is one of my favorites. My reaction to cutting laps there was always, “Wow. What a brilliant layout. Genius.” But this was not just a motorcycle race, it was the Ninth Annual AHRMA Vintage Motorcycle Festival and Swap Meet with Friday Night Bike Night and Bike Show at the Finish Line Pub. On Friday, twelve students successfully completed the AHRMA Academy of Roadracing (AAR) under the tutelage of capable rider and instructor, Mark Morrow. Mark enthusiastically shared the AAR student numbers so far this year: Roebling Road Raceway 13; Carolina Motorsports Park 23; Streets of Willow 12; Willow Springs Raceway 6; Heartland Motorsports Park 19, New Jersey Motorsports Park 12, Laguna Seca 20. Over 100 new racers. Welcome aboard. We were not able to make the trip this year, but a few riders did mention there were more than a few mosquitos to battle. There were some close battles on the tarmac both days beginning with the always entertaining and competitive CB160 Le Mans start race. Rob Hall and Chris Akaydin traded wins on their Honda twins; Rob won on Saturday by just over a second and Chris nipped Rob by half a wheel on Sunday. Keith Hamilton wasn’t far behind them claiming third spot on day two. The fast guys were next with Mark Heckles (Ducati NCR) snagging the BOT 1 win over Gary Orr (BMW R9T Racer) and turning the weekend’s fastest lap at 1:27.857. On Sunday, Orr won over Dakota Wolter. Alan Perry crossed the finish line first in Formula Vintage with a narrow threesecond margin over Martin Jarusek (second) and Kevin Rammer. On Sunday it was Perry, Rammer and Mark Morrow. Michael Murray won the Sportsman 350 race both days by seven second margins over David Miller on Saturday and Eric “Ake” Smith Sunday. The battle for third came down to a scant .028 seconds with Chris Jackson barely edging John Waverka for that last podium spot. The sprint for second place was even closer in Sunday’s Sound of Singles 2 race. Marc Purslow won with Adrian Jasso taking second place over Dave Frick by .001! Christian Jensen (Ducati 888) and Michael Platt (Kawasaki Z7) went bar-to-bar in Next Gen Superbike both days and on Sunday, Matt Esterline (Honda CB750) locked up with Jeff Hargis (Yamaha XS650) for the narrow win

MOTORSPORTS in Sportsman 750. This has been quite a rivalry all season long. PARK One of my favorite classes to watch is Open Twostroke as the riders skillfully control the powerbands a classic two-stroke twin (RD400 Yamaha) against of these high-horsepower machines. Ralph Staropoli inline four (CB550 Honda). Mark Morrow’s Yamaha (Honda RS250R) took the win on Saturday over Brian took the hard-fought win over Martin Morrison’s Honda Surtees and Greg Glevicky, both on Yamaha TZ250s. by 1.9 seconds. David Miller and Michael Murray His clutch succumbed to repeated red flag restarts duked it out for six laps in the Sportsman 500 class on Sunday resulting in a Glevicky, Adrian Jasso (2017 with Murray coming up a wheel short at the finish on Suter), Dave Frick Yamaha TZ250) finishing order. Clint Saturday. The 2021 featured Vintage Cup Race, 500 Austin beat Tim Nelson in both Sound of Thunder races Premier, has been competitive this year with several by less than two seconds. Brian Lowe had his work different winners on a variety of machines. Tony Read cut out for him Sunday barely edging Kevin Greimel rode Andy Findling’s 1961 BSA Gold Star to victory over in Sound of Singles 1. Karl Smolenski and Bill Doran the Seely G50s of Helmi Niederer and Brian Larrabure mixed it up on their electron-powered racers in the on Saturday. Read would finish second behind Tim Formula Lightning class separated by less than a Joyce on the Maurice Candy 1961 Norton Summerfield second on Sunday, Smolenski the victor. Manx on Sunday with Neiderer third. Tim Joyce (driver) and Renee Schuelke (passenger) Eighteen riders lined up for the Sound of Thunder 3 won both days in the Super Vintage SC2 Sidecar race. There were quite a few entries in the Classic Big Wheel Sidecar class. Byron P. Hannah II (driver) and Adam Bower (passenger) won Saturday’s race with Eric Fink (driver) and Samantha Fink (passenger) taking Sunday’s win. Saturday’s Formula 500 race was

ABOVE: Michael Perry (417) chased by Steve Massey (10), Michael Shumaker (703), Sakis Vasilopoulos (516), Keith Hamilton (265), John McCarty (928), Charles Miller (88) in 200GP Plus action

ABOVE (clockwise): Ralph Staropoli (80) & Chris Wolter (65) // David Eulberg (72), Kevin Rammer (1V), Rick Crespo (31V) // Intense 200GP Plus action with Bill Doran (6) and Keith Hamilton (265) // Kevin Burnett (987) // Brian Carroll (driver), Bob Demetrius (passenger) (747) // Mitch Skaggs (7S), Beasley Ayers (727)

Alex McLean on a 1937 Norton Manx

race on Saturday, sixteen on Sunday, for the clash of Suzuki SV650s. Daniel Miller took top honors both days over Dakota Wolter. Chris Akaydin chased Rob Hall around Thunderbolt for several laps in the 200GP Plus race that Hall won by two seconds. (There were 20 bikes on the grid for this race.) Those guys are setting the small-bore bar pretty high this year. Andrew Townsend (1950 Vincent Comet) took the Class C Footshift win over Dave Tompkins (1948 Vincent Comet) by just .003 seconds on Saturday. Now that’s a photo finish. Bob Demetrius won both Formula 250 races on his Honda CB350 over Eric Cook’s Honda CL350 and Steve Decamp’s Honda CB400F. The 250GP race was a Honda twin vs. Harley single affair. Dave Roper (1967 Harley-Davidson CRTT) barely beat Chris Akaydin (1970 Honda SL175) on Saturday. Brain Larrabure and Jeff Nelson kept it interesting in Next Gen Superbike 2, Larrabure a tick quicker at the line. Nelson won handily over Benjamin Baker on Sunday. Saturday’s Next Gen Superbike Middleweight race was a thriller with Jonathan Hollingsworth coming up just short of Rick Patrolia at the finish. Patrolia won over Hollingsworth by a larger margin on Sunday. In the Vintage Superbike Middleweight race, the 1981 Ducati Pantah of David Eulberg nipped the 1982 Honda CB650SC of Kevin Rammer. Dakota Wolter took wins both days in Battle of the Twins 2 on his Ducati 800SS beating Tony Prust (Ducati Hypermotard 796) Saturday and Clint Austin (Ducati Monster) on Sunday. And last, but not least, the Next Gen Superbike lightweight class. Phillip Chovnick (Kawasaki EX500) snagged a close win over Gary DiPietro (Yamaha FZR400RR) with Jonathan Hollingsworth and Rick Crespo separated by a half second fighting for the final podium step, both on Yamaha FZR400RRs. The Series moves on to the much-anticipated Classic MotoFest™ at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca as the second half of the season kicks off. Many thanks to all the AHRMA staff, and especially the AHRMA volunteers, for everything you do to make these events possible, fun, and safe.