6 minute read
Bushey Ranch - MX, XC
Bushey
Ranch
WORDS & PHOTOS: KATE JORGENSON
The Redwood Engineering AHRMA National Vintage Motocross Series final event of the year took place in the Northwest at Canby, California, on Sunday October 3, 2021! The sunrise and blue sky helped warm up the riders and spectators for the Robert W. Bushey Memorial Vintage National Motocross as practice took place on a dewslick grass track. The weather was perfect, in the high ‘70s. Fourteen races with 137 entries out having fun; 14 racers were Iron Butt riders for the weekend, meaning they competed in all three disciplines of trials, cross country and motocross at Bushey Ranch, and three riders including, Chet Mauer, Pete Jorgenson, and Michael Miller will be earning the end of the year silver bowl because they won the Iron Butt Award at Burrows, Bodnar, and now Bushey Ranch. Congrats! In race one, moto one, the Sportsman 500 Intermediates and Sportsman 500 Experts were on the line. The day got started with the revving of motors and the push starting of Wes Poole’s Triumph before the rubber band snapped and the holeshot went to Sidney Mocke who led the pack with a wheelie down the straightaway! After the first corner, Wes Poole caught some speed and flipped over the handlebars but he was quick to his feet and back on his bike to win moto one for the Experts. Brian Curtis won overall for the Sportsman 500 Experts and Bryan Bierwith won both motos for the Intermediates. In race six, Vintage 60+ Expert was the largest class of the day with 12 racers. Pat Brown (834) got the holeshot in both motos and earned first place over Robert Bellicitti (59f). In race seven, moto one, Erick Wachter (22K) led the pack through the first corner. This race had several classes. Milana Newell, although an intermediate, was racing with the experts Janee Magee (74q) and
Debbie Poole (44b). Magee took the win for the Vintage Women Expert class and both Magee and Debbie Poole will have Milana Newell as competition next year as she received her black stripe at the trophy presentation. Congrats Milana! In the Vintage 70+ Intermediate class Doug Smith (207) earned third, second went to Allen Niehues (206y), and first place went to Paul Andrade (750) all the way from Kapaa, Hawaii! Lyle Duronso earned first place in the Vintage 70+ Expert class. In race ten, there were several classes including the following: Premier 350 Intermediate, Classic LEFT: David Stanton (710), Pete Jorgenson (195), and Mike Miller (54M) 500 Intermediate, going into the first corner together in Race 10. Vintage 100cc ABOVE: Race 7 Moto 1 Eric Wachter 22k leading the pack through the first Intermediate, Early corner of the Vintage 70+ Intermediate and Expert and the Vintage Women Sportsman Stock Intermediate and Expert. 250 Intermediate, and Early Sportsman Stock 250 Expert. Although, there were many classes in the race, the riders put on an extremely intense race, wheel-towheel and handlebar-to-handlebar at times especially in the tight turns! Pete Jorgenson (195) in moto two passed his class competitor sDebbie Poole (57w), Mark Baer (67u), Sean Fromhold (66f), David Stanton (710), and was having a close race with Doug Brown (d14). Jacob Ritorto
(r69), all the way from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, pulled out the win in the Classic 500 Intermediate class. In race eleven there were three classes, Vintage Open Age Novice, Vintage 40+ Novice, and Vintage 60+ Novice. Donald Hildebrandt (020) in the Vintage 60+ Novice class went into the first turn first followed by Mike Gorrono (074) in the same class; Gorrono won the Vintage 60+ Novice class for the day! Hank Frenna (3L) won the Vintage Open Age Novice and David Alamo (647) earned first in the Vintage 40+ Novice. Race 12 had 14 riders and five classes; the roosting dirt from the racers and intensity between the classes made for great pictures and excited spectators! In the Early Sportsman Stock 500 Intermediate, Tim Jackson (99v) earned third, Pete Jorgenson (195) got second, and Doug Brown (d14) earned first, although it was a constant battle for all five laps of the race between the three of them. In the Vintage Open Age Intermediate, the winner, George Amaro (92q), had a great battle with Clay Mauer (60) who took third in the Vintage Open Age Expert; George Amaro and Clay Mauer battled up until ten feet before the checkered flag, Amaro was given a black stripe for his helmet to move up to expert next season, congrats George! In the Vintage Open Age Expert Class Chet Mauer (310) and Wes Poole (19x) battled back and forth throughout the race, in the end Wes edged out Chet for the win. Bryan Bierwith (995) earned first in the Vintage 40+ Intermediate and Gavin Leiper (711) earned first for the Vintage 40+ Expert class. Race 14 also was a large class with 12 people, the Vintage 60+ Intermediate. Third place went to Allen Niehues (015), Rowland Coad (260) earned second place, and first place went to Rick Ziemer (47n). A big thank you to all the volunteers, the lap checkers, the starters, the flaggers, the extended Bushey family and all those who volunteered their time to make this weekend a success!
Rick Eaton (41E), Gavin Leiper (711), and Steve Gard (112)
Popping a wheelie on the cross country bridge is Post Vintage Support Intermediate Sidney Mocke s97.
Cross country
On Saturday October 2, 2021 after the trials competition, 31 riders lined up on the field straddling their front wheel waiting the shotgun blast! When the shotgun blasted, vintage and post vintage motorcycles alike took off down the grass field, across the bridge and onto the Bushey property for the Bushey Ranch round of the Hagerty AHRMA National Cross Country Series. Jeff Bushey, along with Wayne Hawes and their team of volunteers who arrived early to the
track, set up a 6.8-mile-long course through the Northern Californian terrain. Riders encountered mud puddles, rocky roads, and dusty twists and turns. The two biggest classes for the race were the Sportsman Open Experts with four racers and the Sportsman Open Intermediates with six racers. Chet Mauer (67) took first place in the Sportsman Open Experts and overall, first place too; Nic Hawes (10c) came in second in the Experts, and Clay Mauer (60) came in third. For the intermediates Gavin Leiper (711) earned first place, Daniel Rife (407) earned second place, and third place went to John Burkhart (789). This cross country race has a twist because hidden in the course are bras, yes bras, and the riders can search for them if they think they have enough time to find them and race. When they find the bras, they must wear the bras to the trophy presentation. Jeff then gets a local business, this year the business was Fators KTM in Redding, California, to provide prizes to the finders of the bras and other awards. Thank you to Hagerty Motorcycle for sponsoring the cross country race. The event could not have taken place without the many volunteers including Bindi Bushey and Ellen Voermans, the lap checkers, finish line checkers Nicky Trevino and Dirk Williams, and the sweeper, Stephen Newell.
Race 13 Premier Lightweight Intermediate Mike Miller (54m) and Mike Nadeker (49) crashing behind.
