AHRMA MAG April 2024, Vol. No. 6, Issue No. 3

This month’s Stories

• dick mann national vintage challenge

• chasing history - the vintage grand slam

• 2025 rules change proposal process

• Roebling road & carolina motorsports park

• wildwood mx national

• 2023 northeast season wrap-up

Offer Valid 04.01.24 - 06.30.24

Get up to $70 per set back by mail on a Visa® Prepaid Card when you buy a set of 2 eligible Bridgestone Motorcycle Tires*

*Rewardpaidonapertirebasis,minimum2tirespurchased,maxlimitof6tires.EligibleTiresinthe$70perset(2) category:BattlaxHypersportS23.Eligibletiresinthe$60perset(2)category:AllExedra,ExedraMax,Battlecruise H50,allBattlax(excludingBattlaxScooterTires:SC,SC2andSC2Rain),RacingBattlaxV02,R11,CR11,andW01. Eligibletiresinthe$50perset(2)category:AllBattlecross,M59,BattlaxSC,BattlaxScooterSC2andBattlaxScooter SC2Rain.Limit6tiresperhousehold,customeroraddress.RetailpurchasesmadebetweenApril1,2024andJune 30,2024.ParticipatingU.S.storesonly.ExcludesAmazonpurchases.Claimsubmissionrequired.Notcombinable withotheroffers.Certainrestrictionsapply.Voidwhereprohibited.RewardwillbefulfilledwithaBridgestoneVisa PrepaidCardbymail.PrepaidCardmaybeusedeverywhereVisadebitcardsareaccepted.Notredeemableforcash.All submissionsmustbereceivednolaterthanJuly10,2024. Pleaseallow10-12weeksforthereceiptofthePrepaidCard. VisitBridgestoneRewards.comorcall(800)903-9838tocheckthestatusofyourclaimafter4weeks.Original,fully completed,finalpaid,andstoreidentifiedinvoicemustbeincludedwithsubmission.Offerexcludescommercial,fleet andgrouppurchases,employeechangeovers,warrantyreplacementpurchases,orrainchecks.VoidinPR.Mustbe18 orover.InformationsubmittedwithanentryissubjecttoBridgestone’sprivacypolicyavailableatwww.bridgestonetire. com/about/privacy.Bridgestoneanditsagenciesarenotresponsiblefor(a)late,lost,altered,forged,illegible/garbled, inaccessible,corrupted,defective,postagedueormisdirectedsubmissionregardlessofcause,or(b)technological problems/malfunctions/failuresofanykind.AlldecisionsofBridgestonearefinal.PrepaidCardissuedbyTheBancorp Bank,N.A.,pursuanttoalicensefromVisaU.S.A.Inc.TheBancorpBank,N.A.,MemberFDIC.PrepaidCardisgiven toyouasarewardorgiftandnoconsideration,valueormoneyhasbeenpaidbyyouforthecard.Nocashaccessor recurringpayments.PrepaidCardvalidforuptosixmonths,unusedfundsforfeitatmidnightESTthelastdayofthe monthofthevalidthroughdate.PrepaidCardtermsandconditionsapply;seeBridgestoneRewards.com/CardTerms. Alltrademarksandbrandnamesbelongtotheirrespectiveowners.Useofthesetrademarksandbrandnamesdonot representendorsementbyorassociationwiththiscardprogram.Allrightsreserved.

EDITOR

Steph Vetterly ahrmamag@ahrma.org

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Kevin Burns, Richard Brodock, Luke Sayer, Debbie Poole, Bob Close, Bob Bean, Bob Robbins, Eric Watts

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTORS

Kevin McIntosh, Moe Photography, Dragan Harbov, Luke Sayer, Sharon Coad, Tim Lester, Sarah Lane, Bob Bean, Sharon Bean, etechphoto.com, Stephen Aretz, Peter Marcin, Larry Mayo, Matt Benson

ADVERTISING

from the editor

Winter is such a difficult time for a motorcycle photographer, especially one living in Pennsylvania. On top of not having much motorcycle racing nearby during the months of November through April, I hate the snow. There’s a club up in New York that has some winter racing, but as they were redoing their facility this year, the winter racing was cancelled.

Now that it’s starting to get warm, everyone’s getting their bikes out, and tracks are starting to get into their busy season.

There’s no better time for racing then when the birds start chirping, the peepers come out, and the temperatures consistently stay above 60 degrees.

For me, I’m getting ready to start my own busy season, with lots of travel on the schedule. Hopefully I’ll see you guys out on the track somewhere soon!

see you on the track!

Thanks to everyone who subscribes and looks forward to each issue.

We at AHRMA MAG want to hear from our readership. We’d like to know how we’re doing. Send us feedback and comments about your favorite stories and columns, likes and dislikes and what you’d enjoy seeing in future issues.

Photo by sharon bean

photo by TIM VECHIK

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

Daniel May, Executive Director

email: executive.director@ahrma.org

8913 Town and Country Circle #1093 Knoxville, TN 37923

Ed Roman, Special Committee Chairman email: ed.roman@ahrma.org

MEMBERSHIP

email: membership@ahrma.org

8913 Town and Country Circle #1093 Knoxville, TN 37923

COMMUNICATIONS

Cindy McLean

email: communications@ahrma.org

RACE DIRECTORS

ROAD RACE DIRECTOR - Leasha Overturf

email: roadrace.director@ahrma.org

OFF-ROAD DIRECTOR - Terry McPhillips

email: offroad.director@ahrma.org

DIRT TRACK DIRECTOR - Richard Brodock email: dirt.track@ahrma.org

RACE COORDINATORS

CROSS COUNTRY COORDINATOR - TBD

NATIONAL TRIALS COORDINATOR

Debbie Poole email: pooleschl1@hotmail.com

EASTERN TRUSTEES

Carl Anderson - ahrma79@gmail.com

Mike Dixon - michael.dixon@ahrma.org

Jeff Hargis - jeffhargis@comcast.net

Bob Robbins - bobr@inter-techsupplies.com

David Rutherford - david.rutherford@ahrma.org

Tim Terrell - tim.terrell@ahrma.org

WESTERN TRUSTEES

Al Anderberg - al.anderberg@ahrma.org

Albert Newmann (Treasurer)newmann.albert@gmail.com

Wesley Poole - wes.ahrma@gmail.com

Luke Sayer (Secretary) - sayerlu@gmail.com

Kelly Shane - kelly.ahrma@gmail.com

Greg Tomlinson (Chairman) - chairman@ahrma.org

Randy Knoop on his 1972 Kawasaki F7 at AHRMA’s opening round of road racing at Roebling Road Raceway

Ihave been thinking about the weekend Road Race schedule and what would make a “perfect” race weekend. What bikes would you have on the track at the same time and in what order?

We generally have room for 13-14 races on a given race weekend. On Saturdays, with racing starting at noon, we usually have five hours of racing. If things run perfectly, you can usually get in three races per hour, 20 minutes each. This year at Roebling Road, we ran eight laps for most classes, with an average lap time of 1:30 seconds. That is about 12 minutes of racing, with the remaining time used for pit out, warm-up lap, grid line-up, then a cool-down lap.

In a perfect world, that would mean 15 races in five hours. Add in a cushion for red flags and crash trucks, and 13 races in five hours is a safer bet. That is six vintage races, six modern races, and one race for sidecars. We all know we do not live in a perfect world. There are inevitably delays, including weather, oil spills, get-offs, etc. This is why we have been scheduling shorter practice sessions on Sundays to get up to three races before lunch. This gives us room to carry over the Saturday schedule if it cannot be completed. Sometimes we must shorten the number of laps if we are behind schedule, which is not a popular decision among the racers.

What has changed in the past years to exacerbate the situation? The sheer number of Road Race classes.

Road Race Gridding

We now have 47 Road Race classes, and nine Sidecar classes. That is a total of 56 classes to put on track twice a weekend. That means 282 Road Race trophies each weekend (47 classes, three places, Saturday and Sunday) and 108 Sidecar trophies (nine classes, three places, Pilot and Passenger, Saturday and Sunday). I started racing in 2011, and there were 35 Road Race classes and one Sidecar class. That has increased by 20 classes to 56 today.

Scheduling a Road Race weekend is a delicate game of tetris. You must balance bike performance, lap times, race-start acceleration, closing speeds, braking capability, along with a variety of rider skills. You want to balance the number of machines on the track for each race, optimizing the available track time. Add to that making sure a racer can

slot into one of the 12 or so races without conflicting with one of the other classes they are running, and finally try to manage back-to-back races. Not an easy task, and it varies geographically as the rider demographics change across the country.

One thing is for sure, we must reduce or consolidate the number of Road Race classes if we are going to be able to successfully and safely continue to run the Road Race program in a manner our members demand.

Daniel May DANIEL MAY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

PHOTO BY PAUL ELLEDGE

A MODERN GAME OF TETRIS PHOTO CREDIT STEVE BOHAC

It Takes a Village...

During the weekend at Roebling Road Raceway, I kept thinking to myself: “It truly does take a village to bring together such an event,” and the dedication and support of the AHRMA officials and volunteers played a crucial role in the execution.

As a new road race director, it was very reassuring to have such a supportive team by my side, helping to navigate the challenges and intricacies of organizing the event. When I departed for the weekend, I knew I had a lot to learn. The patience everyone gave me built my confidence, and my excitement continued to grow. It was important to me to learn from each department. From the hustle and bustle of tech to the concentration of timing and scoring, I took it all in. I spent time in the control tower to watch the various classes of motorcycles take off so I could better understand about gridding. And, I must admit I was in awe of Faynisha Pentecost in race control as she calmly communicated to the track workers and the AHRMA grid team. The willingness of the team to come together, share their skills and expertise, and work towards a common goal is truly commendable!

There were many other wonderful things about the weekend. Though chilly, the rain stayed away, and no ambulances left the paddock. The AHRMA branding team rolled out a cool event t-shirt that is being coined as the “AHRMA Tour” t-shirt. In addition, AHRMA was gifted a very impressive podium by racer Stephen Aratz of Hot Shot Welding that added a special touch to the weekend, showcasing the creativity and generosity within the racing community.

ROAD RACING

I am grateful for the support and collaboration of everyone involved, from Executive Director Dan May, to the officials, volunteers, trustees, and most of all the racers. My overall goal when I departed for the race was to end the weekend with everyone smiling and that goal was met!

As I write this, I’m a couple of hours out for our next adventure at CMP. I’ve got a positive outlook for another successful weekend, and ready to get everyone on track!

Leasha Overturf

LEASHA OVERTURF ROAD RACE DIRECTOR

PHOTO BY MARK GLENN

Greetings all,

I hope this finds you with some racing under your belt or well prepped for a race weekend to come. The beauty of our club is that whether you’re chasing a national title or running in your region, there is heaps of racing to be had across all AHRMA’s disciplines and I hope you’re getting after it!

As your new Chairperson, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the membership for their support in electing me as trustee, and the Board of Trustees for their confidence in nominating me Chair, I’d also like to give a shout out to Carl Anderson, our former Chair, for navigating the club through our challenging past year.

Since being handed the gavel, I’ve had the pleasure of sitting in on our numerous committee and planning meetings, working closely with our leadership to help guide our club through this year and beyond. I am amazed by and applaud the efforts of the Executive Committee, B.O.T., discipline directors, regional coordinators, paid staff and our volunteers. Although it may not seem to be the case, it is no small feat to run this organization, reminding you

all this this club is largely run by volunteers.

Through these meetings and working in close collaboration with Daniel May, our Executive Director, and Ed Roman, our Special Chair, we’ve established goals and priorities to serve as our guidance for 2024 and beyond.

AHRMA GOALS:

• Membership - our membership is our customer. Focus on member experience, growth and engagement, with equity for all racing disciplines.

• Safety - most of us work on Monday morning. We’ve established a multi-discipline committee to ensure our events are consistently run with a safety-first mentality.

• Financial Accountability – be financially responsible. Manage income and expenses with timely and transparent reporting.

• Organizational Performance – we are a club of volunteers. Manage staff, encourage volunteerism and plan for succession.

• Events – we run amazing events. Organize and promote racing at venues for both national and regional competition across all moto-disciplines.

• Vintage – recognize our club is vintage at its core. We celebrate and promote vintage machines by era, encouraging modern enthusiasts to be backward compatible.

How’s that for a list?! These goals come with a plea and a request to you, my fellow member, to get involved, volunteer, and offer some of your expertise to our group. We can always use your help. See you trackside or reach out to me anytime.

Yours in racing and the good times that come with it,

Greg “GT“ Tomlinson

GREG “GT” TOMLINSON

AHRMA CHAIRPERSON

Member #14562

RR / DT #5

MX / CC #50

email: chairman@ahrma.org

PHOTO BY STEPH VETTERLY

2024 Updates

By the time you are reading this, the season will have finally begun! I am so looking forward to this season!

If you haven’t heard, we have finally been able to lock down what I believe will be one of our best events! Motocross, Cross Country and Trials will all be a part of the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Festival! I am SO excited about this!

To have a proper motocross track to go along with the Cross Country and Trials events that were held in the past is something that has been on our radar for a long time! We would be very remiss if we didn’t mention that this only happened because of the efforts of one of our members, Allen McWilliams!

There will be a BRAND NEW MX TRACK at Barber this year! As the previous owner of Mill Creek MX in Birmingham, AL, Allen has run AHRMA events in the past and understands what is needed to create a track appropriate for us and our unique machines. This is being designed and set up specifically for vintage motorcycles!

This is not a race; this is an EVENT! If you have never been to the Barber Vintage Festival, you are in for a treat! There is so much going on besides just the racing. I have never seen

OFF-ROAD

so many motorcycles in one place, and there were 70,000+ spectators there last year (and they expect growth this year). There is a massive vintage swap meet, and the museum alone is worth the trip. I personally believe this will become one of our best events. So, get your bikes ready and be prepared to come to Leeds, AL, in October. This is going to be awesome!

For those on the West Coast, we have confirmed that we will be racing at Chaney ranch again this year, in May. Chaney Ranch is one of my personal favorite venues; it’s up in the mountains outside Temecula, CA, and is one of the most beautiful venues we race at. This is where many of the magazines do their photoshoots (for good reason). This is another event that is not to be missed.

There are also lots of new venues (Wildwood, South of the Border, Stateline Riders, Freestone, Johnsonville) along with many old favorites.

Whatever your discipline, bring a friend and show them the many things that are available with AHRMA, from the Regional events, to the National events, there are a large number of off-road events available. Share your passion and help AHRMA grow!

Be safe, have fun, and ride fast!

TERRY MCPHILLIPS OFF-ROAD RACE DIRECTOR

ADVERTISE WITH AHRMA!

AHRMA members invest a lot of money in their sport. In addition to owning 19 motorcycles, the average member spends over $10,000 each year on new and used motorcycles, parts, accessories, publications, race fuel, lubricants, safety gear, tools and other related items. In other words, the association's members represent nearly $60 million in spending power!

PHOTO BY SHARON BEAN

WCORNER TURNING THE

ith the 2024 season underway, we look to continue to build on the momentum we had in 2023. With 15 rounds, the 2024 championships will be decided by the best of half plus one with a minimum of four races to qualify for National Championships. One of our biggest events for this season is the Second Annual Dick Mann Memorial Race and Championships at Lodi Cycle Bowl in Lodi, California. This event will consist of four rounds over three days, with Sunday’s races counting as double points, giving those who attend five rounds worth of points. We will be returning in to Athens, Ohio, this year and making it a multi-day event with a TT and Short Track on Friday, Aug 23rd, with fireworks and live music after racing concludes. We pick it back up Saturday Aug 24th for the 1/2 mile race.

With the new season underway, you may notice some changes to the program mostly regarding safety and rider experience. We have added remote safety lights that will be used at all of our events as well as

a starting light, staging boards, and registration tower that are new for 2024. The new safety lights will help us better warn racers of a downed rider, and on red flags be able to shut the track down quicker to prevent compounded race incidents. The starting light will create a more consistent race experience from event to event and will help our referees cut down on jump starts. Along with the staging boards to display the current and next race, the registration tower will be a one-stop for all race info including practice order, race schedule, heat grids, main grids, and results. This information will also be posted through the event on our Facebook and Instagram accounts, AHRMA Dirt Track, for racer’s convenience and so friends and families can follow along if they cannot make the event.

One of our biggest changes this season will be going from a “whatever we can fit” grids to a four-on-each-row grids. In the past, the track has dictated the number of bikes per row depending on how wide the front straight is and could be anywhere from six bikes to eight

BSA UNIT SINGLES LLC

Huge inventory of parts for C15, B40, B25, T25, B44 & B50 - Also buy old dealer inventories

Peter Quick 603-532-7300

www.bsaunitsingles.com

bikes wide on the starting line. This season for all short track and TT races, each row will be limited to four bikes while our 1/2 mile races the limit will be six per row.

The AHRMA Dirt Track Vintage Cup will return for its second year with the Seventies Singles class being featured. After a great success in our first year with Sportsman 750, we wanted to highlight the next generation of machines that shaped the sport of dirt track. These would be the fire-breathing four-stroke singles like the Yamaha TT500 and the Honda xl350/500 along with other machines from the late 1970’s into the early 1980’s up to 600cc’s. As the season goes on, look for strong contenders like Charlies Williams (defending class champion), David Aldana (previous class champion), and Jonathan Schaefer (2023 Dick Mann Memorial class champion) to have some great battles.

I look forward to a great year of racing and seeing everyone at the races. Please reach out with any questions.

Richard Brodock

RICHARD BRODOCK DIRT TRACK DIRECTOR

PHOTO BY MARIAH LACY PHOTOGRAPHY

AHRMA Handbook, Have it Your Way!

We are pleased to announce the availability of the 2024 AHRMA Handbook. New for 2024, the official AHRMA Handbook is available in a variety of formats to suit every racers needs. For those who prefer the traditional hard copy booklet, a print version can be ordered from Amazon for under $5 (plus shipping). If you are an Amazon Prime member, shipping is FREE ! For instructions on adding the downloaded PDF to a Kindle device, please check out Amazon’s website.

If you prefer the online version, or want to print on your own, you can always find the most recent version on the AHRMA website for you to view, download or print.

Finally, each race discipline director will have a limited number

of hard copy booklets for sale at most national events. Availability of the event copies will be limited and subject to availability.

Board Meeting Minutes from Roebling Road Raceway (2/19) are available on the AHRMA website under the News section.

If you’re reading the digital version of this magazine, click the below button to read them now.

2023 AHRMA Cost Reduction Idea Winner Announced!

WORDS & PHOTO BY LUKE SAYER

AHRMA put the call out to its members last year for ideas to help recover from being in debt the last few years. The member response was overwhelming with 54 submissions, many having multiple ideas in their submission. Many members had very thoughtful and helpful ideas. However, some ideas overlapped the existing AHRMA Recovery Program or have been tried in the past. Fear not, since all ideas will be sent to the affected working group such as Road Race, Off-Road, Administration, etc., for consideration and a fresh look.

In order to select the winner of the best idea, a small group consisting of Mike Dixon, Jeff Hargis, Arthur Kowitz, and Luke Sayer met multiple times to select the top 14 ideas, then the top 5, and then we all agreed on the winner with the largest dollar savings. There were several honorable mention ideas such as:

• Having computer flyers available early for our membership to share with both national and local social media groups as well as motorcycle shops

• Reduce awards cost by having a single yearly class plaque and giving small plates out at each race to attach rather than larger plaques that end up in a box in the garage or shed

• Soliciting donated items for raffles at races and year end events (this takes time to do and a volunteer is needed for this), and also using AMAZON Print on Demand for Handbooks and possibly more

The winner of the best idea is Lewis Leonard with his submission of replacing the plastic membership cards with a paper card that can be laminated if desired (or what I prefer is to take a photo of it with my phone and always have it available). This simple change will save over $10,000 a year and make getting membership cards to the members easier and quicker than USPS service. For being the winner, Leonard will be getting $100 dollar bill and his name in the AHRMA MAG. Congratulations!

At this year’s annual Road Racing Awards Banquet at Roebling Road Raceway, Dan May presented Lewis Leornard a crisp $100 dollar bill for his idea which Lewis then graciously donated to AHRMA!

In closing, what AHRMA really needs to improve its financial position is for members to come out and race, bring their friends (future members) and family to have fun together. More entries and fun times helps AHRMA!

Contact: membership@ahrma.org

2024 Dick Mann National Vintage Challenge

Riders Respond to the Challenge! Introducing Our First 10 DMNVC Competitors

WORDS BY DEBBIE POOLE

As of press time, there are 10 Dick Mann National Vintage Challenge (DMNVC) competitors ready to take on 4 out of the 5 disciplines AHRMA offers. The DMNVC registration is open until June 30th (go to www. ahrma.org/dick-mann-challenge-sign-up-form/), but here are our competitors so far:

RICHARD BRODOCK NASHVILLE, TN

Richard’s primary discipline is dirt track, so in addition to this specialty he, and all competitors, will also compete in three more forms of AHRMA competition as required for the DMNVC, options being Vintage Motocross, Cross Country, Road Race or Trials.

What drew Richard to sign up? He says, “for 2024 I wanted to challenge myself. I ride dirt track, road race and cross country in AHRMA and I want to try all disciplines that AHRMA offers. This is a great way to get out and do that, and to meet more members of the AHRMA family.”

DON GALLOWAY EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA

Don has the added challenge of making all the DMNVC, coming from Canada! Primarily a dirt track racer, Don will be branching out into the other forms of AHRMA competition for the DMNVC. Don gives his thoughts on competing in the DMNVC:

“The nature of the DMNVC with the necessity of racing a variety of tracks on different race bikes was just too interesting for me to ignore.”

DAVID RUTHERFORD TALKING ROCK, GA

Principally an AHRMA road racer, David is ready to give the DMNVC a try for several reasons:

1. Restructured, the DMNVC embodies what Dick Mann exemplified: versatility and excellence in multiple, varied forms of motorcycle competition

2. It is an opportunity to see, meet and enjoy many different AHRMA members across the USA

3. It will force me to dust off, build and keep fettling multiple “projects” I’ve had sitting for years, and

4. Riding and racing motorcycles….it will be fun!

DAVE MILLER WEST UNION, SC

Dave’s primary discipline is cross country, He has well-rounded off-road experience, and a bit of dirt track. Dave explains, “I was a Dick Mann fan in his day because he was good at more than one feat. The Atlanta Motorcycle Club at one time offered an “Iron Man” event that included trials, cross country, motocross and flat track. It was a blast! A similar weekend took place at Daytona a few years ago, with all 4 off-road disciplines.

Emmy Poole (70T)

PHOTO CREDIT SHARON COAD

By signing up for the DMNVC I will get to have even more fun doing what I enjoy, while I’m still able!”

BILL GOULD ATLANTA, GA

Bill Gould has been around AHRMA trials for many years, both riding and setting up events. In the last few years, he has taken a deep dive into AHRMA road racing as well. Having competency in both disciplines will set him in a very good position for the DMNVC.

DAVID RHODES COLUMBIA, IL

Getting into motorcycles in the late 1970’s, David was always fascinated by the AMA Grand National Championship when competitors had to be very versatile to do well in the Mile, 1/2 Mile, TT, Short Track and Road Racing, competing on both dirt and asphalt. Back then, Dave didn’t have the funds to support multiple disciplines of racing. Joining AHRMA, he first tried flat track, and shortly thereafter joined the AHRMA road race crowd. In competing in the DMNVC, Dave says, “I’m looking forward to riding old motorcycles I’ve never experienced, and meeting other members of the AHRMA family”.

MIKE STIVASON KITTANNING, PA

Mike has competed in previous Dick Mann Challenges when it was a Team structure.

He’s very excited about the new format of individuals competing against each other, rather than teams, and thinks the individual format captures much better the spirit of Dick Mann. As he says, “the DMNVC is an absolute must!”

GREG (GT) TOMLINSON DANA POINT, CA

GT is known mostly as an AHRMA road racer and dirt tracker, but has been having so much fun in

AHRMA cross country the last few years, he was indecisive as to what to claim as his Primary Discipline for the DMNVC. He finally settled on road race, having competed in that the longest, and having won several national AHRMA road race championships.

GT envisions the AHRMA DMNVC as having unlimited possibilities and steady growth. In his view, “ winning the Dick Mann Vintage National Challenge could become, and in my opinion should become AHRMA’s highest competition honor. Nothing else AHRMA does merges our unique and wellrounded disciplines and versatile competitors, and gives The Mann a rightful place of honor well into AHRMA’s future”.

ROBERT POOLE TIBURON, CA

Rob has been involved in AHRMA VMX since joining the organization in 1989. Some decades ago he added AHRMA trials to his experience, and has found that now he probably enjoys trials more the VMX. “I’ve noticed in the last few years my throttle

hand does not want to do what it used to do! At this point, I do feel trials is my primary discipline.” As for the DMNVC, Rob says he’s pleased to participate, in large part because no single person influenced him more than Dick Mann when it comes to building and improving vintage machines, as well as how to set up natural terrain tracks best suited for vintage machines. Rob adds, “In so many ways Dick Mann’s insight and genius was underestimated.”

EMMY POOLE TIBURON, CA

Emmy first attended an AHRMA event at the age of two. Dick Mann was a fixture at all AHRMA events she and her family attended, and she literally can’t remember when he wasn’t a part of that life. Emmy says that the DMNVC is, “a super fun way to be involved with continuing the legacy of Dick Mann, in his professional career and as a founder of AHRMA.”

Don Galloway PHOTO CREDIT TIM LESTER

The Grand Slam is one of the most prestigious clubs in motorcycle racing. To date there are only four members and it has been 35 years since the last Grand Slam was completed. During the years of AMA Grand National competition, the Grand

THE VINTAGE GRAND SLAM

WORDS BY RICHARD BRODOCK

Slam was the ultimate achievement. First achievable in 1961, the Grand Slam became possible with the announcement of the Santa Fe Short Track in Chicago as a National. Consisting of both dirt and road courses, the Grand Slam tests riders’ skills in five different disciplines: Road Race, Mile, Half Mile, Short Track, and TT. Many came close over the years by winning four out of five but most never completed their Slam, including Chris Carr who came up short never winning a road race

and even Nicky Hayden who fell short losing to Scott Parker on the Del Mar Mile in 1999. In 1985, the AMA discontinued road racing from its Grand National competition which made the Grand Slam that was already difficult now nearly impossible. In fact, four years later, in 1989, the last Grand Slam would happen.

Four legendary racers have completed the Grand Slam. Dick Mann was not only the first but he was also the oldest to complete the Grand Slam in 1972. He did so by winning the Homewood, IL, mile at the age of 38. It took Mann 13 years after his Peoria TT win in 1959 to achieve what no racer in history had done. It’s no surprise that Dick Mann would accomplish the Grand Slam, but what was surprising was just two years later in 1974, the Grand Slam was completed for the second time. More surprising was how fast it had been completed. This time, a 22-year-old Kenny

Roberts became the youngest to complete the Grand Slam by taking victory at the Peoria TT in 1974. How fitting was it that Roberts’ finale race to complete the Grand Slam was at the same track Dick Mann’s Grand Slam pursuit started. Not only was he the youngest, but Roberts also completed the Grand Slam in the least amount of time, doing so in a little less than two years after his first Grand National win at the Houston Short Track in 1972. After Roberts, the motorcycle racing world would have to wait 12 years before a rider would close out their Slam. Bubba Shoebert had won four out of five races needed for the Slam prior to the 1985 AMA discontinuation of road racing in the Grand National series. In 1986 at the age of 24, Sheobert would achieve his Grand Slam winning the Phoenix Half Mile. It took Shoebert four years to rack up the wins he needed. It didn’t take long after Shoebert’s Slam for Doug Chandler to become the fourth and last person to complete the Grand Slam in 1989. Chandler was a month shy of his 24th birthday when he took the last win needed at the Lexington, Ohio, National Road Race.

to the AHRMA Road Racing and Dirt Track schedules to see how to go about it. One day, I was having a conversation with Jimmy Pooler and told him what I was doing. Well, if you know Jimmy, if it’s motorcycle and racing, then you know it didn’t take long for him to come on board for this crazy journey. Having both competed in road race and dirt track on a multitude of different size and age machines, we could both check off several wins already. The biggest challenge we face is that one of the disciplines both of us need only happens once a year, and in true competitive style we both race the same three classes. What’s the point of winning if you didn’t work for it, right?

Both Jimmy and I need wins on a Mile dirt track. Now that the Sacramento Amateur Mile is

no longer running (as of 2023), there’s only one opportunity for amateurs to race a mile track, so that is top on our list for planning. We must both attend if we want to have a chance at completing the Slam this year. Having both won races on big and small bikes on Short Tracks, we could check that off as well as Half Miles with both of us having wins there too.

Here’s where we differ. I have not completed the Road Race side yet. I did road race for a few years but the highest position I finished was third in 2018 in the Thruxton Cup. Jimmy, on the other hand, can’t count the number of road race wins he has to his name. Maybe he can give me some pointers as I get back on the road course this year. The other part Jimmy needs to complete his Slam is a TT win as his highest finish there is second place. TT races can be like a fist fight in a phone booth. Take the action of a short track race and make the track tighter, more turns, more technical, and throw

So what’s the Vintage Grand Slam? The Vintage Grand Slam came about from an idea I had that quickly became a personal goal. I thought how cool it would be to complete the Grand Slam but to do it on vintage bikes just like they did. Those men did something no one before and no one since has accomplished, and they did it on machines that didn’t have traction control, electronics, or fuel injection. So that’s what I set out to do in 2024. I looked at what I needed to do to complete the Grand Slam and compared it

PHOTO CREDIT MOE PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO CREDIT KEVIN MCINTOSH

a jump in there for good measure and you have a TT track. I have raced many TT tracks and in all my racing have the fewest wins in TT races. I was lucky enough to sneak out four TT wins but they were few and far between.

We are still finalizing plans of what AHRMA races we will do and when we will attempt to complete our Grand Slams, but we will be keeping you updated as we go. There’s a chance that one of us, both of us, or none of us are gonna complete the Grand Slam this year, but follow along with us as we try and maybe we can inspire more of you to give a try. And who knows, maybe our attempts will trigger a true National Grand Slam. After all, we’re not the only ones chasing history…

PHOTO CREDIT DRAGAN HARBOV

2025 RULES CHANGE

The 2024 Rules Change Season is about to start. This year we have shortened the period for submitting new rules or modifications to existing rules. Submissions will be received May 1st through May 15th.

If you are a member in good standing and you’ve been itching to try your hand at writing rules, now is your time to shine. While you’re thinking about getting involved in building a better club, the best question for you to ask yourself is “Why change/add a rule?” There are good and not-sogood answers to that question. Read on for a good answer:

“I think my proposal will make competition in the class better.” On the not-so-good side: “It will make my bike faster so I don’t get beat so badly.” The Rules & Eligibility committees always get a chuckle from that one proposal that screams, “It’s

all about me.” Try not to be that one, really.

Writing rules or modifications to existing rules is pretty simple. As a refresher for the veterans and a primer for the novice authors, we are including last year’s instructions outlining several changes. Steps 1 and 2 are pretty straight forward. Steps 3, 4, and 5 can get a bit tricky; read those instructions a couple of times.

Regarding steps 4 and 5, enough of the original rule language and the revised language must be presented exactly as intended for publication; this also goes for a new rule as in step 3.

To make getting the original language painless, the 2024 Handbook is online. Find your rule, copy as much of the text as you need. Do not copy the entire rule. Those text boxes have limited space. Copy only enough so that the Rules & Eligibility Committee will understand your intent. Paste what you have copied in the appropriate box in step 4.

steps to creating a rule change proposal

While you’re at it, copy that same text into the revised box in step 5. Using the text tools provided, strike through the text you want to revise or remove. If you are entering new text, enter that text and use the underline tool to indicate it is new.

And you’re pretty much done. Fill out step 6 if other rules are affected by your change. Help your committee out with a rationale in step 7, and include pertinent documentation in step 8.

Before you start, do your homework. If you can address either the competition or authenticity of the rule, fill out the form, include some documentation and/or a strong rationale, submit it by May 15. And remember, we’re all in this together.

Kevin Burns

KEVIN BURNS RULES CHAIR

STEP 1 - Fully complete all of your personal information including your membership number. Only submissions made by active members with Full Memberships will be accepted for consideration.

STEP 2 - Select Discipline/Category that is affected by this Rule Change Proposal from the dropdown field and whether it is a new rule or an existing rule in the current AHRMA Handbook. If it is an existing rule, please provide the rule number as it appears in the current AHRMA Handbook. MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING THE CURRENT HANDBOOK AS YOUR REFERENCE

STEP 3 - For New Rule submission, you may either provide the complete rule in the New Rule Text edit area, or upload a pdf file through the Supporting Documentation Upload tool. New rules will not be accepted without complete and comprehensive rules.

For new Rules, after completing this step, proceed to Step 6. For existing rules, proceed to Step 4.

STEP 4 - If this is a rule which currently exists in the current AHRMA Handbook, copy the rule to be changed from the Handbook and include it in the “Original Rule Text” edit area.

Rule Change Proposal Process Developed by Kevin Burns & Cindy McLean

PROPOSAL PROCESS

STEP 5 - Include the rule change proposal verbiage in the “Proposed Rule Change Text” edit area. Strike through verbiage to be removed and underline verbiage to be added.

NOTE: COMPLETE revised text must be included in the “Proposed Rule Change Text” space. Committees are not responsible for rewriting the rule.

STEP 6 - If your proposed rule change affects other rules, include them in the “Rules Affected by this Rule Change Proposal.” Strike through verbiage to be removed and underline verbiage to be added.

STEP 7 - The Rule Change Rationale field is optional, but you may certainly include any text that you feel may better explain why you are requesting the Rule Change.

STEP 8 - Before submitting your Rule Change Proposal, you have the opportunity to upload supporting documentation (articles, illustrations or other materials). Max file size allowed: 5MB. File types accepted: jpg, png, pdf

other requirements & information

• Submissions not following the instructions provided here will be returned to the submitter to be corrected.

• Only Rule Change Proposals submitted using the form on this page will be accepted.

• Each form must be completed in full.

• Submit a separate form for each rule change proposal unless one rule change affects others.

rules proposal process schedule

• Forms with multiple rule change proposals will be rejected.

• You will receive email confirmation of your submission.

• You may contact AHRMA at any time to ask that your proposal be withdrawn.

• If you have questions about this process, contact Kevin Burns, Rules Chair, at 68.kburns@gmail.com.

May 1-15 Rule Change Proposal submission period – as Rule Change Proposals come in they will be forwarded to the appropriate Rules & Eligibility (R&E) committees. (2 weeks)

May 22 R&E Committee review period ends (starts during submission period)

June 9-18

June 17

June 28

Trustee review period

Preliminary vote, Meeting 1a (video meeting)

Preliminary vote, Meeting 1b (video meeting)

July 10-17 Member comment period (1 week)

July 20 - August 11 Member comment trustee review

August 12

Final vote (video meeting). (Tentative. It will be in August.)

NOTE: schedule subject to change

AHRMA Season Opener at RRR

WORDS BY BOB ROBBINS PHOTOS BY ETECHPHOTO.COM

f you followed the weather forecast for the AHRMA weekend you were pleasantly surprised at the conditions throughout the weekend. Through the years we have had a huge swing in temperatures in the February event and this one proved to be one of the better ones of late with the exception of a quite chilly Sunday.

IRoebling Road Raceway is a perfect first event to get back into the swing of things after the offseason for most with its flowing layout. The track manager, Jack Abbott, and his staff are always accommodating, and its backyard atmosphere makes for a fun time in the paddock.

Participation was very strong with over 200 riders and over 300 entries for each day. The energy among the riders and AHRMA crew was fantastic as the new season got underway. Our new Race Director, Leasha Overturf,

showed she has what it takes and put on a great first riders meeting enjoying a warm welcome, as did returning referee Jim Korn who most riders know well. Our Executive Director Dan May has assembled a staff that worked well together especially for the first event and is a good indication that things are on an upward swing. Many riders commented

afterwards on how well the event ran.

The AHRMA 2023 Awards Banquet was held on site in the concession pavilion with a lot of fun and presentation of the awards for the 2023 season. A group of volunteers made that a great success.

Timothy O’Brien & Joseph Lynn (981)

Michael Hausknecht (1f)

Some new procedures and safety additions to the series were implemented at the event. The AHRMA Safety committee formed after last season has been working to create a safer environment for all. A set of lights now being used in Dirt Track were loaned by Richard Brodock, Dirt Track director and were tested throughout the weekend. The use of a flashing red light in addition to waving red flags was highly praised by riders. A set of 8 lights and the control system have been ordered with no cost to AHRMA through generous donations and will be used at all Roadrace events.

On track action was as good as it gets with close racing throughout the classes. The 2024 Vintage Cup class was off to a great start with a battle for the lead. Rob Hall took the win by a 0.605 margin on his Stu Carter 1965 AJS 7R over Alex McLean’s Rob McKeever 1967 Harley Davidson Aermacchi Drixton. Rounding out the podium was Chris Spargo on his John Turner 1967 Yamaha TD2 which stalled at the start but Spargo made a great effort to catch up to the leaders coming up 1.0 second short. Vince Borbone and Jerry Duke rounded out the top five finishers.

Sunday’s race had Alex McLean leading for several laps over Rob Hall as a battle went on with Hall taking the lead on the last lap and winning round two. Again, Chris Spargo secured third after a battle with Eric Watts on his Ducat 350. Fifth place went to Jerry Duke.

One standout was race #1 which included Sound Of Singles 1 with a battle of from two different ends of the spectrum in riders and equipment. Young Moto America Junior Cup racer Eli Block rode a Built By Block KTM Supermotard 450 against veteran racer Michael Hausknecht on a Kramer 690. The pair had a great battle, each having advantages or disadvantages within the course to deal with and Hausknecht came out on the top step. The same battle was repeated in Sunday’s race with Hausknecht commending Block and thanking him for pushing him harder.

All classes including a great showing of Side Car competitors had some great battles and as one rider commented, “It’s a win when everyone drives themselves home”. No ambulance rolled from

the property over the entire event. In all it seems AHRMA is going strong heading into the 2024 season.

Camillo Sassano (3)

James Stewart (35J)

Jim Eich & Ronya Alkaddumi (51P)

2023 Year-End Awards Banquet

It was a strange feeling to go to the awards banquet and not be in contention for any awards, but I thought it was the right thing to do, went anyway and BOY was a glad I did! 2023 was an odd year and also the first year since I started racing with AHRMA in 2014 that I didn’t attend enough races to win anything. In the nine years since 2014, I’ve only missed one awards banquet and that was only because I was busy getting married to my amazing bride the weekend they held the banquet! (Yes, our 10th is right around the corner…) The year-end awards banquet is always about SO much more than just the trophies and championships and this one was no exception.

First and foremost, we started the evening off on a somber note with a moment of silence in recognition of the three members of our family who raced their final race last year. We all kept silent and spent a minute remembering Robert Agarter, Silke Crombie and Andy Davis. Remembering the joy, happiness and moments we shared and how much we will miss them all now that they are gone. Godspeed racers!

After that, our illustrious MC, Greg “GT” Tomlinson, made some introductions for all of the attending trustees, our Executive Director Dan May, our new Roadrace Director Leasha Overturf and returning Race Referee Jim Korn. The thundering applause

for all three of their introductions gave hint to the mood in the room that night and what was to come in the pits all weekend.

Before he got to the awards, GT had one more introduction: a very special “reveal” of a new gift to the AHRMA road race family from a generous member/sponsor. Steven Aretz, from Hotshot Welding, revealed the beautiful and magnificent new victory podium that he designed, created, and donated to AHRMA for use at all Roadrace events. The podium not only was a work of art, but also a marvel of craftsmanship that would make any master craftsman envious. It was sturdy, lightweight, all three boxes fit inside of each other AND it had retractable handles and wheels for easy transport. The next time you see Steven, be sure to thank him for his amazing gift!

After that, GT kicked it in high gear, with an entertaining commentary to go along with the awards being handed out. We saw numerous champions crowned, including 2023’s Vintage Cup champion, Tim Joyce. We saw generous sponsors who often give so generously every year but rarely get enough recognition, like Jerry Nickell, Tony Doukas, and Bob Blakely to name just a few. Without theirs and others generosity, AHRMA could never exist and certainly would not already be out of the huge financial hole it was in so recently.

We also saw many exchanges of perpetual awards from last years to this years recipient, including the posthumous awarding of the Lady Roadracer award to Silke Crombie, which caused many in the room to suddenly have problems with their allergies as their eyes started tearing up and noses started to run.

Throughout the entire event, there was an unspoken energy that became more and more obvious as the night went on. AHRMA was BACK! From the easy laughter and witty banter to the easy smiles and confident eyes of everyone in the room. There was no doubt that this was a new year, with a return to the happiness and camaraderie that has always made AHRMA so unique!

I can’t wait for NEXT years banquet already!

WORDS BY MARK MORROW PHOTOS COURTESY STEPHEN ARETZ AND ETECHPHOTO.COM

2024 Vintage Cup - 350GP

Bridgestone Tires AHRMA Roadracing Series

Dual Wins by Rob Hall

WORDS AHRMA STAFF PHOTO ETECHPHOTO.COM

The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) kicked off the 2024 Vintage Cup series that highlights the 350 GP class Feb 17 and 18 at Roebling Road Raceway in Bloomingdale, GA as part of the 2024 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA Roadracing Series. The Vintage Cup series was inaugurated in 2019 with the 350 GP class, followed by 500 Premier in 2021, Vintage Superbike Heavyweight in 2022, and finally Formula 750 in 2023. This series

was intended to rotate in this order, so for 2024, 350GP starts out the next round of Vintage Cup classes.

Sponsored by Hagerty Insurance, Roadracingworld.com, and NYC Norton (nycnorton.com), AHRMA’s 2024 Vintage Cup features the 350 GP class which includes 350cc four-stroke and 250cc two-stroke powered machines built up to and including 1968. Featured bikes from this era would include bikes such as the AJS 7R “Boy Racer”, 350 Manx Norton, Benelli 350Four, Aermacchi 350 Road Racer,

Yamaha TD2, and more. 350 GP is a true Grand Prix class from the “golden era” up until the early 1980s and was won by such great racers such as Giacomo Agostini, Jim Redmon, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, and Geoff Duke to name a few.

“Thanks to modern technology, I was able to follow the racing remotely on live timing using Speedhive. Despite his youthful appearance, Rob Hall is a veteran tuner, having worked on all three podium bikes, and a racer extraordinaire who really

Rob Hall (270), Alex McLean (122)

put the screws to multi 350 GP and Vintage Cup champion Alex McLean each day, no easy task.” said Kenny Cummings of NYC Norton (nycnorton.com). “It’s incredible to see such beautiful vintage motorcycles piloted by highly skilled riders on Grand Prix machinery and once again proves that the Vintage Cup meets its intended purpose.”

The start of Saturday’s race saw Rob Hall aboard Stu Carter’s 1965 AJS 7R coming from the third row to out-brake Alex McLean, who was riding Rob McKeever’s 1967 Harley Davidson Aermacchi Drixton, into turn one taking the hole shot.

McLean and Hall battled fiercely, exchanging leads several times throughout the race. McLean finally took the lead until the last lap when he hit a false neutral entering turn one, losing his momentum and the lead. Hall took over, increased the gap with McLean, and took the win. Christopher Spargo, on John Turner’s 1967 Yamaha TD2, stalled at the start but once launched, worked his way through the field. He closed on the leaders and took third several bike lengths behind McLean.

The balance of the grid in order of finish included: Vincent Borbone in fourth, on a 1967 Kawasaki A1, Jerry Duke in fifth on a 1967 Ducati 350 Scrambler, Craig Light sixth on a 1973 Bultaco, Larry Watts seventh on a 1968 Ducati 350, Doug Bowie in eighth on a 1968 Ducati Mach 1, and David Roper, in ninth on a 1962 Matchless G-50.

On Sunday, McLean was able to get the hole shot into turn one and held the lead with Hall in pursuit for several laps. Spargo battled it out with Eric Watts on a 1972 Ducati 350 for third place. Hall took the lead mid-way through the race, and diced with Mclean, finally able to make it stick after slicing through traffic on the last lap for the win. McLean was second, Spargo third and Watts fourth. The balance of the grid, in order of finish was Jerry Duke in fifth

RACE RESULTS

position, Craig Light, seventh, and in eighth place was David Roper.

“These middle-weight road racers from the late 60s look cool and sound cool,” said Greg Tomlinson, 2024 Chairman of the AHRMA Board of Trustees. “Plus, they are all pretty evenly matched and, as we saw during the opening rounds of our Vintage Cup, really put on a great show.”

The annual Vintage Cup spotlights one of AHRMA’s road racing classes with extra attention on competitors in the selected class during each race event.

Enhanced awards for the Vintage Cup competitors are presented separately from other class trophies during the Saturday awards ceremony at each AHRMA National Road Race event. Highlights from each Vintage Cup race will be reported in RoadRacingWorld.com’s online edition. At the conclusion of each season, the perpetual Vintage Cup trophy will be engraved with the national champion winner’s name and presented to the winner at the National Awards Banquet to keep for one year.

Carolina Motorsports Park

saturday

The day started out Sunny and warm as racing got underway late in the morning. Looking through the data, the racing might have seemed boring if you were watching only one class.

NextGen SBK Lwt led the start with Harry Vanderlinden laying down fast lap of the race with a 1:47.8 and a four second lead on Dave Wallace, and so it went with Vanderlinden notching his first win of the day, with Wallace second and Bill Howard third. First term Trustee Jeff Hargis spent no time immediately nocking four seconds on Cameron Crockett and securing a first place finish 28 seconds on Crockett with Brad Phillips filling out the podium. Jim Eich and Paul Elledge took podium places in Vintage SBK Lwt. David Miller showed the way ahead of Peter Pinello, and Blake Parr in Sportsman 350. David Roper laid down consistently fast laps putting a 28 second margin on Jimmy Pooler with John Turner finishing third.

Moto Lemans led off the Race 2 group with Grayson Rogers taking

fast race lap, with Stuart Sanders, and Ken Knoop on their respective podium places. Novice Hist Prod Hwt saw Craig Martin take a ninesecond win over Peter Evans with Wes Burden finishing third. Pre1940 filled out the classifications with perennial top dog Alex McLean continuing to own that top step followed by Ralph Wessell and Lewis Leonard.

Race 3 brought out the first of the AHRMA Modern classes. Pete Nicolosi (Formula Extreme) and David McPherson (Formula Lightning) took their respective places representing the electric classes. Steve Alexander, Noel Korowin, and Paul Elledge filled out the podium in Motard. NextGen SBK 3 saw Sean Cassell take a 14 second margin to the

WORDS BY KEVIN BURNS (SATURDAY), AND ERIC WATTS (SUNDAY)

PHOTOS BY ETECHPHOTO.COM

Patrick Lansu (77L)

top step ahead of Brian Larrabure and Ervin Kollek. SOT1 podium finishers were Clint Austin first, Patrick Lansu second, and Robert Leavitt third. Leavitt set fast lap of 1:382 at 91.48 mph. SOS3 finished out the Race 3 classifications with Eric Lukehart taking first, Colleen Urmson second , and Randy Koop third.

Sidecars. Eight classifications. 20 rigs. Always a show. Tony and Lisa Doukas took first in Modern SC TT2 and first overall. Tim and Renee Joyce took first in SC2/ Super Vintage and second overall. Team Doukas took the hole shot and kept their heads down knowing the Team Joyce would be wasting no time attempting to catch up. Powell and Stefaniak finished second in Modern SC TTS, with Shidla and Greenfiel-Huitt third. Knight and Becker finished second to Team Joyce, while the Rammer brothers took third. Jim Eich and Ronya Alkaddumi wasted no time dispatching the SC Lost Era SC3 grid finishing 18.9 seconds in front of Stephen Aretz and Kayla Theisler. Tim O’Brien and Michelle LeClear-Fisher rounded out the podium. Michelle wowed the fans with her dexterity riding that bronco.

Other winners in the side car classes were Bruce Rutherford and Carol Hegerty (Classic Big Wheel), Warren and Michelle Wilson (Formula Classic), Frank De La Renta and Michael McGovern (Modern Side Car TT1), Damon Doherty and Johnny Crown (Modern Sidecar US F2), and Michael Platt and Karna Kerr (Vintage Sidecar SC1).

350 GP Vintage Cup. After securing two wins at Roebling Road, Rob Hall was out to extend his lead in the Vintage Cup Championship, while Alex McLean and Chris Spargo had different ideas on what the podium should look like when the checkers fell. McLean got the hole shot with a hair trigger start to lead Hall into the first turn and hold that lead for the first lap. Eric Watts slotted into third behind Hall, with Spargo charging from fourth. And then it all changed. Hall was pushing hard to close the gap to McLean, while Alex just knew Rob was

coming. It was all going to plan until it wasn’t. CMP starts out with a wicked Turn 1 and ends with an equally wicked Turn 14. Powering out of 14, the rear tire of Alex’s Aermacchi broke loose putting Alex and the bike into the grass on the outside of the turn. And so, it stayed for the next four laps. Going into the final lap Spargo made his way around Watts setting the podium places.

Rob Hall and the AJS7R finishing first, Chris Spargo on the TD1 second, and Eric Watts on his 350 Ducati in third.

A red flag shortened the race to five laps, but it didn’t shorten the excitement. NextGen SBK pushed off from the front of the grid With Harry Vanderlinden out braking Brad Coleman into T1. An interesting note, these

Sean Cassell (326)

Ben Baker (69)

two are best of friends, but on the track all bets are off on who will not come back bloody. Lap times between the two were measured under by tenths of a second. Coleman’s last lap was 1.617 sec. faster, and the winning margin was 1.611. That was close. Dylan Benjamin put six seconds on Frank Schoenbeck to take the Open Two-Stroke win. SOT3 lined up 20 bikes for the start and some how managed to all get through

T1 with no one on the ground. Kevin Dinsmoor took the win from Tommy Ryan with fast riding from lap 3 on. Bob Demetrius finished third.

Formula Thunder led the first wave into T1 with Stefano Mesa leading the way followed by Patrick Lansu and Clint Austin. The three ran sub 1:40 laps for the entire race. Mesa got caught out somewhere and ended with a DQ giving the

win to Lansu who took fast lap honors with a 1:38.521 and best speed of 91.351 mph. Austin moved to second, and Ervin Kollek finshed off the podium places. NextGen SBK Mwt followed Formula Thunder in the first wave. Harry Vanderlinden led the group to T1 ahead of Kevin Rammer only to suffer a fuel starvation problem on the next lap. Rammer wasted no time in securing first ahead of Rick Patrolia and Cameron Crockett. Michael Hausknecht started a dominant run in is SOS1 with a 1:43, five seconds ahead of Brian Lowe. Hausknecht never slowed, winning with a 24 second buffer on Lowe. Eugene Casciaro finished third 0.566 sec behind Lowe.

Classic Sixties and Classic Sixties 650 set the pace with nearly everyone finishing with a full race, but not top honors. That went to David Miller with a fast lap of 1:54.899 and first place in Sportsman 500. Peter Pinello and Graham Carlton finished second and third, respectively. In Classic Sixties, Alex McLean finished ahead of John Snead for the win. David Tompkins, Stan Keyes, and John Rickard filled out the podium in Classic Sixties 650. In the 250 classes, Bob Demetrius stood top of the box In Formula 250. Scott Turner placed second and Zeca Pires took third. Craig Light, Rik Gould, and Rod Skaggs shared podium honors in 250GP.

Race 9 showed a return to full grids with BOTT being chased by a gaggle of little SOT4 hornets. Clint Austin took top honors finishing first in BOTT and first overall with fast lap honors at 1:43.233 and 87.181 mph. Ton Prust finished second, and Ervin Kollek took third. SOT4 put 21 bikes on the grid. 18 of the 21 were classified with a full race. Kevin Dinsmoor finish first, the Connecticut Yankee taking his second win. Eric Watts and Frank Guardagnino filled out the podium.

SOT2 led off with NexGen SBK2 following in the second wave. Robert Leavitt, Patrick Lansu, and Paul Canale led the SOT2 field into T1 and passed the checkers six laps later, finishing in the same order. NextGen SBK 2 found

Bob Demetrius (600)

Warren Wilson (13W)

Sean Cassell and Brad Coleman

Running close to nose to tail, best times being separated by 0.147 to Cassell’s favor. Cassell nailed a few faster laps and finished 4.644 seconds ahead of Coleman. Ben Baker finished a distant third.

The Thruxton Cup Challenge saw a close race between Clint Austin and Paul Canale . Austin took the win by 0.180 sec. Matthew Estell took the final step on the podium. Tim Joyce held court over the Bears competition 10 seconds to the good. Justin Hebbel held off Jake Hall for second, Hall settling for third. David Wallace took a Formula Vintage win from William Brint in second and Allen Perry in third. Kevin Rammer took fast lap honors 1:48.951 and best speed of 82.606 overall with his win in Vint SB Mwt. Rammer shared the podium with Alexander Cook in second and Jim Eich in third. Another Phillip Island Challenge win goes to Warren Wilson.

Alex McLean took best lap honors and best speed with a 1:59.351 time and 75.408 mph winning Class C Footshift ahead of David Tompkins and Scott Dell. Tim Joyce took Class C Handshift honors ahead of Stephen Aretz and Ralph Wessell. Rob Hall pulled another fast one on Tim Terrell, with Mark Shaver taking third from Christopher Spargo.

sunday

Sunday began with slightly cooler temperatures than Saturday and overcast skies. Morning practice sessions were short and racing began promptly at 10AM with Race 14 to make up from Saturday to complete first thing.

Race 1 had a fairly large grid still for what was last year’s feature class of Formula 750. We saw Jeff Hargis take the win with a 20-second gap at the finish over Brad Philips in second place.

Another notable race was the Sound of Singles 3 race with Ed Blount on his KTM rc390 finishing one lap up on the entire field! There has been some close racing so far these first two races weekend’s of 2024 in SOS3 given

the absence of the Honda NSF250 Moto 3 bikes and their rider’s who usually walk away from all of the KTM 390s and Honda RS125s. This have given a more level playing field in this class and created some exciting racing for the podium places.

Looking at Race 5 and we have the feature Vintage Cup class for 2024, 350GP. Rob Hall on the AJS 7R and Chris Spargo on a Yamaha TD2 took off from the rest of the field creating a 13-second gap by the end of the race. They had a great battle for the top of the podium and second place most of the race. Alex McLean on the Aermachi finished third ahead of yours truly (Eric Watts) on my Ducati 350 single in fourth. Roper’s AJS continued to have running issues from what I could tell and he finished behind me another 11 seconds back at the checkered flag.

Other close racing included Race 6 with the Open 2 stroke class. Joe Melchionda and Dylan Benjamin on Yamaha TZ250s had a close race with just a 0.2-second difference at the line! Third place was Paul Stamper also on a TZ250.

Next Gen Superbike middleweight in Race 7 had Harry Vanderlinden and Kevin Rammer battle it out for the top two positions on the

podium both running down into the 1:44s by the end of the race.

Sunday’s Race 9 was one of the largest of the weekend as usual for the ever popular SOT4 class with 20 on the grid! This class continues to attract more people to racing with AHRMA given it’s ease of available eligible production motorcycles out there in this category.

Kevin Dinsmoor on a Ninja 400 took the lead and stayed there for the entire race. Ed Blount’s strong KTM 390 tried to keep up, but he couldn’t get past Dinsmoor in the end who was running some blisteringly fast times of 1:45 by the end of the race pulling an eight-second gap to Blount at the finish. Frank Guadagnino finished third also on a Kawasaki 400.

Carolina Motorsports Park continues to be one of my favorite tracks on the schedule, it’s mix of tight and technical combined with high speed sections down tree lines straights makes it an interesting circuit. Everyone is still itching to get out of the cold weather and go racing this time of year and you can tell the excitement around the paddock of beginning a new race season still and getting settled in for the racing ahead of us! See everyone on Nelson Ledges in May!

Kevin Dinsmoor (304)

2024 Vintage Cup - 350GP

Bridgestone Tires AHRMA Roadracing Series

Hall and Spargo split wins

WORDS AHRMA STAFF PHOTO ETECHPHOTO.COM

There was a point in motorcycle road racing history when two-strokes and four-strokes were evenly matched and the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) is revisiting that time all year long.

Rounds three and four of AHRMA’s 2024 Vintage Cup series, which highlights its 350 GP class, were held March 16 and 17 at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC as part of the 2024 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA Roadracing Series.

SPONSORED BY

Rob Hall, racing a four-stroke 1965 AJS 7R, split wins with Christopher Spargo, who was aboard a two-stroke 1967 Yamaha TD2.

Sponsored by Hagerty Insurance, Roadracingworld.com, and NYC Norton (nycnorton.com), AHRMA’s 2024 Vintage Cup features the 350 GP class which includes 350cc four-stroke and 250cc two-stroke powered machines built up to and including 1968. Featured bikes from this era would include bikes such as the AJS 7R “Boy Racer”, 350 Manx Norton, Benelli 350-

Four, Aermacchi 350 Road Racer, Yamaha TD2, and more. 350 GP is a true Grand Prix class from the “golden era” up until the early 1980s and was won by such great racers such as Giacomo Agostini, Jim Redman, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, and Geoff Duke.

“This weekend’s racing at Carolina Motorsports Park mirrored the heady days of the ‘60s-early ‘70s era 350 Grand Prix racing, with very fast 4-stroke machines being suddenly challenged by sometimes faster 2-strokes machines,” said Kenny Cummings

Christopher Spargo (19), Rob Hall (270)

of NYC Norton (nycnorton.com).

“The top step couldn’t have been populated by two nicer guys, Rob Hall on Saturday and Chris Spargo on Sunday, both of whom race hard as can be and come back with smiles on their faces.”

The start of Saturday’s race saw Alex McLean, on Rob McKeever’s 1967 Harley-Davidson Aermacchi Drixton taking the lead for the hole shot through turn one with Rob Hall aboard Stu Carter’s 1965 AJS 7R in hot pursuit. McLean, determined, held the lead through laps one and most of two but coming out of the last corner onto the front straight, got a little exuberant on the throttle causing the bike to step out and he lost control and crashed. Hall, now unchallenged with a comfortable gap, maintained the lead throughout the balance of the race, taking the checkered flag. Eric Watts, riding a 1972 Ducati 350, held second position until the last lap when Christopher Spargo, on John Turner’s 1967 Yamaha TD2, pipped Watts in turn one, taking over second and bumping Watts to third position.

The balance of the grid in order of finish included: James Pooler, 1967 Suzuki X6 Hustler in fourth position, Craig Light fifth on a 1973 Bultaco, Brian Larrabure bringing in sixth on his 1967 Harley-Davidson Aermacchi Ala D’Oro, Dave Rhodes seventh riding a 1966 Yamaha TD1, Alex McLean, finishing in eighth, David Roper experienced a mechanical and came in ninth on his 1960 AJS Surtees Special 7R, and completing the grid was John Tunstall on a 1968 Ducati 350.

On Sunday, Spargo was able to get the hole shot into turn one and held the lead with Hall in hot pursuit, pulling alongside Spargo a number of times but never succeeding overtaking him. McLean followed up in third, and Eric Watts in fourth. Spargo continued to increase his lead, finally taking the checkered flag with Hall taking second, and McLean rounding up the podium in third.

The balance of the grid, in order of finish was Eric Watts in fourth, David Roper fifth riding his trusted

RACE RESULTS

1968 Harley Aermacchi ERTT, Craig Light in sixth position, Brian Larrabure finished seventh, David Rhodes eighth position and Larry Watts (Eric Watt’s uncle), riding a 1968 Ducati 350 in ninth.

“Two strokes and four stroke motors deliver their power differently with two strokes providing a high-rpm hit great for high speeds while the four strokes have a torquey punch that helps them get out of corners.” said

Greg Tomlinson, 2024 Chairman of the AHRMA Board of Trustees.

“Some tracks favor one type of bike over the other and AHRMA is going to visit all kinds of track this year which means the Vintage Cup, which has both kinds of bikes, is really up for grabs.”

Round five of the AHRMA National Road Race Series will be April 21 at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Buttonwillow, CA.

Setting the standard of hypersport performance. Again.

The sensation you feel after a ride. That’s what really matters. With the innovations made on the Battlax Hypersport S23, we’ve set new standards in control, stability and grip.

Wildwood National 2024

WORDS BY BOB BEAN

PHOTOS BY BOB & SHARON BEAN

Sharon and I having traveled for the past three months throughout the southwest, traveled back eastward towards Louisiana and the Wildwood MX track. Looking forward to the new 2024 National Motocross season with anticipation, we arrived a week early at the track where they were having an open practice day. As we pulled into the facility, we were impressed with all the varied terrain that we did not expect to see in Louisiana. Rolling hills and valleys with the red dirt track contrasting with the lush green grass parking and fields made for a very scenic picture.

The track had seen 3.5 inches of rain on Friday, but the welldesigned track had great drainage and there was very little mud on most of the track. Later in the week, track owner Dave and his crew of hard workers cut down

lips off the jumps and bypassed several step-up jumps and made it much more vintage friendly. Sunny skies and mild temps all week long gave hope for a great

weekend, but Mother Nature had other plans.

Racers from all over the country started pouring in on Wednesday

Riders navigating one of the tricky mud rut sections

If you run off the track, it gets deep...

and Thursday, and by the time Friday practice opened, the parking lot was almost full. For practice on Friday, they used the whole track with no bypassed jumps. Cross Country (CC) was scheduled later in the day and it utilized a bunch of the motocross track so practice was scheduled to only be open till 1pm then shut down for the Vintage CC race to start.

But thats when Mother Nature decided to water the track for us... And water it she did. Downpours! Heavy rain and high winds. Pop up tents went flying.... Tornado sirens were heard in the distance. Later we found out that several tornados were sighted near Kentwood. Interstate 55 was shut down, cars overturned. Some people trapped in a house that a tree fell on. The power was out in Kentwood and the surrounding area. We were very very lucky that it missed our traveling group of racers and we only got minor damages.

A riders meeting was called and the decision was made to put off the CC and run it Saturday morning to try and give the track some time to drain off and dry out what they could. But again, Mother Nature didn’t cooperate, and more rain fell thru the night.

Saturday morning saw water standing everywhere, but they got the CC races started and the adventurous souls who lined up got to follow Trampas Parker around a modified course. Trampas just ignored the mud and put on a riding clinic on his Bultaco, showing why he was a 2x Motocross GP World Champion.

The grass track sections and the small woods sections were actually not too bad, but it was the groomed motocross portion that was tricky. Ruts started forming, but many were all over the place instead of straight.. It made for some impressive and unusual lines and each lap was different in most corners.

The Post Vintage (PV) CC was up next and they would have a little bit dryer track by then, but still very challenging. Again, it

was the fast guys out front with Trampas Parker, Trampas’ brother Heath, and Tim Shepard doing the chasing. I rode the little XR200 again and it proved to be up to the challenge and was actually fun to ride despite the muddy conditions.

As soon as the PV CC was done, they did a little work on the motocross track and then opened it up for practice. Some of the riders got in a little extra mileage

as the markers for the CC were still out and they decided to follow them. The mistake was quickly fixed and everyone got pointed in the correct direction and continued on.

With some sunshine and wind, the track was draining fast and a little bit of a line developed as it dried out. Still very challenging for most, but the experts showed some fast laps were possible and

Trampas Parker taking the vintage overall

NATIONAL - motocross / cross country

the hard-packed areas actually had good traction.

The 125 Expert class had some good racing and Reed Borgfield showed 2023 National Champion Jerry Mattox that he is going to have a challenging season this year as Reed got out front and put some distance on the pack. And this was after Pops, Tim Borgfield, pulled the holeshot, while Reed started out back in fourth place.. Tim held on to finish second overall with a 3-2 while Jerry Mattox and Clunker finished third with a 2-3 result.

In the 60+ Intermediate class, Iain Johnstone went 1-1 for the win over Gary Davis 3-2 and Jeff Reeds 2-3. While in the 60 Plus Expert Class, Randy Webber pulled out the win with a 2-1 finish over Jim Andersons 1-3 and Curt Jamets 3-2 finish’s.

At intermission, the track workers went out and ran the tractors around and box bladed most of the track, trying to give more race lines for everyone, Alas, it just wasn’t possible to do much as Mother Nature had just dumped

too much water too close to race times. I have to commend Dave and his workers for working hard to try to give us a better track. I know after seeing how good the track was on Friday before the monsoon hit, the track was a blast! Hopefully the riders won’t judge the track on this one event

as it definitely deserves another chance.

More rain Saturday night and into Sunday proved too much and the decision was made to cancel Sundays events. Onward to next weeks race at Kevin Windham’s Farm 14 track!

Bob Bean. Mud? What Mud?

See, the mud washes right off! (track washing area)

It’s a Long, Long Road our AHRMA Northeast 2023 Wrap-Up!

WORDS BY BOB CLOSE PHOTOS BY SARAH LANE

Two birds, one stone…” I looked at my 4-ish year-old granddaughter, Nadine, quizzically and asked her to repeat what she had just said. “Two

birds, one stone – Mommy taught me that.” I’m not sure why I had a flashback to that conversation when I started putting together this end-of-season article for

Josh Fisher’s 1974 MX250 (17F) finds traction at French Woods MX. He earned a 2023 Vintage +40 Intermediate title, and also grabbed the PV +40 Intermediate version.

AHRMA MAG, but I did. And it provided the answer to my quandary – I needed to cover our two October races (yea I’m late, sue me) AND I wanted to talk about our 2023 AHRMA Northeast champions in cross-country (XC) and motocross. That “aha” moment/flashback provided my answer! I’ll select racing photos from French Woods and Cayuga Trail Riders that feature 2023 champions, add my alwayscolorful captions and BAM…two birds with one stone. Let’s get started…

French Woods Fall Classic –Hancock, NY

Sept. 30th and Oct. 1st.

It’s not too tall a statement to say that Otto DeJaeger’s French Woods XC event in New York’s famous Catskills is The Big One on our schedule, and he also puts together a pretty damn fun MX course on Sunday (you better like jumps and “air”). This year was no exception, with some decent, dry

Clash of the Titans at CCR MX! Four class championships (!) Dave Salmen (686) just might be first into the turn against Vintage +50 and +60 Intermediate champion Peter Marcin (610) and Ron Krzaczyk (211x), Vintage +50 Expert champ.

weather and the beautiful onset of fall colors.

Saturday’s XC race had a ninemile loop for Vintage and a thirteen-mile lap for Post Vintage and Next Gen race. YEP…nine and thirteen, with elevation changes just about the entire course – you are going up or you are going down. And recent dry weather did not mean a dry course – there were lots of wet rocks and roots out there begging you to come near them. Approximately 50 racers showed up for the races, with some local modern guys joining in on the second race.

The Vintage race provided the best racing with Tim and Mike Ferguson doing battle with Drew Smith; two laps of that was a real clinic in riding if you watched these guys in the woods. Kudos to Drew Smith for taking the win over Team Ferguson and winning Vintage +60 Expert to boot. And let’s give a shout out to Expert Glenn Hershey from the MidAtlantic region, who paid us a visit and grabbed third in our very fast Vintage +50 Expert race. Rick Ketcham and his flying XLsinore 4-stroke took the Intermediate overall win. He also beat a pretty quick Kurt (Flash) Flachbart from Trail Rider magazine, who nonetheless took the Vintage Sportsman Open Intermediate win over Dave Salmen. Bob Close (yes, your author) followed all of the above home for a Sportsman 100 win. Kurt also did a great write-up in the November edition of Trail Rider Magazine and supports our series! If you can get your hands on a copy, it’s worth the read.

About 45 minutes after the Vintage race, it was time to send off the Post Vintage and “pre-2k” folks as I like to refer to them. Bringing it home after four laps for the overall was Expert Mike Blackwell on his Millenium 200 class Kawasaki KX125; gosh was this guy fast, he kept up with the modern support racers! Since he showed up with “clan” Ashcraft, it’s appropriate to give a shout out to class winners Kelly and Brian Ashcraft in PV Women’s Expert and Next Gen +60 Expert. Kudos to Richard Heins for

“He was just gone!” Disbelief by many as 2023 Sportsman 100 Intermediate champion Bob Close (567) gets the jump on everybody at French Woods. Alan Linville (17x) gives

an Expert PV Open class win and John Columbia grabbed another PV 200 Intermediate win.

Sunday was a Fun Day as coolish morning weather gave way to low 60’s and sunshine by the afternoon as the track got tackier with every race. Merritt Brown put together eight races on the day with 70+ entries, here are some highlights from the races. Fastest guy on the day was probably Ken Napolitano on his Can-Am 370

MX, who took wins and overalls in PV +50 Expert (Race 1) and GP 500 Expert (Race 5). Mike Blackwell borrowed a motorcycle from somebody and tried to keep himself honest in Race 5, taking the Ultima 500 Expert win. Ray Charneski and Craig Curry exchanged moto wins in +60 Expert (Race 1), but Charneski got the foam board with this second moto win. In Race 2, Mark Curran and Rik Smits exchanged moto wins in Next Gen +50 Expert with

chase while Kurt Flachbart (no number) kicks and kicks and…

Mark getting the gold medal with his second moto win.

Novices did battle in two races3 and 6 - with Nick Lifreiri beating out two other guys to the Ultima Novice win on his Kawasaki KX.

Michael Brown showed why he was worthy of a Next Gen Novice championship by beating five other guys to the win in his class with 2-1 moto wins (Corey Hunt did 1-2 and would get him the next round). In the pre-1975 Vintage races, it was Expert Craig Lane (ESS 250) showing most folks the way in Race 4 while Devin Trexler’s Elsinore 250 was fastest in Race 7, also claiming the Sportsman 250 Expert win.

We will give some final shoutouts to a few more of our PV racers –Bob Grimes took wins in PV +40 Expert as well as PV+50 Expert. Kelly Ashcraft continued her weekend winning ways and beat Matt Howton to the Historic 250 Intermediate win.

Big thanks to Otto DeJaeger and his crew (including “Trail Boss” Rik Smits for the XC course!) – a wonderful time was had by all.

Cayuga County Riders (CCR) King Ferry NY, Oct. 8th

It was time for The Final Countdown (nope…not gonna sing that really bad 80’s song) as everybody reconvened for one more day of racing in 2023. Once again Dave Barnes, family, and friends (aka CCR) laid out a great XC course with a stream to splash across for the morning, and “The Maze” motocross track awaiting racers in the afternoon. While it was not the sunny day we love having at King’s Ferry, it wasn’t a bad day either as the skies stayed dry and the motocross course held up pretty well considering how much moisture was in the ground.

Thirty racersVintage and Post Vintage/Next Gen (PV/NG) - formed lines for the single 9:30 AM race.

AHRMA Northeast scores racers in both Vintage and

Post Vintage classes if they have been competing in both races during the season, but you gotta race your Vintage bike in this race for your PV/NG points. One by one, the Expert, Intermediate, and Novice lines were released to head into hill and dale (and woods and streams) on the four-mile course. CCR can definitely be slippery in the woods when wet, and this day was no exception but overall, the course proved technical AND fast and furious. After one hour plus a lap, there was a new Sheriff in town - Gabe Goodman and his Yamaha broke the stranglehold that Dave Faery and his Kawasaki have had on this race in recent years, also winning PV Open Expert. Dave grabbed the PV +50 Expert win, beating Mike Ferguson’s XR 200. Drew Smith once again got the best of Tim Ferguson for the second week in a row in Vintage +60 Expert. Dale Sonnenschein beat 3 guys (Mike, Tony, Carl – you know who I’m talking about) for a strong PV 60+ win. Now – I keep getting different stories about who was the fastest Intermediate but…I’m putting my money on James Henry in Historic Open Intermediate. I’m going to skip over Rick Ketcham being

John Columbia (22) showing us the form and focus at CCR XC that won him a 2023 PV 200 Intermediate championship!

Justin Moshaty (303) makes some mud at CCR MX with his CR 125 Elsinore. Congrats on your 2023 125 Sportsman Intermediate championship, dude!

the fastest Vintage Intermediate (snzzzz…see you in EXPERT next year, Ricky Ricardo), and give a final XC shout-out to our four Novice sign-ups, two women in PV Women’s Novice and two racers on Next Gen Novice: kudo’s to Autumn Barnes beating Tricha Barnes in the first class (hmmm… Barnes…that names sounds familiar!) and Stacey Scheffler beat family – Marty Scheffler – in Next Gen.

Get something to eat, get some hydration, and it was time for a full afternoon of motocross racing! Sixty entries worked out to six races on the day and gosh was the racing great.

Craig Lane decided to leave the DT-1 MX Yamaha at home, do some PV racing, GOSH did this guy show everyone in the PV and NG classes in Race 1 how it is done on his Yamaha YZ, beating everybody and winning PV +50 Expert. We did not see enough of Jana Schneider this year, but she and her Kawi were cranking it in Race 1 with a PV Women’s Intermediate win. Race 2 saw Ron Krzaczyk and Peter Marcin split moto wins in Vintage +50 Expert, with Ron getting the Gold for his second moto win. Race 3 brought out our Novices and a big shout out to Carey Hunt for beating SIX other guys after exchanging moto wins with Michael Brown. Race 4 brought out the GP, Ultima, and PV displacement racing crowd, and - well – it was a Craig Lane tutorial again folks, with Craig winning both motos and GP 250 Expert. Gabe Goodman kept him honest. David Boast and his Maico were next fastest, with David taking GP 500 Expert honors over Ray Charneski at this round. Fastest of the Intermediates was Josh Fisher, winning PV +40 Intermediate.

Race 5 was mostly clash of the pre-Y2K racers with Colin Carman’s very cool white Yamaha YZ (well it started out white!) taking the Millenium 250 Expert win over John DeBalko. Kevin Keesler Sr looked fast with Next Gen +50 Intermediate win as did Mark Bissell with his win over Mark Symeon in Millenium 250 Intermediate. The final race of

the motos and day was Race 6. The Fast Man was Peter Marcin and his Husqvarna, winning Vintage +60 Intermediate, but Matt Howton was also right there, winning Historic 250 Intermediate, along with Dave Salmen, who won Sportsman 500 Intermediate on his Maico.

One more time – a big thanks to Cayuga County Riders for hosting us again, everyone always has a great time at this year end racing.

We Are The Champions…

Everyone wins in AHRMA Northeast racing – just kidding. What do you think this is, T-Ball? Nonetheless, we did award 65 championships this year, which means we had great participation over our fourteen-round series from our member and guest racers, so to speak. We’ve tried to recognize a bunch of our 2023

“champs” with this article’s photo captions, but be sure and check our full page of AHRMA Northeast championship listings in this magazine. Check YOUR scoring for these events by looking at our year end XC and MX tallies at www.ahrma.org/ahrmanortheast-region.

A huge thank you to our racing coordinators, Merritt Brown and Ed Roman, for supporting our 2023 season. To my AHRMA NE brothers and sisters, make sure that YOU thank them when you see them. And thanks to our promotors, trail bosses, corner workers, scorers…I could go on and on.

Everyone had fun and I’m pretty sure there were no serious injuries in our series (Praise Be…).

Keep Coming Back!

Dwight Basa (011) is ON it at the French Woods MX. He was rewarded with a 2023 title in Ultima 250 Intermediate.

Many Vintage XC Expert starts looked just like this in 2023. Collecting 3 XC championships between, Mike Ferguson (52x) and his Uncle Tim Ferguson (59) get the jump on Drew Smith (802) at French Woods. It didn’t last – Drew won!

2024 AHRMA NATIONAL SERIES SCHEDULES

* all events, except Barber Motorsports Park, are hosting both the AAR and SRS 2024 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA Roadracing

2024 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA Vintage Motocross Series

2024 Redwood Engineering AHRMA Vintage Trials Series

2024 4SR AHRMA Vintage Dirt Track Series

2024 AHRMA REGIONAL SCHEDULES

Schedules and venues are subject to change, Visit regional websites for up to date information

• Six (6) events minimum to qualify for regional championship and year-end awards.

• Best seven (7) events count toward points championship.

5/4-5 Blacks Hollow Recreation; Spring Church, PA

Country and Motocross

5/18-19 Reynlow Park 1; Reynoldsville, PA National Cross Country

6/22-23 Ashcraft Run; Bellefonte, PA Cross Country and Motocross

6/30 Allens Farm; Lawton, PA Motocross

7/6-7 Shady Acres; Friendsville, MD National/Regional

7/20-21

9/21-22 Sutton Station; Summerville, PA Cross Country and Motocross

10/12-13 Reynlow Park 2; Reynoldsville, PA Cross Country and Motocross

10/26-27 White Rose; Spring Grove, PA Cross Country and Motocross

All MX events will host Vintage, Post Vintage, and Next Gen (up to 1999) competition.

All Regional CC events will host Vintage, Post Vintage, and Disc Brake (up to 1999) competition.

Mid-Atlantic Championship criteria for Cross Country and Motocross are:

• Rider must be an active AHRMA member.

• Minimum six (6) class placings required to qualify for series championship and yearend awards.

• Best six (6) cross country class placings/points count toward CC series championship.

• Best six (6) motocross class placings/points count toward MX series championship.

2024 AHRMA Northeast Schedule - visit ahrmane.org

2024 AHRMA Mid-Atlantic Schedule - visit ahrmama.org

2024 AHRMA Northwest Regional Championship Series

• all Northwest events count for 2024 Northwest Championships

• VMX - 9 events, 4 to qualify, best 7

• Trials - 10 events, 5 to qualify, best 7

• Cross Country - 7 events, 4 to qualify, best 5

• Regional points awarded at National events on Northwest’s schedule

• PVMX, NGMX - support only - no season points

You must be an AHRMA member to receive Regional AHRMA Championship Awards and Points. Non-member points will be removed and rescored for members.

* denotes Iron Butt Weekend

• complete 2 motos in the same class

• 3 trials loops

• finish cross country in all 5 scheduled events

2024 AHRMA Southeast Schedule - visit ahrmase.org

5/3-5

6/8-9

11/8-10

Regional Championship Requirements to Qualify

• You must be an AHRMA member to receive Regional AHRMA Championship Awards and Points. Non-member points will be removed and rescored for members.

Motocross Regional Championship

• Must score points in 7 of 9 races of which 2 must be a regional-only race

Cross Country Regional Championship

• Must score points in 10 of 14 races of which 1 must be a regional-only race.

All race points count toward a regional championship

2024 AHRMA Great Lakes Schedule - visit ahrmagl.org

MARKETPLACE

1978 suzuki rm 125 & rm 400 plus parts & accessories

PRICE: $5,000

LOCATION: Lockhart, TX

CONTACT: (512) 417-3532

2005 ducati 749r race bike

PRICE: $6,500

LOCATION: Northern VA

CONTACT: (202) 360-3777

suzuki sv650 track bike

PRICE: $3,900

LOCATION: Spartanburg, SC

CONTACT: (864) 978-0368

1966 ducati 250gp roadracer

PRICE: $7,500

LOCATION: Toronto, ON - ship

worldwide

CONTACT: (416) 557-5051

2006 ducati ss1000 race bike

PRICE: $7,500

LOCATION: Northern VA

CONTACT: (202) 360-3777

honda 305 superhawk yetman race bike

PRICE: $4,500

LOCATION: Raleigh, NC

CONTACT: (919) 378-1719

SWAP MEET

trials cub

buddy elmore replica triumph t100/r

PRICE: $13,000

LOCATION: Detroit, MI

CONTACT: (586) 709-6210

1973 cz 250

PRICE: $4,800

LOCATION: Santa Rosa, CA

CONTACT: (707) 217-9076

WHERE AHRMA MEMBERS

Triumph trials cub built by Speed and Sport. Matt’s Dad did the motor, and Matt did just about everything else to make a competitive AHRMA trials bike.

PRICE: $4,500

LOCATION: San Rafael, CA

CONTACT: Kevin Burrell - (415) 518-8066

motorcycle transportation

Will transport bikes and gear to road race and/or multi-discipline events, Florida to California, and all events in between.

LOCATION: Port Orange, Florida

CONTACT: Ralph Wessell - (386) 760-0932

Have You Updated Your MotorsportReg Profile?

BUY, SELL, AND TRADE AHRMA is working toward having our race results published in other magazines and online publications. To make this happen we need your help! Please complete your MotorsportReg profile with the following info for all of your race bikes: your name, bike, make, model, and year. This is a great chance for AHRMA to shine, so please log into your account and make these updates.

SWAP MEET ADS: AHRMA members may submit two free Swap Meet, non-commercial, motorcycle-related ads of up to 50 words each, per issue. Each ad will run only once, but you are welcome to renew monthly. All ads will also be placed on www.ahrma.org for at least one month.

MARKETPLACE ADS: The Marketplace plan is specifically designed for small business owners. Members or nonmembers may submit an ad of up to 50 words and may include 1 photo. This ad will appear both on ahrma.org’s AHRMA Swap Meet page, and in AHRMA MAG’s Marketplace section for 2 issues, with photo. Marketplace ads cost $25 for 60 days and may be renewed as many times as you like. Please include: name, address, phone number and AHRMA membership number with your ad.

Go to: www.ahrma.org/ classifieds-etc/ SWAP MEET & MARKETPLACE AD GUIDELINES

ThenNow &

1972 Husqvarna 450 CR

AHRMA member Peter Marcin walks us through his 1972 Husqvarna 450 CR, how he got it, what he did to get it on the track, and how it’s going now.

FIRST RACE

Tell us all about one of your bikes!! When you got it, during restorations or important milestones, and how they look now. Send us your machines to be featured in future issues of the AHRMA MAG - email ahrmamag@ahrma.org

THEN

In 2016 I purchased my 1972 450 CR Husqvarna from a small motorcycle store in Tennessee. They tell me it sat in a storage container for some time waiting for a restoration that never started. Here is its state the day it came home with me.

My first race on the bike was at the 2016 AHRMA vintage national event held at Barber Vintage Festival. The only changes I made to the bike since its long nap were new tires, a rebuilt Motoplat and number plates. The bike ran great that day and I was bitten with the vintage racing bug.

NOW

Since my first race I’ve continued to improve the bike adding narrower handlebars, new shocks, forks seat, gas tank and plastic fenders. Additionally the motor got a rebuild in 2020. Overall its character is the same but it handles much better than its first day.

PHOTO BY LARRY MAYO

PHOTO BY PETER MARCIN

PHOTO BY PETER MARCIN

MOTOCROSS

Thunder Ridge Motocross, circa 2003

We’ve been able to get our hands on some photos showcasing the history of AHRMA racing throughout the ages, even back as far as 1989 and the inception of the not-forprofit organization we know and love today.

Sometimes we’ll be able to accompany the photo with some race results or rider IDs and other interesting information. Other times, this will just be a moment to reflect back and enjoy some photos long forgotten.

If you happen to see yourself or someone you know in the photo, reach out and let us know! Better yet, if you were there, tell us how the racing was, what the track was like, what bike you were on. Help us relive the “glory days.”

Get in touch: ahrmamag@ahrma.org

photographer: Matt Benson