Schock, Piazza Top Kawasaki Race
Of Champions
T
he first weekend in October
means one thing for North-
east motocross, and that is the
Kawasaki Race of Champions.
KROC, as it has become known,
takes place at Old Bridge Town-
ship's Raceway Park in English-
town, New Jersey, and 2019
marked the 43rd anniversary of
this iconic event.
There were two full days of
racing on Friday and Saturday
(October 4-5) for youth and ama-
teur racing and vet classes. The
big winners during the amateur
portion included John Grewe
(40+ A and 45+), Bryce Shelly
(125 Two-Stroke and SuperMini),
Drew Adams (85cc 9-11 and Ju-
nior Mini), Travis Randanella (250
and 450 C), Wristin Grigg (250
and 450 B) and Canyon Richards
(65cc 7-11 and 10-11).
Sunday's racing was for the
Pro Expert classes (250cc and
Open), as well as intermission
races for amateur and minibike
riders. Under overcast skies, the
racing got underway with the first
450 Pro-Expert moto. After morn-
ing qualifiers narrowed the field
to 40, a full gate took to the track.
Michigan's Marshall Weltin took
home the win in moto one after a
close battle with Pennsylvania's
Bobby Piazza and New York's
Aaron Lampi. Maryland's Jacob
Runkles and New Jersey's Cory
Carsten rounded out the top five.
The Kessler Cup was next on
the gate. This special intermis-
sion event is for racers compet-
ing on 65cc machines. Named
for NJ motocross legend Mickey
Kessler, this moto takes the top
20 racers from each of the 65cc
classes previously run on Friday
and Saturday and gives them a
chance to compete in front of the
fans on Sunday. New Jersey's
Canyon Richards won the race.
The 250 Pro-Expert moto one
was up next. Delaware's Coty
Schock wasn't going to let a 450
moto-one DNF stop him. He went
out and put his KTM at the front
of the field and took home the
IN
THE
WIND
P56
The 250A class squeezes through the
first turn at the 43rd Kawasaki Race
of Champions at Englishtown, New
Jersey. PHOTOS: SCOTT LUKAITIS